December 11, 2015

Oroville Mercury 1943
Former High Letterman Assigned to Air Force
Corporal John L. (Jack) Morrill, son of Mr. and Mrs. V. W. Morrill of Robinson Street, has been assigned to the Army Air Force. He received his training at Chico, Redwood City and Pasadena. Corporal Morrill asked for active combat duty and has been sent to Atlantic City for further training. He is now on duty at Kansas City, M. He is graduate of Oroville high school, 1942, and was a letterman in basketball, football and tennis. In a letter to his parents, Corporal Morrill writes that “the Army is O. K. and Kansas City one swell place,” He send regards to his friends in Oroville. Oroville Mercury 1943 Gets Mechanic Training In Army Air Corps Corporal Roy L. Roan, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Roan of Elgin Street, is stationed with the Army Air Corps at Englewood. Before being inducted into the service, Corporal Roan passed a civil service examination, qualifying him for six months special mechanical training at Modesto. He attended Oroville schools and later studied mechanics for one year in the Civilian Conservation Corps at Brush Creek. Corporal Roan writes his parents that he likes the Army but is anxious to “get over to the other country.”

Oroville Mercury 1943
Civilian or Service Man He Still Handles Mail
Taylor R. Brinkerhoff, Oroville postal clerk for fifteen years, is now handling mail for Uncle Sam. Brinkerhoff is a Mail Specialist, 3/c, in the U. S. Navy, at Noumea, New Caledonia. He enlisted Oct. 1 1942 and sailed April 8, 1943. He has two sons in the navy, Russell A. and Donald M. Brinkerhoff, and a daughter, Lorraine, who is doing secretarial work at McClellan Field in Sacramento. Mrs. Brinkerhoff, his wife, is remaining in Oroville at their home on Bridge Street, during her husband’s military service. Brinkerhoff has a brother, Erbie, who resides in Chico.

Oroville Mercury 1943
Two Service Men Return For Visit
Lt. Walter H. Rees of the air base at Clovis, N.M., accompanied by his wife and a friend, Miss Evelyn Stalwick of Tacoma, Wash., and Staff Sergeant Melvin Hartley of Oroville, now stationed at Ft. Lewis, Wash., visited at the home of Lt. Rees’ parents, Mr. and Mrs. W. E. Rees, here recently. They were met by Lt. Rees’ sister, Mrs. R. J. Rice, and her daughter Grace of Rodeo. Sergeant Hartley visited in Oroville and with his father at Gray’s Flat before returning to his post at Fort Lewis.

Stu’s Notes:
Pearl Harbor Remembrance at The Gridley-Biggs Cemetery. Again the service honoring those who were there at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and for those who never came home, was very nice. Those who died in the Japanese sneak attack on the Navy Base and the Army Air Field. I have been going to these December 7th events for about 20 years now. They used to be held at the Gridley Fir Grounds. There is a memorial of a stone with a plaque at the Flag Pole near the big building, to honor that day so long ago. About 2,400 mostly Navy men died on that day as our ships were the main targets, although a few hundred or more Army men died at the Army Air Base at Hickman Field. Two of our fighters did get off the ground in a hail of bullets and bombs all around the field. Such Brave men, Bravery was everywhere that day. They did manage to shoot down 4 or 5 Japanese planes as I recall from my reading. Sadly one of the American Planes went down taking the life of the young pilot. A friend of Lynn and I was there, Joan Azevedo. She was just a little girl living with her mother, father and sister off base on a hill overlooking the Harbor. A bomb landed in their neighbor’s back yard, thankfully it failed to go off. Her father was an Officer in the Army at the time. My most exciting part of the day at the cemetery was a lady took a picture of me with Vere Gardner. He was the only Pearl Harbor survivors that made it to the ceremony. There is one more survivor that I know of, Art Wells. He lives in Chico. He used to come to all the previous events. These men are my Heroes. When I first came to the Pearl Harbor day years ago at the Fair Grounds there were about 20 or more survivors, most are gone now. There were about 50 or more people there. Very few civilians, like me. Many men wore their Uniforms. Hopefully next year more Civilians will come. These men and women that do the program deserve a bigger crowd of people. So please come and show your thanks for the life of Freedom you enjoy that so many take for granted . It was given to us by the men and women who fought the fight over the last 200- plus years. They must not be Forgotten Ever. Remember Gridley-Biggs Cemetery, put it on your 2016 calendar. I’ve got 3 or 4 already. December 7, 2016, put a reminder in your phone to ring the first 7 days of December then you will have no excuse.
Happy Birthday to my sister, Betty! Children were not told then much about babies back then. Dad one day said “Your Mother and I are going to the Hospital to get a baby.” At 11 years old I thought, OK. And they came home with a baby.