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Newspaper
Pella Chronicle
Location
Pella, Iowa, United States of America
Date
Jan 18, 1945
Page
6
Staff Sergeant Gerald Vander Leest marks four years of Army service on January 13. He notes a year overseas in Europe, with letters to his parents Mr and Mrs John Vander Leest describing good health and service with American forces in Germany.
An Associated Press dispatch said a Liberty ship was commissioned on Wednesday January 10 and named for Seaman Raymond Van Brogen, son of Mr and Mrs Henry Van Brogen of North Main Street Pella. He lost his life when the U boat Caddow torpedoed and sunk the U S ship on November 23, 1942.
A terse report notes a soldier delivering a message or address to James Kempkes at the Davisville Rhode Island facility NCTC Camp Endicott. Details are limited in the fragment.
Eidith Air Force Bomber Station England Flight Officer Howard W De Motts son of Mr and Mrs John De Motts of Brandon Wisconsin and husband of Janet De Motts of Pella Iowa has joined the 457th Bombardment Group of the Eighth Air Force in huge daylight precision bombing raids against the Nazi war machine. A graduate of Waupun Wisconsin High School Motts studied at Iral College Pella until entering the Army Air Forces in 1942.
A wartime note from James Sents to Mr and Mrs Brit Kamerick describes Corporal James Kamerick recovering in a French hospital after two shrapnel wounds to his right hand during the Autumn campaign in France. Sents, who has a wife in Sigourney Iowa, notes Kamerick’s Bronze Star and Purple Heart, hopes the war ends soon, and expresses a wish to return home by Christmas. He mentions shared reminiscences and the desire for peaceful life back in the United States.
A rambling column notes readers gossip and half remembered facts about local people. It references Gerrit Van Roekel joining Central College faculty, a joke about middle name Garlic, and various home front banter about Kraut and limburger cheese. The writer muses on snow, birds, and the coming tulip season with playful tone.
Marion County youths Frank Pearson and William Eilander, once neighbors near Pella, met again on Treasure Island on the West Coast. Pearson serves in the Armed Guard while Eilander is based at a nearby Navy facility. The reunion came after two failed attempts, captured in a photo. Mrs Eilander and their children live with her parents, the Buwaldas.
The Bulletin reports Corporal James Kamerick son of Mr and Mrs G Kamerick wounded in France on November 26. A January letter from a friend says the injury was to the right hand from shrapnel and he is recovering normally. He has received the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.
Sgt Harold I Slings, 26, wounded in action, has been brought from overseas and admitted to DeWitt General Hospital in Auburn California. His wife Mrs M Slings lives at 1007 W 1st St Pella. He served with the Field Artillery and is now a patient in California hospital.
Sent from Germany in 1944, a border soldier named Henry Perlouw writes his grandmother Renaud of Sully a heartfelt note. He thanks her for Christmas packages, recalls family faith, and expresses longing, love, and hope in Christ while warning of life’s fragility. He notes reception of seven packages, mentions cold nights, and promises more letters and sleep after finishing chores. He closes with affection and assurance of reunion in a future with Christ.
Wave Flora Thane Shaw enjoys leave at her Monroe home with parents Mr and Mrs Mark. She arrived Wednesday from near Memphis Tennessee for a visit before reporting later in the month to San Francisco and then sailing for duty in Hawaii.
Pleasantville is once again receiving water through mains and taps after seven weeks. The deep pump in the supply well, damaged in mid November, was repaired only gradually amid slow progress, with efforts continuing to locate the fault and complete jet repairs.
An advertisement narrates a woman who suffered bloating gas headaches and digestive discomfort, then credits SYSTONE a 12 herb blend from Carpenter Drug with cleansing bowels and improving health. It claims rapid life improvements and urges readers to try the product.
The week began with clean mains and flushed lines to ensure a favorable start up. Pleasantville faced scarce private wells and reduced general water use as a near full pressure tank limited supply, preventing a fire catastrophe despite dwindling tank levels.
Friday afternoon Rev Van Hellen from the American Sunday School Union preached a fine sermon at the Home for the Aged. A funeral for a resident born in Gelderland Netherlands was held Monday. Various residents and visitors from Oskaloosa and surrounding towns stopped by, with notes of foot injury, walking recovery, and social visits among Genevan and Dutch named families.
Several relatives visited Mercy hospital in Des Moines for an eye operation. The patient had his right eye removed and a minor procedure performed on the left eye and is reported to be getting along fine.
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