Five Illinois Unknowns on USS Oklahoma Identified

The Pearl Harbor National Memorial list of the Oklahoma Unknowns who have been identified has a lot of their home towns and states also listed.

These are the ones from Illinois:

Fireman 1st Class Michael Galajdik, 25,  of Joliet, Illinois

Gunner's Mate 2nd Class   William Francis Hellstern, 20, of Peoria, Illinois

Fireman 3rd Class John H. Lindsley, 22,  of Waukegan, Illinois'

Signalman 3rd Class Charles E, Nix, 26, of Danville, Illinois

Seaman 1st Class Harold W. Roasch, 25, of Rockford, Illinois

--GreGen

Sycamore's German POW Camp

From the Sycamore (Illinois) History Museum.

During World War II, German prisoners were sent to POW camps throughout the United States.  Many were sent to Camp Grant in Illinois (outside of Rockford).

During harvest time, many of the POWs from Camp Grant were sent to Sycamore to help with food efforts, including the Sycamore Preserve Company.  They stayed at temporary barracks on Park Avenue (where Upstaging is located today).

They ate their meals in town and worked in the local canning factory and  harvested food at local farms.

During the last year of the war, some 300 Germans were housed here from ages of 16 to 25.  They worked harvesting sweet corn, peas and asparagus.  Then they helped  can vegetables at the Sycamore Preserve Company.

The camp ran from June 1945 to October 1945.

--GreGen

Preparing for the Repatriation of German Prisoners in DeKalb County in 1945

From the September 9, 2020, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois)  "Looking Back."

September 9, 1945, 75 Years Ago.

"Col. Forrest W. Edwards, Camp Grant (in Rockford) commander,  is urging all employers of German prisoners of war to take steps toward replacing them with civilian workers (Americans) in anticipation of the gradual  repatriation of the prisoners.

About 2,500 German prisoners are being used by private contractors under supervision of Camp Grant mostly in agricultural and food processing work."

If you had to be a prisoner of war, these Germans by far had it better than anyone else. As a matter of fact, a lot of the Germans returned home, settled their affairs and then moved to the United States where they became American citizens.

Another Way to Tell That the War Was Over.  --GreGen

Christmas for the Boys-- Part 4: "And a Blonde With That Pair of Gloves"

The sick recipients were invited to provide wish lists.  Most weren't too particular, but "one patient added a blonde to his request for a pair of gloves."

About 12,000 readers sent gifts, most of them asking to help more than one ailing service member

The reason for giving among readers was varied, but one Elkhart, Indiana, woman shared a common sentiment:  "The best Christmas present I could wish for is the knowledge that thru my puny efforts some of these gallant boys will realize that we on the home front appreciate what they are doing for us."

Pictures accompanying the article:

World War II Battle of Guadalcanal veterans Bernard Sgilagyl, Varner Johnson, George Stevo, Leland Kimrey and Harry Simonetti open gifts in 1943.

Lt. Mary Wrona, of Ann Arbor, Michigan, plays Santa to Pvts. Ray Radke and Stephen Valenti, both from Chicago, in the hospital at Rockford's Camp Grant in 1943.

A Great Deal.  --GreGen

World War II Army Veterans Gather in Rockford for Their 70th Reunion

From the June 24, 2016, Rockford (Illinois) Star by Sarah Wolf.

The 103rd Division, 2nd Battalion, 410th Infantry had their first reunion with a group of eight men from Company G in a Chicago hotel in 1946..

John LaVelle was one of those men and his son, Mike LaVelle, said, "Supposedly they partied and trashed the place, vowing to do the same thing again the next year."

Needless to say, the reunion is much more tame these recent years, as are World War II reunions all over the country.  These young men are getting quite old.  World War II veterans are mostly in their 90s and are dying at the rate of 430 a day.

Once, as many as 200 veterans and their families attended this group's reunion.  This year's week-long event was held at the Rockford Holiday Inn.

Only four veterans attended it:  Bert Miller, 94, Mike Egan, 96, Fred Kann, 91 and Charlie Atkinson, 92.  The last two were in Company G.  Kann spent a year in a hospital in the war after he stepped on a mine.

--GreGen

Looking Back, 1939: Twelve Joined U.S. Navy at Rockford

From the October 8, 2014, MidWeek (DeKalb County, Illinois) "Looking Back."

October 11, 1939.

**"Twelve joined the Navy at the Rockford office on October 3.  It was the largest single quota ever to enlist at that office."  Getting ready for war.

**  "War bombs are deadly for the children of Europe, but automobiles are fatal enough for Illinois school children, the Illinois Road Builders Association declared."

--GreGen

Rockford's Camp Grant Museum

From the April/Easter Market Street Press. //// I picked this newspaper up at the Woodstock (Il.) Library at the Civil War Round Table Meeting this past Tuesday where we heard about embalming. //// In it was an ad for the Command Post Restaurant at 1004 Samuelson Road in Rockford, Illinois. The restaurant also has the Camp Grant Museum featuring Rockford Local History during a Military Camp from 1917-1948. //// I have already written about it, just hit the Camp Grant label. //// The ad goes on to say that the nuseum features displays, postcards, pictures and memorabilia. //// Evidently, the museum is open when the restaurant is open Tuesday-Friday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday from 7 to 1 and Sunday 9 to 2. Special hours can be arranged for groups. //// There will be a Friends of Camp Grant meeting May 15th from 7-9 p.m. //// More info at 815-395-0678 or at www.CampGrantMuseum.org. //// It was one really big camp used in both world wars and, if I remember correctly, essentially where the Rockford Airport is located today. //// --GreGen

Camp Grant in Rockford, Illinois-- Part 2

The camp closed in 1923.  From 1933 to 1935, it was used by the Civilian Conservation Corps.

In October 1940, it was reactivated as an induction center for physical exams and medical training.  It is estimated that 100,000 medical corpsmen received their training there.  Later, a POW center housed some 2,500 enemy soldiers.

The camp became one of Rockford's biggest employers with some 6,000 civilians on the payroll.

After the war, it became a separation center for returning GIs, where they left the military to become civilians.  In 1946, the camp was permanently closed.  For a few years, the former barracks were converted into apartments.

Today, the Chicago-Rockford International Airport is located on much of the land.  I came close to using this airport a few years back.  Hey, free parking.

I wonder if George Leisenring was training to be a medic when his parents visited or if he was on staff at the camp.

World War II Stuff  I Didn't Know.  --GreGen