Wordless Wednesday - Frank fowlie and Ward Gillespie relax in Lake View

This is a scan of another slide from Grandma's collection. It shows Frank Fowlie on the left and Ward Gillespie on the right as they relax at the Fowlie home in Lake View, Iowa. Frank Fowlie was my Great Grandfather. Ward Gillespie was married to my great aunt Mary (Ross) Gillespie, so he was Frank's brother-in-law. I think this is from the 1950s, but those drapes seem very loud to me.

Remembering on Memorial Day 2012

Memorial marker for Vilas D. Parker, killed in an airplane crash in World War II

Memorial marker for Jack Alexander, died while a Prisoner of War in North Korea

Memorial Day is an opportunity to remember the sacrifice of soldiers and sailors that died in service to their country. Here is a listing of some of the relatives I would like to remember this Memorial Day.

This is pretty much a re-post of last year since I don't have any additional information on about relatives that died in service to their country. Click read more to see the list...

Treasure Chest Thursday - Telegram reporting the death of John Ross Sr

This is a scan of a Western Union telegram reporting the death of my 2nd great grandfather, John F. Ross Sr. to his wife Mary H. (Stotler) Ross. Mary was living with their daughter Dr. Mary A. Ross in Los Angeles, California at the time. Helen is their daughter, Helen Ross (later Whitted). I found it in the 1940 diary of Mary H. (Stotler) Ross.

Received at 1117 N. Western Ave., Hollywood, Calif. Telephone GLadstone 3164
1934 DEC 13 AM 8 42
SM47 10=LAKECITY IOWA 13 1020A
MARY S ROSS=
318 NORTH MARIPOSEA LOSA=
FATHER PASSED AWAY THIS MORNING WIRE IF YOU WILL COME=
HELEN.

Wordless Wednesday - Clara Fowlie in Lake View

This is a scan of a slide from Grandma's collection. It shows my great grandmother Clara (Ross) Fowlie at their home on the lake at Lake View, Iowa. It looks like she might be cleaning the window. There is a can of paint there as well, so maybe they were painting window trim. This is from a group of slides that date to before 1960.

Tombstone Tuesday - John F. Ross Sr.

This is the tombstone of my 2nd great grandfather, John Franklin Ross Sr. located at Lake Creek Cemetery, Lake Creek Township, Calhoun County, Iowa. Click the John F. Ross Sr. label at the bottom of the article to see more articles about him.

Military Monday - Valor awards for Jack D. Alexander - Military Times Hall of Valor

I found this on the Military Times Hall of Valor website. Jack D. Alexander was my 1st cousin, twice removed on my mother's side, meaning he was my grandfather's first cousin, the son of his mother's brother.

Jack's name appeared in Wayne A. "Johnnie" Johnson's list of POWs that died in captivity during the Korean War. Johnson risked his life to record names while he was captive so that fellow POWs would not be forgotten and their families would know what happened. Johnson received the Silver Star for maintaining the list during captivity.

Valor awards for Jack D. Alexander | Military Times Hall of Valor

Corporal Jack D. Alexander, Army

For service as set forth in the following:
CITATION:

Corporal Jack D. Alexander (ASN: RA-16289592), United States Army, was held as a Prisoner of War after he was captured on 12 July 1950 during the Korean War. He was unaccounted for after the war and is presumed to have died or been killed while in captivity.

Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office

ALEXANDER, Jack Duane,PFC -- 501119 -- 21 Inf -- Eildeaur, WI

The list indicated that Jack D. Alexander died November 19, 1950. Eildeaur apparently refers to Endeavor, WI and the Jack's memorial at Westfield East Cemetary says his middle name was David.

Memorial at Westfield East Cemetery, Westfield, WI

Sunday's Obituary - John Franklin Ross

This is the obituary of my 2nd great grandfather, John Franklin Ross. Unfortunately there is no publication information on the source document. It was likely written by his family and published in the Rockwell City or Lake City newspaper near his home in Iowa, in the days following December 13, 1934.

Treasure Chest Thursday - Vilas Parker's Missing Air Crew Report

Cropping of crew list from MACR 4882

Last fall I purchased the Missing Air Crew Report (MACR) that pertained to my 2nd (oops) 1st cousin (twice removed), Vilas Parker. The twice removed part just means that he was my grandfather's first cousin. I wrote about his loss in World War II in this article from August 2010. Just to recap, Vilas was a Staff Sergeant attached to Merrill's Marauders. He was killed, along with 6 others, on May 22, 1944 when the C-47 he was on crashed in bad weather in the Kachin Hills, a mountainous area in a remote part of Burma. The aircraft was found accidentally in 1987 and some remains of the crew were returned to family in the US.

The story is interesting to me in several respects. First is the family connection to the famous Merrill's Marauders, which was a special forces unit during World War II and is connected to today's US Army Rangers. The story of the aircraft being found over 40 years later is also amazing to me. Another twist of fate is that the aircraft was lost on May 22, 1944, which was also Vilas's birthday.

A C-47 drops rations in Burma in 1944

The actual transaction to get the document went very poorly. I decided to pay $10 and go through the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) to receive scanned microfilm on CD. All I had was the MACR number, which was 4882. I had to bounce this number off the microfilm catalog M-1380. MACR 4882 was listed as being on microfilm number 1742. Fiche 1742 was supposed to contain MACR 4880-4882, so I ordered it. Unfortunately, I received fiche number 576 that included MACR 1740-1742. Apparently there was some confusion between the MACR 1742 and fiche #1742. I followed the instructions for ordering and I'm pretty sure I did it correctly, so I think the problem was on their end. NARA apparently doesn't staff their phones very well and they don't monitor or respond to e-mails. I spent hours on hold and sent several e-mails requesting clarification, but I received no responses and never got someone to pick up the phone. I sent a couple requests via their web inquiry form and that was finally what it took to get a response. After about a month, I finally received MACR 4882, but I received a printed version rather than the digitized records on CD that I ordered. Honestly I felt lucky to receive anything. I'm glad I got the documents, but I doubt I will be ordering too many more documents from NARA.

Click read more to see the documents I received...

Wordless Wednesday - Frank and Clara Fowlie with flowers

This is a scan of a slide from my grandmother's collection showing my great grandparents, Frank and Clara (Ross) Fowlie, on a visit to Elvis Brassfield's farm in Reeseville, Wisconsin.The photo dates to the mid-1960s.