Volume Twenty Eight, Number 6
Memorial Day 2014
On Memorial Day, Beaumont salutes our WWII veterans
D-Day on the beaches of Normandy, heralding the Allies’ World War II victory over Nazi tyranny, took place June 6, 1944, 70 years ago almost to the day. Relatively few of our veterans took part in D-Day, but all served with honor in that now long-ago war that saw boys rushing to become men. Here, in somewhat arbitrary order (and necessarily—though very reluctantly—edited for space), are some of their recollections. By Isaac (Quartie) Clothier IV Peter Abel served in World War II for two and a half years. After D-Day he was sent to the front in Belgium. Later he was wounded, along with many others, near Aachen, in Germany. For the events of that day his company received a Distinguished Unit Citation for continuing “to push forward notwithstanding casualties.” While in the hospital Peter volunteered to give two pints of blood to save a German officer’s life. Because of his wound he was withdrawn from his unit and thus Veterans continued on page 3
Annual meeting news: Strong finances and a burgeoning new look By Mary Graff Residents who packed the Beaumont Room for Beaumont’s 26th annual meeting May 12 heard only good news:
Photo by Louise Hughes
• Our financial condition remains robust. • We will soon be able to enjoy all of our new amenities (and an end to the sawing and pounding). The residents also re-elected two directors and elected two new ones. Don Trachtenberg and Geraldine Paier were returned to the Beaumont Retirement Community Inc. (BRCI) board, which subsequently re-elected them chairman and vice-chairman respectively, to serve until 2017; Jean Bodine was elected to fulfill the unexpired term of Meeting continued on page 2
Meeting continued from page 1 Robert Herd, who resigned, to serve until 2015, and Roberta Hollingshead was elected to fulfill the unexpired term of Debora Zug, who also resigned, to serve until 2016. Mrs. Bodine and Mrs. Hollingshead were already serving by appointment. Adolf Paier, chairman of the Finance Committee, summed up the 2013 financial report: “Beaumont takes a conservative approach to our financial decisions and we continue to be in very sound financial condition.” (Details of his report are available in the Administration Office.) Housekeeping Director Brock Nichols, who has been coordinating capital project construction, led a slide-show tour of progress to date. He predicted that by the time the Bistro is ready to open the end of June or beginning of July, new construction or renovation in other areas should be completed as well: including the BONNETS BLOOMED last month at Louise Hughes's Easter Coffee new pool and fitness center, the arts studio, the library Social, and Carol Allen's homemade fluffy pink nest with eggs, above, won and Personal Care. first prize. Below, Cally Wheeler (left) and Tony Starr. Chairman Don Trachtenberg, in his Report from the Board, called this major upgrading of Beaumont “an amazing experience—sometimes very stressful and cantankerous and even divisive at times, but in the end, a marvelous endeavor that will have long-lasting results for all of us now and those to follow in the future.” In other action: • Dr. Trachtenberg announced the names of residents who have formed a committee to review Beaumont’s bylaws, and said that all residents will receive both an invitation to submit their suggestions and a form on which to do so. Voting committee members are Birchard Clothier, representing the BRCI Board; Norma Fabian, the BRSI Board; John Lloyd, Finance Committee, and Mary Schnabel (former chairman of the BRCI Board) and Jean Homeier, resident representatives. Ex officio Photos by Louise Hughes members are Don Trachtenberg and John Woolford, BRCI and BRSI chairmen respectively, and Joe Peduzzi, BEAUMONT NEWS The Beaumont News is published by the Beaumont president. residents and staff of the • Dr. Trachtenberg announced staff education awards: Beaumont Retirement Community, the Dr. Edmund Biddle Award for Nursing to Patri601 N. Ithan Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010 cia Dickenson-Perry, Sekisha Moody and Alicia McCullough; the Samuel Ballam Award for Management Editor Mary Graff to Renée Connelly, Wellness Center Nurse Practitioner, Assistant Editor and Production Manager John Hall Graphic Designer TJ Walsh and the Rodman Page Award for Maintenance Study to Photo Editor Louise Hughes Gregory Martin, Maintenance assistant. Events Manager Kim Norrett • Announcing 2013 accomplishments made Proofreader Jennie Frankel possible by tax-free gifts to the Beaumont Fund, Circulation Manager Barbara O’Brien Meeting continued on page 8
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Veterans continued from page 1 escaped the Battle of the Bulge. Upon his return to combat he was captured by the Germans and was a prisoner for about 10 days. He lived on one meal a day: watery soup, black bread and some cheese. Finally he was liberated by advancing American troops.
debrief men returning from B-17 (Flying Fortress) bombing missions. Some were horribly mangled by shrapnel and bullets, and he says he still remembers with horror how young the wounded were. At an air base in France, Paul met movie stars Jimmy Stewart and Robert Preston—both admirable B-17 leaders, he said. After joining Intelligence and becoming a Captain, he fought in the battle of Bastogne, Belgium. In Germany he witnessed some of the results of those B-17 raids including the all-but-flattened city of Cologne.
Dr. Eugenio Calabi left Italy with his family in 1938, when he was 15, because of growing anti-Semitism under Mussolini’s pro-Nazi government. They came to the United States, where they settled. Drafted after college in 1943 and given U.S. citizenship, Gene was fluent in French, English and Italian and thus able to act as an interpreter and translator for various Allied troops.
Dr. Jay MacMoran continued his medical studies at St. Lawrence University in the Navy’s V-12 college training program and ended up medical advisor to his Commodore, who commanded four amphibious LSDs (Landing Ships, Dock). They cruised the Caribbean with little action except when a sailor from South Philadelphia was diagnosed with appendicitis. Jay was to perform the operation, but the operating materials were on one boat and Jay and the patient were on another. A zip line between the two boats was rigged. The patient went first, in prone position, followed by Jay. The operation was a success.
Robert McAdoo enlisted in 1941 in the Navy V-7 program, which allowed him to finish college before serving. In 1943 he was sent to Puerto Rico, where for several months he commanded yachts converted to scout for German submarines. Later he was sent to the Bering Sea, north of the Aleutians, where he commanded a mine sweeper. The Japanese had abandoned the Aleutians, so the sea had become the real enemy. His job was to help other boats, such as Russian cargo ships, get safely through the sea.
Alvan Markle III landed at Omaha Beach on D-Day, after the beachhead had been secured, as a Captain and commander of a howitzer-equipped battery. He fought in the Battle of the Bulge and witnessed the horrors of Buchenwald. Among his medals are the Military Order of Foreign Wars, Past Commanders insignia; the European Campaign Medal with battle stars for Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, the Battle of the Bulge and Central Europe campaigns, and the Croix de Guerre from General Charles de Gaulle. (Details of Alvan’s service appeared at length in the Beaumont News last October.)
Frank Boyer enlisted in the Army Air Corps when he was 17 and then spent nearly two years in Air Force Officers training before the War’s end brought release from duty. He received basic training, college training, gunnery training and training in B-29 flight engineering at 13 different bases over 20 months in various parts of the country. Paul Wexler was shipped to England after graduation from the Army Air Force Training School to
Mike Bailey's column will resume in the July edition.
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Dr. John Carson joined the Navy’s V-12 program at Swarthmore College and saw active duty as the medical officer for a destroyer division of four ships. He remained in this job during the Korean war.
Of course, Alan was a writer for the Radio Corporation of America, not an electrician. Eventually he was put on special assignment to the Information and Education Branch as a writer and producer for a new program designed to inform our soldiers about the reasons for the war—what it was they were fighting for. Many new recruits didn’t even know who Hitler was! The film that resulted from this effort achieved wide distribution and success in the U.S. and abroad, and in due course work started on developing a sequel to persuade the American public to treat returning soldiers as heroes, not vagrants, as had been the sad lot of many World War I veterans. Unfortunately, because of what Alan calls “the madness of things,” the Army lost all records including the film and the sequel was never made.
Robert Copeland was drafted into the Army infantry in early 1944, and after basic training was shipped to France with others to relieve the 29th Division in combat. This started him living in trenches, going on scouting missions and fighting off German forays at night. On one scouting mission his group ran across a German shaving himself. The German glanced at the Americans but just went on shaving. The order was given, “Leave him alone!” and they did. Later on, when Bob was severely wounded, his buddies found him a small hut in which to wait out the shelling. Three German shells exploded nearby, but missed him. He celebrated V-E Day (May 8, 1945) in a hospital in Coventry, England, and to his relief he was discharged instead of being sent to the Pacific.
Raymond Freudberg, then an accounting student at the Wharton School, enlisted with the Army Air Force at the age of 19 and trained to be an Air Force technical clerk concentrating on aircraft parts. He was to be sent to the Caribbean, but was held back when he admitted that he needed arches for his flat feet. Eventually he was chosen for a job with the Air Transport Command (the Army’s airline) in Washington, scheduling men for various flights around the world.
Peter Binzen enlisted in an Army unit that trained skiers in the Rockies. Shortly thereafter the skiers found themselves fighting in Italy's Apennine mountains, but not on skis. Their goal was to drive the German troops off the mountain, chase them across the valley and cause them to surrender at the foot of the Alps. They achieved this goal, but only after heavy shelling with many casualties. One shell landed 50 yards from Peter, killing his captain but leaving Peter unharmed. Peter, a staff sergeant, received a Bronze Star for his performance in combat.
John Place was shipped over to Europe just after the Battle of the Bulge as part of the Tank Corps. He became Sergeant of the reconnaissance platoon of a tank destroyer battalion. They would scout for enemy tanks by jeep, calling in a tank destroyer vehicle to disarm or destroy any tanks they found. He said he saw little fighting and just an occasional enemy tank as by that time the Germans were in disarray.
Alan Tripp joined the Army in April of 1942, one year after his marriage and four years before his discharge. The Army assignment officer asked where he had worked. Alan said, “RCA.” “Good,” said the officer. “You’re in the Signal Corps.”
Dean Snyder enlisted in the Army in 1944 and went to Germany as part of the military police, assigned
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to check the papers of all vehicles at various roadblocks. He was later transferred to Nuremberg, where he had the job of rounding up American deserters, checking the health of many prostitutes, and escorting dignitaries (Mackenzie King, prime minister of Canada; Dwight Eisenhower, and several U.S. senators, among others) to the Nuremberg Trials.
canal, the Russell Islands and Bougainville. Toward the end of the war, he was among aides who witnessed the semi-secret 1944 Honolulu conference attended by FDR, General MacArthur and Admiral Nimitz. Carter Fergusson was NROTC at Yale. After he received his officer's commission, the Navy assigned him to an LST (Landing Ship, Tanker) which he and others took through the Panama Canal to the war in the Pacific. Carter's LST made many landings of men and weapons designed to liberate or control the Solomon Islands, New Guinea, Lingayen and Okinawa. He saw little combat, except once when a Japanese Kamikaze fighter was shot down by one of Carter's gunners. He remembers seeing General MacArthur, twice, first at Bougainville in the Solomons and again at Lingayen.
John Butterworth, because of his young age, enlisted in the Army late in the war. He trained at Fort Dix, where his company consisted primarily of iron workers from Ohio, and only John knew how to type. Consequently he became the Fort Dix company clerk. After training, his company was sent to occupied Japan (the war being over)—except for John. Fort Dix wanted to keep its company clerk. After some shrewd lobbying he was sent to occupied Germany and joined a U.S. counter-intelligence corps in Esslingen, debriefing our agents who had gone behind the Iron Curtain and returned. He also organized a file on Communists.
Curtis Laupheimer enlisted in the Navy as a seaman at the age of 17. He excelled at radio and radar and was assigned to an LCI (Landing Craft, Infantry) vessel which traveled in a flotilla of nine to the Pacific and Guadalcanal to help mop up the enemy who remained after the island was secured. The next stop was Peleliu, a very small island, no bigger than New York’s Central Park but considered a strategic stepping stone. The fighting was fierce and lasted two months. Because of his training, Curtis became a “traveling repairman,” going from boat to boat fixing radios, radar and generators. Okinawa, “the ultimate hell,” he said, was next. Invited to stay overnight on another ship after he had fixed its radar, Carter declined and returned to his LCI. The next morning he learned that the ship he had worked on had been hit by a Kamikaze suicide pilot and sunk with no survivors.
Dr. G. Clayton Kyle received draft deferment as a medical student. He joined the OSS (Office of Strategic Services, later the CIA) and thereafter was trained as a spy. He was sent to Munich, Germany, where he practiced medicine taking care of State Department personnel and their families—a perfect cover for his OSS assignments. Among these were protecting friendly foreign agents in their “safe houses,” transferring messages and persuading other agents he was for real and not a double agent. He also served as the voice of Voice of America and Radio Free Europe. Lawrence Earle left Harvard when war was declared and served with the OSS. Sent to the Pacific, he saw combat as a general’s aide on islands including Guadal-
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Richard Maass also enlisted in the Navy at the age of 17. He was trained to learn about supplying airplane parts as needed. When the war ended he was transferred to Norfolk as a dispensary agent—the one who paid the men, particularly those coming home for discharge."I never shot at anybody,” he says, “and nobody shot at me.” It is Dick who in recent years has regularly organized the Memorial Day lunch for Beaumont’s World War II vets.
Later Cliff moved to a destroyer engaging in convoy work in the North Atlantic. Still later he was transferred to the Pacific as damage control officer on the St. Paul, a cruiser in Admiral William Halsey’s fleet. The St. Paul, with Lt. Commander Collings on board, is said to have been the last major ship to fire a hostile salvo at Japan before her surrender. Jerome Spiegel, being under-age at the start of the war, did not join the Navy until 1945. After training he was assigned as an electrician’s mate first to a destroyer in the Pacific and after the war to a mine sweeper in the China Seas. He was flown home in 1946.
Fred Brenner enlisted in the Army and served four years. Assigned to the Signal Corps, he became a radio operator, but as a pastime set himself to learn Morse Code. He passed the required test and was assigned the job of copying and translating Morse Code.
Lon Homeier, also under-age at the start of the war, also enlisted in the Navy in 1945, when he joined a group of 100 men destined to become radar technicians. At boot camp they learned that the atom bomb had been dropped, and a few weeks later that Japan had surrendered. With their newly learned skills not now needed, Lon and his group were set to swabbing decks and other less-skilled jobs. He was discharged after a year.
Robert Olson was determined to be a pilot. He passed the Army’s pilots test at age 15 but was told he could not serve until he was 17, and then only with the permission of both his parents. His father agreed, but to his chagrin his mother refused. At 18 he discovered a Navy program which would lead to pilot training. He enlisted and had three semesters of training behind him when the war ended. Having signed up for five years, he was sent to the Wharton School, then to Iowa to learn about codes and navigation, and then to flight school in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Peter Godfrey enlisted in the Navy at age 18. He was sent first to Swarthmore College and then to Notre Dame. As a brand-new ensign he was assigned to PT Boat (Patrol Torpedo) training and ordered to Florida. On arrival, before he had unpacked, he received new orders, this time sending him to San Bruno, California, a racetrack town. There the officers were housed in former racehorse stalls, one of which had been Seabiscuit’s—and that was the one Peter got! After the Japanese surrender, Peter was sent to Pearl Harbor and then to southern occupied Japan, where he remained with the occupation forces for a year.
Cliff Collings, having been in the Army, knew the Army wasn't for him. In 1940 he joined the Navy and graduated from the Wharton School and Officer Candidate School (OCS). When war was declared he was sent to the Caribbean, where he commanded a 90-foot converted yacht that had been equipped to scout the whereabouts of submarines.
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Bruce Mainwaring graduated from Episcopal in 1944 and joined a Navy V-12 program. The Navy sent him to Penn for a semester and then on to Swarthmore. He was there on V-J Day. In his words, “The dropping of the atomic bomb saved my life.” He returned to Penn, where he studied math (needed for navigation) and met his wifeto-be, Peggy, also a math major. Bruce graduated from Penn in 1947.
enlist to help stop them from persecuting my relatives!” When he was 17, with the very reluctant permission of his father, he enlisted in the Navy. It was May of 1945, and the war with Germany had been won, but there was still Japan. In the end he did not see action, but received a commendation for his work helping with the discharge of soldiers and sailors returning from combat. AUTHOR’S NOTE: While I was able to interview most of our WWII veterans, I regret to say there were several, for various reasons—mostly theirs—who escaped me. In addition, there were residents who, though not technically veterans, nevertheless warrant mention here: Eli Burstein, who was automatically deferred because he was doing special research for the armed services, and Libby Adelman (left), who shot rivets into planes for the military and thereby became our own “Rosie the Riveter.” Among residents whose nolonger-living spouses took part in the war is Betsy Stull, whose late husband’s story I happened to collect along the way and could not bring myself to leave out. Lee Stull piloted a glider on D-Day, transporting troops. He was severely wounded when his plane crashed near Sainte-Mère-Église, but he was on target and all the troops he was transporting landed safely. He was rescued by a French family who took him to a hospital run by a German officer who saved his life and became his “protector.” In return, Stull became Hans’s protector when Hans was taken prisoner. They became life-long friends. If there is anyone I missed who was a World War II veteran and should have been included, please let me know and I will submit their stories for the next issue. —Quartie Clothier
Bill Graff enlisted in the Navy as a Pharmacist’s Mate at age 16, having rushed through high school for fear of missing the war. His father was not pleased but had little to say because he had done the same thing in World War I. Bill served in the Philippines, where he helped establish a hospital in the jungle. He started college when the war was over, but was recalled during the Korean war and served two years with the Armed Services Medical Procurement Agency. Richard Tilghman signed up for ROTC courses at Princeton, but really wanted to be a Marine. He made it to the Marines and boot camp at Parris Island, fought at Guadalcanal and Bougainville, and was made Captain. He was in the first wave to land on Iwo Jima, where an exploding land mine badly damaged his hearing. (Only under pressure from his interviewer did he confess that he was awarded the Silver Star for bravery.) Ed Rosen remembers that during a Quaker meeting at his school in 1943, a woman rose to say: “We love our friends the Japanese. We love our friends the Germans. We are taught to turn the other cheek.” Ed jumped up and declared: “I don’t love the Germans! They are not my friends! As soon as I graduate I’m going to
In Memoriam
Tacey B. Hole, April 19, 2014 Sally Linvill, April 27, 2014 Members of the Beaumont Community extend deepest sympathy to their family and friends.
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Behind-scenes reporter finds we appreciate Warfel— and Warfel appreciates us! By Mary Schnabel
We’ve been watching. Every step of the way there has been one Beaumont resident or another following the progress of all the enhancement we are doing . . . to Personal Care, The Bistro and, in particular, the expansion in the courtyard area. We have learned a lot about the building profession and have been faithful and enthusiastic sidewalk supervisors. We have felt those fellows’ pain in the miserable weather. We worry because they aren’t wearing their gloves or they aren’t dressed for the rain. When they are not here on the weekends, we miss them and even long for a sighting when they work inside. They were total strangers, but not anymore. We feel like colleagues with these guys in the hard hats . . . It’s us and them: They do the work and we do the appreciating. In doing this story I knew I needed a face-to-face with a couple of the Warfel workers, so I went to Housekeeping Director Brock Nichols, who has been coordinating the capital project. Thanks to him, I shook hands with Dan, the knowledgeable Supervisor of the Warfel crew, and a nifty young fellow named Bryan. I had a few questions for them and learned the following . . . The actual Warfel team consists of about 12 men; the rest are sub-contractors: plumbers, electricians, tile setters and finishers . . . a total of about 40 people who are here on the job when their part of the process is needed. And yes, this winter gave them more challenges than they liked, but the weather didn’t impact the work schedule as much as we might imagine. What was the hardest problem they faced? It was no surprise to hear it had to do with the interior work in the Mansion and the surprises they found when the original structure was revealed. Like an old staircase they found back where the new bar and Bistro will be located; or a door, hidden for years behind a wall, just where we planned to have a door installed. There were, and continue to be, many challenges along the way — but nothing the Warfel crew can’t handle! An interesting fact for those of us who are in a hurry to see it all finished: The part of the work that doesn’t
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really interest us, the preparation, is 70 percent of the job. The other 30 percent is what Brock calls “the pretty part” and what the contractors call the “finishing”… tile work, fixtures, carpeting, paint and so forth. That’s when we begin to get excited, and what we’re beginning to see now. Is it ever any fun? “Yes,” answered Dan. “It’s fun when we work with people who are interested, excited and happy to cooperate in every aspect of the endeavor. This Beaumont project has been a team effort from the beginning and because of that it has been, not just work, but satisfying and…yeah, fun!” The Beaumont family of residents and staff have been working closely with Warfel and their contractors to make this project a success. And, like Beaumont, Warfel and its crew are very excited to see the finished product.
Dan Platt (left) and Bryan Branch
Photo by Louise Hughes
Meeting continued from page 2 President Joe Peduzzi said 17 scholarships in addition to the Biddle, Page and Ballam awards had been awarded to Beaumont staff. He said the Fund also helped Renée Connelly achieve her doctorate, sent Executive Chef John Bauer to a conference in Las Vegas, promoted Human Resources efforts to provide Information Technology education for all staff, installed new garage gates and implemented the CareTracker point-of-care documentation system in the Health Center and Personal Care. • George Miller, chairman of the Nominating Committee, announced the appointment of Nancy Harris and Ann Louise Strong to second terms as chairmen of the Grounds and Green committees respectively, and Al Rhodes to his first full term as chairman of the Safety and Security Committee. Residents will receive minutes of the meeting in their mailboxes.