Forum Magazine - Spring 2021

70. Marcus T. King, Van Wert Arbor (OH) Staff Sgt. Marcus Theodore “Ted” King was killed Dec. 17, 1944, in action in Germany with the 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. At the time, the units were clearing German forces west of the Roer River. King, 26, had joined Van Wert Arbor three years prior to his death. He was survived by his wife, Mary Helen King; a son, Jerry D. King; parents, Daniel and Minnie King; and one brother and two sisters. He is buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Ohio City, Ohio.

71. Earl L. Legg Jr., Kankakee Arbor (IL) Army Pvt. Earl L. Legg, a medic with the 115th Infantry Regiment, was killed Nov. 28, 1944, during the Rhineland Campaign in Germany.

Legg was giving aid to a wounded officer when an enemy artillery shell landed nearby and killed Legg. He was 31 and had been a member of the Kankakee Arbor for more than four years. He was survived by his wife, Maycel Legg of Chicago; his parents, Earl and Alice Legg of St. Anne, Illinois; and two sisters. Legg is buried at Kankakee Memorial Gardens and Chapel Mausoleum.

72. Kenneth Goldsmith, Ottokee Arbor (OH) Seaman Second Class Kenneth Goldsmith was killed Nov. 20, 1944, in the Pacific. He was aboard the USS Mississinewa, a Navy fleet fuel ship. It was sunk by a Japanese manned suicide torpedo while the Mississinewa was anchored at Ulithi atoll in the Caroline Islands.

Goldsmith is buried at Pettisville Cemetery in Pettisville. He was 19. His father had taken out his first Junior Policy in 1939, and Kenneth later signed up for a Twenty-Pay Policy with a war clause.

73. Lester E. Aiston, Lulu Arbor (MI) Lester Eugene Aiston, 19, died in action Oct. 24, 1944, during the Leyte Gulf landings in the Philippines. He was a Ship’s Cook Third Class aboard the infantry landing craft LCI-65 when it was hit by a suicide aircraft, one of the first of many kamikaze planes that the U.S. Navy would face. Aiston enlisted Jan. 11, 1943. He had been a member of Lulu Arbor for seven years, and had worked for E.S. Holtcamp Trucking Co. He is buried at Lulu Cemetery in Ida, Michigan.

74. William W. Turnbull, Ottokee Arbor (OH) Army Pfc. William W. Turnbull was 19 when he was killed in action Dec. 17, 1944, in Germany. Turnbull had enlisted at Toledo only 15 months before. He had listed himself as an actor when he enlisted. Turnbull is buried near his father in Wauseon Union Cemetery in Wauseon. Turnbull had been a member of Ottokee Arbor for five years, holding a Junior Gleaner Twenty-Pay Policy.

75. Paul Leo Branz, Chatsworth Arbor (IL) Sailor First Class Paul Leo Branz of the U.S. Naval Reserve was killed in combat Dec. 13, 1944, aboard the USS Nashville. The Navy cruiser was assisting with the invasion of Mindoro in the Philippines when it was hit by a kamikaze aircraft. More than 130 sailors were killed. Paul’s father, Ben, had taken out a Junior Gleaner policy for the couple’s son when he was 10. He had been a member with Chatsworth Arbor for nine years when he died at age 19. He is buried in the Chatsworth-Charlotte Cemetery.

76. Harry W. Isham, Wright Arbor (MI) Army Pfc. Harry W. Isham was reported missing in December of 1944 in the Pacific, and six months later was determined to have been killed on Dec. 5. Isham was serving in the Army’s 149th Infantry Regiment with the 38th Infantry Division. At the time, the unit was fighting in Leyte in the Philippines. He had entered the Army on Aug. 9, 1942, in Howell. He was 22 when killed and had been a member of the Society for more than 17 years. He was survived by his mother, Mabel Isham; and a sister, Sarah. His body was not recovered. He is remembered at the Wright Cemetery in Iosco and at the Tablets of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.

77. Arthur E. Brown, Plattsville Arbor (IL) Army Technical Sgt. Arthur “Art” E. Brown was killed in action Jan. 30, 1945, in the Philippines. He was with Company E of the 129th Infantry Regiment as the unit fought to retake Clark Field and Fort Stotsenburg on Luzon Island. Brown, 24, had received a Junior Gleaner policy from his father at age 12. He was survived by a wife, Alice; and his parents, Frank and Elva Brown. He is buried at Aux Sable Grove Cemetery in Yorkville, Illinois.