Remembering Two Veterans

This Saturday, November 11, is Veterans Day. Veterans Day originated as "Armistice Day" on November 11, 1919, the first anniversary of the end of World War I. Congress passed a resolution in 1926 for an annual observance, and November 11 became a national holiday beginning in 1938. Unlike Memorial Day, Veterans Day pays tribute to all American veterans--living or dead--but especially gives thanks to living veterans who served their country honorably during war or peacetime.

Practically every family has one or more veterans in its family tree: living and dead. My assorted families are no exception; and, I have written about a few of them. In honor of Veterans Day, I decided to highlight two World War II veterans for whom I have pictures and some details about their service: One survived the war; one did not.

R.W. Harriman

Robert W. Harriman, 1921-1944, was from Wisconsin. He served

Henri-Capelle American Cemetery - Google image

with the U.S. Army Air Force, 836th Bomber Squadron and the 487th Heavy Bomber Group as a pilot. He was killed over Germany on December 24, 1944. He is buried in the Henri-Capelle American Cemetery in Liege, Belgium. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, and a Purple Heart.  The Henri-Capelle Cemetery possesses military historic significance as it only holds fallen Americans of two major offensives: first, the U.S. First Army's drive in September 1944 through northern France, Belgium, Holland, and Luxembourg into Germany; and second, the Battle of the Bulge occurring December 1944-January 1945 in Belgium and Luxembourg. Robert is my husband's 3rd cousin 1x removed.

G.S. Oliver

Glenn Stuart Oliver, 1919-2012, was a member of the Minnesota National Guard that was ordered to Federal duty in 1941 as a member of A Company, 194th Tank Battalion. He was stationed in the Philippine Islands when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. Ten hours later, he lived through the bombing of Clark Air Base on Luzon Island, Philippines. For fourth months he fought with other soldiers to slow Japan's conquest of the Philippines. On April 9, 1942, he became a POW when Bataan was surrendered to the Japanese. He was part of the infamous Bataan Death March. As a POW, he was held at Camp O'Donnell in the Philippines. He, along with other POWs, was selected for transport to Japan in early October 1944. His POW detachment was sent to the Port Area of Manila. [1]

Arisan Maru - Google image

One thousand eight hundred three POWs were boarded onto the Arisan Maru on October 11, 1944. On October 24, 1944, late in the day, the ship was in the Bashi Channel of the South China Sea. The POWs, on deck preparing dinner, watched the Japanese run to the bow of the ship and then to the stern. The ship had been hit by two torpedoes. The POWs were forced back into the holds, and the Japanese covered the hatch openings with their covers: They then abandoned ship. After the Japanese were gone, the POWs climbed onto the deck. Most had survived the attack. For two hours, the ship got lower and lower in the water. Those POWs who could not swim raided the food lockers, as they wanted to die with full stomachs. At some point in time, the ship broke in two. POWs took to the water on anything that floated. Some swam to nearby Japanese ships, but they were pushed away by Japanese sailors with poles. Five men found an abandoned lifeboat with no oars. During the night, they heard the cries for help which faded way until there was silence. Glenn was one of nine men who survived the sinking. Glenn Oliver is the 2nd cousin 2x removed of my children.

As we pause on November 11 to honor all our military veterans, living and dead, it is good to remember the words of Patrick Henry, one of our country's found fathers: "The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave."

[1] The Battle of Bataan and the 194th Tank Battalion. Minnesota National Guard, www.minnesotanationalguard.org/bataan/The_Battle_of_Bataan_and_the_194th_Tank_Battalion.pdf

A Civil War POW

Originally known as Camp Sumter, Andersonville was a Civil War POW camp located in southwest Georgia from February 1864 to the end of the war in April 1865. Of the nearly 45,000 captives - soldiers and civilians, 30,000 died of starvation, scurvy, diarrhea, dysentery, and exposure to the elements – more than 30 a day during the time Andersonville was operational.1 William Chatfield was one of those unfortunate beings.

William was born 1842 in Quebec, Canada. In 1851, the Canadian census has him living in Dunham, Missisquoi County, Quebec, which is just north of the Vermont-Quebec border. In 1861, William ventured south to Vermont and volunteered for the Vermont Infantry. He was a corporal in Company F, Regiment 10. Whether it was for a sense of adventure, political ideology, having relatives in the “North,” or something else, it was not uncommon for young Canadian men to venture to the United States and volunteer to fight in the Civil War. 

William was captured in Virginia on October 11, 1863, by the Confederate Army. The Army of the Potomac and the Army of Northern Virginia, commanded by Generals Meade and Lee respectively, were involved in the “Bristoe Campaign” - a series of battles in Virginia. William was probably captured at Brandy Station, Virginia, as that is the location of Meade’s troops on October 11, 1963. Since Andersonville did not begin operation until February 1864, William obviously was kept elsewhere before ending up at Andersonville. 

Upon his arrival at Andersonville, he would have observed the scene as described by Robert H.

Kellogg, sergeant major, with the Connecticut Infantry:

"As we entered the place, a spectacle met our eyes that almost froze our blood with horror, and made our hearts fail within us. Before us were forms that had once been active and erect . . . now nothing but mere walking skeletons, covered with filth and vermin. . . . In the center of the whole was a swamp. . . and a part of this marsh. . .had been used by the prisoners as a sink and excrement covered the ground, the scent arising from which was suffocating."2

As soldiers and civilians died, they were buried in trenches without formality. On September 14, 2015, a funeral was held for 13,000 soldiers. Today, Andersonville is a National Cemetery. Andersonville has also become home to the National Prisoner of War Museum.

Corporal William Chatfield died on May 20, 1864. The official cause of death was diarrhea. He is buried in grave 1228. William Chatfield is my adoptive father's (Frank Newhouse) 4th cousin two times removed.

1 - Gast, P. (2015, September 18). Funeral for 13,000; Andersonville prison dead brings closure. Retrieved August 22, 2017, from http://www.cnn.com
2 - Kellogg, Robert H. Life and Death in Rebel Prisons. Hartford, CT: L. Stebbins, 1865.