A Fort Laurens Soldier’s Life and Death
Many of us are familiar with the many struggles faced by the short-lived garrison at Fort Laurens. Rather than focus on that, I thought I would look at the life, and death, of one soldier in particular. He was a Virginian and his name was Private George Osborne. This branch of the Osborne family has…
Fallen Heroes: Private Francis Blickensderfer
This fallen hero was the descendant of an American Revolutionary War patriot and early settler of Tuscarawas County. He would make his sacrifice in a war to preserve the nation his ancestor helped create. The Blickensderfer family arrived in Tuscarawas County, Ohio with the arrival of Christian Blickenderfer, Jr. (1753-1820) and his family who purchased…
Fallen Heroes: Private Walter A. Smith
The Smith family had travelled thousands of miles to raise a family far from the wars and poverty of eastern Europe, only to have one of their sons give the ultimate sacrifice on a far-off battlefield in France. After John Smith (1869-1953) and his fiancé Mary (1869-1925) married in 1886 in Poland, they wasted no…
Fallen Heroes: Specialist 4 Donald Eugene Allan, Jr.
Typically when I look at the short life of a fallen hero, I trace his roots in the community along his paternal line. In the case of this Vietnam War fallen hero from Midvale, I chose to follow his mother’s family instead. The Chaney family arrived in Ohio in the early 1800s with the migration…
Fallen Heroes: Private First Class John W. Rector
It was the nature of the conflict in Korea that the front lines shifted dramatically, often making it difficult to recover the the bodies of fallen heroes. This Newcomerstown fallen hero, and paratrooper, did not return home for almost five years following his death. The Rector family appeared in Ohio with the arrival of Washington…
Fallen Heroes: Private Thomas J. Forbes
This family had two older sons, both of whom volunteered to serve in the United States military during World War Two. Each would be sent to the Philippines to combat the Japanese, and each would die while a prisoner-of-war. This is one of those sons’ stories. Determining when this branch of the Forbes family tree…
Fallen Heroes: Corporal William Hickman
I discovered when researching the Hickman House in Bolivar that one of the family members had served, and sacrificed, during the Civil War. Needless to say, I wanted to learn more about this fallen hero’s story. The Hickman family arrived in Ohio in 1844 when Daniel Hickman (1804-1886) and his family settled on land in…
Fallen Heroes: Bugler Victor J. Mattevi
This fallen hero’s parents immigrated from Europe in order to provide a better life for their future children in America. Unfortunately, one of their sons would return to a Europe at war and make the ultimate sacrifice. Celeste Mattevi (1868-1940) was born in the southern part of the province of Tyrol in what was then…
Fallen Heroes: Private Oscar F. Nicewander
This fallen hero from the hamlet of Dundee had barely been in service three months when he made the ultimate sacrifice in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. The Nicewander family came to Ohio from Pennsylvania in the first half of the 19th century with the arrival of Peter Nicewander (1809-1882). The family originally settled in…
Fallen Heroes: Private John T. Miller
This fallen soldier, who’s job was to provide comfort and aid to his fellow soldiers, was the first from his conflict to be returned home to his loved ones for burial. He was, of course, not the last. Nicholas Miller (1814-1900) and his wife Catherine (1809-1892) immigrated with their seven children, aged from newborn to…
Fallen Heroes: Seaman 1st Class Jack K. Kellogg
This fallen hero’s family had only resided in Tuscarawas County a short time when the Second World War began and their only son enlisted in the United States Navy. That son, like many sailors before him, met his fate on the seas and his ship serves as his tomb. The Kellogg family arrived in New…
Fallen Heroes: Sergeant John H. Weedon
This fallen hero straddled the Tuscarawas and Guernsey County line during the first half of the 19th century. He left his wife and children in 1840, determined to continue a family tradition of military service. His campaigning took him to Florida and Mexico and, while he survived his military service, he never returned home to…
Fallen Heroes: Private Paul Brewer
This fallen hero saw numerous engagements during three years of campaigning with the Union army. He probably never expected that, after experiencing the violence of war, he would lose his life while safely in the bosom of home. The Brewer family arrived in Maryland in the 18th century, settling in the city of Baltimore, though…
Fallen Heroes: Private Russell Andreas
Some fallen heroes served their country for years before being asked to make the ultimate sacrifice. Others make that sacrifice in the first several weeks or months of their service. Some, like this fallen hero, never survive their first taste of combat. The ancestors of Russell Andreas (1894-1918) settled in Tuscarawas County in the first…
Fallen Heroes: Staff Sergeant Kenneth L. Foutz
The Silver Star is the third highest United States combat-only award. It was established in 1918 as the Citation Star, and it has been awarded posthumously for actions as far back as the Spanish-American War. This fallen hero earned his Silver Star fighting in a jungle far from his Tuscarawas County home. The Foutz family,…
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© Noel B. Poirier, 2023.
Noel B. Poirier 