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 treeContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private Thomas J. Forbes”
Tag Archives: Pacific Theater
A “Blue Devil”: Joseph Aloysius Downey
As much as I enjoy researching the family histories of other people, my greatest satisfaction comes from exploring my own family’s history. It is especially satisfying when that research helps answer questions that may have been left unanswered for decades. This is one of those times. James Downey (1847- c. 1910) was born in IrelandContinue reading “A “Blue Devil”: Joseph Aloysius Downey”
Fallen Heroes: Signalman Second Class Charles Robert Maus
When one enters into military service, one does so knowing that there is a possibility that they may be killed while engaged with an enemy. Unfortunately, there is also the risk that one may be killed accidently by their own comrade-in-arms. Charles Robert Maus was the victim of just such an incident. The Maus familyContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Signalman Second Class Charles Robert Maus”
Fallen Heroes: Corporal Melvin Lauver
While many of Ohio’s fallen heroes rest in cemeteries in their home state, many others never returned home. When Uhrichsville’s Melvin Lauver (1915-1943) entered the United States Army in 1942, he and his family never anticipated that he would be memorialized 4000 miles from his hometown. When Melvin Lauver was born in Uhrichsville in 1915,Continue reading “Fallen Heroes: Corporal Melvin Lauver”
A Document Unlocks a Life: Francis McManus
When conducting family history research sometimes a single document holds the key that unlocks an ancestor’s story that otherwise has been forgotten. Just such a document revealed itself while I was conducting research into the history of my great-grandmother Elnor Josephine McManus’s (1890-1975) family. This document, concerning her brother Francis (Frank) McManus’s (1886-1935) admittance toContinue reading “A Document Unlocks a Life: Francis McManus”
10,000 Miles: Jesse William Learish & the USS Asheville
One of the most enjoyable exercises in family history is when one is given a photograph of someone whose name or life has been lost to history. They stare out at you from the image, longing to be identified and to have their story told. My wife’s family had in their collection an image ofContinue reading “10,000 Miles: Jesse William Learish & the USS Asheville”
Noel B. Poirier 