Soldier News continued - 1943

Chester Dodd & William Beardsley Wounded in Action

Bainbridge News & Republican, August 26, 1943

Two area men have been wounded in action on widely separated war fronts, according to advices just received by their parents.  They are:  Corp. Chester O. Dodd, son of Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Dodd, Windsor [Broome Co., NY], R.D.2, listed as wounded in action in the Southwest Pacific sector.  First Class Private William C. Beardsley, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Beardsley, Harpursville [Broome Co., NY], R.D.1, wounded in action in North Africa.

 

Clarence Meehan Missing in Action

Bainbridge News & Republican, August 26, 1943

 

Word has been received from the War Department by Mrs. Pauline Meehan, of Delhi [Delaware Co., NY], that her husband, Chief Petty Officer Clarence P. Meehan, gunners mate on the gunboat Plymouth, is missing in action.  Mr. Meehan's ship, the former Vanderbilt yacht, was sunk off the North Carolina coast, Aug. 5, by an underwater explosion.

 

John Edwards is Japanese POW

Bainbridge News & Republican, August 26, 1943

 

Mrs. Mary C. Edwards received a card, Saturday, Aug. 14, from the Japanese Imperial Army, stating that her son, Pvt. John Edwards, was being held as a prisoner of war in the Philippines.  It also states that he is uninjured and in fair condition.  Pvt. Edwards was inducted into the Army in March, 1941, and he left for overseas duty Oct. 24, 1941, at Nichols Field in the Philippines.  Mrs. Edwards had previously received word from the Red Cross that her son had been captured but had heard no further word form him until the card came. 

 

Leonard Cone Injured in Africa

Bainbridge News & Republican, September 2, 1943

 

When Mrs. Cecile Cone, of 152 Ninth street, Leominster, Mass., looked at a picture published in the Worcester Telegram of Aug. 11 showing wounded American soldiers being ferried from Sicily to North Africa, she recognized her husband among the casualties.  Today the identification was confirmed by a letter from her husband, P.F.C. Leonard G. Cone, writing from a North African hospital where he is recovering.  The picture is the same in which Miss Harriet Badjo, of 58 Austin street, Worcester, identified her fiancé, Sergt. Robert Herzog, 23, of Washington Heights.  It was an enlargement made from a newsreel shown at Loew's Poli Theatre, Worcester, and removed from the reel by Manager Harold H. Maloney in order to give Miss Badjo a chance to identify her fiancé, whom she was certain she saw when the reel was shown on the screen.  Private Cone and Cecile Guilmette, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Guilmette, were married at Ayer on Sept. 27, 1941.  They have a daughter 17 months old.  The child was four months old the last time the father saw his family.  P.F.C. Cone is the son of Mrs. Ida m. Cone, of Bainbridge [Chenango Co., NY].  He has been in the service six years including three years in Hawaii.

 

Letter from Tony Plosky

Bainbridge News & Republican, August 26, 1943

 

Somewhere in the Pacific

July 22, 1943

Dear Editor:

I am safe and feeling fine.  Your papers seem to arrive at the most opportune times.  With all the excitement of the last few weeks--I only wish I could tell you--I have not had much time to think of anything else but war, then your papers come with news of home and my mind has a few minutes rest from this mess.  I am sure that the other fellows from  home who have been in combat or who are still in combat will agree with me that your paper means more to us than  just letters from home--yes it means a great deal to us boys out here in the Pacific.

 

People back home would laugh to see us when we get a letter--we first read the body of the letter over fast, then slowly, studying every word.  We then look at the date and return address.  Next we take the envelope and shake it and look inside to see if there might not be more.  Then we look a while at the address, the American stamp, and the local postmark beside the stamp.

 

These men do not like to exaggerate their trials.  In fact do not like to talk about them.  One can not help but that the enemy made a careful study of our psychology and ways of thinking and living, and used this knowledge against us in this campaign.  Most of us consider night as a time for rest and sleep, but very little have we gotten in the past few weeks.  We all thought we had had it tough for the past 10 months--but our past few weeks none of us will ever forget as long as we live.  The experiences we went through and this incredible strain lasted not one or two days or nights but persisted for some time.

 

Boy it sure will be a wonderful feeling to come in under the Golden Gate after being away for so long--but I am going to try and stick this thing out to the finish.  We have high hopes of coming home for Christmas to rest up, if we don't there will be a lot of disappointed men, including myself.  We were here in the Pacific last Christmas.

 

I sure was surprised to hear about Alice joining the WINGS.  I hear from her often and I am glad that she likes it.  I also received a letter from Capt. Ben Dodge.  I am sure we are close to each other, but haven't had any luck seeing him yet.

 

Give my best regards to every body and thanks  a lot for sending me the News.

Regards,

Tony

A. Plosky, C.P.O.