Margery Warder

Bio & Contact Info Blog Current Projects Favorite Photos Feeding Body & Soul In Print Elsewhere Prayer Chamber Study Q&A Notes	Two Veterans Reflect By Marge Warder, Christian Writers Guild Member (Article first appeared in Villisca Review/Stanton Viking, November 2007) Where were you on March 6, 1943? Rex Holmes will probably always remember. So will veterans like Elwin Diehl. Though they were worlds apart, their lives and the lives of other Montgomery County veterans and their families were intertwined that day. Word traveled fast and solemnly on March 6, 1943. Holmes, then fifteen, was reading a magazine at the Western Union Office in the old Johnson Hotel when Des Moines indicated it had ‘traffic’ for the telegraph sitting nearby. Holmes’ boss had gone for coffee, but Holmes knew how to operate the machine, so he flipped the switch and told Des Moines to go ahead. He went back to his magazine.
In a few moments he thought it strange the machine had not shut off. Stepping into the area, he saw that it was spewing forth messages, some of which had already run into the wastebasket below the machine. He picked one up and read it. The gravity of what Red Oak, Stanton, and Villisca residents were about to receive hit him. He called his boss and told him, “You better get back here. We’re in trouble.” The boss wondered what he meant, but Holmes told him, “We’ve got a big problem.” When the boss arrived and saw about countless telegrams for families of local servicemen, he offered up a prayerful, ‘Oh, my God.’ Similar prayerful gasps would go up by about sixty families before the deliveries were completed that night. The only information available was that several members of Company M were ‘Missing in Action’ somewhere in Africa. Residents of Stanton and Villisca would have similar news. Young Elwin Diehl had been a part of the 168th National Guard when it was Federalized on February 1st, 1941. He remembers their send-off at the depot as about one hundred and twenty men left by train for a year’s training in Louisiana, complying with President Roosevelt’s plan. Germany had been swallowing up European countries and without greater resistance and support, the world map was going to be pretty much ‘German.’ Winston Churchill talked President Roosevelt into providing assistance in Europe. Japan’s attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, cemented the US’ involvement. The 168th Unit got orders to train in Ireland and Scotland, which they did for about a year before seeing combat in Africa. Rommel, Germany’s ‘Desert Fox’ was intimidating opposition. Landing on Normandy would come later, but strategists plotted to stop Germany by attacking the ‘underbelly’ of the Nazi Regime. Montgomery County’s Company M was to help implement that tactic. Some of Villisca’s men were in Africa, too, as part of F Company, under Battalion Commander, Bob Mohr (???? Or Moore). Later Rex Holmes would see the message Commander Mohr received from planes overhead: “You are surrounded. Get out best way know how.” The Villisca men got a head start and headed out with about six hundred men, many having motorized equipment. They got through three German lines, making use of their now cooperative German officers who had earlier been captured. Leaflets were dropped to Company M’s men also. They had been holding Fiad Pass. Now this rear guard was likewise surrounded by enemy and would no longer have assistance by other US troops. They were told to head back to their own lines at Cassarene Pass if they could. The Company broke into smaller groups of men and began walking out the fifty miles, under the cover of darkness. They began about 9 PM. Diehl said his group of men got through a few encounters with Germans okay. Late the next afternoon, Diehl’s group of men were pleased to hear and see American tanks coming down the road and stepped out to join them. Too late, they realized the tanks were commandeered by Germans. The Germans began firing over their heads and Diehl and those with him were captured. Similar events were occurring for others of M Company, too. That was February 18, 1943. Diehl believes the German strategy to keep prisoners from escaping was to continuously march them so they’d have no strength. When Diehl and others with him were captured, they’d already grown tired from scooting along in the darkness and they were out of food and water. Conditions would worsen for them in the twenty-six months ahead. Rescue by American or British military would not be coming as fighting was concentrating elsewhere on European soil. The Prisoners of War were marched back toward German lines and eventually they crossed the Mediterranean Sea to Italy before being taken by train to German camps for POWs. When the Russian Armies were in the area, POWs were sent ahead of the German troops as human shields. News of the war’s progress was gathered from small crystal sets hidden within the camp. How were they treated? ‘Awful awful.’ Italy and Germany were losing the war and their troops were hungry, so why would they provide for POWs? Red Cross stepped in and provided food parcels for each man each week. But rules don’t work well in wartime. The POWs were given one box to share in the beginning, and less as time went on. Naturally, men were losing weight. Dean Hallbert of Red Oak and a man from Pontiac Michigan were two Americans who were given mock trials and lost their lives at the camp. Diehl commented on how American military seeks to hold to a standard even with enemy prisoners, but such was not American experience when roles were reversed. He did think that the common German soldier on the line was ‘more human’ than those tending to war plans and prisoners far from the front. American POWs, however, were treated better than Russian POWs. The Russians had first seemed somewhat sympathetic to Germany as the war began. However, the Germans were ruthless when they came into Russian territory and word of those atrocities brought vengeance against the Germans by Russians. French POWs appeared to be rather careful in the camps because Germans were quite certain the French were not going to try to escape. In one sense, it seemed the French had plenty of ‘reserves,’ even more than Germany, but once France was invaded, the French apparently lacked ‘resolve.’ America and England would come to their aid against Germany, a country that had prepared well for war. Diehl was a POW in Italy first, then at Camp Stalag VII A, then Fursenberg on the Oder which is also known as Camp Stalag III B, and was liberated by the Russian Army from Stalag III A in Luckenwalde on May 8, 1945. Russians saw that food was brought in to the POWs. Before final liberation, the Russians were intent upon counting the American POWs . However, they were not efficient. Diehl was one who was never counted. They stood for hours in long lines so records would be accurate. But Diehl and others would be near the table and would get out of line and go to the back. They got word that American trucks were behind the camp and the men would sneak out in groups of about ten to be picked up and taken away from the ‘constantly counting camps.’ Perhaps there was a ‘fee’ for each one being returned, but not everyone was accounted for before heading back to the land of the free and the home of the brave! Those nearly twenty-seven months would bring Red Oak’s surviving heroes home at different times as some would require longer periods of recuperation before returning to Red Oak. Diehl recalled how rough and cold the North Sea had been going to Ireland and how the Liberty Ship that brought him back to the US sailed without a ripple those warm days when he returned. As the men arrived in America, barges and ships pumped water sprays to greet them and the Statute of Liberty was a very welcoming sight. As the men left on trains to journey home, the railways were lined with miles and miles of people acknowledging their heroes were returning back home. Diehl spent time at Ft. Leonardwood before quietly returning to Red Oak where he took up farming again, trying to adjust to civilian life without the other veterans who had become like family to him. Rex Holmes, the teenager who’d helped deliver those sixty somber telegrams to families in Red Oak in March, 1943, was not around when the former POWs began returning to Red Oak. Holmes joined the military in 1945, before finishing school, which he later completed and also took some college courses while serving. He liked military life so well he spent twenty-six years as a Marine. His sons all served in the military, too. Holmes spent time in Korea near the DMZ where he received an injury that has plagued him off and on throughout his life. He also served in Viet Nam, China, Hawaii, Japan, and helped train troops at several camps within the US. Romona Jean became his wife on December 28, 1946, and together with their children was often on bases with him except when he was in combat. Jean was from Corning and when Rex Holmes retired, they chose Red Oak as they ‘home’ after being all over the world. They’re glad they did. Diehl married Carolyn Erickson of Red Oak in 1948 and they farmed for ten years before Elwin began his thirty year career with Burlington Northern. Carolyn passed away earlier but Diehl’s daughter Connie McCormick lives in Louisville, Kentucky. The men had thoughts to share with young people. Holmes knows not all would love the military life as he did, but he’d encourage youth to get their education and decide what to do with their lives. Education, he says, is necessary to get somewhere in life. Diehl, who found adjusting to civilian life a challenge for quite a spell, also thinks youth should learn all they can, but especially about US History so they know what our beloved country is built upon in principle and the sacrifices that have given us the freedoms we enjoy. Red Oak has a strong history of active duty with the military since Civil War days. The price of serving our country to preserve freedom has been high from this area’s earliest days. All veterans deserve our respect. I couldn’t help but ask Holmes why he thought so many have served in uniform. His answer? “I guess it’s because they like their freedom!” Thank you to each one, veteran and family, who has helped protect us so we can enjoy the very good life found in the United States!

Two Veterans Reflect

By Marge Warder, Christian Writers Guild Member

(Article first appeared in Villisca Review/Stanton Viking, November 2007)

Where were you on March 6, 1943?

Rex Holmes will probably always remember. So will veterans like Elwin Diehl. Though they were worlds apart, their lives and the lives of other Montgomery County veterans and their families were intertwined that day. Word traveled fast and solemnly on March 6, 1943.

Holmes, then fifteen, was reading a magazine at the Western Union Office in the old Johnson Hotel when Des Moines indicated it had ‘traffic’ for the telegraph sitting nearby. Holmes’ boss had gone for coffee, but Holmes knew how to operate the machine, so he flipped the switch and told Des Moines to go ahead. He went back to his magazine.

In a few moments he thought it strange the machine had not shut off. Stepping into the area, he saw that it was spewing forth messages, some of which had already run into the wastebasket below the machine. He picked one up and read it. The gravity of what Red Oak, Stanton, and Villisca residents were about to receive hit him. He called his boss and told him, “You better get back here. We’re in trouble.” The boss wondered what he meant, but Holmes told him, “We’ve got a big problem.”

When the boss arrived and saw about countless telegrams for families of local servicemen, he offered up a prayerful, ‘Oh, my God.’ Similar prayerful gasps would go up by about sixty families before the deliveries were completed that night. The only information available was that several members of Company M were ‘Missing in Action’ somewhere in Africa. Residents of Stanton and Villisca would have similar news.

Young Elwin Diehl had been a part of the 168th National Guard when it was Federalized on February 1st, 1941. He remembers their send-off at the depot as about one hundred and twenty men left by train for a year’s training in Louisiana, complying with President Roosevelt’s plan. Germany had been swallowing up European countries and without greater resistance and support, the world map was going to be pretty much ‘German.’ Winston Churchill talked President Roosevelt into providing assistance in Europe. Japan’s attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, cemented the US’ involvement.

The 168th Unit got orders to train in Ireland and Scotland, which they did for about a year before seeing combat in Africa. Rommel, Germany’s ‘Desert Fox’ was intimidating opposition. Landing on Normandy would come later, but strategists plotted to stop Germany by attacking the ‘underbelly’ of the Nazi Regime. Montgomery County’s Company M was to help implement that tactic.

Some of Villisca’s men were in Africa, too, as part of F Company, under Battalion Commander, Bob Mohr (???? Or Moore). Later Rex Holmes would see the message Commander Mohr received from planes overhead: “You are surrounded. Get out best way know how.” The Villisca men got a head start and headed out with about six hundred men, many having motorized equipment. They got through three German lines, making use of their now cooperative German officers who had earlier been captured.

Leaflets were dropped to Company M’s men also. They had been holding Fiad Pass. Now this rear guard was likewise surrounded by enemy and would no longer have assistance by other US troops. They were told to head back to their own lines at Cassarene Pass if they could.

The Company broke into smaller groups of men and began walking out the fifty miles, under the cover of darkness. They began about 9 PM. Diehl said his group of men got through a few encounters with Germans okay. Late the next afternoon, Diehl’s group of men were pleased to hear and see American tanks coming down the road and stepped out to join them. Too late, they realized the tanks were commandeered by Germans. The Germans began firing over their heads and Diehl and those with him were captured. Similar events were occurring for others of M Company, too. That was February 18, 1943.

Diehl believes the German strategy to keep prisoners from escaping was to continuously march them so they’d have no strength. When Diehl and others with him were captured, they’d already grown tired from scooting along in the darkness and they were out of food and water. Conditions would worsen for them in the twenty-six months ahead. Rescue by American or British military would not be coming as fighting was concentrating elsewhere on European soil.

The Prisoners of War were marched back toward German lines and eventually they crossed the Mediterranean Sea to Italy before being taken by train to German camps for POWs. When the Russian Armies were in the area, POWs were sent ahead of the German troops as human shields. News of the war’s progress was gathered from small crystal sets hidden within the camp.

How were they treated? ‘Awful awful.’ Italy and Germany were losing the war and their troops were hungry, so why would they provide for POWs? Red Cross stepped in and provided food parcels for each man each week. But rules don’t work well in wartime. The POWs were given one box to share in the beginning, and less as time went on. Naturally, men were losing weight. Dean Hallbert of Red Oak and a man from Pontiac Michigan were two Americans who were given mock trials and lost their lives at the camp. Diehl commented on how American military seeks to hold to a standard even with enemy prisoners, but such was not American experience when roles were reversed. He did think that the common German soldier on the line was ‘more human’ than those tending to war plans and prisoners far from the front.

American POWs, however, were treated better than Russian POWs. The Russians had first seemed somewhat sympathetic to Germany as the war began. However, the Germans were ruthless when they came into Russian territory and word of those atrocities brought vengeance against the Germans by Russians. French POWs appeared to be rather careful in the camps because Germans were quite certain the French were not going to try to escape. In one sense, it seemed the French had plenty of ‘reserves,’ even more than Germany, but once France was invaded, the French apparently lacked ‘resolve.’ America and England would come to their aid against Germany, a country that had prepared well for war.

Diehl was a POW in Italy first, then at Camp Stalag VII A, then Fursenberg on the Oder which is also known as Camp Stalag III B, and was liberated by the Russian Army from Stalag III A in Luckenwalde on May 8, 1945. Russians saw that food was brought in to the POWs. Before final liberation, the Russians were intent upon counting the American POWs . However, they were not efficient. Diehl was one who was never counted. They stood for hours in long lines so records would be accurate. But Diehl and others would be near the table and would get out of line and go to the back. They got word that American trucks were behind the camp and the men would sneak out in groups of about ten to be picked up and taken away from the ‘constantly counting camps.’ Perhaps there was a ‘fee’ for each one being returned, but not everyone was accounted for before heading back to the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Those nearly twenty-seven months would bring Red Oak’s surviving heroes home at different times as some would require longer periods of recuperation before returning to Red Oak. Diehl recalled how rough and cold the North Sea had been going to Ireland and how the Liberty Ship that brought him back to the US sailed without a ripple those warm days when he returned. As the men arrived in America, barges and ships pumped water sprays to greet them and the Statute of Liberty was a very welcoming sight. As the men left on trains to journey home, the railways were lined with miles and miles of people acknowledging their heroes were returning back home. Diehl spent time at Ft. Leonardwood before quietly returning to Red Oak where he took up farming again, trying to adjust to civilian life without the other veterans who had become like family to him.

Rex Holmes, the teenager who’d helped deliver those sixty somber telegrams to families in Red Oak in March, 1943, was not around when the former POWs began returning to Red Oak. Holmes joined the military in 1945, before finishing school, which he later completed and also took some college courses while serving. He liked military life so well he spent twenty-six years as a Marine. His sons all served in the military, too.

Holmes spent time in Korea near the DMZ where he received an injury that has plagued him off and on throughout his life. He also served in Viet Nam, China, Hawaii, Japan, and helped train troops at several camps within the US. Romona Jean became his wife on December 28, 1946, and together with their children was often on bases with him except when he was in combat. Jean was from Corning and when Rex Holmes retired, they chose Red Oak as they ‘home’ after being all over the world. They’re glad they did.

Diehl married Carolyn Erickson of Red Oak in 1948 and they farmed for ten years before Elwin began his thirty year career with Burlington Northern. Carolyn passed away earlier but Diehl’s daughter Connie McCormick lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

The men had thoughts to share with young people. Holmes knows not all would love the military life as he did, but he’d encourage youth to get their education and decide what to do with their lives. Education, he says, is necessary to get somewhere in life. Diehl, who found adjusting to civilian life a challenge for quite a spell, also thinks youth should learn all they can, but especially about US History so they know what our beloved country is built upon in principle and the sacrifices that have given us the freedoms we enjoy.

Red Oak has a strong history of active duty with the military since Civil War days. The price of serving our country to preserve freedom has been high from this area’s earliest days. All veterans deserve our respect. I couldn’t help but ask Holmes why he thought so many have served in uniform. His answer?

“I guess it’s because they like their freedom!”

Thank you to each one, veteran and family, who has helped protect us so we can enjoy the very good life found in the United States!