November 16, 2006

Almaden seniors recognize local World War II vets

By Carol Rosen
Staff Writer

On Oct. 9, Almaden seniors recognized and thanked the World War II vets in their Senior Lunch group.

These World War II veterans were honored by their fellow senior on Nov.9 at the Almaden Community Center with a flag cake. Seated, holding the cake are Bob Boydston, left, and LeRoy Rampone. Standing from the left are Ron Genise, Tom Biggs, Nora Curtis, Lee Dugan, Don Collins, Jim Streitwieser and Bill Rudd. Photo by Carol Rosen

Led by Tom McMahon, who emceed the lunchtime program, the group saluted 16 of its fellow members including Nora Curtis, who spent 3 1/2 years of her life serving as a flight nurse in the Pacific during the second war to end all wars. Flight nurses were based throughout the Pacific and would fly one leg of a flight for the wounded changing bandages, hanging IVs and doing other medical tasks.

McMahon, who was 13 when Japanese planes bombed Pearl Harbor, watched his two brothers go off to war. While he never got to fight, he did remember things those of us under 65 never saw such as rationing cards for sugar, butter, shoes and gasoline; saving foil from gum wrappers and Victory Gardens.

He recalled the women who worked to help make airplanes and ships (his mother worked as an electrician building a battleship), entertained GIs as USO volunteers and met troop trains with coffee and doughnuts. Everyone was doing something for the war effort, he said, from older men serving on draft boards and as air raid wardens to citizens buying war bonds.

Bob Boydston was 16 when the war broke out. He and his friends worried that the war would be over before they were old enough to join up. “We were all afraid the war wouldn’t last long enough for us to get in,” he said. But somehow, it lasted longer than they thought and he served his country as an Air Force pilot.

Among the other veterans honored were Ron Genise—who speaks fluent French and Italian, but spent 19 months in the Army, mostly among occupation forces in Japan. Tom Beggs was born in San Francisco. He served in the Army Air Corps based in England as a sheet metal repairman who patched up bombers after raiding Germany.

Melvin Woodall entertains the seniors with marches and war songs on his bassoon. Woodall entertains the seniors once a week. Photo by Carol Rosen

Lee Duggan turned 17 in 1943 and became an aviation cadet. His job was to fly B29s at the war’s end. Don Collins also joined when he was 17. He trained at Treasure Island and served on the cruiser USS Atlanta, was discharged and later recalled to serve in Korea. LeRoy Rampone was a Navy musician who played the saxophone.

Jim Steitwieser flew on C46 cargo planes from India to Kunming, China carrying 55-gallon drums of gasoline. The job was considered one of the more dangerous in World War II, and not all the planes were able to finish their journey. About 13 disappeared during their flights. Bill Rudd was already a member of the National Guard in San Jose when the war started. He was in the 7th Division, which retook Attu, Alaska in 1942, the only North American site captured in the war.

Several of those honored were unable to attend, including Joe Svaboda, who was part of the Normandy Invasion force and saw duty in Cologne, Germany with a side trip to Paris.

George Seyan was a radio operator for the Merchant Marines. He monitored the San Francisco coast for enemy submarines and supplied troops with materials on Guadalcanal and in Australia.

Stephen Popovich flew aircraft from a carrier that based night harassment missions from the 3rd Pacific fleet and later was a test pilot at Andrew’s Air Force Base. Bill Alfrey was in the Army escaping death when a troop ship in his convoy was torpedoed. Herschel Higgins was a prisoner of war in Mooseburg along with Al Reszotarski, who has moved to Texas.

Joe Ackerman served in the Army Air Corps, and Mike Thompson—well, he was too shy to tell his story. However, Thompson had a good excuse for skipping the event because he was cooking for the homeless.