Memorial Day 2025

 We remember those who died while fighting for our freedom.

My Dad's brother Arthur died on May 20, 1944 and is buried overseas in the Sicily Rome American Cemetery.   

I wonder when my Grandparents received the news...was it before or after Decoration Day in 1944?

My Grandmother is a Gold Star Mother.   She had 12 sons and 2 daughters.  Five of her sons would serve in the military...one died and two carried wounds for the rest of their lives. 

We visited the cemetery where my grandmother is buried.  Someone moved her Gold Star Mother marker over onto my grandfathers grave.  Well you can bet I moved it right back when it belongs. 

My Dad does still not have a Veteran's flag holder but someone left him a flag. 

Far Side

1944

 When we were going through some of my parents "stuff" we found a letter.  It is from my Uncle Arthur written to my Dad on January 14, 1944. 

Dear brother Jacob,

Received your Christmas card yesterday thanks a lot for it.

I suppose that you already know that I am in North Africa.  I suppose you are having a good time there out West.  At least I had a good time in Montana boy I wish I was back there.

These natives around here sure live like pig.  It sure takes a letter a long time to get here almost a month.

Is Hannah Kangas working in the same factory as you and Walter? 

I got a letter from Hugo the other day hes expecting a furlough pretty soon, that boy sure deserves one. Well this paper is getting pretty well filled up so I guess I have to sign off.  Take it easy and have a good time. 

Your brother Arthur

A few things to note about the letter...

Walter was known as Bee Kangas...Bee was a year older than my Dad...they went out West to work in the shipyards with Bee's Mother Hannah, my Dad worked on the gun turrets when he was 17 years old. 

Hugo was Arthur and my Dad's brother who was in the Army. 

Note the censors 's stamp in the upper left.

Four months after this letter was written...

Arthur died in the Invasion of Italy May 20, 1944 and is buried at The American -Sicily Rome Cemetery in Nattuno, Italy.  He was 23 years old.

Here is a link to more of Arthur's Letters. 

Far Side

Remembering

 Remember those who never came home. 

My Uncle Arthur ( my Dad's brother) was killed during the invasion of Italy.  His body remains at the Sicily-American Cemetery and Memorial.

Far Side

Four Letters: 1943

 Yesterday I got the letters from 1943 transcribed.  

Letters from Arthur E Yliniemi to his cousin Lila. Arthur’s father and Lila’s mother were brother and sister.   Arthur is my Dad's brother.  Arthur was born in 1920.  The letters were written from Camp Clairborne Louisiana in  mid 1943.   Arthur  lists his address as Co A 409 Infantry

Photo of Arthur taken when he was on furlough in Minnesota

 May 31, 1943

 Dear Cousin, Here Im’ back from my furlough, I’m having a heck of a time getting used to Army life again.

Well I got some sad news I think my brother Hugo went across the other week. 

How is the weather there is it just as nice as it was a week ago.  The weather down here sure is hot.  It just about burns me up.

Boy oh boy I wish I could get transferred to some northern camp away from the sunny south.  

How is every little thing treating you.  I am just fine waiting for this war to end. 

I suppose Hugo (Lila’s husband) is busy rearing sheep.

By the way I got to do KP tomorrow. So have it pretty easy tomorrow.  For you know I rather do KP than go out in the field and trill.

One dam thing with me when I write a letter I don’t know what to scribble and when a person is here it is the same old stuff day in day out so a person don’t have any news.

It’ll be so long for this time next time some more  Your Cousin Arthur

***************************

June 12, 1943

Dear Cousin Lila, There I come again with a few lines of bullshit that about all I can scribble for I haven’t any news.

By the way I have some news, my feet are pretty darn sore after marching a 32 mile hike the other night.  Was it ever a tough one.  We worked all day Friday and four o clock we started on that long march.  It was three o clock in the morning before we got through with it.  Every dam bone in  my body was aching that I couldn’t even lay still in bed.  Week after next we are spotted to make 40 miles.  I hate thee heck to see that day come. 

So Walfred has to go for the examination too, I sure feel sorry for him if he gets into this branch of the service.

I wish I could get part of the cool breeze you have up there north for the weather down here sure makes me sweat like an old plow horse.  It’s been 115 in the shade for the last 4 days boy that is too hot for any man.

I received a letter from Alvin the other day and I got just through answering it.  He wrote that the weather down there was to hot for him down there.

This Camp itself isn’t so bad but there suppose to give the toughest training than any other C and I can feel it too.

My bullshit box is getting empty.  So I will close So Long Your Cousin Arthur  PS If you see Walfred tell hello from me.

******************

July 11, 1943  (Parts of the letter are missing…like a mouse chewed them up.)

I haven’t got any news that I could write about and very little we can write about the army life or movement so that covers most of the news around here. 

Well Walfred did join the Navy a last long time he aimed for it before he join it.  I got a letter from him yesterday he didn’t kick the Navy very much but one thing he doesn’t like to wash his own cloths.  I know if we had to wash our cloths I don’t think I’d ever have a clean rag.

Well the final push to Europe started yesterday I almost bet 2 to 1 before 6 months is over we’ll be running all over Germany or if we don’t get it in 6 months its last about from 2 to 5 years

What is Eino….

I suppose a man can make good money out there but all in all I don’t think there’s anything in it for a family man to move.  

I suppose Hugo  (Lila’s husband) started hay making already like most of the farmers.  As far as everything is concerned I’d rather make hay all year around than staying this army especially in that cool Minnesota weather one thing I know now is hot weather up there in Minn we don’t even know what heat is

I’m telling you when it’s 122 in the shade and take off on a 25 mile hike you can really feel the heat and there’s men passing out left and right from sun strokes and still we got to keep going.  The heck of it is we don’t get only one quart of water for the whole 25 miles.  I’m telling you it is the toughest dam thing I’ve ever gone through.

Tomorrow we have a 11 mile force march we haven’t any dope on that hike yet what it will be like. We even might have to run all the way.  One thing about it if they go faster than 3 miles an hour I’m going to drop out.

Shit on hikes.

Sunday we are going to the rifle range to practice a little shooting that’s about all the news this time 

So Long Your Cousin Arthur

***************

September 17, 1943  In the sticks.

Dear Cousin Lila, Thank a lot for your letter which I received a few hours ago. 

Here we are deep in the woods of Louisiana and two months maneuvers which I don’t like very well but I can’t do a dam thing.

I got a letter from Ma (My Grandmother) today and she said she had gotten a letter from Hugo.  I guess it was the first letter in 4 months since he been overseas.

So Walfred got shipped out of Idaho.  Have you got any idea where he is I don’t think they will send him to the high seas yet.

I heard a rumor the other ay we had a training schedule up to Sept 1944 so I guess it mean that we won’t be send across for a year yet. 

That sure was some thing that Italy gave Arms that shortened the war quite a bit.  We celebrated Italy’s Arms a little bit we had a drink party and I think everybody got drunk.  I sure hope this war is over by Christmas.

So Long Best of Luck Arthur

 *********************

I am not certain when Arthur was sent overseas...most likely January or February 1944.

He was injured or killed  during the invasion of Italy and died May 20 1944.   He is buried in Italy.

At least now we know a bit more about him from his letters to his cousin.

Far Side

Camp Claiborne was located in the Kisatchie National Forest  It is said that Camp Clairborne turned out well disciplined, high spirited and well prepared soldiers.  I found it interesting that the camp  had its own railway system and they specialized in rail sabotage. 

Decoration Day

 I grew up hearing Memorial Day called Decoration Day.  It was to honor those who never came home from the Wars. 

My Paternal Grandmother is a Gold Star Mother, her son Arthur was killed May 20 1944 he never came home, he is buried in Italy.

Far Side

Memorial Day 2020

Like so many things in this Covid-19 world we now live in Memorial Day has changed...although maybe for the better...gosh did I just say that?  More people have had time to reflect on those who have died...hopefully taking a bit of time to reflect on those servicemen who died in the trenches.

My Uncle Arthur  was killed during the invasion of Italy, he died May 20 1944.  He is buried in The American Sicily-Rome Cemetery In Nettuno Italy.  He was 23 years old when he died.

If he had made it home to be buried he would have been buried on this hill in Minnesota.  The first flag in the photo is on my Grandmother's grave because she is a Gold Star Mother.  My Paternal Grandmother was mother to 14 children; 12 boys and 2 girls.  Hugo  and Arthur were in WWII, my Dad, Andrew and Arnold served during the Korean War.  Hugo was injured and spent a long time in Military Hospitals and Arthur never came home.

It is the soldiers that never came back that are honored today.
Far Side

Memorial Day

Memorial Day is a day for remembering those who died while fighting for our freedom.

This is a photo of my Dad's brother Arthur before he went in the service.

Arthur was in the Army.

His grave  at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno, Italy.

Arthur Edwin was born November 6, 1920. He died May 20, 1944 during the invasion of Italy.

I have a file upstairs, knowing that he was in the 340th Infantry the 88 Division I researched troop movements until I gave up on that project.  I always hoped for more information.  It was rumored that my Aunt Marie had all the letters that he wrote...but  they were never found.  ( I think he was wounded and spent some time in a hospital someplace before he died...just from the battles that were fought and the dates they were fought. )  Perhaps someday I will have more time to research some more.

Arthur would have been just 23 years old when he died.  Some family records have him born on November 5, 1920 but his Birth Record says November 6, 1920.
Far Side

From my brother:
The 351st faced heavy fire on 18 May 1944 in its attempt to take Monte Grande, while the 349th and 350th advanced from Roccasecca to the Amaseno Valley, which they cleared on 28 May. After breaking out of the mountains, the 88th Division was thrust right back into combat. They were headed towards the Eternal City.

During Operation Diadem on 11 May 1944, the 349th Infantry attacked Mt. Bracchi, Mt. Cerri, Mt. La Civita, and the town of Spigno Saturnia after a tremendous artillery barrage. By the morning of 15 May, they had accomplished these objectives against strong enemy resistance, and managed to capture numerous enemy prisoners and even a German Panzer. The regiment was attached to the 85th Infantry Division for its attack on Hill 490 on the night of the 15th, and again encountered stiff resistance, but took the hill.^[6]

• First Entered combat: Advance party on night of 3–4 January 1944 in support of Monte Cassino attacks.^[4]
• First Organization Committed to Line: 2nd Battalion, 351st Infantry Regiment plus attachments^[5]
• First combat fatality: 3 January 1944
• Began post war POW Command: 7 June 1945. Responsible for guarding and later repatriating 324,462 German POWs.^[6]

The 88th Infantry Division was one of the first all-draftee divisions of the United States Army to enter the war. Ordered into active military service at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma, the division, commanded by Major General John E. Sloan, arrived at Casablanca, French Morocco on 15 December 1943, and moved to Magenta, Algeria, on the 28 December for intensive training. Destined to spend the war fighting on the Italian Front, the 88th Division arrived at Naples, Italy on 6 February 1944, and concentrated around Piedimonte d'Alife for combat training. An advance element went into the line before Monte Cassinoon 27 February, and the entire division relieved the battered British 46th Infantry Division along the Garigliano River in the Minturno area on 5 March. A period of defensive patrols and training followed. The 88th formed part of Major General Geoffrey Keyes' II Corps, part of the U.S. Fifth Army, under Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark.

After being inspected by the Fifth Army commander on 5 May, the 88th Division, six days later, drove north to take Spigno, Mount Civita, Itri, Fondi, and Roccagorga, reached Anzio, 29 May, and pursued the enemy into Rome, being the first unit of the Fifth Army into the city on 4 June, two days before the Normandy landings, after a stiff engagement on the outskirts of the city. An element of the 88th is credited with being first to enter the Eternal City. After continuing across the Tiber to Bassanelio the 88th retired for rest and training, 11 June. 

Veteran’s Day

Today is the day to thank all the Veterans in our lives. Those that serve now and those who have served.  Air Force, Army, Navy, Marines, Coast Guard, Air National Guard, Army National Guard at home or overseas….THANK YOU!

Far Guy

My baby brother, my nephew, my dad and my husband.  Thank you all!

Luckily these family members made it home.

My Paternal Grandparents were not so lucky. Five of their twelve sons were in the military.

They all returned but one.

My Uncle Arthur is buried in the Sicily Rome American Cemetery in Italy.  He was 23 years old when he was wounded and died during the invasion of Italy.

Some gave all.

Soldiers/Decoration Day

My Dad was in Korea, in fact he was there when I was born.  He found out about me through a Red Cross Telegram.

My Dad and my Mom  in 1950.

Dad was injured by shrapnel and he has photos taken in Korea that substantiates his injury.  All the records burned in St. Louis so he never received his Purple Heart.  I won’t say he came back unscathed, because he has nightmares often especially in the winter.  From what I have heard he didn’t even have an extra pair of socks or winter clothing yet was sleeping in foxholes in sub zero weather.  He survived conditions that are unimaginable to me.  Dad is 88 years old.

*****

These are my father’s brothers, my uncles;

Uncle Hugo was wounded, sent back to the States, endured surgeries and therapy and lived out his days with bullet fragments in his body.

Uncle Hugo and Mia never had any children together.  Mia had children from a former marriage.  They had a Grandson that they raised as their son.  I take flowers here because no one else does…and because I held his hand many days up in the VA Hospital before he died.  He died of Prostate Cancer.

Uncle Andrew

I had not been to Uncle Andrew’s grave in a few years.  Two of his children are dead now…there are a few children left but I wonder if they visit…perhaps a granddaughter visits.  She would have been the apple of his eye.  He was a wonderful man, I still miss him…he lived with us when I was little.  He died of Bone Cancer and Lung Cancer.

Uncle Arnold in Havana Cuba

My Aunt Sharon is still alive and she will take flowers there. Uncle Arnold was another wonderful Uncle taken from us too soon by a swift heart attack in the night time.  He died in the house where he was born.

Uncle Arthur

Died in the Invasion of Italy in 1944.

*********

On a personal note I want to thank my husband for the 26 years he spent in the service.  My baby brother for the time he served in the Navy and my nephew Ben who is currently serving.

Years ago Memorial Day was known as Decoration Day.

Wistful Wednesday: Soldiers

Soldiers..we had a few in my fathers family over the years.
My Paternal Grandparents had twelve sons, five who would serve in the Armed Forces.
My Grandmother must have been beside herself.. the worst news came in 1944  May 20 my Uncle Arthur died and was buried in Italy.  He was killed during the invasion of Italy. He was in the Army 1943 to 1944.

Arthur born in 1920 and died in 1944.

Twenty four years old..seems like so young to die.

My Uncle Hugo served most of his time in Sicily during WW2 where he was wounded.  His left heel was shot off and he had numerous shrapnel wounds in his back near his spine. He was in the Army from 1942 to 1944. Some of that shrapnel remained embedded near his spine until his death in 1987.

My Dad was in Korea when I was born. He was in the Army from 1950 to 1952. Dad was wounded when a round hit his helmet..he didn’t want anyone back home to worry so he never put in for a Purple Heart..but we have photos of his bandaged head.

My Uncles Arnold and Andrew served almost at the same time.  Arnold was in the Navy from 1952 to 1956 mostly in Cuba, and Andrew was in the Army from 1953 to 1955 mostly in Hawaii.
This photo was taken when Arnold and Andrew came home for their Mother’s funeral in June of 1953.  She died of a massive heart attack.
I often wonder..Arnold enlisted in the Navy so that perhaps Andrew would be passed over for the draft. Andrew was a sickly child and teenager..frail..and his Mother worried about him.  ( I think that he was also one of her favorites.)  She died shortly after he was drafted, coincidence..maybe..maybe not.

Anyway..this is the photo I wanted to share today.  My Uncle Andrew on the left with one of his buddies.  Look how close to the White House they are…I bet they strolled through the grounds and probably went inside too.  President Eisenhower would have been in office then..a Military man.  The entire inside of the White House went through a renovation during the Truman years 1945 to 1953.

I can date this photo from 1953 to 1955 because of my Uncles time in service.

We should remember our soldiers not only on Veteran’s Day and Memorial Day.. but other days as well.
Lately the subject of women in the battlefields is being debated.  I say ask the women if they want to go to the front lines..if they want to go then let them..I am sick and tired of a bunch of men telling women what they can and cannot do:)

Update: There is some discussion,  is this the White House or not..I have searched for photos of buildings with columns in between the windows to no avail..if it is not the White House what building is it?