PFC Willmer Dale Gisinger, also known as Dale, was born on 23 October 1925 in Decatur, Illinois, to Ferrill and Chloe (Higgins) Gisinger. Dale grew up with his two older sisters and younger brother in central Illinois, where his family resided in communities such as Cisco, Magnolia, and Wenona. In July 1938, the Gisinger family suffered a devastating loss when Chloe passed away shortly after the premature birth of a baby daughter, Ruth Ann, who also did not survive. Following Chloe’s death, Ferrill remarried and relocated his family to Altamont in Effingham County, where he worked as a lineman for…
Category: Military History
PVT Robert F George, Service No. 36689944
Private Robert Francis George was born on 20 June 1925, in LaSalle, Illinois, into a family that knew both joy and sorrow. He was the second son of Frank George and Marie (Essl) George. His older brother, Francis, was stillborn the year before Robert’s birth. Robert’s early years were shaped by family hardships and the strength of those who surrounded him. His mother’s health had been frail since childhood, a consequence of surviving a severe smallpox epidemic that claimed her father when she was still a teenager. When Robert was almost two years old, tragedy struck again. His mother went…
PVT Donald J. Geyde, Service No. 36029433
Donald Joseph Gedye was born on 31 December 1917, in Davenport, Iowa, to Charles and Ann (Pryde) Gedye. He spent his formative years in Oglesby, Illinois, a small city nestled along the Vermilion River. The youngest of three brothers, Donald grew up in a close-knit family that valued hard work and community. His father, Charles, and his two older brothers, Robert and Charles Ronald, worked as electricians at the local cement mill, a key industry in the area. Donald, too, worked at the cement mill but distinguished himself by taking a laboratory position. The Gedye family had deep roots in…
PVT Edward Dombrowski, Service No. 36397242
Edward Dombrowski was born on 13 February 1917, in Peru, Illinois, to Vincent and Mary (Mikus) Dombrowski. About 10 years before his birth, Edward’s father, Vincent, emigrated to the U.S. from near Ostrołęka in Poland. Edward’s mother, Mary, was born in Illinois to Polish immigrant parents, John and Ann Mikus. The couple married on 01 October 1912, at St. Valentine’s Church in Peru and made their home in the small community, with Vincent working as a laborer at a local zinc company. Edward was the couple’s fourth child. Tragedy struck the Dombrowski family early and often. When Edward was just…
SGT Walter Jerome Domkoski, Service No. 36314241
Walter Jerome Domkoski was born on 30 October 1919, in Oglesby, Illinois, to Polish immigrants John and Antoinette (Kruswicki) Domkoski. His mother had immigrated to the United States with her parents in the late 1800s, while his father arrived from Poland in the early 1900s. The couple married on 6 February 1907, and initially settled in Peru, Illinois, where John worked as a coal miner, like many of their neighbors, who were also Polish immigrants. By 1920, the Domkoski family had moved to, a neighborhood in Oglesby known as Crocketville. By 1930, they relocated to 773 Hazen, just west of…
Using ChatGPT (AI) to Write a WWII Soldier’s Story
Genealogists love to research. It’s the thrill of the hunt and the rush of new discoveries. It’s meeting new ancestors and learning their stories. Many of us eventually want to share what we find with others and in trying to do so can get overwhelmed with putting all that wonderful research into words. Even for those of us who love to write, just getting started can often be a hurdle we need to overcome. To help me with this, I have started using AI to get the party going so to speak. While I occasionally leverage AI when I get…
Map Your Civil War Soldier’s Experience using AI
In the past I have spent considerable time figuring out where a Civil War soldier was stationed as his regiment navigated its mission throughout the war. Sometimes I have been able to extract this information from a book and other times I have relied on the National Park Service (NPS) website. The NPS typically lists places a battle unit has been and battles or other action in which it participated. Here is an example of their listing for the 65th Regiment, Indiana Infantry: As you can imagine getting all of this information into a simple list of locations and actions…
PFC JOHN ANTHONY TORCHIA, SERVICE NUMBER 36438620
John Anthony Torchia’s story is a poignant reminder of the human cost of war and the valor of those who serve. He was born on 27 June 1922, in LaSalle, Illinois, to Anton and Angelina (Colmane) Torchia, immigrants from Parco, Sicily, Italy (now Altofonte). John’s father, Anton, had arrived in America in 1912 at age 16, and married John’s mother, Angelina, in 1920. John’s mother Angelina made her own journey of immigration from Italy to the U.S. in 1906 at age four along with her mother and younger brother Antonio. John’s early life was steeped in the close-knit, hardworking community…
PFC Delmar A Delaney, Service No. 36372055
Delmar Albert Delaney was born on 21 August 1917, in Peru, Illinois, to John and Edith (Meyer) Delaney. When Delmar was born his parents had been married for five years and had two older children: John and Lucille. Delmar had Irish ancestry through his paternal great grandparents John and Mary Cusick Delaney who immigrated to America from Ireland in the 1800s. However, he also had a strong German background through his other set of paternal great grandparents Philip Fouth and Philipena Walter Fouth who had arrived in America from Germany in the early 1800s and settled in Bureau county. Delmar…
TEC5 Clement L. Gillio, Service No. 36323575
TEC5 Clement Louis Gillio was born to Italian immigrant parents, August and Angelina (Benedino) Gillio, in Oglesby, Illinois, on 12 October 1916. Clement’s father, August Gillio, had come to the United States at age 21 to join his older brother Antonio. It’s unclear where August first settled upon arriving. However, in Pontiac, Illinois, in 1906, August Gillio married Angelina Benedino, a young lady from his hometown of Cascinette, Italy, By 1910, August and his wife were living in Oglesby, Illinois, and August was supporting his family by working in the coal mine. In 1920 when Clement was three, the Gillio…