Arthur Dale Starkey, sometimes referred to as Archie, was born on 4 October 1916, in Mount Vernon, Illinois. His parents were Clyde W. and Lola Bell Yearwood Starkey. When Arthur was born, his parents had been married for 10 years and already had a son Leroy and two daughters—Mildred and Helen. Arthur’s father, Clyde, was born in Indiana while Arthur’s mother was born in Jefferson county, Illinois. After their marriage, Clyde and his wife Lola seemed to live for some time in Rochelle and in Mount Vernon, Illinois. But they eventually settled in Peru, Illinois, prior to 1918. In Peru,…
PVT James Reynolds, Service No. 386368
James Reynolds Jr. was born on 6 December 1920, in Deer Park, Illinois—an unincorporated area in LaSalle Township. James was named after his father, James Grover Reynolds, who was born in Jonesville in 1892. The Reynolds family had lived in the LaSalle area for a long time. James Junior’s great-grandfather, Henry Reynolds, moved to America from England possibly in the 1850s. On 5 July 1857, he married Hannah Johnson, a young lady from New Jersey who had moved to Illinois. They initially settled in Ophir Township. By 1870 they had moved to Deer Park and had six children one of…
SF 3/C Robert Godfrey Reinhard, Service No. 7251857
Robert Godfrey Reinhard was born on 17 August 1921, in LaSalle, Illinois, to John and Hannah Medill Reinhard. His parents had been married for 12 years when he was born and already had three other children: Lawrence, Lucile, and John. Robert’s father, John, worked as a shipping clerk for the cement company. All but one of Robert’s grandparents were no longer living when he was born. So possibly the only grandparent he knew was his maternal grandfather James Medill who lived in LaSalle. James had sailed to American from Scotland in the 1850s and found work as a miner. When…
PVT Edward Bernard Pilch, Service No. 36060260
Edward “Bo” Bernard Pilch was born on 2 May 1916, in LaSalle, Illinois, to Ludwig and Bernice Bak Pilch. Ludwig and Bernice were from the Marcowka area in southern Poland and had emigrated to the United States in 1905. They settled in LaSalle, and Ludwig got a job working at the Matthiessen and Hegeler Zinc Company. About a year after arriving in America they had a son Albert. Then a few years later they had a son Ludwig in 1909 who passed away when he was five in 1914 from chronic gastroenteritis. Two years later when Edward was born, the…
PFC Edward Albert Pietrowski, Service No. 36430249
Edward Albert Pietrowski was born on 18 October 1920, in LaSalle, Illinois, to Joseph and Veronica Nowakowski Pietrowski. Joseph and Veronica had married the year before his birth on 4 November 1919, in LaSalle. While both of Edward’s parents were born in Illinois, his maternal grandparents came to America from Russia in the 1890s. His maternal grandfather John Nowakowski worked in the coal mines in the LaSalle-Peru area. Edward’s paternal grandparents also immigrated to America but in the 1870s/1880s from their country of birth which was Poland. His paternal grandfather Albert Pietrowski also worked in the zinc works, but passed…
SGT Anthony Joseph Osenkarski, Service No. 277522
Anthony Joseph Osenkarski was born on 16 January 1918, in LaSalle Township to Frank and Helen Mankowski Osenkarski. At the time of his birth his parents had been married for 13 years—his father was in his late thirties and working at the zinc works; his mother was in her early thirties and was raising five other children. They had lost a one-year-old boy three years before Anthony was born. By 1930 when Anthony was 12, his family purchased a different home at 223 Ninth street in LaSalle. His father was still working for the local zinc works. And four of…
2nd LT Ludwig Novlan, Service Number O-2092944
Ludwig Novlan was born on 25 September 1923, in Peru, Illinois. His parents were Martin and Frances Mochnik Novlan, each of whom had immigrated to the United States from Austria in the early 1900s. Ludwig’s parents married in LaSalle county in Illinois on 10 April 1910. He was their sixth child with the following four sons and one daughter born prior to his arrival: Charles, Anton, Amelia, William, and Martin. Four years after having Ludwig, Martin and Frances had another daughter who was stillborn. As a child Ludwig lived in a home on Garfield avenue in LaSalle which had been…
STAFF SGT Lawrence Wayne Watson, Service No. 36485720
Lawrence Wayne Watson was born on 8 March 1925, in Oglesby, Illinois, to William and Mary Nowicki Watson. When Lawrence was born his parents had been married for almost four years and already had two sons Edward and William. Following Lawrence, the couple had two more children: Lucille in 1927 and Leonard in 1928. Lawrence’s father William supported his family by working as a laborer at the cement mill. The family rented a home at 320 Clark street in Oglesby, Illinois. On 13 May 1933, Lawrence’s older brother Edward drowned in the Vermilion River at age 10 after falling out…
SGT Frank Stanley Novitski, Service No. 36063533
Frank Stanley Novitski was born on 17 December 1911, in LaSalle, Illinois, to Stanley and Cecelia Szwajkowski Nowicki. His parents had married about 12 years before his birth in Iwno, Wielkopolskie, Poland. After the birth of their first child in Poland, they left their homeland to travel to the United States. After arriving, they settled in LaSalle and had nine more children including Frank who was their youngest. Frank’s father Stanley initially supported his family by working as a coal miner. Before Frank was born, has family was already living in a home his parents had purchased on the east…
SGT Sylvester Galas, Service No. 36761563
Sylvester Galas was born on 19 September 1912, in Peru, Illinois, to Ladislaus and Mary Wallock Galas. His parents had married on 6 November 1906, in LaSalle, almost six years before Sylvester was born. Prior to Sylvester, they had a son Casimir and a daughter Antoinette. After Sylvester they had two additional daughters, Gertrude and a baby girl who was stillborn. Sylvester’s father Ladislaus was born in Bakowo, Wielkopolskie, Poland and left that country to come to the United States in 1905. Soon after his marriage to Mary, he was working as a steel weigher at the zinc works. By…