Generations of Heroes

7/21/2019 Generations of Heroes

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2013

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2680 N. Holmes Ave.

Idaho Falls, ID

208-529-4092

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www.edwardjones.com

Our thoughts are with the brave men

and women serving our country and

the ones who served before them.

Rick Excell

556 Trejo St. Suite ARexburg, ID 83440

(208) 356-4456

Chani Trench1271 East 17th St.

Idaho Falls, ID 83404

(208) 528-7258

Joe Haan3387 S. Holmes

Idaho Falls, ID 83404(208) 522-6450

Kevin King2077 E. 17th St. Suite 200


(208) 524-5296

Mike Silver2275 W. Broadway, Ste. A


(208) 529-3635

Zaren Adams

444 RonglynIdaho Falls, ID 83401

(208) 529-6620

Brent Esplin90 South 1st West

Rexburg, ID 83340

(208) 356-0772

Jim Stenbeck1498 Midway Ave. Ste.1

Ammon, ID 83406(208) 522-6538

Brenda Haan3387 S. Holmes


(208) 522-6450

Corbin Snedaker2539 Channing Way, Ste. 206


(208) 552-2509

Brian W. Haney

3417 Merlin Dr.Idaho Falls, ID 83404

(208) 542-0491

Oral Behunin761 South Woodruff


(208) 524-1303

Justin Tawzer291 West Main Street

Rexburg, ID 83442(208) 745-6428

MKT-3673-A-AD Member SIPC



4/52

Generation

Photoscourtesy

AmericanLegion

CortA.Zimmerm

an

Ivan L. Wessel

Jack Jenkins



5/52

s of Heroes

Wayne Schneider

DonR.Wilding

Bob Woods



6/52

6

Table of contents

Major Daniel Walter Davis ............................8

Joe and Ann Marmo ...................................12

William Bill Harvey Craig ..........................18

Orville Nicholson .........................................24

Burton Charles Chuck Vogel ...................30

Charles Abe Thomas Abrahamson .........38

Will Davis II ...................................................44

Join the Post Register in honoring

our nations heroes this November.

November 7-27

at the Post Register

333 Northgate Mile,Idaho Falls, ID

8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.



7/52

Multimedia Guide

As part of this multimedia event, visit

www.postregister.comfor moreabout our local veterans

Slideshow: Check out a slideshow of more photoscontributed by local veterans from their service atwww.postregister.com.

Video: Want to hear more from the veterans featured inthis publication? Watch their full interviews online atwww.postregister.com.

eBooks: Get a copy of this publication and the PostRegisters Our Heroes eBook on your Kindle bypurchasing them online at www.postregister.com.

Fairwinds Retirement Community

Thank you FOR YOUR EXCEPTIONAL SERVICELoves our Veterans

3310 Valencia Drive Idaho Falls, ID 83404(208) 542-6200

www.leisurecare.com/fairwinds-sandcreek/



8/52

Major Daniel Walter Davis



9/52

By Casey [email protected]

Sept. 11, 1944 was one o theworst days o Major DanielWalter Davis lie. It started out

as a bright, beautiul sunny morningand Davis was flying a P-51 plane inormation with ellow pilots.

Te 19-year-old aviation cadetwas in a borrowed airplane because

his plane was shot beyond repair in arecent encounter. Unortunately, justbeore the ormation o Americanplanes reached the enemy planes, thehigh blower went out on the bor-rowed P-51. Tis made it difficult orDavis to keep up.

At one point when the group wasflying over Germany, enemy planes

were spotted and the rest o the pilotstook off, leaving Davis behind withhis aulty high blower. It took himabout 20 seconds to push his planeinto ull throttle, but eventually hecaught up with the rest o the group.When he reached them, they were incombat.

Davis was able to shoot a ewenemy planes down, but beore longhe encountered a serious problem. Hewas hitflames shot up between hislegs, badly burning his ace and body.

9

HOPEMaj. Davis survived airplanecrash, imprisonment

Name: Major Daniel Walter Davis

Born: March 30, 1923War: World War IIBranch of Service: Air ForceEntered Service: Aug. 27, 1940Discharge Date: May 1, 1961Rank Upon Discharge: MajorDecorations and Awards: Air Med-

al (2), Purple Heart (2), Oak Leaf(2), Jump Wings, Prisoner of War

Medal, Good Conduct Medal,National Defense Service Med-al, American Defense Medal,Air Reserve Forces MeritoriousService Medal 4 Clusters, AirForce Longevity Service Award,American Campaign Med-al, Asiatic/Pacic CampaignMedal, European/African/Mid-

dle Eastern Campaign Medal,WWII Victory Medal, Occupa-tion Medal with Berlin Device,Humane Action Medal



10/52

He knew he had to get out.I let the canopy go, said Davis. You have to duck your head because the

canopy dips a little when it comes by you and i your head is straight up itwill take your head right o. I didnt hear an explosion; I just saw the ire.Suddenly I just ound mysel outside o the airplane.

Another American pilot reported that Davis plane exploded and re-ported him killed in action. He didnt see the parachute alling toward theground that carried the badly injured Davis.

he explosion o his plane above his head was so loud that Davis heardnothing but silence as he headed toward the ground. Bullets whizzed by himrom below, but he wasnt hit.

Davis intentionally positioned his body to land in what he thought was alat area next to some woods. He igured he would land and then run intothe woods so he wouldnt be caught.

o his dismay, the spot where he landed slanted 45 degrees to the woods.He said there was no way he could have made it. He landed right betweentwo sets o train tracks. When he stood up ater gathering his chute, the

irst thing Davis saw was a German soldier with his rile pointed at him.He turned and looked down the other side o the tracks to see another rilepointed in his direction.

he soldiers shouted some words in German, which Davis did not un-derstand.

Rechts, Rechts! Tey shoved their guns against his neck and waist.Tey were trying to tell Davis to turn to his right, but because he didnt un-

derstand them, he took a ew steps lef. One soldier raised his gun to shoot, butDavis threw his hands up in the air and allowed them to guide him to the right.

Te ollowing day Davis status was amended to missing in action since hisbody had not been ound. Tirty days later, the Germans reported his name,rank and serial number to the Americans as a prisoner o war (POW).

Davis joined hundreds o others at a German camp. Tey were allotted

10

This painting by Brian Call depicts Maj. Daniel Davis tipping his wing to a fellow pilot he was escorting home.



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11

about 1,200 calories o slop per day and Davis only got two baths during the 8.5months he was held prisoner.

Te Red Cross sent the POWs boxes o ood that were meant to last one pris-oner a whole week, but most o the time they were taken apart and mostly eatenby the time they reached the prisoners. Afer a while, the men were completely

cut off rom the Red Cross packages and only allotted their daily slop. Davissaid he once ound a clump o hair in his stew.At some points the prisoners were allowed a ew pieces o chocolate and cig-

arettes. Davis didnt smoke, and so he traded all the cigarettes he got or choc-olate. Te chocolate pieces were high in calories and very, very dark chocolate.He stored some o them or later and tried to pace himsel so he wouldnt starve.

Davis said the chocolate was diffi cult to eat because it was so bitter, but whenyou are in starvation mode you dont really care. Now he preers sweet candybars like Milky Ways, which are his avorite.

Davis was first liberated by Russian soldiers who imprisoned him in their camps.Te rescued prisoners were given wine, ood and clean clothes. Davis saidsome o the men actually died rom overeating because their stomachs werentused to having all that ood.

Davis was offi cially liberated by Americans on May 17, 1945.Tat December, Davis finally returned home to Payette, Idaho. His twin

brother, who also served in the military, was going out with his girl one nightand told Davis that i he could find someone to be his date he could come along.

Later that day, Davis was walking with his riend, Walt, and they saw a youngwoman walking by in a green Marine uniorm. Davis asked his riend i he rec-ognized her and he said Oh, that is Mickey Rhoades. You went to school withher sister, Lela.

Davis ran ater Mickey and asked her i she wanted to come on a doubledate with him. She said she couldnt go because she had already made planswith her riend.

Davis ollowed her to the coffee shop where Mickey was meeting her riend.Te riend ran toward Mickey and showed her a ring on her lef hand. She an-nounced that she was engaged and that she wouldnt be able to spend time withMickey that night.

Without missing a beat, Davis said So, how about that date?Mickey went on the date, and three days later Davis proposed.Te couple was married or 66 and a hal years until Mickey passed away just

over a year ago. Davis and Mickey have three daughters who also served in themilitary at various times.

I married a good woman and i you have a good woman, you have a goodlie, said Davis. I was sure blessed.

Davis was in the USAF until his twin brother passed away in a car accident in1961. He returned home only to join the FAA later on. He was back to his love

o flying when he became the airspace system inspection pilot. Later he alsobecame a procedure specialist.Davis and his amily traveled to many different countries during his time in the

FAA including Japan and Saudi Arabia. He offi cially retired in 1994.



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Joe and Ann Marmo



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13

By Desirai SchildFor Generations of Heroes

Joe and Ann Marmo were atthe movies when the ilmstopped and someone an-

nounced the A-bomb had beendropped on Japan, signaling theend o WWII.

O course, they were in sep-arate theaters in separate towns

and had never met at the time.Joe, an Air Force navigator, wasstationed in Kearney, Neb. AndAnn Rink was a Nurse Cadet atRochester General Hospital inRochester, N.Y.

I was attending Rhapsodyin Blue, Joe, 88, o Idaho Falls,said. hey stopped the ilm and

somebody came out and told usthat a bomb had been droppedand the war was probably over.We all just sat there in shock,in total silence. Nobody couldcomprehend that one bomb couldend that war. O course, we didntknow about that kind o bomb.

Ann, 86, doesnt rememberwhat movie she was attending.

I remember how happy andthrilled everyone was in our littletown, she said. We all ran out

FATEWorld War II bringscouple together

Name: Joe Marmo

Born: June 27, 1925War: World War IIBranch of Service: Air ForceEntered Service: Sept. 1943Discharge Date: March 1946Rank Upon Discharge:Flight ofcer

Name: Ann MarmoBorn: May 21, 1927War: World War IIBranch of Service: ArmyRank Upon Discharge:Nurse cadet



14/52

into the streets cheering. It had been a tough go and many boys rom ourtown had gone to war. I look at kids that age now and cant imagine howthey could ight a war.

Joe was still a teenager when he enlisted in the Air Force.I was going to be drated anyway everybody was being drated

so I decided to choose the branch I wanted, he said. I was required tohave two years o college and pass the Air Force exam. I didnt qualiybecause I was still in high school.

High casualties in the Air Force assault on Germany made it necessaryto bend the rules.

hey needed men so badly that they waived the college rule, Joesaid. All I had to do was pass the entrance exam. I entered the Air Forcein September, 1943 and served until March, 1946.

Intense training began.

I immediately went to Miami Beach to take months o physical andmental tests to determine i I was qualiied to be a pilot, navigator orbombardier, he said. o qualiy, you needed scores in the range oive to nine. Below ive, you washed out. I qualiied in all three areaswith scores o seven, seven and seven. I immediately went to navigationschool at Williamsport Penn., or physical and mental training.

Eventually, Joe was sent to the Hondo, exas Airbase.I earned my navigation wings in December 1944, he said. I was as-

signed to Drew Field in ampa, Fla., to be a navigator in the B-17 lying

ortress aircrat.he B-17 training prepared Joe and his ellow airmen to bomb Germa-ny rom one o the many airields in England.

I was assigned the Eighth Air orce, Joe said. he irst lyboysassigned to England had an about 25 percent survival rate. We were toldhow lucky our group was because we had a 40 percent survival rate.

Even training was raught with danger.he worst incident occurred when we were lying in close ormation

with our B-17 ortress, Joe said. Something went wrong with the leadaircrat and it took a sudden nose dive and crashed into another B-17. Iwatched the bodies and airplane ly apart by our aircrat.

he incident had a proound impact.During the debrieing, I couldnt stop shaking, Joe said.Fate intervened as Joe was being sent out to England.Just beore we were to make our trip to England we were put on hold

because it appeared Germany would surrender, he said. Eventually, Iwas assigned to the 20th Air Force and selected to train as a navigator onthe B-29 super ortress whose task was to bomb Japan rom some o thePaciic airields.

Ater completing training at Barksdale Air Force Base in Baton Rouge,La., Joe was sent to Kearney, Neb., to pick up a combat ready B-29. he in-structions were to ly to one o the Paciic Islands air bases, such as Saipan,

14



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16/52

to launch a bombing assault on Japan.he night beore I was supposed to

leave, I went to see Rhapsody in Blue.Joe said. hey stopped the movie andtold us about the bomb and that all o

us were to report on the light line thenext day at 4 p.m. or our new assign-ments. We were to bring a ll our belong-ing which were contained in one duelbag.

It didnt seem strange that no onewas told where they were going.

here was a saying, A loose lip cansink a ship, Joe said. We were never

told where we were going to preventanyone rom inding out the Air Forceplans.

Joe ended up in Davis MonthonField in ucson, Ariz., where over-crowding put him in the WomensCorps barracks or 30 days. He wassent to Santa Ana, Cali. or discharge.

Me and some riends drove there,

Joe said. We arrived two days late andthe discharge center was shut down.As they waited 30 days or urther

instructions, they rented an apartmentat Hollywood and Vine.

ickets to great shows were setaside or the military so I got to seegreat stars like Sinatra, Bob Hope andRed Skelton. Finally, I was assignedto Fort Devens near Boston, Mass. orinal discharge in March 1946.

Meanwhile, Ann had entered theWWII Cadet Nurse Program at Roch-ester, N.Y.

Everyone was very patriotic backthen, Ann said. Serving our coun-try was the right thing to do. Duringthe war, people dug up their yards toplant victory gardens. We lived with

rationing, everything rom gasoline tobutter. We were children o the depres-sion. We were raised that when the

16

It had been

a tough go

and manyboys from

our town

had gone to

war. I lookat kids that

age now

and cant

imagine howthey could

fight a war. Ann Marmo



17/52

soles o our shoes wore out, we put cardboard in them to i ll the holes.Ann said the roles o women changed drastically with the war, too.So many men were gone so the women took over the jobs, she said.

hat was the beginning or the women not just staying home beingwives and mothers.

Nearly all Anns nurse training was inanced by the government. I thewar had not ended beore she graduated, she would have been requiredto serve in a nursing capacity or the duration. Since it did end, Ann gota scholarship to complete her training at the School o Public Health atthe University o Michigan. She became a civilian nurse and donated heruniorm to the Rochester General Hospital Museum.

hats where she met Joe.I want to say that the GI Bill changed service mens lives or the bet-

ter, he said. Id never have been able to aord college without it.

Joe worked as a dishwasher while attending the School o Engineering.I told a ellow I worked with that I had to meet that woman out therethat smiled all the time, Joe said. I was back there sweating and dirtyand he brought her back to meet me.

Sweaty or not, Ann was impressed.It was love at irst sight, she said.hey have been married or 64 years, have three adult children and six

grandchildren.Joes engineering degree took them irst to Colorado and eventually to

Idaho Falls in 1963. Ann had no trouble inding employment whereverthey went.When I asked about a job here in Idaho Falls, they asked i I could

start the next day, she said.Ann worked at Sacred Heart and Riverview hospitals beore Eastern

Idaho Regional Medical Center. She logged 60 years as a nurse beoreretiring on her 80th birthday.

Joe brought his athletic abilities as a championship college hockeyand baseball player to Idaho Falls by orming both the irst gol leaguesand the irst youth hockey league to Idaho Falls. he Joe Marmo/WayneLehto rink in Idaho Falls was named in his honor.

Both Marmos say they are concerned or the lack o care and oppor-tunity todays veterans are given. hey also are concerned or the lack orespect or elected oicials.

I used to tell our neighbor boy that our president deserved respectwhether he agreed with him or not you respected the oice, Joe said.Now, 50 years later, he tells me he inally understands what I meant.

Both eel ortunate to have served their country and believe that iswhat orged their successul careers and their lie together.

he war certainly brought us together in a way that would have neverhappened without it, Joe said. I told everybody Ann was my own Flor-ence Nightingale. And, she still is.

17



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William Bill Harvey Craig



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William Bill Harvey Craigwas more nervous aboutdrowning than getting

shot when he enlisted in the Navy

Aug. 12, 1950, early in the KoreanWar.

Luckily or Craig, his service inthe Navy involved more airplanesthan ships. He was a crewmemberon the planes and ran the turretsand radar. Beore that he was amember o the National Guard ortwo years in Montana.

I wanted to get into aviationand the National Guard didnt haveanything like that, said Craig.

he longest Craig ever spent on aship during his time in the Navy wasthe two-week trip on a troop shiprom the San Francisco receivingstation to okyo.

Despite his dislike or ships, he

didnt get sick like many o the menon board. He said many o themcouldnt eat and i they did theirmeals oten came back to slosh up

Name: William Bill Harvey CraigBorn: August 15, 1930 in Lowell,

Neb.War: The Korean WarBranch of Service: Navy

Date Entered Service: Aug. 12, 1950Discharge Date: May 13, 1954Rank Upon Discharge: Aviation

Boatswains Mate StrikerDecorations and Awards: United

Nations Medal, Korean WarMedal with two Bronze Stars,Presidential Unit Citation, Med-al From the President of South

Korea, Good Conduct Medal,Navy Occupation Medal

closecalls

Craig had multiple close

encounters with death

19



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and down the hallways o the ship.

Craig still has his meal card in his memory book rom his trip to okyo.He is not missing a single punch on his card.

I never missed a meal, he said.Craig explained that the permanent personnel on the ship were able to

eat irst and get the best ood when it was nice and hot. One man let hisengineering badge on his desk and Craig picked it up and pinned it to hisshirt.

I got great ood or the rest o that trip, two weeks to okyo! he said.Craig spent a total o three years, our months and 17 days overseas.

One o his most rightening experiences was when his plane was shotdown in the spring o 1952, but the experience also turned out to be a mira-cle or everyone on board.

Casey Archibald/[email protected] is a model of the airplane Bill Craig was in during most of his time in the Navy. He was a gunner inthe rear turret of the plane. It was shot down in the spring of 1952.

20



21/52

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he plane was coming back to the Iwakuni Air Force Base in Japan aterembarking on an anti-submarine control mission. he plane was at 12,000eet when several Russian-built MiGs coming rom China suddenly ap-peared and began shooting at Craig and the rest o the crew in their air-plane.

he plane went down and was completely covered in hundreds o bulletholes. Miraculously, no one in the plane was hurt and the bullets missed thegas tanks and engines so there was no chance o the plane blowing up.

Craig tried to shoot back at the enemy planes but there were too manyand they were diving at Craig and his crew too quickly.

Craig said he never eared getting hit by a bullet, but he was terriied odrowning. He said he ran rom the back o the plane to the ront, crawlingover the other men in the plane who laughed at how rantic he was to getout.

He said to the pilot o the plane, All the bullets missed me but i youthink I am drowning in here youre crazy!he plane was close enough to the base that the pilot was able to get the

crew to saety beore the plane completely illed with water.Every time you go out on a mission, you are always just hoping that you

are going to make it back rom a light, said Craig.he experience in Japan wasnt the only close call that Craig had. He

said there were times when he elt l ike someone rom above was looking



22/52

22

out or him.One such moment occurred during

the last six months o his service,when he was in Kodiak, Alaska. Hewas transerred there in February o

1953.One morning he was supposed to

go out on a light, but he had a cold.hey wont let you ly with a cold

because o sinuses, Craig explained.While the plane was out, its gas

line broke and a spark caused a reakaccident where the plane blew up andkilled everyone inside. he plane was

just outside o Dutch Harbor.I hated it; I lost a lot o riends.I was supposed to be on that plane,but someone was looking out or me,said Craig.

Craig inished his service withoutgetting injured. He said he thinks itwas his bullheadedness that got himthrough.

I am bulletproo, said Craig. Atleast thats what you think when youare 19 years old. I thought, I am bul-letproo and nothing can happen tome. I never thought about not com-ing back. I always knew I was cominghome, I had too many things to do.

When he got home, Craig gotstarted on his list o things he want-ed to accomplish. He had a varietyo dierent jobs and he is a lietimemember o Veterans o Foreign Warsand the American Legion.

I eel good about having done mytime and served my country, saidCraig. I didnt have a whole lot as aras big things happening to me, but Idid what I had to do. hats all youcan do. I you come out o there alive

you are home ree because there areso many guys who didnt make it. Iwas one o the lucky ones.

I thought,

I am

bulletproof

and nothing

can happen

to me. I

never thought

about not

coming back.

I always knew

I was coming

home, I had

too many

things to do. Bill Craig



23/52

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This photo shows Bill Craigs airplane after it was shotdown and landed in the water. The arrow shows whereCraig was when the plane went down. (Submitted photo)



24/52

Orville Nicholson



25/52


Orvil le Nicholson doesnt re-member how he earned hisbronze star. In act, he lost

most o his memories o his t imein the service due to a 2006 brainsurgery when he was 80 years old.Not only has he been robbed ohis memories, but almost all ohis memorabilia rom his time oservice was stolen.

As a veteran o both World WarII and the Korean War, the hun-dreds o memories and experienc-es relating to Nicholsons militaryservice have been diminished to aew lashes and moments that hehas to work hard to recall.

Lucky or Nicholson, his wieRea has been able to ill in some

o the blanks, but any stories hedidnt tell are gone orever.

O course, a lot o those thingsI wanted to orget, Nicholsonsaid.

Nicholson was irst drated intothe army in 1944. His best scorein basic training was shootingmachine guns, so he became a

machine gunner during his time inWorld War II.I just carried the tripod in ac-

tion and we had a guy that carried

Name:Orville NicholsonBorn: January 6, 1926War: WWII & KoreaBranch of Service: ArmyDate Entered Service (WWII):

1944Discharge Date (WWII): 1946Date Entered Service (Korean

War): 1950Discharge Date (Korean War):

1952Decorations: Bronze Star

FlashesSurgery leaves two-war vet

with only snippets of memory

25



26/52

a heavy gun and our or ive ammo carriers, said Nicholson.Nicholson was part o the Battle o Leyte in the Philippines during

World War II. During this particular battle American and Filipino guer-

rilla orces invaded the Gul o Leyte and ought against the ImperialJapanese Army. he battle lasted rom Oct. 20 to Dec. 31, 1944 and itwas the irst time Japanese military members used kamikaze pilots.

I didnt know it at the time, but right out in the harbor there was anaircrat carrier that was supposed to back us up, said Nicholson. heycrashed three planes into it and they killed about three hundred men.

Leyte was one o the bloodiest battles during the war, but underGeneral Douglas MacArthur the Americans had a victory which lead tothe recapture o the Philippines rom the Japanese and deprived them osome o their best warships.

Later on, Nicholson was part o the Battle o Mindanao on anotherisland in the Philippines. During the battle, American orces again alliedwith Filipino guerrillas against the Japanese and it lasted rom March 10

26

Orville Nicholson. (Submitted photo)



27/52

to Aug. 15, 1945. he battle was an essential part o the liberation o thePhilippines.

While Nicholson and his ellow troops were training in Mindanao ortheir invasion o Japan, he contracted hepatitis and malaria. While hewas in the hospital, he looked over and was surprised to see one o his

dear riends who he thought was killed during battle. His riend had alsocontracted malaria, but was otherwise well.

[Orville] had to go to the hospital until he was better and then theysent him right back into battle as soon as he was well enough, said Rea.

Even ater he was discharged rom the army, Nicholson suered rommalaria attacks or several years.

You get cold chills and hot chills, and a ever. It is terrible, he said.Nicholson explained that or the invasion o okyo, millions o sol-

diers and allies joined orces. Nicholson was supposed to be in the 40th

inantry division to hit south o okyo, but the invasion never happened.he Americans dropped two bombs and the Japanese surrendered,bringing the war to an end.

In Japanese culture, i they didnt have guns to ight with they hadcharge sticks and anything they could pick up to ight with, said Nich-olson. I know i that invasion would have come o we would have hadto kill a lot o men, women, and children. It panned out pretty well orAmericans or that particular invasion. We would have lost thousands o



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Americans and I would have beenone o them, I know that.

When Nicholson got out o WorldWar II he was asked to join theactive reserve. He declined, but said

he would join the inactive reserve.On Reas 25th birthday, and also

the irst day o the Korean War in1950, Orville was called back toservice. He was the irst call out romIdaho.

Because o his skill set, Nicholsonwas chosen to go to Korea as part othe Army o Occupation and help to

set up a government there. Luckilyor Nicholson and his amily, he wassent into an oice job or the mostpart and was in a lot less dangerthan he was in World War II.

his is a memory that is veryclear or Nicholson.

At that time it was a capitolbuilding, you go up the main steps

and the irst door on the right andmy desk was the irst one, and thenyou go on back to the room andthere were the generals and colo-nels, he explained.

Nicholson said the president oKorea, Sigmund Rhee, came by twoor three times a week to go in andtalk to the general and Nicholsonoten got to see him in passing.

Even Nicholsons memories romthe wars that are still in tact areuzzy, simply because o the natureo war, he explained.

When you are in the war youcant keep one day rom another,said Nicholson. It all kind o blendstogether; you dont have any Sun-days.

Once Nicholson came home in1952, he and his wie started theirlie at Sunny Bar Ranch in Howe,

28

When

you are in

the war

you cant

keep one

day from

another.

It all kind

of blends

together;

you dont

have any

Sundays. Orville Nicholson



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29

Idaho. here they lived at the base o a mountain in a little log housewith no well, insulation or electricity.

ogether Nicholson and Rea harnessed power rom three mountainstreams and with a lot o time and eort, developed a method to gener-ate hydro-power.

he Nicholsons irrigated 1,100 acres and planted grain and hay as wellas managed a ew hundred dairy cows. hey sold their power to majorpower companies and by doing so turned a barren land into a thrivingand beautiul area o Idaho.

he brain surgery that erased many o Nicholsons military memo-ries was due to rigeminal neuralgia, which is a painul condition thatcaused him chronic headaches. He irst started getting the headachesduring his time arming in Howe.

he pain is excruciating and Nicholson said it is also known as sui-cide pain. Ater his surgery in 2006 he was relieved o the pain, butdeprived o many valuable memories.

A peak in the Lemhi Range was named ater Orville or his pioneering

eorts in Howe. It is called Nicholson Peak and represents a man whoserved his country in a countless number o ways throughout his lie-time.



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Burton Charles Chuck Vogel



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Chuck and Marlene were morethan childhood sweethearts.hey were both born in 1941,

their parents were long-time riends,they both go by their middle namesand they cant ever remember notknowing one another.

Chuck said his earliest memoryo Marlene is when they were both

4 or 5 years old. She would let himsit on her stool that she used to milkher cow and tell him stories. Chucksaid one o her avorites was the oneabout the porcupine that climbed acherry tree on her amilys land andstarted throwing apples at her dad.Chuck knew better than to believethe stories.

heir growing up years wereilled with dates, good times andhard work. Chuck remembers atime when he was supposed topick her up or a date but he wasstuck at home with no transpor-tation. He was late, but rode hishorse or six miles to her house.She orgave him.

hey went to dierent highschools, so they attended doubleproms.

Double the proms meant double

SacrificeSoldiers arent the only onesto make sacrices during war

31

Name:Burton CharlesChuck Vogel

Born: August 2, 1941 in Cam-bridge, Idaho

War: Vietnam WarBranch of Service: Marine

CorpsDate Entered Service: Novem-

ber 1966Discharge Date: December

1967Rank Upon Discharge:

SergeantDecorations and Awards: Two

Purple Heart Awards, Viet-namese Cross of Gallantrywith Bronze



32/52

the corsages, said Chuck. It was hard to always pick a corsage that matchedher beauty.

On Jan. 28, 1961 Chuck and Marlene became Mr. and Mrs. Vogel. hetwo went to Sun Valley or a three-day honeymoon and Chuck rememberswalking into a shop where every item or sale would have cost more moneythan he had in his pocket. here were signs all over the store that read Youbreak it, you pay or it.

Marlene was picking everything up to look it over. I couldnt get her outo there soon enough, Chuck joked.

he Vogels were married or ive years when Chuck was drated into theMarine Corps or the Vietnam War. He oicially entered the service in No-vember o 1966. Chuck said he hardly knew one branch o service rom theother when he was irst drated.

When Chuck started his training in North Carolina, Marlene and anotherMarines wie drove across the country to be with their husbands. Beorehe was drated, Chuck was making a good wage, but during his training hemade a mere $87.50 a month.

Chuck said that one month the Marines ouled up his pay and he didntget paid or an entire month. Beore long, the Vogels were down to a jar opickles, which they lived o o or more than a week until Marlene ound ajob at the USO.

Marlene worked 10 or 12 hour days and then came home to hand washand press Chucks uniorms on their little table. She also helped him ind ajob maintaining and cleaning the USO building when he wasnt on duty.

32

Submitted photosAbove is a photo Chuck Vogel sent to his wife Marlene whilehe was overseas. They wrote to each other every day.

ChuckandMarleneVogel.



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In December o 1966, Chuck let Marlene behind and embarked on hisjourney to Vietnam, not knowing i he would return in one piece. He wasthere or 13 months and he said it was the longest time they were apart intheir entire lives.

hose [let behind] are the people its hardest on, said Chuck. Back

then there werent any [orms o ] instant communication or anything. [Mar-lene] had to stay home. We were buying two houses and a new car. She hadto stay home and ix all o that by hersel.

Chuck and Marlene wrote each other every day, and sometimes multipletimes a day. Chuck said he tried to take some pictures or her as well, butthe og in the air in Vietnam made it diicult. A riend managed to capturea photo o Chuck holding a sign that said I love you that he then sent tohis wie.

[Marlenes] letters didnt come in daily because I was in the ield and

things, but they were sure good when I got them, said Chuck. hey reallykept me going when I got them. I got pretty sassy without my letters.Chuck was a combat engineer and some o his duties included sweeping

or mines and booby traps. I love blowing things up, he said.During his time o service, Chuck received two purple hearts. One oc-

curred when he was sitting on the back o a tank and the driver ran over amine right where Chuck was sitting.

he only sensation I had was rolling o the back o the tank, said



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Chuck. here was a tank behind usand I didnt want 52 tons rolling overme. When I got up I was about 20 eeto to the side and I had lost every-thingmy rile and my demo bag lew

clear o o my head and my lak jacketwas all laid out between there.

Chuck was let with a concussionand damaged eardrums ater the expe-rience, but he didnt let that stop himrom inishing the operation. Luckilyor Chuck, his injuries healed well.

My hearing seems to be prettygood, he said. It seemed like when I

came home it was a little hard to hearbut I think it was rom all o the ex-plosions and everything. It rattled myeardrums quite a bit.

Chucks second purple heart wasearned when his team was ambushed.A mortar round went o leavingChuck with a piece o shrapnel stuckin his shoulder. A chopper tried to

come in and rescue the crew but it wastoo heavily ired upon to land.We ended up riding an Amtrak

out, said Chuck. It was midnightbeore we got [to saety] and then itwas longer to the naval hospital. Ididnt want to put anyone in danger soI dressed the wound mysel. Its kindo hard to tie [a bandage] around yourshoulder. Basically I would just wrapit around and when I bled through Iwrapped it again.

When Chuck got to the hospitaldoctors put a tube in the wound anddrained it. He said it was amazinghow much o his shirt was stuck in thewound with the shrapnel. He stayedor three days at naval support andwas then transported to the hospital

ship where he continued to be treated.he piece o shrapnel is still in Chucksshoulder today.

The whole

time washard on her.

It seems to

me that it is

as hard onthe ones left

behind as

it is on the

ones wholeave.

Chuck Vogel

34



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35

When Chuck was on the hospital ship, Marlenes ather died back homeand he didnt get word o it or 21 days.

I elt so bad that I wasnt there to help her, said Chuck. I cannot sayenough about this time and what she went though. he next time someonesays to thank a vet, tell them not to orget about what the veterans amiliesgo through. I knew I was okay, but not knowing is so hard or amily.

Chuck returned home between Christmas and New Years o 1967. He saidat irst, it elt like he and his wie were strangers and they had to get used toeach other again.

On the third night that Chuck was home, Marlene woke him up andasked, Would you still love me i I was bald? Chuck was groggy, but re-

plied, Yeah.Marlene pulled a wiglet out o her hair that she had been keeping on or

three days so Chuck wouldnt see the bald spot on the back o her head. Shehad skin cancer removed while her husband was away and had lost a airamount o hair.

When she [pulled o the wiglet] my eyes about popped out o my head,said Chuck. I woke up or sure. She told me about the cancer when I wasaway but she didnt tell me she lost some o her hair. I still thought she wasbeautiul.

Chuck explained that he wouldnt have had the motivation or strengthto keep going i it wasnt or the support o his wie. He said he was sorryhe couldnt be there or her when she went through struggles like her skin

Submitted photoChuck Vogel poses with friends on a hospital ship where he was recovering from ashrapnel wound.



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36

Submitted photoMarlene and Chuck Vogel pose for a photo.



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The Staff at Carpet One

would like to say

THANK YOUto All U.S.Veterans.

405 W. 17th St., Idaho Falls, ID

(208) 529-1951

cancer and the death o her ather while he was away.he whole time was hard on her, said Chuck. It seems to me that it is

as hard on the ones let behind as it is on the ones who leave. I had a goodsupport system.

Chuck explained that though being a part o the Vietnam War is not

something he is ashamed o, he also said it is something that shouldnt begloriied either. He said it is the amilies that should be thanked and recog-nized or their sacriices.

Shortly ater Chuck returned rom Vietnam, his wie gave birth to theirdaughter in October o 1968. Chuck said their lie together has been ull andhappy, but it was not without struggle.

heir home burned to the ground and Chuck had to spend his weekendsrebuilding it rom the ground up when his daughter was only three monthsold. During the reconstruction, Chuck injured his knee and he had to have

surgery. He said that Marlene drove on the slick, snow-covered roads withtheir new baby to comort him in the hospital.his January, the Vogels will celebrate their 53rd anniversary.On January 28, 2001 I had a conerence in Las Vegas where we renewed

our wedding vows celebrating 40 years. On our 50th we had a big party inBoise and I told Marlene i we can make it to our 60th I would marry heragain because [o all the] years she has always been there or me.



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Charles Abe Thomas Abrahamson



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Charles Abe Abrahamson has beendropped rom high-altitude air-

planes into the middle o dark oceans,sent on treks through jungles andswamps and let in the middle o no-where to camoulage himsel in roughterrain.

As a Marine Sniper, his rile scoreswere top-notch, reaching a high scoreo 249/250. But shooting accuracy is

only a small part o being a MarineSniper.

One thing that people dont un-derstand about being a sniper is thatshooting is only about 2 percent o it,said Abrahamson. he rest is all ieldcrat because when you are out there,you are alone. It is just you and anotherguy and you have to survive. You have

to build your hides, you have to getrom point A to point B and then topoint C to get out o there. You haveto know what kind o terrain you aregoing to be in because you have to tra-verse that terrain without being seen.

Snipers and their spotters were ex-pected to create all o their own cam-oulage. hey oten created ghillie suits

that resemble heavy oliage to matchthe terrain o the mission they wereassigned to.

CrosshairsMarine sniper overcame toughconditions to complete missions

39

Name: Charles Abe ThomasAbrahamson

Born: 1969 in Roswell, NewMexico

War: The Gulf WarBranch of Service: Marine CorpsDate Entered Service: 1987Decorations and Awards:

Bronze Star with a CombatV, Navy AccommodationMedal with a Combat V,

Congressional Medal ofHonor, Navy Cross, Silver Star,Bronze Star, Army Accom-modation Medal, NavyAchievement Medal, ArmyAchievement Medal, ArmyGood Conduct, NationalDefense, Southwest ServiceAsia, Kuwait Liberation Med-

al (two)



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40

I you are in an urban setting you would have [a suit] that is a little di-erent than i you were in a jungle setting or a desert setting, said Abraham-son. Each one takes almost 50 hours to build i you do it right. You have totie all your burlap and shred it and its a lot o work. You have to make sureyou are dying or bleaching [the material] the right colors.

Beore heading out to a mission, Abrahamson and his spotter added livevegetation to the suits in order to better match the area they were in. Tey alsopainted their hands, aces and the ends o their rifles. Tey used scope coversthat were the color o the terrain to avoid the sun reflecting off the metal andattracting attention. Abrahamson said they also had to be careul i they made ashot to make sure the brass casing didnt reflect and reveal their hiding place.

Abrahamson was good at what he did, but it didnt make taking lives easy.he hardest part with my job is looking through the crosshairs and

knowing that when you eel the recoil in your shoulder that you are taking

a human beings lie, said Abrahamson. here are a lot o things that gothrough your mind. here are a lot o thoughts about the actions you take.he sniper and his spotter were a team throughout all o his time in the

service and became very close. One way they were able to deal with the psy-chological hardships o their jobs was to talk things out with each other.

When we went on a mission, what happened out there it was done andover with, said Abrahamson. It was nothing personal, it was just our joband thats the way we both looked at it. It is us or them. I have accepted thatand I am okay with it.

Abrahamson explained that targets generally include people on theopposing side that are oicers, people giving orders, bomb makers, thoseworking or a primary target or those relaying messages about the Americantroops to their leaders. Oten Abrahamson and his spotter would watch agroup or six or seven hours to determine who the leaders were.

By the time you spend that much time watching a group you can igureout almost anything you want about them, he said.

In general, Marine Snipers try to take out their targets at a range between300 and 1,500 yards. However, one o Abrahamsons hardest experiences waswhen he and his spotter were in Khaji a town on the boarder o SaudiArabia and Kuwait when the Iraqis invaded. hey were training and do-ing some iring missions there but when the town was invaded Abrahamsonhad to make a shot at 15 inches.

It got close and personal that day, he said.Abrahamson and his spotter, who is rom Illinois, still remain good

riends and take time to visit one another despite the distance.It is unny how much you know about each other, said Abrahamson. I

still remember his birth date, his social security number, everything abouthim because he would have to go sign or stu or me or I would have to go

sign stu or him.hroughout his whole time in the service, Abrahamson served in Forts-

dale, Okla.; Quantico, Virg.; Fort Benning, Ga.; Coronado Island, Cali.;



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Camp Pendleton, Cali.; wentynine Palms, Cali.; the Philippines, Okina-wa, Japan, Korea, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, urkey, Israel, Australia, Hawaii,South America, South Arica, and England.

While Abrahamson and his spotter were in Saudi Arabia they ran a totalo 54 missions and were also active in the our-day ground war.

During much o their time in the ield, sniper teams lived in a hole in theground that was 20 eet by 20 eet and 10 eet deep. At one point, Abraham-son, his spotter and another sniper team o two lived there or ive monthsstraight.

We are more or less observers, which is why we had to be so ar orwardrom the rest o the troops and in the ground, said Abrahamson. We arewatching the enemy, trying to see what they are doing, iguring out howthey operate. We are kind o like a reconnaissance team. We are eeding allthat inormation back to our bosses and our upper echelons so they can

decide, when the day comes, where to attack.he sniper teams are responsible to alert the other troops i they see anymovement rom the other side. hey also let their superiors know whatkind o terrain is ahead and what kind o camoulage the troops will need.Abrahamson and his ellow sniper team members had air assets and couldcall or Marine Air, Air Force Air, Navy Air or helicopters to come in andeliminate any threats.

Abrahamsons hole was about seven miles south o the Kuwait border in



42/52

Saudi Arabia. He said inside there werethousands o lies that surrounded eacho the men 24 hours a day. he men weregiven what they called a water bowl,which held 500 gallons o luid. He said

they added bleach to the water to reducethe amount o bacteria.

We used anything we could to makeit better, said Abrahamson. We usedthings like Kool-Aid packets or teasbecause the water was so bad. We werealways hot and sweating and thirsty sowe had to drink six or seven canteens othat nasty water every day.

Abrahamsons mother sent the mendrink packets and snacks as oten as shecould. He said he was grateul or herpackages because it was rare they everhad a hot meal. hey ate a lot o MREsand Abrahamson said in the 80s and 90sthey werent good.

Most o the time, the men on the sniperteams had to wash themselves the best

they could with a bucket o water. Abraha-mson said he was only able to take our orfive showers in seven months.

Despite the rough conditions, Abra-hamson said he built an irreplaceablecamaraderie with the people he met andworked with during his time o service.

My whole time in service has beenmemorable, he said. he kind o ca-maraderie that is built in the service issomething only service people can have.Sure, you have your buddies at work andthings like that, but they will never gothrough some o the things that servicepeople have gone through.

Abrahamson said that he believes allAmerican males should spend time inthe military because it is something thatcan help them to grow up and mature.

Abrahamsons career in the militarystarted early. When he was in highschool he and his best riend knew they

42

My whole

time in

service

has beenmemorable.

The kind of

camaraderie

that isbuilt in the

service is

something

only servicepeople can

have. Charles

Abrahamson



43/52

were destined or the military. he Army Reserves were the only ones thatwould talk to them because o their age. hey signed up with parental sig-natures when they were sophomores in high school and went to boot campin their junior and senior years. Abrahamson oicially entered the ArmyReserves in Idaho in 1987.

he road to becoming a Marine Sniper is very prestigious, and requires alot o eort and stamina. It is not a common job in the service. Abrahamsonexplained that the average class size starts with around 24 to 26 people andas ew as six people might graduate.

When Abrahamson was just 19, he was in charge o ive sniper teams.I was combat promoted in Saudi Arabia to a corporal. In the Marine

Corps, the corporals are the backbone. I was actually doing a sta sergeantsjob as an E-4. It was a lot o responsibility. I was in charge o eeding, cloth-ing, making sure 10 guys had water and saety. It helps you mature and it

helps you become part o a team early on.Abrahamson explained that he will never regret his time in the servicebecause it is part o who he is.

I am the person I am today because o what happened to me over myyears in the service, he said. hey say that growing up your parents moldyou and they do they teach you right rom wrong and the yes and nosand stu like that, but I think it was the Marine Corps that actually mademe into the individual that I am today.

For the past 24 years, Abrahamson has been part o the American Legion

in Idaho Falls. He is currently the District Commander or Eastern Idahoand the Vice Commander or Post 56 in Idaho Falls.In his lietime, Abrahamson has been a part o more than 1,000 military unerals.I have people on my team that were WWII vets that are 85 to 90 years

old, said Abrahamson. hey are outside or an hour at a time or maybetwo when it is negative 15 or 16 below with a wind chill actor, standing outthere to honor that veteran that passed away. We all have that same belie.We are there to honor that veteran and their amily.

Abrahamson said he is the second youngest person in the local AmericanLegion unit.

We are losing 600 WWII veterans a day, said Abrahamson. In WWIIthere were 65 million veterans and now there are less than 1.5 million. Weare losing a lot o our history every day.

Abrahamson and other unit members visit ellow veterans at local seniorliving homes too and pay or their membership in the American Legion tohelp make them eel like they still have something to be a part o.

We being service members, they being service members, we have a con-nection as soon as we walk in. I think that is an important part o what thelegion does here in town. he next time you see a person with a veteran hat

on or a service hat thank them or their service and then ask them to shareone o their stories with you. It can be lighthearted, unny, or serious, but Ithink that is the only way you can really get the real story.

43



44/52

Will Davis II



45/52


W

illiam Davis II always knewhe wanted to serve hiscountry. He enlisted in part

because o his amily history, whichhas strong roots in the military. Hisuncle was in the Special Forces and wasone o Davis heroes; he said he alwayswanted to be just like his uncle.

Ater basic training, Davis enteredAirborne School. His plan was toeventually join the Special Forces, butunortunately Davis broke his ankle on

his irst jump.hings didnt work out the way I

wanted them to, but I was determinedto serve my country in the military,said Davis.

When he had healed enough, Davisgot new orders and was shipped o toFort Hood, exas. He spent most o hismilitary career there, besides the year

he spent overseas.In 2002, Davis went to Pocatello or

the irst time to train the guard. He was

Bornto serveDavis knew from an early agehe was destined to serve

45

Name:William Will Davis IIBorn: 1983 in Julavista, Calif.War: Iraq War as part of Oper-

ation Iraqi FreedomBranch of Service: ArmyDate Entered Service: Aug. 23,

2001Discharge Date: Aug. 23, 2004Rank Upon Discharge: E-4



46/52

46

only there a week, and in the last couple days o their time there a ew o hismilitary riends invited Davis to come with them to Jamba Juice.

I was rom Caliornia and I had never seen one beore, said Davis.We went over there and tr ied it out and I must admit it was pretty de-cent.

It was then when Davis spotted an attractive young lady behind thecounter. Davis sergeant dared him to talk to the girl and he did. He gother number and ound out her name was Jeni. he two talked through-out Davis time in service.

She really liked the whole camo uniorm. She said as soon as she sawthat she ell in love and it wasnt with me, it was with the uniorm,joked Davis.

Davis and Jeni got married in 2004. hey have been married or nineyears and have three children.

In 2003, Davis was deployed overseas.I remember all my days o being deployed, said Davis. When we

irst got there we went to Kuwait. hat was an interesting place. It washard to get over our jetlag and we slept a ton that irst week. It was nice

because we didnt get much [sleep] ater that.Davis was an E-4, which is one step away rom being a sergeant. Hewas a gunner on his vehicle and his main responsibilities were to make

Submitted photoWill Davis, right, poses with an Iraqi man whom he shot in the shoulder. Davis spared the mans life andlater trained him to defend his country against terrorists.



47/52

sure it ran correctly, that his men were protected and that the gun iredwhere it was supposed to. He was in charge when his sergeant wasntthere.

We were the irst ones to cross into Iraq, said Davis. It is scary, wewere all nervous. All the emotions seem to rush in at one time.

Davis remembers going into Baghdad at nighttime.hat part was scary because all o a sudden we saw lashes every-

where, said Davis. It was kind o like what you might see in the moviesbut it was in real lie, and thats what was at stake.

he reality o being overseas and the act that his lie was in dangerdidnt really hit Davis until he had been there or a ew months.

While he was there, he witnessed the beginnings o the Iraq War, in-cluding the capture o Saddam Hussein.

Sure it was rom a distance and through night vision goggles, but

it was still a cool thing to see and it meant a lot or our country, saidDavis.One incident seems to stand out more than most o the things Davis

experienced overseas. Within the irst ew weeks, Davis and his platoono seven troops heard about some insurgents that were in a certain area.he platoon was sent there to take over the area and as soon as they gotthere one o the 10 insurgents shot at them.

Shots were exchanged and when it was al l over Davis and the other

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48/52

members o his platoon went throughthe area to check or weapons and oth-er insurgents.

Davis came across a young manthat he had shot in the shoulder area.

he man was lying on the ground andlooked up at Davis just as he was rais-ing his gun to inish him o.

He was a young guy, one that didntappear to be much older than the resto us, said Davis. I thought abouthim dying on that battleield or some-one that probably made him be therethrough intimidation. My compassion-

ate side came through.Davis spared his lie but didntexpect to see the man again. About sixmonths ater that experience Davis washelping with some border patrol train-ing. hat is when American soldierstrained people in the areas where theywere stationed to deend themselvesagainst the terrorists in their own

country.here at one o the training meet-ings stood a man that looked very a-miliar to Davis. Ater some thought, herealized it was the same man whose liehe had spared just six months beore.

We mainly talked about his amily,his mom, brothers and sisters, saidDavis. He told me that he ound a girlhe was interested in and was hoping tomarry her. I told him about my ianceand my amily. I just remember therewere no hard eelings.

he man thanked Davis or sparinghis lie, and Davis said it was a veryhumbling experience. Ater exchangingstories the two got a picture togetherwhich Davis sti ll has today.

Davis said he was recently thinking

about why he really decided to enterinto the military.

It is a question you have to ask your-

48

Support

your vets.

Those

guys goout there

to support

your

freedomsand they

fight for

everything

that thiscountry

stands for. Will Davis II



49/52

49

sel. A lot o people get into it because ater high school they eel like theyhave no other options and military is an easy one. For me, I wanted to leavea legacy. I have a little boy who is six years old. I tell him stories about whatI did, not all o my stories o course. He tells me all the time I want to be asoldier like my dad. o hear that gives me a little more pride in what I did

and why I did it.Davis said that one thing he has realized since he has been out o the

military is that there is not enough support or veterans.Support your vets, said Davis. hose guys go out there to support

your reedoms and they ight or everything that this country stands or.hey go out there and ight with the lag on their shoulders. For all ous, that lag means a lot. I you ever go to a ball game or something likethat where the national anthem is sung, i you look around at any veter-an who has served they will have a tear in their eye and that is because

those words mean more to us than anything else. here is nothing in thislie that means more to me than that lag and the meaning and purposebehind it. Stand behind your veterans or stand in ront o them.

Submitted photoWill Davis poses with his platoon at Fort Benning, Ga.



50/52

Generation

WayneLanier

Glen Koester



51/52

s of Heroes

Thomas H.Stickley

BobSkinner

PhotoscourtesyAmerican

Legion



52/52

Join the Post Register in

honoring our nationsheroes this November.

November 7-278:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

at the Post Register333 Northgate Mile

Idaho Falls, ID

This multimedia eventfeatures a publication

honoring the service of

local veterans as well

as a display of military

artifacts contributed by

l l t Vi it

Documents

Generations of Heroes