Oroville Mercury Register
September 2, 1944
Oroville Man Gets Citation
Coxswain Jess W. Reed
and four of his U. S. Navy comrades had the presidential unit
citation pinned on their chests by Capt.
Praska recently at
San Pedro. A sixth member, also cited was under treatment
in a naval hospital at the time after having been dragged 80 feet
below the sea by a submarine net. Reed, a former Oroville
Union high school student, is the son of
Mrs. A.N. Ganow,
Quincy road. Reed officially has been credited with bagging
one Japanese during a night landing action in the South Pacific
islands. He entered the navy in December, 1941, shortly after
the attack on Pearl Harbor. His last visit with his mother
was in February.
From an Ad Hats off to our Workers Labor Day 1944
Many women have left homes, schools and offices to work in food
plants. For some women this meant a great sacrifice.
But it will also mean a quicker Victory… the more women workers,
the more men who can go into the armed services. These women
are seeing that our boys are getting the supplies they need.
If you are one of these women, we take our hats off to you.
We’re not forgetting the men either- they have also done a grand
job. Santa Cruz Fruit Packing Co. Pine Street, Phone 195
Sgt. Irwin Here For Furlough Of A Week
Sgt. Fred N. Irwin arrived in Oroville Thursday night for a week’s
furlough here from his duties as assistant sergeant major with the
199th General Hospital, Medical Corps, Camp Ellis, Ill.
He is visiting with his wife and daughter, Joan, at their home on
Yard street. Irwin, who entered the service in Jan. 1943,
has been at Camp Ellis for three months. He previously was
assigned for 17 months to the Italian prisoner of war camp at Florence,
Ariz. He is the son of
Mr. and Mrs. Fred R. Irwin,
Quincy road.
Oroville Mercury Register
June 16, 1944
Pfc. Morris Baldridge Officiates At Wedding
Pfc. Morris Baldridge
of the Army Air Force recently at Sioux Falls, S. D., attended his
first wedding. He wrote home to inform his parents,
Mr. and Mrs. Mance Taylor
of the big event. Baldridge acted as best man at the ceremony.
Enclosed in his letter were pictures of the wedding party.
He also sent some recordings of his own singing and guitar accompaniment.
Baldridge is stationed now at Yuma, Ariz. He expects to be home
about July 7 on his first leave since entering the army.
Stu’s Notes: On December 21, 2009, 20 men and women met
for the monthly meeting of The Oroville Veterans Memorial Park for
All of Butte County, on that shortest day of the year, much was
accomplished. We voted, again, to finalize our above name
as it explains exactly what we are doing. We are building
a park in Oroville to Honor all those who died, in and from Butte
County while in the honorable service of the Army, Navy, Air Force
Marines, National Guard and U. S. Coast Guard. It was a most
memorable meeting, the 9th December that we have met.
We have not missed a monthly meeting in 9 years now, starting with
our 1st meeting, June 21, 2001. We have come a
long hard fought way, we had our ups and down’s sometimes I felt
like the man chasing windmills. We stuck to our plans even
making them better. We are a long way from finished.
We must raise lots of money and get more people to donate in-kind
work to our project. We can do it. Butte County and
the City of Oroville can be thanked over and over for what they
have done so far. Others have helped us through the years.
The list is small and if you want to know who they are just ask
me. I know who and will never forget what they’ve done for
us. I’m sure this list will grow tremendously in the coming
future. We have our final conception drawing from Greg Melton
of Land Image and soon will have our engineering drawings from North
Star Engineering; both have all ready donated in-kind work for us.
Greg has been with us for 8 years. The light is growing brighter
at the end of the tunnel I know I’ve said that before but this time
I think it will last.
Well now we know the Navy did some fighting on land, just ask
Coxswain Jess W. Reed. I did know my brother in law
Danny Brooks fought
on land. He was a navy seal in Vietnam, married to my sister Kathy,
Danny was shot up bad on the shores somewhere in Vietnam and spent
a year in the hospital. A man named Morris, with a father
and mother named Taylor and plays a guitar and sings, and was in
the Army Air Force. All exactly what Oroville’s Famous
Morris Taylor did,
who flew over the hump in China. Hopefully I’ll get his story
some day. Happy New Year!