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April 29, 2011

Oroville Mercury Register
August 30, 1967
Butte County Servicemen

William R. Buckley, son of Mr. and Mrs. Alton Buckley of Upham Road, Bangor, and husband of the former Janice D. Harris of Palermo, took part in an amphibious exercise named “Coral Sands II” on the island of Molokai, Hawaii, as a member of the First Shore Party Platoon. Coral Sands II was a joint Army-Navy exercise in which the Army’s 11th Infantry Brigade from Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, hit the Molokai beaches from 12 U.S. Navy ships of Amphibious Squadron Seven. During the exercise he assisted in marking the beach for landing craft and helped in the movement of men and equipment onto the beach. The Army’s 11th Infantry Brigade conducted a mock raid to destroy enemy missile sites. Various army reserve units acted as defending enemy soldiers. The exercise was designed to give the brigade training in amphibious assault operations.

Stephen Schumacher, 22, son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry E. Schumacher, W.S.R. Oroville, has been commissioned an Army second lieutenant after graduating from the Infantry Officer Candidate School, Ft. Benning, Ga. He was trained in leadership, tactics of small infantry units, and use of infantry weapons. He also received instruction in map and aerial photograph reading, guerrilla warfare, and counter insurgency operations. Lt. Schumacher, a 1962 graduate of Oroville High School, entered the Army in October 1966 and was last stationed at Ft. Dix, N.J. He received his B.A. degree in 1966 from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

(Stu: Oroville’s Lt. Thomas Wigle, Metal of Honor Recipient Posthumously is honored at Ft. Benning Ga., where he also got his Lt’s commission.)

Robert E. Barkhurst Airman Third Class Robert E. Barkhurst, son of Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Barkhurst of Oro View Drive, has been graduated from the U.S. Air Force technical training school at Amarillo AF, Tex. He completed the supply inventory specialist course conducted by the Air Training Command which provides technical and specialized education programs for the nation’s aerospace force. He is being reassigned to Seymour-Johnson AFB, N.C., as a member of the Tactical Air Command. Airman Barkhurst, a 1964 graduate of Oroville High School attended Yuba College.

Richard D. Oxford Seaman Recruit Richard D. Oxford, USN, son of Mrs. Lorena B. Rogers of Colusa Ave., has graduated from nine weeks of Navy basic training at the San Diego Naval Training Center. In the first weeks of his naval service he studied military subjects and lived and worked under conditions similar to those he will encounter on his first ship or at his first shore station. In making the transition from civilian life to Naval service, he received instruction under veteran Navy petty officers, He studied seamanship, as well as survival techniques, military drill and other subjects.

Oroville’s Past 25 Years Ago (1942)
(Now 69 years ago) An appeal to Butte county to turn over its cannon and other metal war materials being used as mementos of past wars will be placed before American Legion posts by the supervisors as a result of an appeal made by the army for metal to go into shells and guns. There are several cannon, trench mortars and other war equipment at Memorial Halls in the county.

Stu’s Notes: I haven’t found many stories about the Fighting men of Vietnam but the few I have seem to be of the State side training. Unlike WWII, where many stories came straight from the battle fields and Ocean’s of our world. The exploits of individual men was the rule, taken by newsmen that went in the field and sent a fighting mans story back to his local newspaper, or from letters home to family. Perhaps in Vietnam this was not allowed, I don’t know. I do know when my Daughter, Sgt. Deborah Shaner e-mailed us from various bases in Iraq she was allowed to tell about some of what was going on, which can be found on our website.

The little story about Butte
County’s need for scrap WWI and maybe Civil War Cannons and machine guns, seems to me, Oroville must have given as I’ve never seen a cannon around here although there are cannon balls at our old Cemetery on Marysville Road. As a young boy walking past our Memorial Hall there was a WWI Russian Machine Gun on that Ledge above the door, I remember it very well. Sadly someone stole it, I suppose just to put it away in their den, sad when people take things of Historic value to be enjoyed by all, just to satisfy only them. Gridley has a cannon or artillery piece, Chico has a torpedo, I think Durham has a cannon. There is a battleship up for grabs in the Suisun Bay in moth balls, maybe we of Oroville could cut it in a few pieces and weld it back together on Lake Oroville. Vallejo wants it but they are a little short of the cash needed. San Francisco turned it down, that figures.