Brothers,
This
week, we remember two Army Air Corps brothers killed in action during WWII are
very happy to welcome a brother home from Afghanistan, and honored to announce
that tomorrow one of our own will be awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal
for non-combat heroism.
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| Navy and Marine Corps Medal |
In
total, this week, we celebrate 15 brothers, representing 13 chapters, serving in the Army,
Navy, Air Force and National Guard in places like Afghanistan, Egypt, France,
Japan, Korea, the South Pacific and the U.S.
24 JUN
1918
NH Alpha
Brother Private First Class Charles E. Tayntor, Jr., U.S. Army was a member of
the Medical Corps, Base Hospital Unit 83, American Expeditionary Force when he
was called in to the service on this date.
27 JUN
1942
This is
the enlistment date of OR Alpha Brother Jack Liljeberg in the U.S. Navy, and MA
Delta Brother Kenneth G. Merriam in the U.S. Army.
26 JUN
1943
This
marks the date the only SigEp Patriot of the Iowa Alpha Chapter was killed in
action in WWII.
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| Taxpayer's Pride, 1942 Photo Credit PacificWrecks.com |
World
War II Veteran and IA Alpha Brother Second Lieutenant Sumner Luten Beck, U.S.
Army Air Corps made the ultimate sacrifice while serving as a navigator about a
B17F (Fighting Fortress) nicknamed “Taxpayer’s Pride” during a night mission
over Rabaul, New Britain. Brother Beck and his crewmates were shot down by a
J1N1 (Irving) and crashed into the jungle near Mount Varzin.
The
Class of 1938 graduate from Iowa Wesleyan College had nearly completed his
training as an Air Corps navigator when he was commission in MAY 1943. Just
weeks later, Sumner arrived in the SW Pacific Theater, and he would be killed
in less than a month.
Very
early on 26 JUN 1943, before the sun was above the horizon, Sumner and his
comrades took off in the B-17 from Dobodura Airfield on a bombing mission
against Vunakanau Airfield near Rabaul. Strict radio silence was maintained
during the mission. Nothing was heard from this bomber after takeoff. Upon
reaching their objective, they successfully bombed the target then turned for
home. According to an account from the Japanese pilot who shot the plane down,
within minutes of their bombing run, Sumner and the crew were taking 20mm
cannon fire from the Irving, and the B-17 caught on fire before crashing in to
the jungle.
Starting
at 0230 hours, other U.S. aircraft over the target reported an aircraft had
crashed, and that a fire could be seen on the ground in the vicinity of the
down airplane. When the bomber failed to return, the crew were declared missing
in action. The War Department declared them “presumed lost” in JAN 1946.
In
actuality, the tail gunner managed to parachute out and away from the falling
debris. He served in a Japanese Army POW camp the remainder of the war.
Post
war, the crew's remains were recovered at the crash site near Mount Varzin.
However, Brother Beck’s body was not among them. Several years later, his
remains were recovered, and returned to the States.
Respect
can be paid to Brother Beck at Fairview Cemetery in Lee County, IA.
28 JUN
1943
PA
Epsilon Brother Arthur White joined the U.S. Navy Reserve as an Ensign on this
date.
27 JUN
1945
World
War II Veteran and OH Gamma Brother Second Lieutenant George C. Slusser, U.S.
Army Air Corps made the ultimate sacrifice when the P-47 (Thunderbolt) fighter
he was piloting during a mission over the Ryukyu Islands was brought down by
flak. George was attached to the 19th Fighter Squadron, 318th Fighter Group.
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| Formation of P-47s |
At The
Ohio State, Brother Slusser was a graduate of the Class of ’44, and a star on
the Buckeye football team. In the 1946 NFL Draft, Brother Slosser was 288th
pick and selected by the Philadelphia Eagles.
His
awards include the Purple Heart and Air Medal.
Initially
listed as missing in action, George is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing
Court 7, Honolulu Memorial, National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific,
Honolulu, HI.
Respect
can be paid to Brother Slusser at Section 5, Row 16, Brookfield Cemetery,
Massillon, OH.
25 JUN
1946
World
War II Veteran and PA Epsilon Brother Captain Arthur Palmer, U.S. Army
Transportation Corps was released from the service on this date after nearly
three years of service, including 28 months overseas.
26 JUN
1953
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| Brother Smith |
On this
date, U.S. Army WWI Veteran, Speaker of the North Carolina House of
Representatives, and U.S. Senator (North Carolina) NC Gamma Brother Willis
Smith died at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland while serving in the U.S.
Congress. All that is currently known about Brother Smith’s military service is
that he served in the Army in Virginia during WWI.
Willis
pledged SigEp at Trinity College (now Duke University). After graduating in
1910, he attended law school, and was admitted to the bar in 1912.
After
WWI, Brother Smith returned to practicing law. In 1927, he was elected to the
North Carolina State House of Representatives, and he served there until 1932 –
the last two years as Speaker. Twice he was a delegate to the Democratic
National Convention.
At the
Nuremburg Trials in 1946 he was an observer, and after serving as a U.S.
delegate to the Inter-Parliamentary Union (1951) he was selected as the
chairman of the American delegation to the Union’s meeting in Bern, Switzerland
in 1952.
Simultaneously,
Willis was serving in the U.S. Congress. In 1950, he was elected to fill a
vacancy, and he served until his death.
Respect
can be paid to Brother Smith at Oakwood Cemetery, Raleigh, NC.
26 JUN
1997
World
War II Veteran and CO Beta Brother Pharmacist Mate First Class Jack D. Paxton,
U.S. Navy died on this date in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and so far that is all we have
been able to learn about his military service.
After
earning a Master Degree of Psychology he worked as a psychologist for Tulsa
Child Guidance and the Peoria Board of Education, Peoria, IL before serving as
Director of Special Education for Tulsa Public Schools from 1953 to 1973. For
the next 14 years, Brother Paxton was a Professor of Psychology at Northwestern
State University in Alva, OK.
His
honors and distinctions include: Psi Chi President and Past President, Tulsa
Special Education Association. Other activities included serving as a board
member of Tulsa Child Guidance Clinic and Family and Children’s Service. In
1993, he retired from the Tulsa Public Schools.
Respect
can be paid to Brother Paxton at Section CT4-M, Row 100, Site 129 at the
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.
28 JUN
2007
A 5th
generation Richmonder, VA Alpha Brother Major Doctor William F. Bryce V, U.S.
Air Force, 63, died on this date in Richmond, Virginia. During his military
service – which appears to have been between 1972 and 1975, Brother Bryce
served as a doctor at Homestead Air Force Base.
At the
University of Richmond, William double-majored in chemistry and mathematics. In
1970, he received his medical degree from the Medical College of Virginia. He
served an internship and residency at Roanoke Memorial Hospital from 1970 to
1972 before serving in the U.S. Air Force.
In 1975,
Brother Bryce returned to Richmond to begin his family practice. He partially
retired in 2002 and began a house call practice and worked small, contract
medical services for the federal government until 2004. Dr. Bryce was a member
of the Richmond Academy of Medicine, Medical Society of Virginia, American
Medical Association, and the Manchester Medical Society, of which he served as
president.
Respect
can be paid to Brother Bryce at Maury Cemetery, Richmond, VA.
28 JUN 2010
Korean
War Veteran and UT Alpha Brother Second Lieutenant Robert R. Evans, U.S. Air
Force died on this date. Bob enlisted in the National Guard (Army), serving two
years in the Korean War as an airplane navigator. Upon his return from the war,
he brought his leadership back to UT Alpha, participated in AFROTC, completed
his Bachelors of Science in Journalism in 1956, and was commissioned a Second
Lieutenant, U.S. Air Force at graduation.
At Utah
State University, Brother Evans led the USU student newspaper as editor, and
was an officer in the UT Alpha chapter. He later resigned his Air Force
commission, and began work as a reporter for the Logan Herald Journal, then the
Salt Lake Tribune, covering northern Utah, while pursuing an MS in Sociology.
A few
years later, as a SigEp advisor, Bob led the building campaign to construct a
new UT Alpha chapter house. A PhD from University of Wisconsin soon followed,
where his post-doctoral work and publications on smoking, health and behavior
were some of the first which linked smoking and negative health outcomes.
Relocating to Tucson, he was a sociology faculty member at the University of
Arizona, focusing on group dynamics and sociology of sexuality.
29 JUN
2012
U.S.
Army Air Corps World War II Veteran and WI Beta Brother John P. Griesbach, 85,
died on this date of congestive heart failure at St. David's Healthcare in
Round Rock, Texas. He briefly attended University of Wisconsin (UW) before
being drafted in to service during WWII. His basic Air Corps training was in
Biloxi, MS, and he was sent from there to Osaka, Japan.
After he
was released from the service, John returned to UW to pursue a degree in
Petroleum Geology. After working for Seaboard Oil Company in Ardmore, OK, he
moved back to Corpus Christi, TX in 1960, and formed his own company, Delta
American. He was an active geologist until retiring in 1998.
RECENT
LOSS TO THE ROLL
* 19 JUN
- U.S. Army Air Corps World War II Veteran and OH Gamma Brother Robert K.
Johnson, Jr., 91, passed away in Cincinnati, Ohio. He went to Ohio State until
the U.S. entered WWII, and then went to work building Wright engines for the
war effort, before enlisting in the Army Air Corps where he served from
1942-45. He was stationed in Egypt in 1944.
Our
thoughts and prayers go out to the family, friends and chapter brothers of
Brother Johnson. SPP pledges it will never forget you or your service to the
nation.
SIGEP
PATRIOT NEWS
** Early
on 23 JUN, Operation Enduring Freedom Veteran and fellow NY Eta Brother Staff
Sergeant Nathan Ibero, U.S. Army posted on Facebook that he was finally back in
the USA after his long deployment to Afghanistan. Welcome home and thank you
for your service!
** At 1130 tomorrow, in Building 33 of the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, DC, the Navy and Marine
Corps Medal – the second highest non-combat decoration awarded for heroism by
the U.S. Navy & U.S. Marine Corps – will be presented to four-time Operation Enduring Freedom Veteran
and MT Alpha Brother Petty Officer Second Class James T. Yancy, U.S. Navy. Last
April, Brother Yancy, at the risk of his own life, dove in to the water and
saved a member of the American diplomatic community from drowning while at a
private beach off the coast of Lagos, Nigeria. Congratulations J.T.!
There
are many brothers serving in uniform around the world accomplishing great
things, and we look forward to hearing from military and non-military brothers
who are interested in sharing and celebrating those items.
SPP
UPDATE
* As of
today, we know about 4,592 brothers who currently serve or previously served in
the U.S. military. Among these brothers are four-star generals & admirals,
computer scientists, congressman, governors. Over the past year, we have
learned about an additional 19 brothers who made the ultimate sacrifice for
this country when they were killed in action.
* This
week, we welcomed Two-time Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran and OH Rho Brother
Major Brian Murray, U.S. Army & FL Epsilon Brother Lieutenant Michael
Sanchez, U.S. Navy to SPP and our official Facebook group – SigEps Who Serve (SWS),
the only FB group comprised solely of SigEp Patriots. In the past year, SWS has
grown by nearly 20% and now 715 strong!
You can
find SWS at www.facebook.com/groups/sigepswhoserve. Not on Facebook? Just send
an email to sigepswhoserve@gmail.com to be connected with other military
brothers.
* SPP
T-shirts can still be purchased for $12 at
https://www.interstated.com/store/sigepic. Just scroll down to near the bottom
of the page.
* Join
100 others and follow us on Twitter @SigEpsWhoServe
SPP
would like to thank the numerous chapter officers, brothers, friends and
Headquarters personnel who have helped keep this noble effort successfully
moving forward for another year. Please keep passing the word and helping SPP
find, support, connect, honor, recognize and remember brothers who have given
so much to the nation.
Fraternally
and Respectfully,
Brother
Ed Jones, NY Eta ‘96
Chief
Petty Officer, U.S. Navy Reserve
Founder,
SigEp Patriots Project
Email:
SigEpsWhoServe@gmail.com
Twitter:
@SigEpsWhoServe
