01/10/2009

Posted on by

 

Weather report from Wally Garbe, Neola’s husband:
 
We got 13 inches of snow last night. To say the least Minot is shut down completely and most of Ward County. Schools are closed and many of the businesses. The forecast is for some more wind this afternoon. So we could have a good old North Dakota blizzard. Like the ones I remember many, many years ago.
 
 
 

Request from Jacqueline Hiatt Fix (79):
 
First off Gary thank for your hard work keeping us in touch with whats going in North Dakota today and taking us down memory lane.
 
My cousin Randy Hiatt son of Aunt Deloris (Hiatt) and Uncle LeRoy Birkland would like to be added to your distribution list. He lives in Seattle (or Suburb). His e-mail address
 
Thanks again for bringing us all closer.
 
Happy New Year!
Jacqueline (Hiatt) Fix
Gary Metcalfe and all, Randy Hiatt mentions Bing Evans in his message below as being his biological father. He would like to learn more about his father Bing. I think he has hit the jack pot with you Gary Metcalfe. I think you guys would be related too. Gary
 

Message from Randy Hiatt:

Gary I can’t believe how much you know about all the relatives in ND. I wouldn’t mind at all if you posted my e-mail. Thanks for bringing me closer to my family and friends.

As you have probably figured out this is my work e-mail address. Would it be to much trouble to ask you to add my home e-mail to the list? It is hapicamper2@comcast.net

Thanks Gary.

Randy Hiatt.

Randy’s message.

 

Gary thanks for adding me to your distribution list. I am neither the Randy Hiatt from Lynnwood or Everett. My wife Lori and I are from North BendWA. 98045.I have lived there for more than 20 years now. I was born in Dunseith in 1954 in the house my mom (Delores Hiatt) was living in and delivered by my aunt Margret (Fredy Hiatts wife). My step father who I was just back to see is Leroy Birkland and yes he lives in Bottineau.

I just read a lot of the e-mail that you sent me after this one. Dunseith Alumni Wow a lot of those names were very familiar. Like Dick Johnson who was my half brothers (Terry Hiatt) good friend.

As time goes on I want to learn more about my real father Evan Evans or Bing Evans as he was called. I know that he pasted away in a house fire when I was only 1 or 2 years old. Anyway it so good to hear about some of the people from the TurtleMountains.

 

Thanks Again

 

Randy Hiatt

Building Envelope Specialist

 

W.G. Clark Construction

 

O 206-340-6659

 

C 206-499-2940

 

 

 
From Gary Metcalfe (57):
 
To Sharon Gottbreht,
 
Good job Sharon! That is not Bing or Ole in the picture with Herman. If you go to message #70 you will see Ole with the gal he married in San Francisco and Bing in work uniform. Bing was 27 years old and Ole was 25 when they went in the service. They realized what they were in for from the beginning. Most of the replacements were probably 18 year old kids and the older soldiers felt terrible guilty for not being able to keep them alive in a rifle company. When Herman mentions Ick and Dary Ryan, I think he meant Ike Hagen??
When he says you all got to see Ole, Ole had been wounded pretty bad and had had 28 months in combat so needed rest badly. They sent him home for a time, 3 or 4 weeks maybe.
I am going to suggest the picture of Herman and the unknown soldier was at Boot Camp in Louisiana. It is fun trying to figure out the wat and when of a time so far in the past. I don’t think any of these men had a racket, this was about the time that they were abandoned by Patton and most of the units as they went into France and Normandy, the 34th went on to the end of Italy.
 
Here is another letter that Bing sent his mother dated
November 18, 1944
France
Dear Mother,
 
I’ll have to find out how Ole works that furlough stuff. I could go for a little of it myself. If I didn’t know him so well, I’d swear he was AWOL. Two generous furloughs in quick succession isn’t the usual thing you know.
 
The mail came in this evening with your letter of Oct. 27. Rather slow for a V-letter but I guess that’s to be expected this time of year. Christmas packages have been pouring in for more than two weeks now. I got one from Hanna and two from Edna about a week ago. Tell Edna the cookies were swell.
 
It appears the young ladies around that part of the country are making one last desperate drive while it’s still legal, and it’s a long time ’til ’48. Poor Ole. I wonder if he survived the mad rush of matrimonial-minded maidens?!? A Tech. Sgt. I hear is considered a pretty fair catch….up in them thar’ hills…should be good for about a hundred dollar monthly allotment, which ain’t to be sniffed at, by any means. As to my chances, —I feel confident and maybe just a bit smug over the fact that all First Sgts. in general are considered such utterly repulsive people, that even the most hardened character must indeed be in sorry straits to dare associate with one. However, being a cautious sort of a guy, I’ll stay away ’til Leap Year is over.
 
Over here, things are going much the same as usual, although the weather has turned somewat colder. We’ve already seen the first snowfall of the season, which melted within a few hours after the sun came out. Of course we’ve been issued warmer clothing and I for one, don’t fear the cold.
 
Best regards to all! Bing
 
PS. This blog is such a wonderful register of history that could just be forgotten. Now I wish I had my one and only letter from Ole to type into the blog, but….I have lost it. How sad for me. One thing I do remember from his letter is that he told his mother that “I had a coke today, the first one in over a year”.

Randy Hiatt, I will forward message #70 to you with those pictures. Gary Stokes

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Dick Johnson (68):
 
You all are doing a great job on the history of WWII. I really enjoy
hearing local stories of those who served. It does seem to me though
that some people, especially younger ones, really don’t care about this
stuff or even want to be bothered hearing about it. Little do they
realize that without the sacrifices that these men and women endured,
they would not have the life they take for granted today. I’m sure we
are not as removed from the issue because it was closer to our time and
much study of it was done during our schooling. Anyway the old slogan
‘Lest We Forget’ is certainly self explanatory! Memorial Day is becoming
a day to enjoy the lake or other activity when we need to remember what
the true purpose of the day is!

In the message from Sharron Gottbreht Shen, the picture of Hermann
Boucher and another man–I don’t think that is Bing Evans, but Gary
Metcalfe and his crew will know for sure. The letter is very interesting
and gives us an insight to what our local soldiers were up against.
Italy was another rough battle zone and was one Hitler did not want to
give up. The battles of Anzio, San Pietro, and Cassino were some of the
worst of the war. Heavy casualties for every yard gained. Thanks
Sharron, Gary M., and Gary S.!

Dick

 

 

 
 

 

Posted by Dick Johnson:

 

 

Gary and Friends,

Bill Hosmer mentioned his dad, Jack Hosmer and someone going to Kansas
City to recruit a baseball team. Today I was looking at an old Dunseith
Journal and here was the article—April 2, 1936. If there is some
interest from the readers I can scan the article and post it. Thanks Gary!

Dick

 

Gary,

 

Here is the article although it doesn’t fit the scanner completely. Thanks.

Dick

 

 

 

 

 

 

All rights reserved