I have used the phrase “fallen heroes” to describe all of the service individuals I have written about to date. Very rarely, if ever, do I find an eyewitness account of the individual’s heroic sacrifice. In researching the life of Tuscarawas County’s Staff Sergeant Fred Schenk (1915-1945), and his death during the Battle of theContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Staff Sergeant Fred Schenk”
Category Archives: fallen heroes
Fallen Heroes: Private Daniel F. Freed
If you have read any of my previous Fallen Heroes posts you know that many of the heroes profiled do not die on the battlefield. Accidents and disease occur that take the lives of those prepared to sacrifice it in the service of their country. Sometimes the most heart wrenching losses occur shortly after aContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private Daniel F. Freed”
Fallen Heroes: Private Joseph Lawver
Any death by soldiers serving their country are tragic losses, sometimes those deaths occur in battle, sometimes from accidents, and oftentimes due to illness. The tragedy of the death of Joseph Lawver (1893-1918) in World War One was tragic for other reasons as well. Joseph was the only son of Sugarcreek Township, Tuscarawas County farmerContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private Joseph Lawver”
Fallen Heroes: Private Robert C. Watson
Very rarely do we learn the details of how a fallen hero met their death and, often, the oral history of what may have happened can be flawed or incomplete. In the case of Newport, Tuscarawas County’s Robert C. Watson (1922-1943), how he lost his life serving overseas was well documented by his unit. RobertContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private Robert C. Watson”
Fallen Heroes: Private Andrew Huth
The death of soldiers from disease was common during the American Civil War and soldiers from Tuscarawas County were not immune. Andrew Huth (1843-1863) died in Tennessee in the spring of 1863 from typhoid, but had already proven himself to be a “generous and brave” soldier worthy of remembrance. The Huth family arrived in TuscarawasContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private Andrew Huth”
Fallen Heroes: Corporal Melvin Lauver
While many of Ohio’s fallen heroes rest in cemeteries in their home state, many others never returned home. When Uhrichsville’s Melvin Lauver (1915-1943) entered the United States Army in 1942, he and his family never anticipated that he would be memorialized 4000 miles from his hometown. When Melvin Lauver was born in Uhrichsville in 1915,Continue reading “Fallen Heroes: Corporal Melvin Lauver”
Fallen Heroes: Private Frederick Gibson
I never tire of learning about people in history who were able to see more of the world than one might expect for someone of their era. Oftentimes the mechanism for that travel was through service in the military. Frederick Gibson (1877-1900), who grew up in Mill Township, Tuscarawas County, was one of those soldiersContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private Frederick Gibson”
Fallen Heroes: Private John P. Rose
My grandfather served with the United States Army in North Africa during World War Two, and that theater of the war has always held a special interest for me. When I discovered that Dover, Ohio resident John P. Rose (1918-1942) had served and sacrificed his life in that campaign, I wanted to discover more aboutContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private John P. Rose”
Fallen Heroes: Private Thomas J. Ayers
I have always found myself attracted to telling the stories of people whose lives were not as widely known and who, nonetheless, are deserving of remembrance. The short lives of those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country are of particular interest to me. This series of blogs, Fallen Heroes, will examine those lives.Continue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private Thomas J. Ayers”
Fallen Heroes: Private James McMerter
One of the reasons I became a historian in the first place was because I enjoyed discovering, and telling, the stories of people who’s history has been lost. Whenever I come across a person whose life has been all but forgotten, especially when that person volunteered to serve their country, I feel a special motivationContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private James McMerter”
Tuscarawas County Stories 