fallen heroes – Tuscarawas County Stories

Fallen Heroes: Corporal Russell D. May

Photograph of the retreat from North Korea by UN Forces, December 1950. (Source: artsandculture.google.com)

A soldier from Tuscarawas County vanished in a frozen Korean gauntlet, leaving his family waiting years for answers. Russell D. May (1928-1950) was the son of Eugene Curtis May (1896-1957) and Mary Adeline Shonk (1906-1981). He grew up in the rural communities of Sugar Creek and Wayne Townships alongside his siblings, including a brother andContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Corporal Russell D. May”

Fallen Heroes: Seaman Duane Stalder

The USS Spence, c. 1943. (Source: navsource.com)

A young New Philadelphia man gave the ultimate sacrifice while serving in the Pacific during World War Two. Duane Jay Stalder (1926-1944) was born in Tuscarawas County to parents Harry Godfrey Stalder (1898-1970) and Goldie Armbrust (1903-1966). Harry’s father was a laborer in the various industries in Tuscarawas County, including brick works and steel mills.Continue reading “Fallen Heroes: Seaman Duane Stalder”

Fallen Heroes: Private Clarence R. Benson

A young railroad fireman turned soldier, Clarence Benson, answered his nation’s call and made the ultimate sacrifice. Clarence Russell Benson (1895-1918) was born in Uhrichsville, Ohio, the youngest child of David Benson (1856–1939), an Ohio-born railroad car carpenter, and Rebecca Jane Hefling Benson (1863–1943), also a native of Ohio. He grew up in Uhrichsville, whereContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private Clarence R. Benson”

Fallen Heroes: PFC Carl E. Anderson

Troops of the 81st Infantry Division during the Battle of Angaur, 1942.

Carl Eugene Anderson’s short life traced a path from Depression-era Tuscarawas County to a distant Pacific battlefield. Carl Eugene Anderson (1922-1942) was born in Tuscarawas County, Ohio, the son of George William Anderson (1884-1967), a coal miner, and Mabel Marie Collar Anderson (1889–1974). He entered the world as the Anderson family was growing and firmlyContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: PFC Carl E. Anderson”

Fallen Heroes: Specialist 6 James T. Conway

Helicopter of the 15th Medical Battalion of the 1st Cavalry Division in Vietnam, c. 1970. (Source: 15thmedbnassociation.org)

James Thaddeus Conway grew up in Tuscarawas County before service to country carried him to Vietnam and the ultimate sacrifice. James Thaddeus Conway (1946-1970) was born in Dennison, Ohio. He was the son of Thaddeus Conway (1909-1989), a World War II veteran, and Leithana Mary Hammond (1908-2000). In the early 1930s, Thaddeus Conway’s family movedContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Specialist 6 James T. Conway”

Fallen Heroes: Flight Sergeant Paul F. Brawley

Vickers Wellingtons of 9 Squadron flying in formation. RAF photographer - This photograph CH 5 comes from the collections of the Imperial War Museums.

Born in Newcomerstown, Ohio, Paul Franklin Brawley rose from orphaned youth to wartime aviator. Paul Franklin Brawley (1914-1942) was born in Newcomerstown, Ohio, the only child of Edward Brawley (1860-1922) and Lydia Miller (1876-1928). His parents married, three years before Paul’s birth, in Stark County, Ohio. It was Edward’s second marriage after the death ofContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Flight Sergeant Paul F. Brawley”

From the Bizarre Crime to the Heroic Death of Norman J. Hollis

AI generated image depicting a phonograph player playing a record in the Dover, Ohio police station in 1942. (Source: Microsoft Designer)

A Dover man, torn by rejection, planned a horrible crime only to have it lead to his heroic death. Born in 1924, Norman James Hollis (1924-1944) was the second child of Floyd James Hollis (1900-1983) and Bessie Lovett (1906-1970), who married four years earlier in Wayne County, Tennessee. Around the time of Norman’s birth, theContinue reading “From the Bizarre Crime to the Heroic Death of Norman J. Hollis”

Fallen Heroes: Seaman 2nd Class Robert L. Hammersley

AI generated image of the USS Leary being struck by a German torpedo in the North Atlantic, 2024. (Source: Google ImageFX"

The story of this fallen hero traces a young Ohioan’s journey from his small-town roots to his ultimate sacrifice at sea during World War II. The Hammersley family’s roots were firmly planted in Ohio by the time Thomas E. Hammersley (1896–1957) was born in Coshocton County. The family moved to Wheeling Township, Guernsey County whereContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Seaman 2nd Class Robert L. Hammersley”

Fallen Heroes: Staff Sergeant Joseph A. Pancheri

Altered image of American soldiers standing on the deck of a troop transport ship during World War Two.

Joseph Pancheri’s life, marked by dedication to his family and country, ended tragically during one of World War II’s most devastating and long-concealed maritime disasters. Severino Pancheri (1893–1957) immigrated from an Italian speaking territory in Austria in 1913, arriving in New York harbor on March 23 that year aboard the SS Niagara. Severino initially settledContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Staff Sergeant Joseph A. Pancheri”

Fallen Heroes: Private Francis Blickensderfer

Maj. Gen. Sherman and staff This view was taken in the trenches before Atlanta, Ga. Stereograph shows Sherman standing with officers next to cannon before siege of Atlanta in 1864. (Source: loc.gov)

This fallen hero was the descendant of an American Revolutionary War patriot and early settler of Tuscarawas County. He would make his sacrifice in a war to preserve the nation his ancestor helped create. The Blickensderfer family arrived in Tuscarawas County, Ohio with the arrival of Christian Blickenderfer, Jr. (1753-1820) and his family who purchasedContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private Francis Blickensderfer”