“To Avoid Ridicule From Others”: 1961 Gnadenhutten UFO

Having gone through a number of the Project Blue Book files available online, I decided instead to look at local UFO sightings that have been reported to groups dedicated to documenting such occurrences. The following account of an encounter from 1961 was reported to one of these organizations by an anonymous individual I will callContinue reading ““To Avoid Ridicule From Others”: 1961 Gnadenhutten UFO”

Fallen Heroes: Corporal Arthur T. Friley

Many imagine that only men from the Navy or Coast Guard saw duty on the numerous patrol boats that operated in the rivers of South Vietnam. The Army, however, also played a part in what they referred to as “riverine” operations. The story of this fallen hero is one example of that type of service.Continue reading “Fallen Heroes: Corporal Arthur T. Friley”

Fallen Heroes: Private Frederick F. Bukey

When a soldier goes off to war, they recognize that there is always the possibility that they may never return home. Some of those soldiers may survive the battlefield only to be captured by the enemy and sent away to a far-off prison-of-war camp. If they were lucky they returned home, but not in theContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private Frederick F. Bukey”

Fallen Heroes: Corporal Walter J. Weigand

Some fallen heroes never see a battlefield. Their lives are lost during training, transportation, illness and any number of other ways. Regardless of how, or when they lose their lives in the service of their country, their willingness to sacrifice should never be forgotten. Magnus Weigand (1804-aft. 1883), with his wife and son, stepped offContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Corporal Walter J. Weigand”

Fallen Heroes: Seaman 2nd Class Walter Proeger

The subject of this profile was a Tuscarawas County resident for only a few years before making the ultimate sacrifice to his country. The branch of service in which he served is not often associated with war, but during World War Two it’s members played a pivotal role in the war effort. Conrad Proeger (1844-1896)Continue reading “Fallen Heroes: Seaman 2nd Class Walter Proeger”

“Evaluated as Unknown”: A UFO Sighting in Carrollton

I thought I would pay another visit to the Project Blue Book files to see if any other local UFO sightings were investigated by the United States Air Force. The following is one such sighting from neighboring Carroll County in July 1956. The young doctor and his wife were entertaining their two young nieces atContinue reading ““Evaluated as Unknown”: A UFO Sighting in Carrollton”

Fallen Heroes: Private Jerry J. Page

When it is difficult for me to find historical information on a fallen hero, as it was in this case, I am motivated even more to tell their story. Most of the individuals featured in this series died young, before they could live active and well documented lives. Nonetheless, their family history, service and sacrificeContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private Jerry J. Page”

Fallen Heroes: Specialist 5 James B. Alexander

The first Tuscarawas County soldier to lose his life in Vietnam was not some young-faced draftee straight out of high school. He was a career soldier who had served in two previous wars and been wounded in battle once. His death, and those that died with him that day, would bring the Vietnam War intoContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Specialist 5 James B. Alexander”

Fallen Heroes: Private Darrell O. Beiter

Many Tuscarawas County young men witnessed the brutality of trench warfare in France during World War One. Many of those suffered debilitating wounds and the less obvious mental illnesses associated with “shell-shock”. Then there were those who gave the ultimate sacrifice and among them, as in the case of this fallen hero, were the menContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private Darrell O. Beiter”

Fallen Heroes: Private Jacob Fribley

The battlefields of the Civil War are well known to most students of history, and in some cases certain parts of those battlefields become famous. The Burnside Bridge on the Antietam battlefield is one example. This fallen hero gave the ultimate sacrifice defending that landmark. Jacob Fribley (1784-1852) was born in Pennsylvania and, shortly afterContinue reading “Fallen Heroes: Private Jacob Fribley”