Norwich University - War Whoop Yearbook (Northfield, VT)

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ff -3XgxXSXxx ,-if fff- J, .-f1xf.,- xxgg .- , .9.9- RALPH SHEPARD MADISON C1,,,, gf 1945 Corporal, 2nd Marine Division Ralph was ordered to the Hawaiian Islands after completing his training as a radio operator and repairman. He trained in the Islands for his duties as the radio operator of an amphibious tank with the 2nd Marine Division. He was engaged in the battle for Saipan on July 3, 1944, when the tank in which he was a crew member struck a mine. He and one other crewman of the seven-man crew were killed instantly. Mrs. Jean Madison and her two-year-old son, Lyn Francis, make their home in Northfield, Vermont. Ralph's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Francis Madison, reside in East Greenwich, Rhode Island. survive him. Daiuo LOUIS SASSOROSSI clam of 1945 Private First Class, 314th Infantry Dario was selected to participate in the Army Specialized Train- ing Program after his entry into the Army in April, 1943. He attended Colorado College, after which he was assigned to Fort Leonard Wood for infantry training. He was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge for his performance of duty with Company L. On January 16, 1945, his company was advancing in the vicinity of Rohrwiller, France, when they were subjected to an artillery barrage. Dario was hit by shrapnel, and was killed instantly. He was laid to rest in the United States Military Cemetery at Epinal, France. I ' I His mother and father, Mr. and Mrs. Louis Sassorossi, reside in Barre, Vermont, where Dario was born on October 1, 1923. TWENTY-FIVE A. ROBERT OGSTON Class of 1945 Private, 350th Infantry, 88th Division In the battle of Salerno, on july 10, 1944, Bob's unit, Com- pany K, was advancing against the enemy, who were entrenched in a mountainous region.. Bob was hit in the head by shrapnel and thus made the supreme sacrifice. Before departing for overseas, Bob was married on May 10, 1943, to Betty Jean Pharris of Tulsa, Oklahoma. His wife and daughter, who was born five days before her father waas killed, Prior to his death, Bob had taken part in the battle for Anzio, and had been awarded the Combat Infantry Badge.

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Lf xx fffffff f 11- xxgggfff' .1 SAMUEL SLATER DURFEE Class of 1945 First Lieutenant, 57th Fighter Group, 12th Air Force Sam,' was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with four oak leaf clusters for his achievements in eighty-five missions with the 64th Fighter Squadron in Italy. His unit was cited for outstanding achievements by the President of the United States on four different occasions. Upon his return to the United States, Sam was assigned to Biggs Field, Texas. While he was engaged in target maneuvers in Otero County, New Mexico, a wing came off his plane as he dived toward his target, and he was killed instantly when his airplane crashed to the ground. His wife, Mrs. Teddy Wilson Durfee, of Florida, and his mother and stepfather, Mr. and Mrs. F. Olliver Brown, of Wickford, Rhode Island, survive him. HENRY JOHN FRANK Class of 1945 Staff Sergeant, 334th Bomb Group QMJ, Army Air Force Henry .Frank completed the Gunnery Course at Fort Meyers, Florida, and was rated as an aerial gunner. He remained at that school as a gunnery instructor until he was transferred to Columbia, South Carolina, thence to Greenville, South Carolina, for opera- tional training in B-25, Mitchell, bombers. On May 16, 1944, he was returning with his crew in a B-25 from a training mission when, in their attempt to land, the plane failed to respond to the controls, crashed into the ground, and burst into flames. Sergeant Frank lost his life, as did the entire crew. Mrs. Margaret E. and Mr. William H. Frank, his mother and father, survive him. They make their home in South Norwalk, Connecticut. l JAMES M. LOGAN Class of 1945 Corporal, 513th Parachute Regiment, 17th Airborne Division Jim took an active part in community affairs before coming to Norwich. He was a Scout patrol leader and interested himself in the Norwalk Methodist Church. Jim's unit, the 17th Airborne Division, was flown to Paris from England, where they had completed their training, on Decem- ber 24, 1944. Because of a blinding blizzard, the Division went into action as infantry on January 1, 1945, for the blizzard blocked any plan for parachuting into combat. He was an expert rifleman, but was serving as a machine gunner on January 7, 1945, near Flamierge, Belgium, when he was killed by an enemy tank artillery barrage after assisting a wounded com- panion into his foxhole. Jim,' was buried in the United States Military Cemetery, Grand Failly, ten miles north of Verdun, France. His mother and father, Mr. and Mrs. David O. Logan, who sur- vive him, livc in Norwalk, Connecticut. TWENTY-FOUR

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ff XX ,,,,-,,, I ff- .f VICTOR F. BELOTTI, JR. Class of 1946 Flight Officer, Army Air Corps On December 27, 1944, Flight Officer Belotti was the Hrst pilot of a B-24, Liberator, on his last flight with his crew before departing for overseas when his airplane exploded in mid-air over Mantauck, Long Island, New York. The entire crew lost their lives in the explosion. Victor attended school in Newton and in Somerville, Massachu- setts, before coming to Norwich. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Victor F. Belotti, now live in Somerville, Massachusetts. MICHAEL JAMES BIAKIS Class of 1946 F Second Lieutenant, Army Air Corps Mike attended the Technical High School in Springfield, where he took an active part in various class functions. In addi- tion to his school acticities, he was a member of the St. George Greek Orthodox Memorial Church and the AHEPA, Chapter 85. Mike had completed seven missions as a bomber pilot over Germany when on January 19, 1945, he did not return from a training mission conducted under adverse weather conditions. The crew and airplane have never been found. He is survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Biakis, of Springheld, Massachusetts. .1 S , NS, XVAYNE S. BURGESS Class of 1946 Apprentice Seaman, United States Navy XVayne came to Norwich from Bradford, Vermont, where he had graduated from Bradford Academy in 1943 with second honors in his class. After leaving Norwich, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, but was rejected because of a minor physical disability. Later, he enlisted in the- Navy, and was attending Dartmouth College under the Navy V-12 program. He was involved in an automobile accident caused by icy roads in the vicinity of St. Johnsbury, Vermont, while on leave. He died in the Brightlook Hospital in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, on January 1, 1945. Mr. A. C. Burgess, his father, resides in Bradford, Vermont. TWENTY-SIX