Wisconsin State Teachers College - Meletean Yearbook (River Falls, WI)

Page 14 text:

Second LieuTenanT THOMAS H. GILL Thomas Hopkins Gill was The son oT LieuTenanT Colonel and Mrs. Dewey R. Gill oT WauwaTosa, Wisconsin. He aTTended River Falls Teachers College during i939-I94O. He enlisTed in January, l942, and served in The Army Air Forces in The European TheaTer oT operaTion. He received The Purple HearT and recogniTion oT The excellenT way in which he handled his plane, saving The lives oT all crew members. He meT his deaTh SepTember 26, I944, in a B-24, probably over Holland. LieuTenanT Gill married DoroThy Jane Taylor in l942, and They had one daughTer, Nancy Taylor Gill. STaFF Sergeani' ELDON GILLES Eldon Gilles aTTended River Falls Teachers College in I938- I939. Tollowing his graduaTion Trom The Plum CiTy High School. He enTered The service in OcTober, I942, and was senT overseas in OcTober, I944, in The Army Air Forces. STaTT SergeanT Gilles was an armor gunner on a B-24 in The EighTh Air Force and was sTaTioned in Shipdam, England. He had compleTed all his missions and was awaiTing passage To The UniTed STaTes when he was killed in an aircraTT crash over Gairloch, ScoTland, June I3, I945. He had received The Air Medal wiTh Two oak leaf clusTers. LieuTenanT DEAN W. GORDON Dean W. Gordon enTered The service in December, 1943, and became a piloT in The Army Air Forces in The PaciTic TheaTer. He had Tlown around IZOO hours overseas, making Trips To AusTralia and almosT all The islands in The SouTh Pacific. His plane moved supplies and Troops To The Torward areas as soon as They were Taken. IT supporTed The EighTh Army's drive inTo Mindanao and helped carry all The sup- plies used in The operaTion-The TirsT Time an engagemem' had been supporTed enTirely by air. His deaTh occurred July I7, I945, when his plane crashed on MT. CalaviTe on The island oT Mindora on a mail run. He received The AsiaTic-PaciTic ribbon wiTh Tive baTTle sTars, The Philippine LiberaTion ribbon, and was eligible Tor The Air Medal. He is survived by his parenTs, Mr. and Mrs. Harry Gordon, and Two broThers, one oT whom, Dale'Gordon, is aTTending coll- ege.

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TXS JAMES GORDON FLATHE James Gordon FlaThe was born in Winnipeg. Canada, The son oT Mr. and Mrs. John FlaThe, who came To The SouTh Fork disTricT near River Falls in l938. He had enTered The Teachers College in I937 Trom The Pepin High School and remained unTil I939. He enTered The army in January, I943, and served in The Reconnaissance division-armored Cavalry. He was senT overseas and ToughT on The Tields oT Normandy, where he was wounded July 4, I944, and succumbed To his wounds The nexT day. His broTher, STaTT SergeanT George FlaThe, was lcilled in acTion in Belgium, January 3I, l945, aTTer having been in service Tive years. AnoTher loroTher, Gerard, was in The Royal Canadian Air Force in England. LieuTenanT JOHN D. FRANK John D. Frank oT Phillips came To River Falls in I939 and spenT Two years aT The Teachers College in The AgriculTure deparTmenT, enlisring in The Naval Reserves in AugusT, l94l. He received his wings aT Pensacola, Florida, and was as- signed To aTrol duTy aT Panama and laTer aT Jamaica. He was Transferred To a TighTer plane, and his Training con- Tinued unTil The carrier USS Kaason Bay was senT inTo acTion in July, I944, in The invasion oT SouThern France, He Tlew a carrier-based navy TighTer plane in This invasion, and was reporTed missing AugusT I7, I94-4. He had been awarded The Air Medal and received The Purple HearT. A broTher, Bernard, served wiTh The armed Torces in The SouTh Paciiic. ln 1944, LieuTenanT Franlc married Miss Eleanor CurTis aT Pleasanhfille, N. Y. His parenTs are Mr. and Mrs. Disrnas E. Frank oT Phillips, Wisconsin. Privaie CHARLES L. GANSKE Charles L. Ganslce, son oT Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ganslce OT CheTelc, graduaTed Trom The CheTek High School and came To River Falls in I939. He remained here Through I939- l94O, majoring in science. SepTember 29, l94I, he joined The armed Torces and Thus was in service before Pearl Har- loor. He wenT overseas and served in The Philippine Islands. He was missing aT BaTaan and died in CabanaTuan prison, SepTernber 28, l942.

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Technical SergeanT EUGENE GOSSEN Eugene Gossen, The son oT Mr. and Mrs. J. Gossen oT Bessef mer, Michigan, graduaTed Trom The River Falls Teachers College wiTh The degree OT B.E. in I937. He TaughT in The River Falls High School unTiI his inducTion in February, I942. He served in The Army Air Forces in The 394Th Bombardmeni Squadron in The AsiaTic-PaciTic Area. ShorTly aTTer his ar- rival aT his base in The PaciTic he was killed in a crash landing wiTh live bombs which exploded. He received The Purple HearT and CiTaTion oT Honor. SergeanT Gossen was much inTeresTed in Boy ScouTing and The River Falls ScouT home has been named The Eugene Gossen Lodge in his honor. ln June, 1943, he married Marian Tracy, also a sTudenT oT The college. LieuTenanT WALTER GUIN N VV'alTer Guinn aTTended The Teachers College Trom I933 To 1936, majoring in hisTory and The social sTudies. He was especially acTive in YMCA and in The men's chorus and a cappella choir. He enlisTed in The Army Air Forces in January. l942, and was commissioned lieuTenanT. He meT his deaTh December 29, I943, aT Deming Field, New Mexico, where imperTecT venTilaTion and heaTing TaciliTies in Their Trailer home caused his deaTh by asphyxiaTion, TogeTher wiTh ThaT oT his wiTe, Genevieve Kondrasuk Guinn, and Their Tive- year-old son. LieuTenanT HOWARD E. HTNES Howard E. Hines enlisTed in The Army Air Forces SepTember 29, I942, aTTer aTTending college one year, l94O, and be- came a piloT oT a B-24 LiberaTor in England, where he en- gaged in combaT over Germany wiTh The 445Th Bombard- menT group. He had compleTed more Than TwenTy-eighT heavy bombardmenT missions over Germany, had been shoT down Twice, buT had each Time broughT his plane back To England. On April 22, I945, he was killed in a plane crash near HoningTon, England, while on a non-combaT mission. He was awarded The DisTinguished Flying Cross and The Air Medal wiTh Two oak leaT clusTers. LieuTenanT Hines was The son oT Mr. and Mrs. ErnesT M. Hines oT EllsworTh. A broTher, Tf5 Willard L. Hines, served in The PaciTic in Okinawa. ln I94l he married Frances A. Brookshaw oT EllsworTh.