Harold R. Devies

Harold graduated from Marlboro Twp. High School in 1939 and attempted to enlist in the Ohio National Guard in 1940. He needed his mom's approval and she wouldn't give it so in November of 1940 he went to work for the Natural Gas Co of W.V in Alliance and retired 43 years later.

However, on his 21^st birthday, July, 1942 he registered for the draft but was deferred until October 1942 when he was finally inducted. From there he was sent to Ft. Hayes, Columbus, OH for processing.His 1^st assignment was to the Army Air Force Ordinance Depot at Municipal Airport in Baltimore, MD. After spending 3 months in combustible engine repair school at Camp Holabird, Md, he went back to Baltimore.

Sometime in 1943 he was sent to Camp Springs, near Upper Marlboro, MD to a new Air Force base (it is now Andrews Air Force Base. His next assignment was to NCO school at Ft. Lee VA then back to Camp Springs to work in automotive repair until late 1944. He applied for OCS and was accepted but didn't make the grade to become an officer.

January of 1945 found him going from Aberdeen Proving Grounds in MD to Indiantown Gap PA for 3 weeks, then on to Jackson Barracks in New Orleans, LA for a month. In Feb 1945 he was sent to the Panama Canal Zone to help give relief to soldiers who were being returned to the US for discharge. There was an overnight stop at Guantonimo Bay to refuel and sailors were permitted shore leave.

In Panama he worked in a warehouse which provided the army with tools and equipment to repair war armaments. War ships were passing through the Panama Canal frequently. He saw the "Ben Franklin" with multiple shell holes in the flight deck. The battleship USS Missouri became stuck in the locks at Miraflores and it took 9 hours to dislodge the "Mighty Mo" before she could pass on into the Atlantic Ocean.

In January 1946 it was his turn to head home. Within 48 hours after docking he was on a train to Camp Atterbury IN where 2 weeks later he was heading home with his discharge papers in his hands. The month of February 1946 found him getting re-acquainted with civilian life, family and friends.

In March, Lt. Mary Umberger, an Army Nurse who had been in the ETO for 10 months arrived home and accepted an engagement ring. They were married and had 3 children. Their one daughter is a LPN and their only son who is a Gulf War Veteran retired after serving 20 years in the Air Force Medical Corps.

Ron Hafner

Ron Hafner was a member of the U.S. Air Force from March 1981 to March 1984. He served in the 21st Civil Engineering Squadron at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage AK where he received the Air Force Achievement Medal for his work with hazardous and toxic waste. He then went to the 42nd Civil Engineering Squadron at the Loring AFB in Caribou ME. He was also a member of Prime Beef (Base Engineer Emergency Forces).

Donald Selby

(Continued from the Navy section) His enlistment date was 25 June 1956. He spent two weeks in the Basic Training Sqdn and then was transferred to the Training Band Sqdn. Duty consisted of playing parade in the morning and then had light duty the rest of the day. Tech school was at Scott AFB in IL where he received his second stripe. He was shipped to RAF Sculthorpe, England which was a NATO airfield for medium range B-66 bombers with nuke capacity. Twenty four hours a day two planes, loaded with nuke devices, were ready to leave in one minute. He was assigned to the 420th Aerial Refueling Sqdn. which first flew KB29's then later KB50 aircraft. The squadron lost two KB 29's the week before he arrived losing 17 men and then they lost two KB50s over St. Lo, France the summer of 1958 with the loss of all crew members with a total loss of no less than 18 men. All four planes were on combat related missions during the Cold War. Don finished his tour of duty working in the 47th Bomb Wing Hdqtrs which was the base command unit. He returned to the U.S. 24 June 1959 and because he was under the eight year service program he received his final discharge 20 April 1960.

"May the men and boys from the 420th Squadron that gave their lives have clear skies and a smooth flight."