DeSorgher: A Salute to the Greatest Generation

Since the start of 2012, three life-long Medfield residents and veterans of WWII have died: Red Palumbo, Roger Hardy and Bill Kelly.

Between them they had a total of 267 years living in Medfield. Each year, fewer and fewer of our WWII Veterans remain alive. This Memorial Day’s article is in honor of Red Palumbo, Roger Hardy and Bill Kelly, whose lives symbolize the best our country has to offer.

The following article tells about the 10 Medfield boys who died for their country in WWII. The photos contain some of the many faces of our town's youth who left their little hometown of Medfield, put their lives on hold and went off to fight for their country in WWII.

OCRAN KNEHR

Ocran Knehr went into the navy just out of high school in 1935. By 1941, President Roosevelt had the United States fighting an undeclared war against the Germans in the North Atlantic. US planes and ships were tracking German ships and U-boats and radioing their locations to British war ships and planes. Knehr was a navy radio operator on a PBM Flying Boat based in Iceland. The aircraft carried bombs and machine guns. Their mission was to bomb German submarines, strafe invading German troops, sea search and rescue and gather intelligence.

In his letters he describes bombing, shooting and being shot at. In November of 1941, Knehr's aircraft was returning from a mission and followed a radio signal into a sea cliff out side Reykjavik, Iceland—all 12 on board were killed. Ocran Knehr was buried from the Congregational Church in Medfield (today’s ) on Dec. 7, 1941. His funeral was interrupted to announce the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

JOSEPH WILSON PACE

Joseph Wilson Pace was born in Portsmouth, N.H. on Nov. 1, 1917. Known as Joe, he was the son of Dorcas and Ralph Pace. Ralph died when Joe was just 12 years old. The family, which included younger brothers John and Ralph moved to Saugus, Mass., where Joe graduated from Saugus High School. Finding a job at the Medfield Hat Factory, Dorcus moved the family to Medfield and settled at 6 Green St.

In 1938, Joseph enlisted in the United States Navy. As a radioman 3rd class he was stationed aboard the USS Pennsylvania. Due to rising tensions between the United States and Japan, Roosevelt had our Pacific Fleet moved from San Diego to Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands.

On Sunday morning, Dec. 7, 1941, Joseph Pace was asleep on board the Pennsylvania. Suddenly and with complete surprise, Japanese dive bombers and torpedo bombers roared out of the high overcast. The USS Pennsylvania was one of the first ships in the harbor to open fire. Her 50-caliber machine gun crew had their guns in action even before “general quarters” was sounded. The intensity of the fires was now all around the Pennsylvania. Bomb fragments pockmarked the battleship. Joseph Pace raced as fast as he could to the upper deck to his radio post.

On his way up the ladder he was hit by flying shrapnel from the Japanese planes flying overhead, strafing the deck with bullets and with exploding bomb fragments. It was from these injuries that Pace died. A total of 2,388 men, women and children were killed during the attack. Twenty-one vessels of our Pacific Fleet lay sunk or damaged. The attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into WWII and will always be remembered by the words of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as a “date which will live in infamy.”

Richard C Werner

Richard Werner grew up on Harding Street and was the son of Grayce and Chester Werner. As a child he was the victim of polio but with the loving care of his parents, he was able to defeat the disease. He was left with one leg shorter than the other and with numbness in his toes. In 1941, Richard graduated from . After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he joined the Medfield unit of the Massachusetts State Guard.

On Feb. 5, 1943, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps. When the Army doctors discovered the damage polio had done to his feet, they were hesitant about accepting him. Richard convinced them that he did not need two good feet to fly. By May of 1944 he was a staff sergeant aboard a B-24 Liberator and was a turret gunner. On May 22, 1944 his plane departed from a base in Southern Italy on a bombing mission to Piombino, Italy.

Under heavy enemy gunfire, the plane was hit and was last seen heading towards Corsica. Richard and his crew were never seen again. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

Robert Sproul

Robert Sproul moved to Medfield with his family in 1938. The Sproul family resided at 378 Main St. Robert graduated from Medfield High School with the Class of 1939—he enlisted in the Army Air Corps on Jan. 7, 1943 at the height of WWII. Robert received his pilot wings and commission in November 1943. He attained the rank of Second Lieutenant and served as a pilot on a B-17. His squadron was sent to England where they flew bombing runs over German occupied Europe.

On Aug. 1, 1944, during the great allied breakout of Normandy and the campaign to liberate France, Robert’s B-17 was shot down over France. All on board were killed. Lt. Robert Sproul was buried in the American Military cemetery over looking Omaha Beach. A memorial service was held in Medfield at .

John Crowder

John Crowder was born in Boston on Dec. 27, 1920. He was the son of Helen and Philip Crowder and later the step son of Clarence Palady. John enlisted from Medfield into the army nine days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he was 20 years old. John became a trooper with the 101st Airborne Division “Screaming Eagles.”

Sgt. Crowder was part of the D-Day invasion of France, June 6, 1944 in what would become the greatest invasion force ever assembled. The invasion on the beaches of Normandy, France was an attempt to gain a foothold in Europe so Allied forces could begin to push back the forces of Hitler and liberate the Nazi occupied countries in Europe. Sgt. Crowder’s division had left England shortly after midnight before the start of the invasion. They were dropped into German occupied France to secure the roads leading into and out of Normandy.

They were given the task of preventing German re-enforcements form entering Normandy and stopping escaping Germans from fleeing the battle area. Sgt. Crowder was killed shortly after landing in France early on the morning of June 6, 1944.

Thomas Clewes

Thomas Clewes was born on Sept. 6, 1914 in Framingham, the son of Frank and Katherine Clews. He grew up in Millis and graduated from Millis High School with the Class of 1934. In 1939, he moved to Medfield, living on Hospital Road and later on Brook Street, During WWII Clewes served in the United States Army, 164th infantry, obtaining the rank of Sgt.

Thomas Clewes died from wounds suffered by Japanese machine guns during an attack on Jan. 1, 1944 near the Torokina River in Bougainville, Solomon Islands. Clews lay wounded and while pinned down by gunfire, he continually coached his men through the action. Clews was finally dragged to safety, through Japanese fire, by fellow soldiers. After arriving back at company headquarters, Clews died of the wounds he received in battle. He was buried in the American cemetery in the Philippines next to his brother Corporal Ernest Clewes of the 5th US cavalry, who also died of wounds received in action in April of 1944. Thomas Clews left behind his wife and 3-year-old daughter.

Earl W. Lee

Earl W. Lee, a graduate of Medfield High School, Class of 1939 was killed over France in July of 1944. He was an aerial engineer in the 707th Bombing Squad.

Vincent Paul Bravo

Vincent Bravo grew up on Spring Street. Zeke as his friends called him graduated from Medfield High School with the Class of 1937. After Pearl Harbor, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps, where he became a flight engineer on a B26 bomber. On June 3, 1943 on route from Iceland to a combat mission over Europe, his plane crashed into a mountain in Northern Scotland during bad weather. All five crew members onboard were killed. Buried first in England, his body was returned home after the war and buried with full military honors from St. Edward’s Church.

His body was brought on a caisson, drawn by horses, to Vine Lake Cemetery for final burial. He was given the honor of the same caisson used to carry the body of President Franklin Roosevelt during his funeral.

John Ross Jr.

John Ross Jr. was born Aug. 25, 1925 in New York. The Ross family moved to Medfield in 1939 and lived for many years at 82 Spring St. After graduating from Medfield High School in 1943, John enlisted in the US Coast Guard and attained the rank of signalman 3rd class. John’s ship was taking part in the invasion of Okinawa. It was Sunday afternoon, June 3, 1945 when his ship was the victim of a Japanese suicide plane attack.

The Kamikaze slammed into the ship, killing John and severely wounded others. The injuries received were too severe for him to survive. At the time of the attack he was in the tower and it was he who received notice of the alert of oncoming Japanese Kamikazes and it was he who sounded the general alarm in warning to his shipmates. His commanding officer said that had it not been for this consideration for the welfare of his ship and his shipmates, probably the casualty list would have been considerably greater.

Douglas MacKeachie

Douglass MacKeachie had moved to Medfield from New Jersey and was living on Elm Street when the attack on Pearl Harbor took place. MacKeachie, who was Vice President of the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company was made a Colonel and was put in charge of the General Purchasing Board to handle war supplies. He was sent to Great Britain to fill this position. The shortest distance over water between the western hemisphere and Europe or Africa is between Brazil and French West Africa.

The plane on which MacKeachie was a passenger was reported missing on Jan. 20, 1943, having gone down about 800 miles east of the Brazilian coast. On Feb. 4 a life raft was found adrift at sea by the USS Kearney.

The raft contained the remains of a man later identified as the pilot. The next day a second raft was found on a beach in Brazil. One body was  identified as an American member of the flight crew. Also found were American Express Travelers Checks bearing the signature of Colonel MacKeachie. Six life jackets were found indicating that the raft originally had six occupants. Apparently, as each survivor died, the remaining survivors buried him at sea until there was nobody to bury the last casualty. As neither of the two bodies found had evidence of injuries, it is assumed that the plane was forced down but did not explode or crash violently. Hunger and thirst are assumed to be the cause of death as there was no means to collect rain water.

Attempts to catch fish were made by using a Colonel’s eagle insignia as a hook. The bones and tails of several small fish were found in the raft. Col. MacKeachie who left a widow and a daughter is listed among the Missing in Action or Buried at Sea. He was 42 years old.