by David and Pat Flint
Veterans Day in Stephentown this year was focused on World War II veterans. At ceremonies held in Veterans Park on Saturday, November 10, following the raising of the flag and laying of wreaths at the Veterans Monument, Tom MacVeigh, President of the Stephentown Veterans introduced the World War II veterans living in Stephentown.
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Vincent Devlin – U.S. Army Air Force 1944-1968. Living in Rutland, VT, at the time, Vince signed up in 1944 for the Aviation Cadet Program. Trained in aircraft mechanics and maintenance, Vince worked during the War on the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, the U.S.’s first operational jet fighter. He stayed on in the US Air Force as a career man and during the Korean War he maintained fighter jets on Okinawa, retiring in 1968 with the rank of Master Sergeant.
Charles Hoffman – U.S. Army 1944-1948. Charlie enlisted in Rutland, VT, and received Basic Training at Fort Devens, MA. He became a Signal Corps technician and arrived in Europe as a replacement in January 1945 just after the Battle of the Bulge. His brother was killed in that fighting, but it was months before Charlie was notified of it. He was with the 289th Infantry Regiment, 75th Division, slogging and battling their way across Germany. At the end of the war he spent several months on occupation duty before returning stateside.
Howard Leibensperger – U.S. Army 1944-1947. Living in New Jersey, Howard enlisted in the Army in June 1944 to avoid a possible draft into the Navy. His claustrophobia and seasickness he knew would be a problem in the Navy. He did basic training at Fort Dix, then trained at Fort Sill, OK, in the artillery on the 105 mm howitzer before being shipped to Germany. There in the Bavarian Alps with the 528th Field Artillery his unit’s weapon was the larger 155 mm howitzer. With the war in Europe over, Howard found himself on a ship headed for the Pacific Theater. The war with Japan ended en route, and Howard finished his enlistment stateside taking his discharge with the rank of T-5 Corporal.
Franklyn Mooney – U.S. Navy 1943-1946. Frank enlisted in the Navy in New Jersey in February 1943. Following basic training at Newport he was sent to Portsmouth, VA, for hospital corps training. He then was stationed at the Philadelphia Naval Hospital as a Pharmacist Mate 2d Class. The hospital was a center for amputation, orthopedic and prosthetic services for Navy, Marine and Coast Guard personnel, and Frank was assigned to a unit that designed and crafted artificial limbs. He speaks with pride of the work that he and his colleagues did there. “We made the best limbs,” he said.
Lewis Sharp – U.S. Navy 1944-1946. Lew enlisted in the Navy at Albany in 1944. He passed the test for OCS, but Lew was trained in electronics, and the Navy needed electronics technicians more than they needed officers. So it was off to Corpus Christi, TX, for aviation training and later to Patuxent River, MD, for tactical training in new radar technology. Sharp worked mainly on the Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer, the Navy’s version of the B-24, and on the F4U Corsair installing and maintaining radio, radio altimeter and IFF (Identification-Friend or Foe) systems.
Raymond Scheilding – U.S. Marine Corps 1943-1945. At the age of 17 and living in Selkirk, Ray intended to enlist in the Navy at Albany. But after an off-putting encounter with a puffed up Naval officer he joined the Marine Corps instead. He took Basic at Parris Island and trained in the artillery before being shipped to the war in the Pacific. He saw service with the 14th Marine Regiment in the Marshall Islands, in the Marianas on Saipan and Tinian and on Iwo Jima. He pulled howitzers and drove for the Battery Commander. On Saipan he was shot in the right arm and received a Purple Heart.
David Jacobs (not present) – U.S. Army 1943-1946. Dave Jacobs, a long time resident of Stephentown, presently residing just across the border in Hancock, was living in Queens when in 1942 he enlisted in the Army Specialized Training Program. A number of American universities participated in this program to meet wartime demands for junior officers and soldiers with technical skills. Dave spent six months at the University of Maine studying engineering. Following basic training in Florida he was sent to business school in Los Angeles where he trained to be a clerk in an aviation control tower. He later trained in ordnance, spent a month at sea and was stationed in the Pacific on Saipan and on Tinian after those islands had been secured and converted to air bases from which B-29s launched their bombing raids on Japan. He recalls that his more hair raising brushes with combat came during his participation earlier with the 26th Infantry Division in the Second Army’s Tennessee maneuvers in the summer of 1943 when twenty-one men from his unit drowned trying to cross the rain swollen Cumberland River. Dave was a Sergeant Major on Tinian on the day the war ended. That day there was a riotous celebration. Sadly, two men were killed in that celebration from the unrestrained firing of 50 caliber machine guns.
Francis Foody (not present) – U.S. Army 1943-1948. Francis always had a fascination for electronics and radio He was working at General Electric in Schenectady when America entered the war. He enlisted in the Army, did his training at Fort Bragg, NC, and then joined a Signal Corps group in South Carolina where he learned the operation of a new machine which could locate the position of the enemy by triangulation using radio waves. He was shipped overseas to the European Theater to teach units how to use this new wonder. His unit was shipped down to Africa to fight against Rommel, but plans changed and they were sent to southern Italy where they marched north in the Italian Campaign. After the end of the war, Francis remained for another year as part of the Occupation Forces and was stationed near the Black Forest in southwestern Germany.
The Ceremony
Chaplain John Close gave the opening and closing prayer for the ceremonies. Rev. Al Wolcott sang the National Anthem at the opening and led the singing of “God Bless America” at the closing. Speakers included Rensselaer County Executive Kathy Jimino, County Legislator Stan Brownell, County Veterans Coordinator Bob Reiter and Town Supervisor Larry Eckhardt. Eckhardt credited the first Commander in Chief, George Washington, as saying it best in 1798, “The willingness with which our young people will fight in any war will be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of early wars were treated and appreciated.”
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