Grave hunting MacGyver style

Charles Soper graduated early
from the Colorado School of Mines
to join the army air corp.

Several years ago, when I was visiting my paternal grandparents in Denver, I asked about the person from whom my middle name and my father's name derives - Charles Soper - my grandfather's brother. Charles was a navigator on a B-17 during WWII and as the story goes was returning to England after a bombing mission and in the fog over the Channel, they hit another plane and everyone on-board was killed.

My grandparents said Charles was buried in Denver. I was surprised and asked why we never had gone to see the grave? They didn't know; by that afternoon we were driving around Fairmount Cemetery. We asked the main office for a map and they put an "x" on the map for where the plot was located. As we drove to the location, my grandparents made comments like, "This doesn't look right, the pine trees were tiny." Asking when they were last there, the said, "1945, for the funeral." Over 65 years later, trees had grow up.

As we walked around the location, we didn't see the grave. I got to noticing there was a line of markers and then none for a while. Looking at the map and hearing my grandparents say in the background it was between two pine trees, I decided "x marks the spot" and pulled out my Swiss Army knife and sunk it into the grass. (To this day I still don't know why I decided to do that) The blade hit something hard. It was like a scene from MacGyver! I cut a piece of sod and began to see a letter appear - S, then O - P - E - R! We pulled a bottle of water from the car and uncovered and washed the rest of the marker. It had sank 2 inches below the grass. My grandparents contacted the cemetery and the marked was lifted to regulation height.

As we approach the 71st anniversary of VJ Day, we must never forget those who gave the ultimate sacrifice and the families who carry the heavy hearts for the nation. It is to those who have worn the uniform that I salute.

Remembering WWII: War's lasting effects

Delta Museum's special World War II exhibit opened Nov. 7, with living veterans sharing their stories and a presentation made to Ensign Bellmire's family. Bellmire was killed during a training exercise during the war.

2015 Soper/Delta County Historical Society photo 

"The war took my dad. He wasn't going to knock on my door and tell me it was all a mistake," Vicky Lehmann said during an emotional interview.

Lehmann had just turned one year old when her father was shot in the head and killed by a German sniper during the Battle of Normandy. This past summer, Lehmann and her husband, Dave, traveled to France, for the first time, to visit her father's grave and pay their respects.

"I longed, growing up, to sit on my daddy's lap, but that never happened," Lehmann said.

"Being able to see his grave brought the closure I needed."

Descendents of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for the liberation of the European continent from the Nazis are treated with esteem, respect and attention by the American Battlefield Monuments Commission. Families are provided service records and a graveside memorial in which American and French flags are laid at the marker.

"At the grave, they told me my dad was a hero. I had never thought of my dad as being a hero. They explained that he saved a lot of people by helping to end the war and rescue them from Nazi oppression," Lehmann said. "I thought, 'This is kind of an awesome thought.' "

The effects of World War II are long-reaching and Lehmann is not alone in feeling that the war took her dad.

Muriel Marshall, in her book, Where Rivers Meet, describes how Alvin Lee Marts, who enlisted in the Navy after he graduated from Delta High School, was present during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

Alvin Lee Marts died in the
Pacific Theater during World War II.
His bravery led the Navy to
name the USS Marts in his memory.
Historical society photo

Marts went on to "serve at Midway, Wake and other South Pacific battles, but he was killed in action off the coast of Salvo Island on Nov. 30, 1942," Marshall wrote.

Marts served with such distinction and bravery that the U.S. Navy named the USS Marts for him and the local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) organized as the Lee Marts VFW Post 3571.

The total number of American servicemen and women who gave their lives for their nation during World War II was 407,300. Over 700 men and women from Delta County served in the armed forces during the war, and 83 lost their lives.

The Delta Museum has included a table setting in its special World War II veterans' exhibit to symbolize those who served but never returned home to join their families for holiday festivities.

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M. Soper, "Remembering WWII: War's lasting effects" Delta County Independent (Delta, Colo.) 25 Nov. 2015, pg. B8

Remembering WWII: A frontline soldier’s perspective

Norman Shetley had just completed his first year of college at Western State in Gunnison when he received his draft notice in July 1943. Norman trained in Texas, Ohio, and Kentucky prior to landing in Marseille, France in October 1944 with the 449th Armored Field Artillery of the 14th Armored Division.

Norman Shetley holding the Bronze Star he was awarded for
meritorious service and devotion to duty while under enemy fire.
2015 Soper/Delta County Historical Society

After landing in Marseille, Norman said his first night was spent in a bombed out warehouse on the harbor. One evening, Norman was driving a jeep near the harbor and noticed three French-Moroccan soldiers running towards the jeep. The soldiers were attempting to kill him and steal the jeep. Shetley said, “I hit the gas and rapidly shifted into second gear!” Shetley remembered his fellow soldiers saying, welcome to life on the frontlines.

Shetley spent seven months on the frontlines, participating in the Battles of the Ardennes-Alsace, Central Europe, and the Rhineland. The winter of 1944-45 was one of the coldest in modern history. “We didn’t have adequate footwear or cold weather-wear and I only had one shower the entire time I was on the front,” Shetley recalled.

One night, Shetley and a couple of other soldiers were ordered to take a mile and a half of wire to a village just inside the Siegfried Line for the forward observer. Norman ran the wire into a designated house and while he was inside, the Germans began shelling the area.

Norman Shetley standing on the Siegfried Line in 1944.
Photo courtesy Norman Shetley Collection

“The two other guys in the jeep got nervous when the artillery began shelling around us, so they drove off. I thought, ‘What am I going to do?’ I opted to run down the road. Shells began landing near me on the left, then the right, as I ran and I realized the Germans were zeroing in on me! I couldn’t think why would they want to kill one little lone soldier using the artillery! There was a German zig-zag trench and I dove in. Another shell landed nearby and lifted me about a foot out of the trench! I played dead and the Germans moved on to other targets,” Shetley recalled. This incident contributed to Shetley being awarded the Bronze Star.

Shetley went on to participate in the liberation of Moosburg and Hammelburg prisoners of war camps and was an early witness to view Dachau and Hitler’s retreat, known as Eagle’s Nest.

Shetley returned to Delta County after the war and became a teacher and later a jobs councilor with the Department of Labor.

________________________________________

M. Soper, "Remembering WWII: A frontline soldier’s perspective" Delta County Independent (Delta, Colo.) 11 Nov. 2015, pg. A8

Remembering WWII: On the home front

As daylight savings time ends, Coloradans are reminded of the sacrifices of war on the home front. During the Great War, Congress established a law to ‘preserve daylight’ and conserve energy, thus ensuring ample electricity to produce the aluminum for building airplanes.

Delta County residents donated 106,000 tons of scrap rubber during the summer of 1942, which were recycled and fitted onto 5,200 planes.

By 1919, Congress repealed the law, even overriding Presiden

t Wilson’s veto. The issue of time became a matter of local law. Denver remained on summer time, and other cities, such as Delta, moved to standard time, travelers on the railroad encountered frequent confusion.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt moved the nation onto “War Time,” which moved the clocks back an hour to save energy to contribute to the war effort.

In addition to time, Delta County’s commitment to the war effort came out in other ways. In the summer of 1942, citizens donated over 106,000 tons of scrap rubber which were recycled and fitted onto 5,200 planes.

Delta County played a vital part of the war effort in terms of providing agricultural products to feed the troops. The Delta County Canning Factory provided tons of canned vegetables for soldiers.

Mable Howard, of Delta recalls working at the canning factory during the war. She said, “It was more than being a teenager with a job; it was about helping our county too.” Howard was issued an emergency wartime teaching certificate in 1945, and later graduated from Western State College. She taught at Read, Eckert, and Delta, before retiring in 1989.

As a service to families with loved ones serving in the war, the Canning Factory provided cans and sealed the lids so perishable items, such as cookies, could be sent from home to soldiers in the war zones.

Other industries in the county were prioritized for the war. The sugar factory, coal mines, and farm / ranch workers were vital parts of the preferred industries required to logistically win the war. During the processing season, Holly Sugar factory workers were deferred when their names appeared for the draft, however, since the work was seasonal, many temporary workers were drafted during the off season.

During the summer of 1943, Delta County played with the idea of establishing a prisoner of war camp in Delta to generate economic activity. Nothing came of this idea.

The home front, wearied by war and depression was ready to utilize the energies and knowledge gained by the returning troops and to set out the task of healing and building a strong county for the future.

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M. Soper, "Remembering WWII: On the Home Front" Delta County Independent (Delta, Colo.) 4 Nov. 2015 pg. A8

Solidarity in the face of adversity

As disaster strikes it becomes easy for public officials to drift towards being overly cautious. Public officials are both overly interested in being perceived to do the right thing as they are in being conscious of actually pursing wise policies.

During World War II, London suffered tremendously at the hands of a merciless Nazi Luftwaffe, blitzing the city with incendiary bombs which light up the night sky as if Guy Fawkes’ plot had been a success. Later in 1941 the English suffered a horrendous defeat during their first offensive onto the European Continent, when Dunkirk resulted in a catastrophic loss of 235 boats sunk in the English Channel and 11,000 British soldiers killed. The miracle of Dunkirk was the successful evacuation of 338,000 British and French troops on private and commercial vessels across the Channel. The term, “Spirit of Dunkirk” describes the solidarity of the British people in times of adversity.

Today, Coloradoans face their generation’s adversity with the greatest wildfire damage in history. Over 170,000 acres of forests have been burnt, claiming the lives of at least 5 civilians and destroying 600-plus homes.

These fires, coupled with a local economy still in recession, staggeringly high unemployment, and the worst drought conditions since 2002 pits hope against despair. As we are living in a time of austerity, the traditional expenditures become justified redundancies in the budget. The unthinkable expenses from the public purse seem to be reasoned line items of our government. The world seems a shady haze of blue.

Our generation has much to learn from history. During the darkest days of the blitz the British people did not cower in their bunkers, cancelling national celebratory events and fading into total despair. Instead, during the height of the Battle of Britain, the British people found a reprieve from the horrors of war to enjoy the bank holidays with public concerts in the park. Public celebratory events, even in the worst of times give the citizenry a belief in a better tomorrow.

It is too bad that the City of Delta, with three days until the celebration of America’s Independence has opted to cancel the traditional firework display at Confluence Park’s lake. It is respectable to show solace towards the victims of this grave and horrible fire season. None the less, a community needs a rallying event to show that there is a brighter tomorrow. Banning fireworks after a fire is like banning guns after a shooting – it doesn’t solve the problem. Our leaders need wisdom and not a “finger in the wind”. Today we need our rallying cry for independence and an identity of who we are as a peoples and not an oppressive government desiring to protect us from all the “what ifs” that exist in our time. 

End of May: The French Open, D-Day Beach-heads, & London

Just booked a train ticket to Paris, now looking at how to get from Paris to Omaha and Utah beaches. Seeing the sight of the D-Day landing has been a dream ten years in the making, as that is when I was siting in Mrs. Fairlamb's American history class listening to veterans recalling their personal stories of that incredible day. With few living D-Day veterans, I would like to see the sight prior to my return to the United States for the summer, as I know of 5 individuals who were there on a partially cloudy 6 June 1944, one of whom went on to be part of the first divisions to liberate Austwitz, though I can remember him saying that when he first saw the camp he wasn't real sure who or what these people were, as at that time the Allied forces didn't really understand that Hitler had created death camps for the Jews. I mentioned 5 individuals I know who fought on Omaha beach, one of whom was there as a German in what is called a 'pill box', though his take on the Jews seems to be identical to the Iranian or Palistinian rhetoric, but is important to remember the Jews of the 1940s are not the Israelies of today. Ironically, the Isrealies of today resemble more or less the Germans of the 1940s, at least in there treatment of the minority groups in Israel and having a tendency to bomb or invade neighboring states once and a while. A lot has changed in the world since World War II and that war definately defined what one American author calls the 'Greatest Generation.' In some ways I would have to agree, as the men and women in both Europe and American endured far more than I would like to contemplate. A visit to Omaha beach is a capstone for me personally, because the person for whom I was named was killed in the skies above that beach. My post exam trip to Paris to see the French Open, visit one of my best friends, and then to travel west to the sight of D-Day is very exciting to say the least.