At the Effingham County Museum, we honor veterans every day.
Veterans Day is set aside to honor or remember all those who have served in the military. This article lists some of the veterans still living and their military service we have saved in binders in our museum. We salute all who have served!
Charles A. Huntington, Navy, 1951-55
Charles A. Huntington was born April 11, 1934, the son of Fred and Ruth Huntington of Chicago. He attended Simmons Grammar School in Oak Lawn. Then the Huntington family moved to Effingham County and Chuck attended school at Altamont.
Chuck entered service in the Navy on May 14, 1951, at St. Louis. He did his basic training at Great Lakes Naval Training Station, Illinois. Chuck would serve aboard the USS New Jersey BB-62. The USS New Jersey was a battleship that had been commissioned in 1943 during World War II. Chuck served aboard the New Jersey and spent two years in Japan, then Vigo, Spain, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. He served as a fireman with the rank of EN3. Chuck was discharged from the Navy on April 6, 1955, and headed back to his home in rural Effingham County.
Delmar Vail, Army, Korea
Delmar Vail was born the son of William and Mary (Knierim) Vail of Liberty Township in Effingham County. He attended the local schools and helped his father farm.
Delmar entered service in the U.S. Army in 1952, and was shipped over to Korea, where he served with the 31st Infantry Division, “Dixie Division”. He was wounded while serving in the Punchbowl area on Aug. 6, 1953, and received a Purple Heart. Cpl. Vail was in the hospital in Japan when the cease fire was declared.
Delmar Vail was honorably discharged in 1954 and returned home to Effingham County.
Andrew L. Verdeyen, Air Force, 1956-62
Andrew L. Verdeyen entered service in the Air Force in May of 1956. He did his basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. He also did another four weeks of advanced training there.
Andy was next assigned to Foster Field in Victoria, Texas. He was in the motor pool as a staff car driver on the flight line and drove for the Base Commander, a Brigadier General. That base closed after he was only there two months.
Andy next headed to Randolph Field in Schertz, Texas, to help form a new outfit, the 818th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron. They were a radar squadron billeted in old two-story barracks left over from World War II. Their job was to monitor Air Space hundreds of miles to the northeast. In reality they were watching Russia for any sign of a missile launch. Late in 1958, the 818th was disbanded after monitoring and tracking the launch of Sputnik.
Andy then left for his next assignment in Okinawa. He flew from Travis Air Force Base in Oakland, California, on a C-121, also known as the Super Constellation. While in flight to their first stop in Hawaii, the plane lost one engine that kept catching on fire. Andy and the others on board worried because they knew they had no parachutes or life rafts, but the plane finally did arrive safely at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii.
When he finally made it safely to Okinawa, he was assigned to the 6313th Transportation Squadron at Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa. Kadena was a Strategic Air Command Base with lots of black B-52 bombers located there as well as 800 nuclear weapons. While at Kadena, he worked in the Motor Pool Office. He was a Production Control Specialist in charge of recording the status of all motor vehicles on Kadena.
Early in 1959, the United States started sending “Advisors” to Vietnam (whether they were official or not is unknown). Their wing in 1957 had been upgraded to North American Aviation F-100 and their designation was changed to the 18th Tactical Fighter Wing. When Andy finally made it safely to Okinawa, he was assigned to the 6313th Transportation Squadron at Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa. Kadena was a Strategic Air Command Base with lots of black B52 bombers located there, as well as 800 nuclear weapons. While at Kadena, he worked in the Motor Pool Office. He was a Production Control Specialist in charge of recording the status of all motor vehicles on Kadena.
Andy served 18 months in Okinawa. He returned to the United States in late February of 1960 and would be released from active service at Travis Air Force Base in Oakland, California. He served an additional two years in the Reserve for a total of six years and received his Honorable Discharge in May of 1962.
Donald R. Byers, Marine Corps, Vietnam
Donald Ray Byers was born in Effingham, the son of Donald Bernard and Virgie (Chapman) Byers. He attended the local schools and graduated from Effingham High School with the Class of 1964.
In January of 1966, Donald R. Byers was drafted and sent with the largest group of draftees from Effingham County to St. Louis for induction. There were 37 that left for St. Louis early that morning. He recalled his selection for service and watching them line them up and call out the branches: Army, Army, Army, Navy, Marines. He counted ahead to his place in line and realized he was going to be a Marine.
He did his basic training at Camp Pendelton in San Diego, California. Don was then sent to Okinawa for six months. In April of 1967, he shipped to Vietnam, where he served until September of 1967. Lance Corporal Byers served his country well in the 2nd Battalion, 12th Marines Artillery. He did make it home safely but was greeted by war protesters.
These are just four stories of veterans from Effingham County, Illinois. In all, there are over 1,000 military write-ups in our binders so far. On our Facebook page, “Effingham County Courthouse Museum Effingham IL” we feature a veteran each evening. So if you are unable to visit the museum, you can still read about any and all of our veterans, both living and deceased.
Below is a list of veterans who are still living and have their military stories in the binders at the museum. The women are shown with the last name they enlisted under. If they married later, the married name is listed in parentheses.
Army
James Arnold, Elizabeth Bailey, Roy Bailey, L. Thomas “Tom” Baker, Bonnie Bannick (Mellendorf), William “Bill” Beal, Gene Beals, Ralph J. Beals, James Beccue, Robert Blair, Garland Bloemker, Norman E. Bloemker, Floyd Bohnhoff, Robert L. Bushue, Michael J. Campbell, William “Bill” Copple, Wayne Cox, Brittany Deters, Doug Deters, Harold J. Deters, Jeremy Deters, Paul Deweese, Raymond Drees, Robert Drees, Danny Lee Garrett, Linda Green (Wahlman), Tom Hewing, Randy Holste, Frank Hemmen, Robert B. Heuerman, Dave Hoelscher, Carol Karpinski, Virgil Kingery, Richard Kinkelaar, Steve Klosterman, Charles Koester, Ralph Kortte, Mike Lamb, Nichole Leftwich (Shryock), William “Bill” Lilly, Patricia Martin (Purcell), Robert Marxman, Charles Mayberry, Charles McWhorter, Calvin Mitchell, Betty Moschenrose (Lynch), James Niemerg, Michael Pals, Kenneth Pruemer, John Ramsey, David Ring, Milan Robison, Arthur Ruholl, Richard Schumacher, Steve Sehy, Albert Seiler, James Shelton, Alvin Shouse, George Shouse, Janet Siple (Odom), Morris Sutter, Emmett Thoele, Gerald Thoele, Gene Turner, Delmar Vail, Keith Veatch, Allen Westendorf, Donald B. Westendorf, Dean Wetherell, Ed Wiessing, Bernard Will, Donald P. Will, and Patrick Zacha
Navy
Mitch Addis, Alan Bell, Shannon Bell, Josh Bell, Gary Buehnerkemper, Brian Deters, James Freeman, Paul Goeckner, Caleb Hoene, Frank Hoene, Charles Hoelscher, Charles A. Huntington, George Huntington, Kerry G. Layton, Richard Pagel, Brian Roedl, James Shumaker, Don W. Stumborg, Russ Thomas and Jimmy Lee Tull
Air Force
Jimmie Cox, David P. Deters, James Flack, Donald A. Goeckner, Norman Hartman, Gary Horn, Tom Johnson, Roger Perkins, Brian Sehy, Mike Sehy, Anthony T. Vahling, and Andy Verdeyen
Marine Corps
Donald R. Byers, Steve Deters, Harold Godden, Walden Pomelow, Matthew Rentfro, Dylan M. Sanders and Lonnie Waymoth
We know that there are many more stories to collect and ask for your help in doing just that. If you have ties to Effingham County, Illinois, and would like to have your military service recorded or the service of a family member or friend, reach out to Jane Ries by email: janeries55@gmail.com or call or text at 217-821-2427. It is with your help that we can share their stories, and we would greatly appreciate your help.