Week 45 – War and Peace

 

September 11, 2001. On that day, our nation came under attack. We came together as one, and I know each of you reading this that were alive at the time remember exactly where you were, and you will never forget.  The feelings we all shared must be similar to those of our ancestors, when they first heard the news when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Once again, our country came together. Hundreds of thousands of men and women immediately volunteered to serve in the armed forces.

In Western Oklahoma, three young men, brothers, wasted no time in volunteering. By 27 January 1942, Orval Glen Ditmore, with two years of college completed, was already at Duncan Field in San Antonio as part of the Army Air Corps.  The twenty-two-year-old was serving as an office clerk. Younger brother Vernon Wayne Ditmore, was twenty years old when he began his military service, joining his brother at Duncan Field on 7 October 1942.  It wouldn’t be until 1 August 1944 when the baby of the family, Frankie Joe, would report to Fort Sam Houston, also in San Antonio. He was just eighteen years old.

These three brothers had grown up on a farm outside Hydro, Oklahoma, the sons of Henry Glen Ditmore and his wife, Mabel Goldie Pennington. Life was tough living on the farm, but they never went hungry, even through the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Their family, which included my mother, was very close-knit.

After high school, Orval moved to Oklahoma City to attend Draughon’s School of Business.  He lived in Britton, a suburb at the time, but is now completely landlocked by “the city.”  After he finished school, he worked as a private secretary for Dr. E.F. Webber, pastor of the “Gospel Church of The Air”, a successful radio show.  He joined the Britton Church of the Nazarene where he became quite involved in several young people’s groups.  It was here that he met Edith Josephine Stevenson, who would become his wife on 22 June 1941. Dr. Webber performed the ceremony.

Orval was very involved in the Nazarene Church and even had a musical group – The Happy Four – which played at many venues throughout the area. On Thursday evenings, you could hear them from 11:00 pm to 11:30pm on Oklahoma City radio station KOMA (1480 on your AM dial, at the time). Then they really hit the big time when, in October 1938, they had their own fifteen-minute show every Sunday morning at 8:45.  On 11 February 1939, their show was extended to a full half hour! Newspaper articles from not only Oklahoma City, but all over the state – Chickasha, Seminole, Ponca City, Norman, Lawton, Cushing, Marlow, Blackwell, Thomas, Blanchard and more, told of their upcoming live performances. They were apparently quite popular.

I can imagine that Orval and Josephine were attending church the morning of 7 December 1941 when the Japanese launched an unprovoked attack on the Pearl Harbor Naval base in Hawaii. The newlywed of only six months joined the throngs of patriots who enlisted in the United State Armed Forces. Josephine was able to join him, and they made their home in an apartment near the base in San Antonio. Orval wrote several letters to the local newspaper to report on the happenings in San Antonio and his many promotions over the course of only a few months…Corporal, Sargeant, Staff Sargeant, and eventually Chief Warrant Officer. He also wrote to his parents, often. Those letters were upbeat and full of optimism.

In October 1944, Orval was sent overseas to Burma, India. While there, he helped to build a church. He had also taken on the role of photographer. He was taken on a number of flights over the area where the Ledo Road was being constructed as part of the Burma Road, which the Allies restored as a link between Burma and China. The cause remains unknown but on his last flight, the plane in which he was a passenger crashed. There were no survivors.

Orval was the son who was expected to return without fail. His job was not considered dangerous. He wasn’t on the ground fighting, as were his brothers. At the time he died, his brother Vernon was fighting on Iwo Jima; and that very day, his youngest brother, Joe, was wounded on Okinawa. A letter received by his parents, and published in the Hydro Review on 21 June, Joe told of being wounded, and asked how his brothers were. He was unaware of Orval’s death.  Orval was buried in India, initially, but in 1948, his body was returned to Oklahoma. He was finally laid to rest at Fort Gibson National Cemetery in eastern Oklahoma.

Over 400,000 U.S. military died during World War II. Most every family was affected in some way by the war. My grandparents sent three sons off to war, and only two returned, enrolling my grandmother into that club she never wanted to belong to - the Gold Star Mothers. Orval was my mother's favorite brother, although she would never have told the other two. She saved the few items he sent to her from across the sea and spoke of him often. His wife, Josephine, moved to Chicago, Illinois, and eventually remarried. As Orval had no children of his own to pass on his legacy, I feel compelled to write his story. I've been involved with Wreaths Across America for the past ten years. Their motto is "Remember, Honor, Teach." Each year, I sponsor wreaths for all those I know who died in service. I would like to encourage each of you reading this to sponsor a wreath, or wreaths, this year to remember a veteran who lost their life in defense of our great nation.