“We did that for quite a while. Then one time he said, ‘No more. I go to America,’ and he had tears in his eyes. He will always be in my mind, because he nearly saved us! All the Americans were good to us, especially to the kids. When you see the movies, you think, shoot, I was one of them!
Collecting tobacco
“My dad smoked a pipe, and every other day we kids had to go uptown and pick up the cigarette butts. Then we would go home and open them up. If we had a good day, we had a day off. If we had a bad day, we had to go another day. My sister hated it, because my dad was short tempered if you didn’t do what he said to do. So she would say to me, ‘I do the dishes all week if you will go with dad.’ I didn’t care and was ready to go outside.”
There was a small PX in the middle of Augsburg. There was a guy smoking a cigar, and he flipped the ring around the cigar onto the ground. “Well,” said Liz, “I went after it and put it on my finger. You know kids. He looked at me and said, ‘Hey!’” She thought, Well, you didn’t want it... “He went into the PX and got me a whole carton of Hershey bars—not just one but a whole carton! You never had any toys or anything, so these little things meant a lot to you.
“I almost got hit by car one time when a guy threw out a cigar, and I charged for it.” She laughed. Liz was a spunky little girl!
Christmas 1941 – left to right – Anna, Theresa (mom), Wally, Elisabeth (dad’s lap), August (dad), Gottfried, August Jr.
For Christmas when Liz was about eight years old, she was chosen to get some gifts from an American soldier. The children went to a large gymnasium where there was a huge Christmas tree, and she received a china tea set. “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” was playing. “To this day, when I hear that song, I think of that American soldier,” she said.
She went on to explain, “We got hot chocolate to drink, a cookie, and a candy bar. Anything that I could save, I would put in my bag and take home to share with the rest of the family. I couldn’t save the hot chocolate; I had to drink it.”
There was a playground where Liz played with her best friend, Renate, who also moved to the United States. Renate lives in Arizona now. They always said they would stick together. Their playground was the shells of houses that were bombed out.
Another Christmas memory: “My brother brought home three American soldiers for Christmas. He was supposed to only bring one home, but he said there were three left, and he couldn’t choose just one of them. Later the American soldiers returned in a cab and brought gifts for the family. They brought a set of dishes for my mom that she never used. She put them in the cabinet and saved them.” The dishes were very special to her mom. The soldiers brought gifts to the rest of the family too. Today Liz never passes up a donation kettle. She recalled being one of those kids who didn’t have anything. “We are spoiled and wasteful today,” said Liz.
When did you get married?
At the age of twenty-three, Liz married an American soldier and came to America in 1962. She and her husband, Richard, had four children. Her husband is no longer living. She still Facebooks some of her husband’s friends who served with him. Ironically, Richard was the last person to see Liz’s mother before she passed at age eighty-three. Her husband was in Germany with the air guard during his time. Liz had her ticket to go to Germany but was a couple of weeks late to see her. Her mother was very fond of Liz’s husband.
Liz said, “I never dreamed when I was a little girl that when I grew up, I would live in America.” In America she worked for Packard Shirt for about twelve years; it was owned by a Jewish man, Ed Wormers from Chicago. Liz thought it was ironic that she, a German, would work for Ed, a Jewish man. “He was the best guy I ever worked for,” she said.
Pearl Harbor Seventy-Fifth Anniversary
This interview was conducted on December 7, 2016. “The war was terrible,” said Liz. “I think people need care. It doesn’t go away. Today, when I see fire, I still remember that woman standing there in front of her home in her nightgown and her hair was loose. All I could think was, she went crazy because she had lost everything. That’s what those soldiers go through. Soldiers need help.”
Christmas Day 2016
Amazingly, on Christmas Day 2016, the city was evacuated after workers constructing an underground parking garage found a 1.8 ton British aerial bomb. It was defused, and fifty-four thousand people were allowed back in their homes. Much of Augsburg’s historic city center had been destroyed on February 25–26, 1944, by Allied bombing. It was determined to be a British-made bomb that had been dropped on Augsburg during the war but hadn’t explode.
Philip Joseph Scaffidi
By Eleanor Scaffidi Collesano
Philip was born on February 5, 1902, in San Piero Patti, Sicily, near Messina, to Carina and Joseph Scaffidi. He was one of nine children. Of his nine siblings, Anthony, Philip, Charles, and Biagio moved to America. His brother Russell immigrated to South America.
“My father said he was in the Italian army,” said Eleanor. “I have no data; however, he stood face to face with Mussolini. At that time he admired Mussolini for building schools and making housing available to the common person. All of this was prior to Mussolini becoming friendly with Hitler.”
He came to America in early 1920, after being picked in a lottery. He traveled by way of a large ship; his voyage lasted thirteen days and nights. He did not enjoy the trip, as he was seasick the entire time!
“There was an illness onboard that caused the ship to be diverted to Philadelphia rather than Ellis Island, New York,” said Eleanor. His aunt (his mother’s sister) and uncle (his father’s brother) had settled in Buffalo, New York, some years prior, and he went to live with them.
His uncle, a construction laborer, helped him obtain a job within the construction industry. “My father was a bricklayer and stonemason by trade, which he learned growing up in Sicily,” said Eleanor. “When he was a young boy, he would skip school to watch the men work, and he picked up the desire and talent for his trade. He was immediately recognized for his work ethic and talent. He built many structures of various sizes and shapes; however, he specialized in building fireplaces, many of which still stand today.
“During his career he worked for many major construction companies as well as handled man side jobs on his own. Even after his retirement from the bricklayers’ union, he would still receive and accept calls from the major companies.
“He did not have a formal education as we know it today. He would say he went as high as the third grade in Sicily. However, I am not sure how that compares to our third-grade level or what he meant exactly. He had an amazing ability to understand math and perform complicated math equation in his head, in order to perform his trade.
“January 10, 1927, he married my mother, Ida Incavo. Ida, born in America, to two Italian immigrants, was the youngest of six children.” In 1928 they started their family with their first child, Mildred. Their second child, Joseph, was born in 1929. Their third child, Philip, was born in 1938, and their youngest child, Eleanor, was born in 1940. Since I was the youngest child, I cannot talk about the years before my time, other than the discussions at home.
“My mother encouraged my father to go to classes to learn English. She was concerned about stigma the family would get because he was from Sicily. It was very common in those days to carry a negative stigma if you were unable to speak English. [During WWII some Americans may have had a negative feeling about someone from Italy; even though he had not lived in Italy for several years.] He attended some classes and learned enough of the English language to get by but never mastered the language. Many times he would combine English and Italian words, but again was able to get by and communicate effectively with his broken English. My mother never allowed him to speak Italian at home; consequently, none of his children learned the Italian language other than a few words or phrases.
“My father lived the American dream. He became a US citizen; his personality, talent, honesty, ethics, and hard work made
him a very proud and successful man! He passed all of that on to his children.”
Acknowledgments
Dr. Mark Browning, Evansville Wartime Museum, Evansville, Indiana
The Eakle, Francis, McDonald, Meier, and McGregor families for searching their archives for information and photos.
Former Senator Richard Lugar, The Lugar Center, Washington, DC
C. Ray Minton Jr., husband, chauffeur, and encourager
Diane and Marion Meier, Evansville, bed-and-breakfast accommodations, editing text
Amy Cooley Pitcher, book formatting and editing advice
All my friends, my mom, my sister, my brother, and my children for encouragement and stories
Women factory workers for recalling all the happy and unpleasant times of their lives
WWII veterans—this book would not be possible without your memories
Epilogue
There is no better way to thank a WWII veteran, or any veteran, who has put his or her life on the line for America than to say, “Thank you for your service.”
WWII veterans were not the only people who helped win the war for America’s freedom. So did the dedicated men and women who were left at home and worked in the factories, ordnance facilities, and shipyards. Soldiers couldn’t fight without weapons and supplies that were made on the home front in various cities in our nation; only a few were highlighted in this book.
The WWII families left at home sacrificed luxuries—sugar, coffee, tires, gasoline, and nylons—so our boys would have what they needed to fight our enemies—Germany, Japan, and Italy.
Thank you for reading, WWII Heroes: They Were Only Doing Their Jobs. My life has been enriched by listening to and recording these special WWII veterans, both firsthand and posthumously via their families. They are all heroes, and many of them are now my friends!
God bless America
Linda Minton
Dick Beeson, Robert Pedigo and C Ray Minton Jr.
Men Who Worked in Ordnance Plants
Estel L. Harshman—Kingsbury Ordnance Plant, Knox, Indiana Robert Pedigo—Naval Ordnance Plant, Indianapolis, Indiana
Stories of Men, Women, and Children during WWII
Ivan Andrijiwskyj—Ukrainian citizen forced to fight for
Germany Elisabeth Ford—German child
Maria Lewcun—Ukrainian citizen
Philip Joseph Scaffidi—Italian Army
Stephanja Szahaj—Lived in displaced persons camp
Petro (Peter) Szahaj—Conscripted in the German army
WWII-Era Women Who Contributed to the War Effort
Erelene Brown—American schoolgirl
Beryl Chatterton—British citizen
Bobbie Downey—American schoolgirl
Jane Eberhart—WWII Nurse
Mildred Ginger—WWII factory worker
Dorothy Gillette—Navy wife
Carmen Greenfield—Navy wife
Patricia Marcelle Hawn—Australian War Bride
Anna Johnson-Serval—WWII P47 wings worker
Su Lautzenheiser—Army wife, airplane factory worker
Martha Leffler—Naval Ordnance Plant (Naval Avionics)
Kew Bee McDonald—American schoolgirl
Florence Miller—Evansville Navalyard
Connie Norlin—State Dept. in Washington, DC
Bernice S.—American Legion secretary, army wife
Dorothy Wahnsiedler—LST factory worker
Lucy Wahnsiedler—WWII factory worker
Emma Weber—WWII factory worker
Soldiers and their cars—
Gib Coleman
A few good cars —
Don Kuhlenschmidt
Many wonderful veterans!
Richard Kolodey
Bibliography
Websites
1.www.armedforcesmuseum.com/norden/bombsight. Last modified January 26, 2012.
2.www.368THfightergroup.com. Accessed March 25, 2017.
3.www.alaforveterans.org. Accessed February 1, 2017.
4.www.atterburybakalarairmuseum.org. Accessed January 15, 2017.
5.www.brittannica. World War II, John Graham Rayde-Smith, Accessed Feb. 12,2017.
6.www.defensemedianetwork.com. Accessed March 26, 2017.
7.www.evansvillemaritimemuseum.org. Accessed March 25, 2017.
8.www.greenbrier.com. Accessed February 1, 2017.
9.www.historynet.com. Accessed March 24, 2017.
10.www.history.state.gov. Accessed March 24, 2017.
11.www.indianahistory.org. Accessed March 23, 2017.
12.www.indyhonorflight.org. Accessed April 16, 2017.
13.www.indianamilitary.org. Revised September 8, 2016.
14.www.indianapublicmedia.org. Accessed April 16, 2017.
15.www.loc.gov. Accessed February 3, 2017.
16.www.lstmemorial.org. Accessed June 17, 2016.
17.www.militaryhistorynow.com. Accessed March 25, 2017.
18.www.navsource.org. USS Lejeune (AP-74), Last modified December 2, 2016.
19.www.portlandtribune.com/pt/9.news. December 5, 2016, Lyndsey Hewitt
20.www.substreet.org/kingsbury-ordnance-works. Accessed December 19, 2016.
21.www.ussindianapolis.org. July 15, 2016.
22.www.u-s-history.com. Accessed March 25, 2017.
23.www.ussmissouri.org. Accessed March 2, 2016.
24.www.ussvi.org. (for submarine veterans) Accessed September 12,2015.
25.www.vfw.org. Accessed June 15, 2016.
26.www.visitevansville.com. Accessed March 27, 2017.
27.www.visitindy.com. Accessed March 27, 2017.
28.www.warbirdalley.com. Accessed June 18, 2016.
29.www.womenofwwii.com. Accessed March 27, 2017.
Magazine and Journals
1.Binghamton Press, March 26, 1946.
2.Indiana History Magazine, 110 September 2012, Kingsbury Ordnance Plant, Turk, Katherine, “Black Women, War Work, & Rights Claims at the Kingsbury Ordnance Plant.”
3.Indiana History Museum, Vincennes, Indiana
4.Star and Stripes, July 25, 2014.
5.Stevens Point Journal, August 10, 1990.
Museums
1.Wright Patterson Air Force Museum, Dayton, Ohio
2.Indiana History Museum, Vincennes, Indiana. Visited July 2017.
WWII Heroes: We Were Just Doing Our Jobs Page 27