World War II Heroes from the Harlingen Area

Norman Rozeff, March 2009

On the quiet Sunday morning of December 7, 1941, Japan's armed forces launched a surprise attack on the American Pacific Fleet based at Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii. That was the start of the United State's participation in World War II. On that day Harlingen lost its first serviceman in the war. He was John Herbert Spaeth.

Johnny was a sailor serving on the USS Shaw (DD-347). She was a Mahan–class destroyer launched in 1936. The Shaw was in dry dock at the time of the attack. She was struck almost simultaneously in her forward portion by three separate dive bombers. An uncontrollable fire ensued, and the ship was ordered abandoned. Efforts were then made to flood the dry dock in an effort to quench the flames, however within a half hour after the bombardment, her forward munitions magazine spectacularly exploded and removed her bow. The aft portion remained afloat despite the intense fires that consumed her forward portion. Fragment missiles from the explosion pierced the old harbor tug Sotoyomo (YT-9) also in the dry dock, and she soon sank.

The proud Shaw would live to fight another day. In early 1942 she was partially restored at Pearl Harbor and then sailed to the West Coast and Mare's Island, San Francisco for a complete overhaul after which time she returned to service. She experienced considerable action in the South Pacific.

In 1949, four years after World War II ended the Charro Social Club erected a stone monument in then Diaz Park, now Lt. George Gutierrez Veterans Memorial Park, to commemorate their fallen servicemen in arms. The inscription on it reads:

IN HONOR AND MEMORY OF OUR COMRADES OF THE HARLINGEN DISTRICT WHO PAID THE SUPREME SACRIFICE WORLD WAR II 1941-1945

Carved in the gray granite stone are the names of the servicemen who had died. As time passed, relatives of other service personnel who had been overlooked came forth with additional names. Their names were cast in a bronze plate later affixed to the stone monument. There are ninety-three names in all.

Those listed on the monument are:

Alchorn, George
Anson, William
Baker, Orville Adam
Barger, Y. G. A.
Benavides, Manuel

Bermea, Arturo
Bledsoe, Jesse William
Brittain, Ben Franklin
Burk, Billie
Bustamante, Gustavo

Carr, Elmer
Coffee, L. C.
Cormack, Laurence
Countz, Charles Wayne
Covio, Carlos C.

Crawford, Wayne
Datzman, Rowland P.
Delgado,Ramiro
Donald, William C.
Duloney, John

Duncan, Roy W.
Durham, William Dayton
Edmonson, Barney I.
Finley, Robert S.
Fry, Edward Jr.

Frye, Roy Thomas
Gilbert, Harold
Glenn, James E.
Gonzalez, Andres
Gonzalez, Augustin

Gonzalez, Eduardo V. Jr.
Gonzalez, Samuel
Green, Bernard
Haas, Elmer, Jr.
Hand, Roscoe, Ervin

Hassell, Charles Robert
Herrera, Nephlati
Herron, Buren Thomas
Hoover, Hal
Hopkins, Mickey O.

Hull, Charles W.
Jeffus, Marvin
King, John
Kist, George Joseph
Knowles, Charles L. Jr.

La Turno, Charles E. Jr.
Levrier, John Jr.
Mallory, Douglas
McBean, K.
McKelvey, Charles

Medley, Alton C.
Miller, Carroll Paul
Minton, Gene
Mitchell, Leon R.
Molina, Higinio

Montgomery, Jim
Morris, Runyan
Muny, Billie
Murray, Phillip
Nantz, Albert

Oler,William L.
Owens, Ralph
Perkins, Martin B.
Pile, Porter Monroe
Raimond, Paul F.

Reiser, John C.
Rendon, Luis M.
Robbins, D. O.
Roberts, Jack
Rodriguez, Alejandro S.

Rodriguez, Belen T.
Rodriguez, Jose
Rodriguez, Librado
Romero, Rodolfo
Schleifer, Walter L.

Serna, Alejandro
Sharp, Richard L.
Silva, Antonio
Simmons, Sam Ed
Spaeth, Alvis

Spaeth, John Herbert
Swain Floyd E.
Thompson, Phillip
Townsley, Roy W.
Valdez, Joel

Van Hoy, Waythe
Vega, Albert M.
Villanueva, Gustavo
Walker, Wodward Jr.
West, Max

Wilds, David Warren
Wilson, Preston
Wisher, Leonard        Return to Harlingen History    Return to CCHC Home Page