Clan William: Capt David Minard, MC, USN, MD

Capt David Minard, MC USN MD

Yesterday, we talked about Gladys (a Munson descendant) and Archibald Ellison Minard. Today, the
subject is one of their sons, Captain David Minard, MC USN MD. 

Capt Thomas Munson > Samuel Munson > Samuel James Munson > William Munson > Martha Munson > Rueben Doolittle > James Rood Doolittle > Sara Lovinia Doolittle > Gladys May Pease m. Archibald Ellsworth Minard > David Minard

David Minard was born 23  May 1913 in Fargo, North Dakota, where his father was a professor at nearby North Dakota Agricultural College. Minard grew up in Fargo, then attended college at the University of Chicago with a PhD in Physiology in 1937. He received his medical degree at UoC in 1943 and joined the US Navy (MC) as a physician. In 1954, he completed a master's in public health from Harvard University (his father's alma mater).

David served in the military from 1943 until 1963, attaining the rank of Captain (0-6). During the war, he was assigned to various command assignments such as Flagship 67/Division 23 and Group 10 staff on temporary duty as part of medical staff. 

Beginning in 1946, David headed the physiology department at the Naval Medical Research Center in Bethesda, MD. David met and married Sarah Prince "Sally" Zimmerman and their first child, a son, arrived in 1949; two more boys and a girl would follow before 1956. During the 1950s, he'd attained the rank of Captain.  In 1957, along with Constantin Yaglou, he developed a wet globe termperature index for Marines training at Parris Island, South Carolina. This had applications beyond the military - steel plants, in foot racing, and industrial environments, where humans were exposed to high temperatures.

Mercury 7 Astronauts

In 1960, David used the Index to evaluate the astronauts of Mercury 7, the.first manned space flights in the United States.  The program, started in 1958, ended with six manned flights between 1961 and 1963. 

David's most newsworthy research occurred in 1962 when the news of the experiments hit the newspapers across the country.  The research involved taking a group of 98 sailors and two officers and medical personnel into a 25x48 concrete shelter built on the grounds of the Research Center at Bethesda. They stayed in the shelter for 14 consecutive days. The purpose was to test psychological, physical, and physiological effects of long stays in such environments. 

The experiment included TV cameras which could continually monitor everything that happened during the process. Two individuals would exit the shelter on a daily basis to take Geiger and other readings. And, while being equipped with electricity there was no heat other than body heat. Food was provided at 2,000 calories each day. There was no real recreation other than books and magazines. 

For their part, the sailors, from the US Naval Training Center at Great Lakes, Illinois, each received a 72-hour pass after their release from the shelter and follow-on testing. David called it a "great success."

Capt Minard about to enter
fallout shelter saying goodbye
to his family

In 1963, David left the military and moved on as a Professor at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate
School of Public Health. He was named Professor Emeritus in 1974. 

David and his wife Sally divorced. Son Nicholas, aged 21 died in Pittsburgh in 1975. At about the same time, David remarried, this time to Dorotha J Rittenhouse Fallong, mother of two.

Sally went on to marry Walter Limbach. She lived to the ripe age of 90, dying in 2014. After her divorce from David, she worked as a family therapist working with women who survived domestic abuse at the Women's Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh. 

David went back to clinical work at US Steel and at the Easton Memorial Hospital in Easton, Maryland. He finally retired in 1980. On 09 Oct 2005 after a stroke, in Cambridge, Maryland. His wife Dorotha died in 2012.

Smith Family: Madge Smith Scoles

 Jacob Smith > William Custer Smith > Edwin Smith > Madge Smith Scoles

Madge Smith was the fourth living child and second daughter of Edwin Smith & Kate Smull Smith. She was born 17 Jun 1897 in Bremer County, Iowa. When just about 23, she married Glenn Wesley Scoles, son of James Francis "Frank" Scoles and Ada Mae "Eda" Tracy on 19 Apr 1920 in Waverly, Iowa. We have another Scoles connection through Edwin's brother Walter. Walter's daughter Minnie married Charles Alfred Scoles, brother of Frank Scoles listed above.

Madge and Glenn farmed outside of Nashua, just down the road from the family "home town" of
Plainfield. They had nine children, all now deceased.

Beverly Bethel Scoles: b 24 Nov 20 and d. 30 Nov 1920 in Butler County.

Jeanette Scoles (Twin):  b. 07 Nov 1921in Butler County d. 28 Aug 2004 in New Hampton, Chickasaw County. She married (1) Harry Bradshaw, whose amazing story is here, 04 May 1941 in Toledo, Tama County; and (2) John Zobeck in 1948.

Annette Scoles (Twin): b. 07 Nov 1921 in Butler County d. 03 Mar 2002, Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky. She married (1) Clifford Valentine Querry about early Jan 1946 but was divorced in Seattle in 1948. Cliff was a Navy man and was on the ill-fated USS Lexington in 1942, but survived; and (2) Melvin Jennings was also a Navy man. He remarried after Annette's death.

Conrad Wesley Scoles: b. 02 Jan 1924 d. 07 Jan 1924 Chickasaw County.

Audrey Gail Scoles

Richard Henry "Dickey" Scoles: b. 28 Apr 1925 d. 13 Dec 2006 Nashua, Chickasaw County. Married Frances D Nehls, 05 Jan 1949, Nashua, Chickasaw County. Early on, he worked for Oliver Co. and then he worked for the railroad for nine years as a section crew worker until the railroad started reducing crews. He then worked as a lathe operator at Hydrotile in Nashua and later for H & H Tool & Die in Cedar Falls until he retired.

Audrey Gail Scoles: b. 03 Jul 1926 d. 27 Jul 1987 DuBois, Clearfield, Pennsylvania. Married Harry Ellsworth Shaffer, Sr. Harry was a career Navy man and they settled in his hometown. I recently connected with two of Audrey's sons. We've also discovered a son born prior to the marriage to Harry Shaffer who was adopted in Iowa. That's a tale for another day.  

Wendell Edwin Scoles: b. 24 Jan 1928 d. 01 Aug 1987 Nashua, Chickasaw County. Married Sharon Juel Reazak, 05 Feb 1949, at the Little Brown Church in Nashua, Chickasaw County. At the time of his marriage, he worked at the Capitol Tobacco Co in Charles City.  He went to linotype school and worked for the Nashua Reporter as a typesetter. Wendell served in the Navy, enlisting 10 Apr 1945 and discharged 25 Jun 1946.

Burrdette "Bucky" Howard Scoles: b. 26 Mar 1929, Bradford, Chickasaw County d. 17 Sep 1977

Harry E Shaffer

Des Moines, Polk, Iowa. Married Mitsue Miyashiro. Buck was a career Navy man who died while still in service at the Des Moines Veteran's Hospital.

Service Dates:
Enlistment: 01 Jun 1946 Discharge: 04 Mar 1948
Enlistment: 17 Feb 1950 Discharge: 09 Feb 1953
Enlistment: 18 May 1955 Discharge: 17 Sep 1977

Ronald Glenn Scoles: b. 15 Aug 1930 d. 28 Sep 2007 Charles City, Floyd County. Ron lived with his mom until her death and never married. He is buried without a monument at Willow Lawn Cemetery in Plainfield. 

Leland Barr and World War II

SMITH, Jacob > SMITH, William Custer > SMITH, Edwin > Smith, Vivan and Leland Barr

Leland Barr was the husband of my great aunt Vivian. I had warm feelings for her. She and Leland never had any kids, but Vivian was very fond of all of  us as well. He was born in 02 Nov 1906 in Shell Rock, Iowa. 

Vivian visit Leland before he left
for Europe

Uncle Leland was very quiet. Didn't see him smile a lot and can't recall anytime where he was laughing and joking, but he was a nice enough guy. He served in World War 2 and his service record isn't entirely clear, but this is from an earlier post:

Vivian met a young man from Shell Rock, Leland Barr, son of  William Barr and Marie Hufstader. In 1938, they married and she and Leland set up housekeeping in Plainfield. He made his living doing day labor. In April 1943, they moved to Waterloo where he had secured employment with Rath Packing Company, a major employer with good pay and benefits. Then, in August, Leland was drafted. He was and sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri for basic and advanced training in October.

After a 10-day furlough, he was sent to England and spent the next two years attached to the 49th Combat Engineers serving in England, France, and Belgium. While overseas, he fell into a mine shaft and was seriously injured; his legs were never the same. After the war, he was discharged as a private in December, 1945, returning to Waterloo and started work at Hartman Locker. He was rehired by Rath in early 1947, and according to Evelyn’s daughter Cheryl, he had a job  operating the large swing doors in the plant which wouldn’t tax him too much due to his war injuries. He remained with Rath until retirement.

The other day, I spoke with my cousin Tony, who had found a box of Vivian's things that had been in the care of my Uncle Harold who recently passed away. Yesterday, I went through the box and found a minor treasure of things from Uncle Leland's service.

Good Conduct Medal, WWII

These are not all identified, but the one on the bar is the Victory Medal and the one on the right is a campaign medal (which I believe is not identical, but similar to the one on top with three clusters. The one on the bottom looks like the Bronze Star ribbon, but there is absolutely no indication Leland received such an award.

This photo includes his death certificate. He was hospitalized and died on one of my leaves and I attended his funeral in 1979. He is buried in Waterloo, Iowa. There is a certificate of service which he had framed, his death certificate, a letter from the War Department regarding his service, a copy of his basic training book from Ft Leonard Wood, MO (where I would attend basic training 35 years later), and finally, a Nazi Iron Cross - source unknown.

The Iron Cross was worn by Nazi soldiers during WWII
There is a swastika and "1939" raised on the cross.

I'm left with more questions. Why does he have a bronze star ribbon? How did he get the Iron Cross? What were his experiences in Europe? There is no one left to ask.

Raid at Cabanatuan: Japanese POW Clinton Spencer Goodbla, World War II

I've decided to try and provide a list of descendency for these stories to help my fellow genealogists:

Jacob Smith > James Smith (brother of William Custer Smith - my 2nd great grandfather) > John R Smith  > Alfred Smith > Susie Smith Behrends > Dorothy Behrends married Clinton Spencer Goodbla

Add caption

Clinton Spencer Goodbla was born to Carl F Goodbla, originally from Sweden and Amelia S. Backlund in Montana. Spencer, as he was known when he was young, lost his mother in 1915. He lived with his aunt and uncle Anna and Henry Goodbla in 1920 in Musselshell, Montana and by 1930, was living with his father in Mitchell, South Dakota. By 1940, he was living in Cowlitz County, Washington. His father lived in West Bend, Iowa.

Clinton served in the US Army during World War II and was assigned to Battery A of the 60th Coast Artillery Regiment that was assigned to protect Manila and Subic Bay with anti-aircraft support. The battle for the Philippines was fought from 1941-1942 under the leadership of General Douglas MacArthur. By March 1942, the Japanese having overrun the area, MacArthur was ordered by the president to leave the islands so he wouldn't be captured or killed. He ran his battle from Australia. The Japanese took many prisoners before the ultimate surrender of the islands by MacArthur with his famous words, "I came through and I shall return."  

POWs Celebrate Liberation

The Bataan Death March wherein 78,000 (12,000 US and 66,000 Filipino) POWs were moved north 63 miles to confinement areas began on April 10, 1942. Clinton was one of those force marched. An estimated 7,000-10,000 died on this trek which lasted 5-12 days. The Japanese were not prepared to deal with this many people and also believed that those who surrendered had no honor and did not deserve humane treatment. Once the group arrived at San Fernando, they were herded into box cars for Camp O'Connell. From there, many were transported to one of three camps at Cabanatuan. Clinton was placed in one of these camps.

Conditions in the camp were brutal.  According to Clinton, "The healthiest prisoners were segregated and shipped to Japan, (ed note: where they were slave labor) many after the Nipponese realized the Yanks would reconquer Luzon." Many of these POWs were forced to work in factories, airfields, and shipyards to help the Japanese war effort in Japan, Manchuria, and Formosa.

The camp hospital doctors were forced to list causes of death for those who continued to die as being from disease instead of abuse or malnutrition.  Those who tried to escape were shot.

"To prevent any more escape attempts, the Japanese captors initiated what were called 'Shooting Squads' or 'Blood Brothers.' Each POW was assigned to a group of ten. If anyone in that group escaped, the other nine would be shot," according to fellow POW Billy Alvin Ayers.

According to this report from medical officer Col Webb E. Cooper:

"Each day an attempt was made to clear each barracks of the dying. They were removed to “zero” ward (ed note: those landing in this ward had '0' percent chance of leaving alive), laid on the bare floor entirely naked. These patients usually were profoundly emaciated, in fact, little better than skeletons with a feeble spark of life. Heroic corpsmen and doctors did what they could to alleviate the indescribable conditions.  They tied grass onto sticks and attempted to cleanse the floors.  They used the same method of cleansing the body.  Occasionally a big puddle of rainwater would provide enough water to wash the floor. At this time the use of the regular water supply system was strictly forbidden by the Japanese.  The few laymen who saw these conditions were utterly horrified.  Even the Japanese doctors would not enter these wards and the Japanese staff at Headquarters gave it a wide berth."

After three long years of horrifying imprisonment, with MacArthur and troops back in country, the Sixth Army's intelligence chief Colonel Horton White and Lt. Col. Henry Mucci, leader of the 6th Ranger Battalion, and three lieutenants from the Alamo Scouts—the special reconnaissance unit attached to his Sixth Army—met for a briefing on the mission to raid Cabanatuan and rescue the POWs.The group developed a plan to rescue the prisoners. After only a brief couple of weeks, the plan was approved and they took action on January 30, 1945, successfully freeing the prisoners in Cabanatuan and Camp O'Donnell. The exciting adventure is a must-read here.

Noted Associated Press war reporter from the Pacific, Fred Hampson, wrote this about his meeting with Clinton S. Goodbla after his liberation:  

Clinton was released from the military as a Technical Sergeant. He returned home and married Dorothy Behrends. They resided in Longview, Washington, where Mr. Goodbla worked as a millwork shop foreman.

Tragically, on December 19, 1953, Mr and Mrs Goodbla were driving along the Columbia River, 11 miles west of Longview, when their car plunged into the river. Dorothy was killed and Clinton was critically injured.  He did eventually recover and in 1954, married Lenore Malone. Clinton died on Feb 27, 1988 and was buried in Willamette National Cemetery in Multnomah County, Oregon.