COSHOCTON − In honor of Veterans Day, the Coshocton Tribune is sharing stories and photos of residents who served in the military. These items were submitted by community members and all are related to the veterans banners program sponsored by the local chapter of Blue Star Mothers.
The program started in 2023. There are 110 banners in the City of Coshocton along with 55 in Warsaw, 45 in West Lafayette, 12 in Conesville and five in Plainfield.
Two of the banners are designated with a gold star, signifying one who died in action in modern times. Both are at the Coshocton Court Square. Ray Border died in 2011 while serving in Afghanistan and Paul Mardis died in 2004 while serving in Iraq.
Applications for the banner program are available at the Coshocton County Veterans Office, Coshocton Moose Lodge, Coshocton Eagles Lodge, Coshocton American Legion, Coshocton AmVets, Coshocton Army Navy Garrison and the Blue Stars Mothers Ohio Chapter 59 Facebook page.
LeRoy Wilden
LeRoy J. Wilden grew up in Tyndal and graduated from Conesville High School. He received his draft notice in 1952 after he had graduated from Kent State University. He went to basic training at Camp Breckenridge. LeRoy was stationed in the Free Territory of Trieste, a disputed territory between Italy and Yugoslavia. This was a volatile area and the U.S. government believed it could become the outbreak of another war.
LeRoy served in Company H, 2nd Battalion of the 351st Infantry Regiment during the Korean War. He received training in Munich, Germany, to become a company clerk and was promoted to the rank of corporal.
In June of 1954, LeRoy and eight others of Company H returned to the U.S. He recalled the sight of the Statue of Liberty brought tears to their eyes. In August 1960, LeRoy was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army. In April 2014, he enjoyed participating in the Honor Flight to Washington D.C. with other veterans.
Information and photo provided by Philip Wilden, LeRoy’s son.
Tom Edwards
Captain, Army, Airborne Infantry, presently semi-retired from Auer ACE Hardware.
In 1966, the U.S. Army through the College ROTC program offered me a scholarship for a six-year commitment. That was my ticket out of poverty and a means to leave the family farm, see the world and learn some leadership traits. Valuable lessons were learned about human nature and the fact our bodies and minds are capable of many achievements if challenged.
Army friendships, now with Facebook, can last for years.
One of the best soldiers I ever served with was a gang member on the Southside of Chicago. Arrested at age 17 for armed robbery, SSG Brown was offered jail or join the Army. He chose the Army and became “all he could be” as was the recruiting slogan then.
A Jewish fellow from New York City was a loud mouth, had a trophy wife and was my superior officer. He challenged me to do things I did not think I was capable of.
Serving in a NATO unit, I was surprised soldiers from other countries were not as impressed with military weapons like our tactical nuclear missiles aimed at the Russians along the Iron Curtain. They wanted to hear about how the average American could afford a single-family house, with a yard so big we need a riding lawn mower.
Information and photo provided by Tom Edwards.
Russell McCurdy Sharples and Robert Paul Sharples
Russell McCurdy Sharples (born 1919) and Robert Paul Sharples (born 1922) were the sons of Fred and Ethel Sharples. They were born on the family farm near Tunnel Hill. They graduated from Warsaw High School, where they were involved in vocational agriculture. In 1940, Robert was the first Warsaw student to be awarded the Ohio FFA State Farmer degree. Both enrolled in agriculture at Ohio State University and were members of Alpha Gamma Sigma fraternity.
After graduation from OSU in 1941, Russell was vocational agriculture teacher at West Lafayette until he enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force in 1942. He served as navigator and bombardier on a B-24 Flying Fortress. He was commissioned a lieutenant in June 1943 and awarded the Air Medal for “meritorious achievement in aerial flight while participating in sustained operational activities against the enemy.” Stationed in Italy, he received two Oak Leaf Clusters after completing his 30th mission. During his 31st mission on July 2, 1944, his plane was shot down over Hungary. His body was recovered and is buried at Valley View Cemetery in Warsaw, next to his parents.
Robert left college in October 1942 to enlist in the Army Air Corps. He trained as an engineer and gunner on the B-29, then the world’s largest and longest range bomber. He was a sergeant stationed in India when his crew was part of the first B-29 bombing raid over Japan. On June 16, 1944, while returning to a base in China after a successful bombing raid, the plane crashed into a mountain and the entire crew was killed. The Chinese recovered the bodies, cremated and buried the crew with an elaborate ceremony which is Chinese custom. In a letter to his parents, the commanding officer described Robert as “industrious and always willing to carry his share of the burden. He was fun loving and well liked.” The crew was later buried at Ft. McPherson National Cemetery near North Platte, Nebraska.
Information and photos provided by Linda Lapp Meyer, their niece.
This article originally appeared on Coshocton Tribune: You’ve seen banners honoring Coshocton County veterans. Learn four of their stories.
Reporting by Leonard L. Hayhurst, Coshocton Tribune / Coshocton Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
