Happy Holidays from Sandusky - Ohio Department of Veterans ...

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Welcome to Georgetown Clifford Morris Birthplace: Beallsville, OH Branch of Service: Army Date of Service: 01/1944-11/1945 Occupation: Farmer Interest:: Football, Radio, Music, Church Donald Canby Birthplace: Dayton, OH Branch of Service: Navy Date of Service: 11/1952-11/1960 Occupation: Mechanic at Milicron Interest:: Electronics, TV It’s Indescribable……. Lee Fox Birthplace: Falls City, Oregon Branch of Service: Army Date of Service: 12/1956-12/1973 Occupation: Chaplain Interest:: Rock Climbing, Violin, Church Lloyd D. Martin Birthplace: Morehead, KY Branch of Service: Army Date of Service: 05/1951-02/1953 Occupation: Sign Painter Interest:: Restore Old Cars, TV, Art Chaplain’s Corner……...By Chaplain Bill Kirby A few years back, Wellington, FL had its baby Jesus stolen two years running. This was a wealthy community and their Jesus was worth around $1800. The third time around they put a GPS inside and traced the thief to her home. But, the baby Jesus doesn’t have to be expensive. In 2008, in Eureka Springs AK, the thieves not only stole a plastic baby Jesus; they also took the concrete block and chain meant to keep that from happening. It’s called the “Stolen Baby Jesus Syndrome.” Some take the babies as a joke. Others do so because they want to protest Christmas. When found, the babies are often defaced with profanity or Satanic symbols (AP Dec. 10, 2008) But, the thief doesn’t always have bad intentions. About 6 years ago, Chicago Police say an art student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago was arrested for stealing a figure of the baby Jesus from the Nativity Scene at the Daley Plaza. Two witnesses saw him pull the three-foot figure from the manger and just walk away with it. When questioned about the theft, the man said he took the figure because he saw it and wanted it. 8 Georgetown Christmas is the season that our minds are turned toward choosing just the right gift to give to special people in our lives. Have you ever received an indescribable gift? One, that when you look at it, you are in awe. You might even say, “This is what I’ve always wanted.” The gift was given to you by someone very special. It was a complete surprise. You’ll treasure it always. Would that make it an “indescribable” gift? Well, we may feel that way about some gifts, but they really aren’t indescribable. Manufacturers can and will spend lots of money describing them on tv and in newspaper ads. They seek to entice you into thinking you can’t live without it. But can I remind you that what we are celebrating on December 25 is truly an “indescribable” gift. When God gives a gift we would expect it to be “indescribable,” although we try to describe it. We put Jesus in a manger. We sing Handel’s “Messiah,” Joy to the World, and O Little Town of Bethlehem. Poets, painters, and sculptors have taken up tools of their trade to pay tribute to Jesus, the gift of God’s love. Yet, the virgin born babe remains “indescribable.” This “indescribable” gift is what makes the wonder and mystery of December 25 the most exciting and emotionally packed day of the year. God truly gave the gift that keeps on giving.
By OVH-Georgetown Administrator Andrew Vogel A beautiful sunny Sunday morning in Hawaii. Warships, large and small, bobbed at anchor in Pearl Harbor. As the planes flew overhead shortly before 8:00 AM, the sailors on duty barely looked up. Only when the first bomb fell, did they realize it was not the morning patrol returning. There are a few people around – fewer and fewer all the time – who witnessed the very first shots of World War II. Frank Duzick, 91, a resident at the Ohio Veterans Home – Georgetown, is one of them. Duzick attended a technical high school in Detroit to learn electronics. War was consuming Europe. Duzick felt America would be involved and “I didn’t want to be in the trenches.” So in April 1939, the 17-year-old joined the Navy. Duzick was sent to electronics school in San Diego; then was assigned to the USS Mugford (DD-389), a destroyer that had been commissioned less than two years earlier. Early in 1940, the fleet moved from San Diego to Pearl Harbor in anticipation of war with Japan. “We thought it would be around the Philippines.” Duzick said. “But it didn’t work that way.” The Mugford patrolled out of Pearl Harbor and made several trips back to US during 1940-41. There were indications that war was coming. In Seattle it was discovered someone had tried to sabotage some of the ship’s equipment. Back at Pearl Harbor in the fall of 1941, the Mugford consistently made contact with Japanese submarines. “We were not allowed to try and sink them,” Duzick explained, “but we would ‘ping’ them with the sonar and chase them back toward Japan.” USS Mugford Frank Duzick Ironically, the Mugford was scheduled to go to dry dock for repairs on Monday, December 8. She was moored at Pier 6, directly across from “Battleship Row,” where eight of the huge ships were docked. In the attack, four of those battleships would be sunk. When the Japanese attacked Sunday morning, the Mugford’s engines had been shut down. Most of the ammunition and fuel had been off-loaded. Duzick was in bed when the attack began, but quickly came on deck to help with communications. The Japanese planes were so low that they could easily see the pilots. “They would look at us and we would look at them.” From his position he could clearly see the battleships on the other side of the harbor. “I saw the Arizona go up and I saw the West Virginia being torpedoed,” Duzick said. “I’ve never told this before, but I felt the souls go from those thousand guys who died on the Arizona.” Seventy-one years later, Duzick sums up his feeling at that moment in one word, “Rage.” The Mugford accounted herself well in the battle. Of the 29 Japanese planes shot down that morning, the destroyer downed three of them. Tactically, the Japanese planes were not very interested in the destroyers and smaller ships. They concentrated the attack on the bigger ships. Fortunately, none of the aircraft carriers were in port that morning. “If they had been,” Duzick said, “who knows how the war would have ended.” Although she wasn’t prepared to go to sea when the attack began, the crew got the Mugford seaworthy in a matter of hours. They restored the fuel, ammunition and depth charges; put the engines back together and departed about noon with two cruisers and several other destroyers. They were looking for the Japanese fleet. “Good thing we didn’t find it,” Duzick smiled, “or I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you.” War is ugly. Some of its experiences stay with you for a lifetime. As the Mugford steamed toward the open sea, sailors were standing on the hull of the capsized USS Oklahoma; it was burning. “You could smell the guys burning in the water,” Duzick said. “They stayed at their battle stations as long as they could and when things got burning real bad it was too late” (to get away safely). There were many acts of heroism. Ahead of the Mugford, the battleship USS Nevada was being strafed and dive bombed. “They beached it at what was called Hospital Point,” Duzick explained, “so they would not block the channel.” In the early months of the war, the Mugford was involved in a number of battles. In August 1942, she was on patrol off Guadalcanal, when attacked by Japanese aircraft; three near misses and one bomb hit couldn’t prevent Mugford from downing two of her attackers, but she suffered eight killed, 17 wounded, and 10 missing. “I lost a lot of good buddies,” Duzick said quietly. When the Japanese surrendered in 1945, the Mugford carried freed Allied prisoners of war home from Japan. In 1946, the destroyer saw her final mission. She was used in the Bikini Atoll atomic tests and then retained for a time for experiments in decontamination. The Mugford was finally sunk in March 1948. After the war, Frank Duzick parlayed his electrical training into a technician position with RCA. He retired from the company 35 years later. Joy resounds in the hearts of those who believe in the miracle of Christmas! Wishing you all the peace, joy and love of the season! Season’s Greetings from Drew Vogel, OVH Administrator Georgetown 9
Page 1 and 2: December 2012 THE VETERAN Happy Hol
Page 3 and 4: On November 18 th , the OVH collabo
Page 5 and 6: Bradley Brewer came to OVH in 2008
Page 7: Acknowledgements OCTOBER 2012 MONET
Page 11 and 12: Clothing, Gifts and Miscellaneous D

Happy Holidays from Sandusky - Ohio Department of Veterans ...

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