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Found him!
Two weeks ago, I was desperately trying to recall information on a headstone at Cedar Creek Cemetery.
I could picture it perfectly: White stone, carved with a date of birth of May 24, 1921, and a date of death of May 23, 1941. Who was this very young man who died during the war? Of all things, I could not recall the basic: the name on the stone.
Readers to the rescue! Louise Simonson of Montrose filled in the blank, and a whole lot more.
To start with, his name was Henry Brennecke. According to information Louise located, through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints family search, Henry was born in Idaho, educated in Oklahoma and was by 1930 listed on Census rolls for Montrose at the age of 8. He lived with his father, JH, mother (name not legible, but born in Russia) and siblings Geraldine, Martha and Frtizir.
Information Louise found from Find A Grave shows Henry's precise resting place (Section E, not G) and that he was a U.S. Army Sgt. in WWII, killed in action while serving with the 157th Infantry, 45th Division.
He was awarded the WWII Victory Medal and Purple Heart.
The 45th Infantry Division was most associated with the Oklahoma Army National Guard and, when activated in 1941, took part in intense fighting in Sicily, according to the information Louise located and shared. On May 23, "a 45-minute Allied artillery barrage opened on the Cisterna front, followed by armor and infantry attacks along the entire line from Carano to the Mussolini Canal." Resistance was stiff, but the Allies breached the main line of resistance. Fighting continued before the town fell on May 25 at the cost of 476 American lives.
I am indebted to Louise Simonson for this information. We are all indebted to Henry Brennecke and others who sacrificed their lives.
— Katharhynn, from the Newsroom
Eye candy
Warning: You are about to see a photo that (apparently) "goes against" Facebook community standards. Anyway, that's the message I received when I tried to share this last week on my own page. Apparently, a week made all the difference, because on Sunday, it was allowed. Feast your eyes on this controversial ... cactus surrounded by wildflowers!
Classic eye candy
We hope you got out this past weekend to see the annual car, rod and truck show presented by Black Canyon Classic Car Club! Here's just a sample of what rolled into Cerise Park.
(Jeremy Morrison/MDP)
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