Volume 5, October 1999

Sponsored in part by Cindy Terpstra, Don Coulthart, Laurel Luebs and Pat Meinke

• Editorial
• Coulthart Honor Role
• American Civil War: 1861-1865
• Francis Harkness (1814-1863)
• World War II: 1939-1945
• James K. Hunter (1922-1944)
• Vietnam: 1959-1975
• Gerald F. Coulthart (1947-1969)
• Acknowledgements
• Subscriptions and Sponsors
• Return to homepage

Terry Meinke…...............…………....…….....Managing Editor
Tim Coulthart........….....................………….……..…....Editor
Ian Coulthart.............................................……..……....Editor

The success of Clan Coulthart will depend upon your contributions. The editors need your support. Please submit family histories, biographies, announcements, questions and suggestions for improvement to the managing editor at the address listed below or send E-mail to meinket@yahoo.com. Be sure to include your name, address and phone number so we can contact you if there is a question. Also feel free to include photographs with your stories. All photos will be returned after they are scanned. The editors will select which items to include in each edition of Clan Coulthart.

Terry Meinke
Managing Editor - Clan Coulthart
1004 Ridgewood Lane
Palatine, IL 60067 U.S.A.
(847) 359-4320

The deadline for receiving information to be included in the January 2000 edition of Clan Coulthart is December 31, 1999.

All editions of Clan Coulthart are available in color on the Internet at: www.coulthart.com/newsletter.html

Genealogy often leads you in many different directions. It gives a face and a name to the events of history and makes it much more meaningful. In October 1998 I was searching military records on the Internet for information on my great-grandfather who fought in the Civil War when I discovered a distant cousin, Gerald F. Coulthart, had been killed in Vietnam. When I realized he died at age 21, I couldn’t help but wonder what he was like. Shortly after I signed off the Internet he faded from my mind as quickly as he had appeared. However, over the next six months Gerald would visit me often as if trying to tell me something.

He appeared to me again on May 31, 1999 as I watched the news of the annual Memorial Day service held at the Vietnam War Memorial, "The Wall", in Washington D.C. This was the first time I really considered what the holiday meant, the first time I thought of it as more than just a day off from work. It just so happened that a good friend of mine was flying to D.C. the next day. She agreed to go to the "Wall" and find Gerald for me. She returned at the end of the week with photographs and a rubbing of his name and many sad stories of the mementos left behind at the memorial. It made me realize how important it is for those of us who live to preserve the memory of those who do not. And this is especially true for those who died while serving their country. Within a month I learned of another distant cousin, James K. Hunter, who died in World War II at age 22.

This issue of Clan Coulthart is dedicated to the three men who made the supreme sacrifice: Gerald F. Coulthart, Francis Harkness and James K. Hunter. It is also dedicated to those who, in there own way, have preserved the memory of the loved ones they have lost: Rosalie (nee Coulthart) Wendelbo, LuRae (nee Coulthart) Erickson, Mary Harkness, Cindy Terpstra, Larry Hunter, Beth (nee Hunter) Kane and lastly to RoseMary (nee DiPalma) Fazio and Ralph DiPalma for helping me understand the sacrifice made by those wounded in action.

Originally I planned to dedicate one issue of Clan Coulthart to the Veterans but because there are so many stories to tell, there will be two issues. The January 2000 issue will be dedicated to all the other Veterans listed on the Coulthart Honor Role on the next page. There is still time to include information about your ancestor or relative. The deadline for submission of Veteran’s information has been extended to Dec. 31, 1999.

"Freedom is the sure possession of those alone who have the courage to defend it" Pericles.

It is our honor and duty to remember those men and women who have been killed or wounded while serving their country. It is also fitting and proper to remember and thank those who served their country and returned home safely. And lastly, it is important to recognize those individuals who served their country during times of peace. Thanks Veterans.

The Coulthart Honor Role consists of all relatives or ancestors who have served their countries and are descendants of a Coulthart, Coulthard, Coltart or Coltart family or are the husband of a descendant or a descendant of a woman whose maiden name was one of those listed above.

Stories about the Veterans listed below will appear in the January 2000 issue of Clan Coulthart. Please review the list to see if information has been received by the editors of Clan Coulthart. If you have not submitted your or your relative’s story and/or photograph, please do so prior to December 31, 1999.

VETERANS NAME	FROM	CONFLICT OR DATES SERVED	STORY RECEIVED	PHOTOGRAPH RECEIVED
Colthart, Robert	Sheffield, New Zealand	Boer War Era	Yes	Yes
Colthart, Thomas	Mt. Vernon, New Hampshire	Cold War Era	No	No
Coulthard, George Thomas	Caledonia, New York	WW I	Yes	Yes
Coulthard, Randal Stuart	Liverpool, England	WW II	Yes	Yes
Coulthart, Carlton H.	Jasper, Texas	WW II	Yes	Yes
Coulthart Jr., Charles John	Whitewater, Wisconsin	Cold War Era	Yes	No
Coulthart, Donald E.	Northpoint, Florida	WW II	Yes	Yes
Coulthart, Elmer I.	Grafton, North Dakota	WW I	No	No
Coulthart, Gerald Francis	Hamilton, North Dakota	Vietnam (KIA)	Yes	Yes
Coulthart, Gerald W.	Basking Ridge, New Jersey	WW II	Yes	Yes
Coulthart, Glenn Walter	Grafton, North Dakota	Korea	No	No
Coulthart, Larry Wayne	Grafton, North Dakota	Vietnam	Yes	No
Coulthart, Raymond R.	Hamilton, North Dakota	Vietnam Era	No	No
Coulthart, William French	Blue Earth City, Minnesota	Civil War	Yes	Yes
Harkness, Francis	Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin	Civil War	Yes	No
Harkness Jr., Frank	Randolph, Minnesota	WW I	Yes	Yes
Harkness, Fred Robert	Northfield, Minnesota	WW II	Yes	No
Harkness, Leonard Llewllyn	Waterford, Minnesota	WW II	No	No
Hughes, Brett	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Cold War Era	No	No
Hughes, Edwin Darwin	Clark, South Dakota	1921-1924	Yes	Yes
Hunter, Ethelbert Francis	Northfield, Minnesota	WW II	No	No
Hunter, James Kerwin	Hastings, Minnesota	WW II (KIA)	Yes	Yes
Hunter, Laurence E.	Hastings, Minnesota	WW II	Yes	No
Hunter, Michael Allan	Waterford, Minnesota	WW II	Yes	No
Hunter, Ward Milton	Sciota, Minnesota	WW I	No	No
Hunter, Wendell Eugene	Northfield, Minnesota	WW II	Yes	Yes
Hunter, William Nathaniel	Northfield, Minnesota	Civil War	No	No
Johnson, Holger	Tacoma, Washington	WW II, Korea, Vietnam	No	No
Meinke, Charles James	Apple Valley, Minnesota	1972-1977	Yes	Yes
Meinke, Drake Fritz	North Chicago, Illinois	1983-present including Bosnia	Yes	Yes
Meinke, John Charles	Olivia, Minnesota	Vietnam	Yes	Yes
Morrison, Helen	Lincoln, Nebraska	WW II	Yes	Yes
Prigge, Rachel	Yokota Air Base, Japan	Current	Yes	No
Schumaker, Lee	Menahga, Minnesota	WW II	No	No
Scott, John	Toronto, Ontario, Canada	WW II	Yes	No

Back to Table of Contents
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The Civil War is sometimes called the War Between the States or the War of the Rebellion or the War for Southern Independence. The chief and immediate cause of the war was slavery and the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860. Lincoln was a leading advocate for the abolition of slavery which threatened the economy of the southern states. By the time he took office on March 4, 1861, seven southern states had already seceded from the union. The war began on April 12, 1861 when the south opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. In July 1863 Union forces won two decisive battles in a matter of a few days that virtually changed the complexion of the Civil War. The battles of Gettysburg and Vicksburg assured Union victory in American’s bloodiest conflict since its inception over 200 years ago. The war ended on May 26, 1865 when the last Confederate army surrendered. It took more than 600,000 lives including President Lincoln’s, destroyed property valued at $5 billion and brought freedom to 4 million black slaves. The statistics below show the impact of the war in combatant lives.

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Of the 618,222 deaths during the war, 67 percent were from disease. What follows is the story of one of our ancestors who made the supreme sacrifice during this conflict.

Francis Harkness (1814-1863)
Private, Union Army
12th Wisconsin Infantry, Company G

Francis Harkness was born in Scotland around 1814 and immigrated to northeastern Ontario. In 1843 he married Christiana Coulthart who had immigrated from Cummertrees, Scotland to North Lunenburg, Ontario with her parents and 13 siblings between 1824-1827. Around 1848 Francis and Christiana moved to Rutland/Middelbury, Vermont where several of their children were born. While living in Vermont, Francis was an overseer of the construction of the first railroad built through the state.

About 1850, the family moved to Packwaukee, Wisconsin probably drawn to the logging area because they had heard of it from others in the lumber industry in Vermont. Within a few years they moved northwest to Portage County and eventually settled permanently about 20 miles west in Wood County. In 1856 Francis purchased 57 acres in section nineteen of Rudolph Township near the town of Wisconsin Rapids for $72.54 from the public domain. He was the first person to ever own this plot of land. As one of the earliest settlers in the area, Francis organized the petition drive in 1856 that established the township. By 1861 the family consisted of Francis and Christiana and their nine children: Mary (1843-1869), Jane (1848-1924), Francis (1849-1922), Margaret (1851-1923), William (1853-1869), Christiana (1855-1926), Emeline (1856-1873), Henrietta (1858-1880) and Ellen (1861-1862).

On September 23, 1861 at age 47, Francis enlisted in Company G of the Twelfth Wisconsin Infantry. It is hard to say why he enlisted especially with a wife and nine children, six under the age of ten and one less than a year old. He must have felt a strong obligation since many in Wood County were opposed to the war, the county having a hard time obtaining enough men to form a company. The 12th Wisconsin Infantry was organized at Camp Randall in Madison from October to December 13, 1861. They left camp on January 11, 1862 for Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas where they were to spend the rest of the winter and spring. The trip was made during the coldest time of the year. At times the temperature dipped to twenty degrees below zero and the men had no tents for shelter. They marched to an area just south of Quincy, Illinois where they crossed the Mississippi to Hannibal, Missouri. From there they rode in open boxcars to Weston, Missouri. During the trip the men suffered immeasurably, even their rations froze. While on duty in various locations in Kansas, Francis became sick and spent some time in March and April 1862 at the hospital in Lawrence.

After four months in Kansas, their original mission, the Southwest Expedition, was cancelled and they received orders to embark for Tennessee. They sailed down the Missouri River by steamer to Columbus, Kentucky where they arrived on June 2nd. While in Columbus they repaired the railroad and rebuilt bridges that had been destroyed by the Rebels. Afterward they departed for Humboldt, Tennessee where they would remain from June 9th through October 1, 1862 to guard the rail lines. They then joined General Ulysses S. Grant’s Central Mississippi Campaign. The winter of 1862/63 was spent in various locations in southwestern Tennessee on guard duty including guarding the Memphis to Charleston road near Memphis. In November and December 1862 Francis again became sick and spent time at the hospital in LaGrange. During their stay in Tennessee, the 12th engaged in several battles with the Confederate Army in northern Mississippi: Hernando on April 18, 1863 and Coldwater on April 19, 1863.

Meanwhile, in December 1862 Grant began to gather troops for a campaign directed at opening the Mississippi River to the Union and dividing the Confederacy in two. The key to the Confederate defenses was Vicksburg, the heavily fortified Mississippi city that commanded the river from its high bluffs. From January through March 1863, four attempts were made to bypass Vicksburg by cutting canals or changing the course of rivers. All failed. In April Grant prepared to put his final plan into operation. He would march his army of 44,000 down the west side of the Mississippi River to a point below Vicksburg, cross the river at Grand Gulf, march into Mississippi and attack the stronghold from the east. On May 7, 1863 his plan was put into action. After two assaults on Vicksburg in which he lost heavily, Grant decided the city would have to be starved out.

The 12^th Regiment left the Memphis area on May 11th and arrived at Grand Gulf, on the 18th. They remained there until June 9th when they moved to Vicksburg and served in the trenches from June 11^th until its surrender. Towards the end of the siege, Francis wrote the following letter home.

And they invite us to come to them by waving their hats and guns at us. The pickets are so near each other in some places that they can call to each other. Such as, Rebel come and we will give you some coffee. Go to h l (hell) with your coffee Mr. Yank. I expect a letter today so I will finish this next night as I will not be on guard till tomorrow likely. How is Jane, I would like to know. It will be a week today since I had a letter. 30^th June - The mail came last night but no letter. We expect to get two months pay in a few days. We very seldom hear any news from the northern papers. By this time you will have seen Mr. Gibbs and Mosher. I will send you some money by some means so soon as we get paid. I have just had breakfast. We had coffee, sugar. We get baked bread 3 days out of 5 and crackers 2 days. We had some nice fresh beef yesterday and this morning.

During the siege of Vicksburg the defenders and civilians were forced into near starvation. One Rebel soldier reported "rats, which are very numerous in our camps, are considered a dainty dish and are being considerably sought after". The city surrendered after six weeks on July 4, 1863. After 47 days Vicksburg had fallen. It was the longest siege in American military history and marked the beginning of the end for the Confederacy. Around 30,000 Confederate soldiers surrendered to the Union forces. According to one estimate, there were a total of 19,000 casualties on both sides, 10,142 Union and 9,091 Confederate. The victory was even more important than Gettysburg, for it gave the Union complete control of the Mississippi River. The Confederacy had been cut in half. "Grant is my man," declared President Lincoln. He than gave Grant command of all the Union armies.

After Vicksburg fell, the 12th advanced to Jackson and from July 10-17 was involved with the siege of Jackson after which they returned to Vicksburg. Francis died of dysentery on August 6, 1863 at Reytl Hospital in Vicksburg. He was probably buried at Vicksburg National Cemetery although he is not listed in the cemetery registry. Soldiers who succumbed to wounds or disease were usually buried close to where they died and their grave was often marked by etching their name onto a wooden board. When the Vicksburg National Cemetery was established, efforts were made to locate the remains of Union Soldiers throughout the South and move them to Vicksburg for reinterment. Unfortunately, by that time, many of the wooden markers were gone. Some estimate the casualties at Vicksburg were as high as 35,825.

The Wisconsin Memorial at Vicksburg National Cemetery which contains the names of 9,075 Wisconsin troops who fought at Vicksburg. The memorial includes the bronze statue of a Union soldier as seen in the next paragraph. Click on the thumbnail to see a larger picture.

On June 6, 1864, the clothing and personal effects of Francis Harkness and $22 were sent to his wife by the Union Army. During the approximate two years he had been in service, the 12^th became know as "The Marching 12^th" because they had marched over 2,000 miles by foot. Of the 2,186 who served in the 12th Regiment from 1862 until it was relieved in 1865, 294 men died. 30 percent were killed or mortally wounded in action and 70 percent died of disease. The long journey from Wisconsin during the dead of winter, the months on the plains in Kansas, the march through the swamps and bayous of Louisiana and Mississippi and four weeks in the trenches at Vicksburg had taken its toll. Click on the thumbnail for a larger picture.

In 1867, five years after Francis died, John Sidenham Coulthart left his father’s farm in Waseca County Minnesota and moved to Wisconsin Rapids. Most likely he was sent by his father to help his Aunt Christiana Harkness. By 1867 Christiana was surely having difficulty running the family farm by herself. At the time she had nine children between the ages of 9-24, the oldest son being only 18 when John arrived. John must have been quite a help for her. Within two years in 1869, John helped his aunt bury two of his cousins. By 1870 the Harkness farm of 200 acres had a real estate value of $1000 and included personal property valued at $250. The farm animals consisted of 1 horse, 2 cows and 10 sheep. During the year the farm produced 50 bushels of rye, 300 bushels of oats, 8 bushels of peas, 5 bushels of hay and 125 pounds of butter. John buried another cousin in 1873 and his aunt finally succumbed in late September of 1876 at the rather young age of 58.

Four of the Harkness children survived their parents. Jennie Harkness married her cousin William Nathaniel Hunter in 1873 and Frank Harkness married his cousin Barbara Jean Hunter in 1874. Both couples moved to Dakota County Minnesota where the Hunters lived. Christiana Harkness married Llewellyn Garrison in 1874 and they remained in Wisconsin Rapids as did her sister Margaret Harkness who married Edgar Warner in 1878.

World War II began in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland and the British Empire (Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) declared War on Germany. The Germans, Italians and Japanese aligned to form the Axis and the members of the British Empire, the Russians and most of the other European countries were aligned as the Allies. Although the United States did not get involved until the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, America was supportive of the Allied effort and had been supplying weapons and other materials to them for some time. In early 1941 there was a feeling that the U.S. would soon be joining the Allies and many individuals joined the service before the U.S. became involved. The day after Pearl Harbor, the U.S. declared war on Japan and as a result the Germans declared war on the U.S. Of the 16,353,659 Americans who served during WWII, 62% or 10,110,114 were drafted.

The resulting war was divided into two major theaters of operation; the European and the Pacific. Troops from the British Empire and the U.S. fought on both fronts. The objective of the war was to stop the German dictator Adolph Hitler and his Japanese allies who were spreading their tyranny and oppression throughout the world. On June 6, 1944 the largest invasion of its kind in world history occurred when U.S., British and Canadian troops stormed the beaches in Normandy France. It was the turning point in the war in Europe. In the Pacific, the turning point was the battle of Iwo Jima fought during February and March 1945. The war in Europe ended on May 7, 1945 when Allied forces overran Germany and the Germans surrendered. The war in the Pacific continued for three more months until the Japanese surrendered on August 14, 1945 after American forces dropped the atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. The statistics below show the magnitude of the war on the combatants from the countries from which our ancestors and relatives came.

61 million military and civilian lives were lost during WWII. What follows is the story of ten men who served together during this conflict. Nine made the supreme sacrifice and one survived. Although only one of these men was a member of our extended Coulthart family, their story must be told together.

James Kerwin Hunter (1922-1944)
Captain, 8^th U.S. Army Air Force
491st Bombardment Group, 854th Squadron

James "Jim" Hunter was born on January 1,1922 on a farm near Waterford, Minnesota not far from Northfield. He was the oldest child of Laurence Hunter and Mary Hendricks and the great grandson of Jane Coulthart (1812-1892) and William Hunter of Northfield. Jim had two brothers and a sister: Michael (1923), Elizabeth (1925) and Laurence (1926). The family lived for awhile on the farm but later moved to Waterford where their father worked as an electric lineman. In school Jim was well liked and very popular. He was a good student; played football, participated in school plays, and sang in the choir. One year his mother was quite upset because he had not made the honor role. For the next six weeks Jim studied extremely hard and brought home a report card with all A’s. He asked his mother if she was satisfied and when she replied "yes", he promptly informed her that it would be the last time he was going to work that hard! He graduated from Northfield High School in 1940.

Jim enlisted in February 1941 when the National Guard was activated and left home with the Northfield Headquarters, 68th Infantry Brigade. His basic training was held at Camp Clairborne, Louisiana after which he was assigned to Fort Dix, New Jersey. On December 7, 1941 the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and the U.S. declared war. Within weeks, Jim’s infantry unit was assigned to report to the European Theater and was scheduled to ship out in early 1942. However, on January 7 his father passed away suddenly from a coronary at age 51. Jim was granted temporary leave and returned home. He helped his mother resettle in her hometown of Hastings, Minnesota which was only a few miles east of Waterford. When he returned to the service, he was transferred to the Army Air Corp. He had always wanted to fly and had completed the necessary paper work requesting the transfer many months earlier. Since his unit had already departed for Europe, the army reviewed his application and he was selected to attend officers training notwithstanding the fact that he only had a high school education.

Jim received flight training at airfields in Georgia, Florida, Alamogordo, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas and became a pilot of the B-24 Liberator, a four engine bomber. At some point between September and November 1943, he was assigned to the 491^st Bomber Group that was formed in Tucson, Arizona on September 22, 1943. The 491st was further divided into four squadrons, the 852nd, 853rd, 854th and 855th. In the fall of 1943, the 491^st transferred to Biggs Field in El Paso, Texas for additional training. While stationed in Texas, Jim met a young nurse from Ottawa, Illinois, Miss Hollis Brown and they fell in love. Within a few months, Jim was ordered to report to Pueblo, Colorado for final training. The young couple was married in Denver. In Pueblo flight crews were assembled, assigned to aircraft and received intensive three-month training in which the men learned to work together as a team and depend upon each other. At the end of the training, each squadron consisted of 17 crews and their associated ground personnel.

Jim with his first crew during training. Jim is the third from the left in the back row. Click on the thumbnail to see a larger picture.

The crew of a B-24 bomber consisted of ten men. It took five men to navigate and fly the plane: pilot, co-pilot, navigator, flight engineer and radio operator; one bombardier to drop the bombs; and four gunners to protect the plane from enemy attack: nose gunner, right waist gunner, left waist gunner and tail gunner. The original members of crew #24 of the 854th squadron consisted of: Capt. James K. Hunter, age 22 - pilot from Hastings, Minnesota, Capt. Raymond Toll - co-pilot, Lt. Harry B. Parker - navigator from Salem, Oregon, T/Sgt Cecil E. Hudson – engineer and top turret gunner from Mesquite, Texas, T/Sgt Barto J. Montalbano - radio-operator from Brooklyn, New York, Lt. John R. Granat - bombardier from Portland, Oregon, Palmer - waist gunner, George M. Walburg - tail gunner, S/Sgt.James L. Evers - left waist gunner from Dadeville, Alabama and Frank DiPalma - ball turret gunner from Rochester, New York. The Consolidated B-24 Liberator was one of three heavy bombers used in WWII along with the B-17 Flying Fortress and the B-29 Superfortress. The B-29 was introduced late in the war and only flew in the Pacific, the most famous being the Enola Gay which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Between 1942 and 1945, 18,000 B-24’s were manufactured at assembly plants in Texas, Oklahoma and California. Some flight crews of the 491^st personally traveled to San Diego to pick up their newly constructed B-24J planes that had just been completed on the assembly line. In the spring of 1944, the Hunter crew was assigned to a B-24J Liberator with serial number 44-40210. They named her "I’ll Be Seeing You" after the popular song of the time.

During his months in Colorado, Jim had several opportunities to return to Minnesota. One day he flew with some of his crew to St. Paul to pick up a part for the top secret ‘Norden‘ bombsite which would allow their plane to perform high altitude precision bombing. Key parts for the bombsite were manufactured by companies throughout the U.S. and one component was produced by Honeywell. On the return to Colorado, Jim took the opportunity to "buzz" Hastings causing all of the windows in town to rattle. He had telephoned earlier in the day to let his mother know he would waggle his wings as he flew by. She was quite embarrassed by the incident and did not let anyone in town know that it was her son who caused all of the commotion. On Jim’s last trip home before going overseas, he went with his mother to visit his sister, Beth, who was attending her first year of nursing school at St. Joseph’s Hospital in St. Paul. No men were allowed on the third floor of the nurses quarters but his mother snuck him in and hid him in the closet to surprise her. Jim was a good-looking guy in his air force uniform and all of the nurses were just crazy about him.

In April 1944 the 68 original flight crews of the 491st Bomber Group were assigned to their final destination. To get there one gunner from each crew was required to sail with the ground crew while the other nine men were to fly with the plane. Frank DiPalma was selected to sail and he departed on April 11. When he left Pueblo no one knew whether they were headed to the European Theater or to the Pacific. The rest of the flight crew left between April 24-April 30. Frank was the first to arrive at their final destination on April 28. He had sailed from New Jersey to Glasgow, Scotland, then took the train to Metfield a small village in Suffolk County in eastern England. Jim and the rest of his crew reported to Palm Beach Florida where they were to receive their sealed flight orders. Secrecy was necessary as many U.S. troops were headed to Europe in preparation for D-Day which was to take place a few months later. The Hunter crew left Florida and headed to Trinidad with strict orders not to open their sealed flight orders until they were one hour out. It was only then that they learned that their final destination was Metfield, England. To get there they would be taking the southern route to Europe via Brazil and Africa. This was necessary because planes at the time could not carry sufficient fuel to fly directly to England from the U.S. En route they stopped in places like Trinidad, Puerto Rico and British Guyana before making the long 2000 mile hop across the South Atlantic Ocean from Fortalaza or Natal, Brazil to Dakar, West Africa. From there they flew to Marrakesh, North Africa and then on to Lands End, England, flying over the ocean west of Europe to avoid the Germans in occupied France. The journey of over 10,000 miles took at least 62 hours of flying time. With layovers, the earliest planes arrived in Metfield on May 9^th, making the trip in 12 days.

Between June 2, 1944 and April 25, 1945, the 491^st flew 184 bombing missions, two supply missions and one mission where propaganda material was dropped. A typical mission consisted of an early morning briefing in which the men learned their destination and target. Later they would take off and assemble in their formations. Many bombing missions involved hundreds and sometimes thousands of planes from bases scattered throughout eastern and central England. Most involved both bombers and fighters of the 8^th U.S. Army Air Force. Large bombers were difficult to maneuver and could easily become targets for German fighter planes. As a result the bombers were usually escorted to their target by fighter planes such as P-38 Lightnings, P-47 Thunderbolts and P-51 Mustangs. Sometimes due to the distances involved, the fighters could only escort the bombers part of the way. Another way in which the bombers protected themselves was to fly in a tight formation behind a lead plane. Each aircraft was separated by only a 30-60 second interval. When a large formation of bombers flew over head it was quite a site to see. Large formations were often spread out several miles in width and at least two or three times more in length. For most missions it took a significant amount of time for the planes to assemble in their formations and this was usually done over the English Channel. As a result, their activity was often picked up on German radar and the enemy had time to prepare for their arrival

Normally the B-24’s flew to their targets at a very high altitude. This required the men to wear oxygen masks and special flight suits to protect them from the extreme temperatures they encountered at that altitude. These temperatures often reached 40 degrees below zero. Once the bombers reached the target site they would often descend to a lower altitude in order to unload their deadly cargo. Each B-24 could carry up to twelve 500 pound bombs. They concentrated on military, industrial and transportation targets. The goal was to reduce the enemy’s ability to wage war by destroying their capability to produce aircraft, weapons and other military products and to prevent them from delivering these products to the front lines. During WWII over 2,057,244 tons of bombs were dropped. From September 1, 1944 through April 24, 1945, the 491^st dropped 12,235 tons of bombs on German targets. Each full crew flew an average of 20 missions dropping 48 tons of bombs. The damage inflicted upon their targets reduced the German war machine and, in combination with Allied ground forces ultimately lead to the end of the war. In the process 26,000 airmen were killed and many more were wounded. The 491st lost 297 men or 12% of their combat force.

A typical mission would take anywhere from three to twelve hours. Assembling the formation could take several hours depending upon how many planes were involved. The actual flight time depended upon the location of the target. A mission to Holland and back would take 3 to 4 hours, to northern or central France 4 to 6 hours, to Berlin 8 hours, Munich would take 9 to 10 hours and one to Dresden would take 12 hours. Once the target site was reached, the bombers often had to circle several times if fog prevented the bombardier from properly sighting the target. If bombs were released too early, civilians would be killed unnecessarily. Once a plane broke formation, it was often subjected to intense enemy fighter attack and its chances for survival were diminished. As the bombers neared their target and descended, they were then subjected to enemy anti-aircraft fire, more commonly known as flak during WWII. Most flak appeared as small dark puffs of smoke in the sky through which the bombers had to fly. It consisted of a cartridge that exploded at a certain attitude and sent hundreds of small metal projectiles in all directions. Considerable damage was caused when these projectiles made contact with an airplane. Although many planes were damaged by flak, many were still able to fly due to the skill level of the pilots. Others were damaged so severely they were forced to bail out and many ditched in the English Channel on their return to England. On other occasions, the landing gear would not descend and the plane would have to crash land back at the home base. The 491^st lost 88 aircraft during its tenure in England. 26 planes were lost to flak.

Life in England as the member of a bomber crew had its ups and downs. One day the crew would be in the quiet, peaceful English countryside riding their bikes to town, having a few beers at a local pub, attending dances in the evening sponsored by the Army or on R & R in London or Scotland. After 15 missions, all flight crews were given a week off for R & R. The next day they would be on a mission over Germany in the middle of heavy flak, unsure whether they would make it back safely. The 491^st often engaged in training missions on the days they were not flying to targets in France or Germany. On several occasions, Jim was assigned to the crew of another B-24, the "Hot Rock", as the co-pilot. This was done to gain experience and prepare him to become a lead pilot. Sometime in early September, Jim was promoted to Captain and one of his friends from the "Hot Rock" pretended to polish his new bars with his elbow in celebration. Jim was known by his colleagues as a happy, easy going person who always had a smile on his face. Around the same time Jim received a letter from his wife and learned he was the proud father of a baby girl named Janet. At least five others in the Hunter crew were married as well and letters from home were something the men always looked forward to.

From June 2, 1944 to September 18, 1944, the 491^st flew 73 missions. The exact number of missions flown by the Hunter crew is unknown. However, most of the original crews flew between 20 to 30 missions from their arrival in England until the middle of September. Several had already flown the required number of 30 missions after which they were allowed to return to the States. The first mission of the 491^st was an airfield at Bretigney, France, 18 miles south of Paris. Several days later, during the Normandy Invasion, they were sent to knock out the town of Coutances in order to assist the ground forces in establishing a beachhead. They did not unload their cargo that day but returned to England with a full load. The weather had prevented them from making visual contact with the target and they did not want to drop their bombs on the Allied forces on the ground. Weather frequently hampered their missions. The most common targets involved bombing airports, railroad bridges, V-1 Buzz Bomb launching sites, railroad marshalling yards, aircraft assembly plants and oil refineries. Some of the destinations were places in Germany like Munich, Bremen, Ludwigshafen, Hannover, Karlsruhe and Ulm. During one of the early missions, a plane returned with a full load and tried to belly land at Metfield because the landing gear would not retract. As soon as the plane touched the ground it exploded in a giant fireball and all ten crewmembers were killed instantly. There were other deadly incidents on the ground as well. In preparation for one mission, an excited gunner walked into the rotating propellers of a plane’s engine. On July 15, the ammo dump where they stored their bombs exploded and several men were killed. As a result, the 491st was moved in early August to North Pickenham, a base located about 30 miles northwest of Metfield in Norfolk County.

For four days prior to September 18, 1944, the 491^st stood down, meaning they were not required to fly any missions. Instead they were asked to practice flying at low altitudes as close to the ground as possible. They were preparing for a special mission in which they would be required to fly in at tree top level and drop supplies to Allies forces on the ground. As the 18^th approached, the 491^st learned they were to play a role in the first major offensive since D-Day. The operation was called "Market Garden". It was a joint Allied effort planned by British Field Marshall Montgomery in which Allied forces would be dropped behind the German lines in an attempt to push the Germans out of Holland. Operation Market Garden would involve 3,634 aircraft, 1,635 gliders, 30,481 troops, 1,001 vehicles, 463 artillery weapons and 3,559 tons of equipment which would be dropped or landed in Holland. If all went according to plan, these forces would within days be joined by the existing ground troops to the south in Belgium and would together drive the Germans east across the Rhine River. During the training many pilots and their crews thought the mission would be what they called a ‘milk run’, slang for an easy target. Market Garden would go down in history as the Battle of Arnhem – A Bridge Too Far. It was the largest airborne battle in history and the only Allied defeat in the campaign in North-West Europe.

Market Garden began on September 17 when 875 B-17 bombers were dispatched to bomb 117 flak batteries and installations in the Netherlands. They were followed by the First Allied Airborne Army making a parachute and glider drop of 20,000 troops in 2,083 aircraft. Since the transport planes were unarmed, they were escorted by 503 American and 371 British fighters. This sky train stretched for 94 miles in length and three miles in breadth flying at an average height of 1,500 feet. Once over their target in Holland, they descended to 500 feet for the drop. Paratroopers from the 101^st U.S. Airborne were dropped north of Eindhoven, the 82^nd U.S. Airborne were dropped south of Nijmegen and the 1^st British Airborne were dropped near Arnhem. The average time over German anti-aircraft positions was about 40 minutes. Another airlift involving 2,458 transport planes escorted by 867 fighters, took place on September 18^th when the second group of men and supplies were dropped in Holland. Immediately following this second drop, 248 B-24’s from the 8^th U.S. Air Force dropped resupply to the 101^st and 82^nd Airborne Divisions. Forty of these B-24’s came from the 491^st. Instead of carrying bombs, their bomb bays were filled with medical supplies, communication equipment, ammunition, food and fuel. It was the first time that heavy bombers were used to drop supplies at low-level.

On the morning of September 18^th, the briefing for mission 73 was held at 9:30 a.m at North Pickenham. The Hunter crew was selected to lead part of the group to Veghel, Holland to drop supplies to the 101^st Airborne. As the lead plane, one of the groups Operations Officers was required to fly as the co-pilot and several men wanted the position. The final decision was made by the flip of a coin and Captain Anthony Mitchell of Poland, Ohio replaced Lt. Raymond Toll as the co-pilot. A drop master to supervise the dropping of supplies by parachute was required as well and PFC George E. Parrish from Durham, North Carolina was temporarily assigned to the Hunter crew. Two members of the original crew, Palmer and Walburg, did not make the flight, possibly due to illness or injury. Nose gunner, William H. Byrne from Bellmore, New York, was added instead. After a delay due to fog, take off and assembly finally began at 1:27 p.m and they left the British coast at 2:53 for the 34-minute flight to Holland. During the trip they were required to make a 360 degree turn to avoid the returning troop carriers of the second airlift. When they reached the Dutch coast at 3:56 p.m. they descended to 300 feet and immediately caught small arms fire. Within 15 minutes they were flying at tree top level, 150 feet above the ground and could see Dutch citizens cheering and waving at them. From the time they arrived over Holland until they reached their target, they were also subjected to intense German anti-aircraft fire. They had been instructed not to return fire to avoid hitting Dutch civilians. At approximately 4:30 p.m. they arrived at the drop zone and had to pull up to 400 feet in order to drop their bundles, most of which fell within the assigned areas. Then they began their journey home.

Within a few minutes the lead plane was hit by flak and a small fire started on the right wing. "With only seconds in which to work, Captain Hunter, considered one of the best pilots in the group, picked his spot and started to bring the B-24 in on its belly. At less than 50 feet, however, the right inboard engine burst into flames. The right wing dropped and was too low when the plane hit. The instant was captured by a camera in another aircraft." The plane then slid on the ground, crashed into a haystack and exploded. It came to rest in a field about three fourths of a mile northeast of a train overpass near the town of Udenhout, Holland. They were the unfortunate victims of a 20mm flak gun, which had been mounted by the Germans the day before in the town of Oisterwijk. The heat from the explosion was so intense that a neighboring farmhouse caught fire. Because of the low altitude, no one was able to bail out. The rest of the 491^st returned to North Pickenham where a missing in action report was filed on the Hunter crew and their families were notified. The mission was not the ‘milk run’ many thought it would be. A second plane was forced down in Belgium and five others crash-landed in England upon their return. The 491^st lost 7 planes on September 18, 1944, the most in a single mission since their arrival in England.

A few minutes after the crash several Dutch civilians in the area found a young man who was seriously burned wandering along the road trying to find a place to hide. They transported him to an institution for mentally disabled boys and men run by the St. Francis of Assisi order that was located near the crash site. Here he was hidden in the basement and taken care of by local doctors. After the fire was extinguished, a Dutch farmer transported the other nine bodies by horse driven cart to the cemetery at the village of Biezenmortel where they were buried. When the Germans investigated the crash on September 20, they stopped at the institution to question the Dutch. During the interrogation, one of the doctors pulled a gun and demanded they leave, insisting that the children were too traumatized by war to see another uniformed soldier. As a result the Germans left, never discovering that an American was hidden in the basement.

Frank DiPalma’s family considered him a pretty lucky fellow. He was born Francisco DiPalma on June 19, 1919 in Moiano, Italy near the city of Sorrento. Frank was the youngest son of Joseph DiPalma and Concetta DiMartino. He had one brother and three sisters: Ralph (1913), Virginia (1921), Josephine (1928) and RoseMary (1932). During Frank’s early years in Italy, he accidentally fell into a fire and was miraculously pulled to safety without so much as a scratch. His father immigrated to the U.S. in 1921 at the height of the anti-immigration movement. After Joseph became a citizen, it took him six years to convince the authorities to allow the rest of the family to immigrate. They were finally reunited on Ellis Island in 1927. After settling in Rochester, New York in the 1930’s, Frank sold vacuum cleaners to farmers in the area to help supplement the family’s income. One day while making the rounds with four other salesmen, the car in which they were riding was in an accident and the man next to him was killed. Again Frank walked away without a scratch. He enlisted in the air force in 1941 as he had always wanted to become a pilot. Like many new immigrants, he felt an obligation to his new country. He trained for several months then crash landed one day and ran into a fence causing significant damage to the plane. This time he walked away with only a few scratches. Needless to say this ended his dream of becoming a pilot. Instead, due to his size, he trained as a ball turret gunner and was assigned to the Hunter crew during his final training in Colorado. After arriving in England, the ball turrets were removed from the B-24’s of the 491^st and he assumed the position of left waist gunner.

Frank remained unconscious for two weeks and after he awoke, had no memory of the crash or his early days in Holland. He was severely burned on the face, hands and legs. When Udenhout was finally liberated by Canadians attached to the British Army on October 26, he was transported to a hospital in Belgium and from there to Oxford, England where he remained for six months. He would spend the next two years in Valley Forge Veterans Hospital in Pennsylvania where he underwent numerous skin grafts. In 1948 he returned to his hometown in Rochester and married Lydia Iabone. They remained in the area and had three children: David, Karen and Janet. Frank pursued a career as a steam fitter at the Rochester Gas & Electric Company. He passed away on August 29, 1989 at the age of 70.

On December 26, 1944, the day after Christmas, Mrs. Hunter of Hastings, Minnesota received a telegram from the War Department indicating her son Jim had been killed in action over Holland on September 18. Click on the thunbnail for a larger picture. He had previously been reported as missing in action. Three days before the war ended in Europe, on May 4, 1945 at a ceremony at the Hastings courthouse, she was presented with the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster awarded posthumously to her son. The citation accompanying the Distinguished Flying Cross stated: "For extraordinary achievement while serving as Lead Pilot on many missions over enemy and enemy occupied territory. The outstanding airmanship and skillful leadership demonstrated by Captain Hunter have been major factors in the success of each of these missions. In the face of intense ground defenses and adverse weather conditions, Captain Hunter led his Group to drop successfully vitally needed supplies after which his aircraft was seen to crash and burn. The devotion to duty, determination and tenacity of purpose displayed by Captain Hunter on this occasion reflect the highest credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United States". The Air Medal citation reads in part: "For meritorious achievement in accomplishing with distinction several aerial operational missions over enemy occupied Continental Europe. The courage, coolness and skill displayed by this individual in the face of determined opposition, materially aided in the successful completion of these missions. His actions reflect great credit upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United States".

Several months after the war ended in 1945 the remains of the nine crew members buried in Biezenmortel were exhumed. Three were returned to the U.S. at the request of their families to be buried in their hometowns. Jim and five of his crew were re-interred at the American Military Cemetery in Margraten, Holland along with 8,295 other Americans, most of whom lost their lives nearby. Captain James Hunter can be found in section D row 21 grave 7. His family had considered bringing him home but changed their minds after they heard the story of a young Dutch girl who adopted his grave. Every Sunday she would ride her bicycle fifteen miles from her home to the cemetery to place flowers on Jim’s grave. On September 18, 1996 the Dutch citizens from the town of Udenhout dedicated a memorial at the local church to the men who were killed there 52 years earlier. To this day these nine men and Frank DiPalma are considered their liberators.

I’ll be seeing you
In all the old, familiar places
That this heart of mine embraces
All day through.

In that small cafe
The park across the way
The children’s carousel
The chestnut tree
The wishing well.

I’ll be seeing you
In every lovely, summer’s day
And everything that’s bright and gay
I’ll always think of you that way
I’ll find you in the morning sun
And when the night is new
I’ll be looking at the moon
But I’ll be seeing you.

"The Vietnam War was a struggle fought from 1959 to 1975. It began as a determined attempt by Communist guerrillas (the so-called Vietcong) in the South, backed by Communist North Vietnam, to overthrow the government of South Vietnam. The struggle widened into a war between South Vietnam and North Vietnam and ultimately into a limited international conflict. The United States and some 40 other countries supported South Vietnam by supplying troops and munitions, and the USSR and the People’s Republic of China furnished munitions to North Vietnam and the Vietcong. On both sides, however, the burden of the war fell mainly on the civilians."

"The war intensified in 1960, the year in which North Vietnam proclaimed its intention ‘to liberate South Vietnam from the ruling yoke of the U.S. imperialists and their henchmen.’ U.S. economic and military assistance to the South Vietnamese government increased significantly and in December 1961 the first U.S. troops, 400 uniformed army personnel, arrived in Saigon." A year later, U.S. military strength in Vietnam stood at 11,200 and by 1969 it peaked at over 541,000. Although 1,766,910 men were drafted during the Vietnam War, not all of them served in Vietnam. "Unlike conventional wars, the war in Vietnam had no defined front lines. Much of it consisted of hit-and-run attacks, with the guerrillas striking at government outposts and retreating into the jungle," followed by search and destroy missions by the U.S. and South Vietnamese armies. To many, it was a war in which the enemy was at times difficult to identify.

"In the United States, as military involvement increased, the war became increasingly controversial." The Vietnam War was the first in which live footage, showing the horrors of war, was broadcast on national television, bringing the war to the masses. "A peace movement developed and gathered momentum, organizing marches and moratoriums against the war. In addition, a major reinterpretation of U.S. involvement in the war was spurred by the controversial publication in 1971 of the so-called Pentagon Papers. This collection of classified U.S. government documents cast a new, and to many, a dismaying light on the U.S. handling of the war and of the peace negotiations through the 1960’s."

"On January 27, 1973, in Paris, delegations signed an agreement ending the war and restoring peace in Vietnam. By the end of March 1973, all U.S. fighting forces had been withdrawn. Although President Nixon had apparently assured the South Vietnamese government that U.S. forces would step in to support them in the event of a major treaty violation, further military assistance to South Vietnam became politically impossible. One of the reasons for this was the concurrent outbreak of the Watergate scandal. Fighting between Vietnamese antagonists renewed and on April 30, 1975, the capital of Saigon was captured and South Vietnam surrendered unconditionally to the communist North."

One out of every 10 Americans who served in Vietnam was a casualty. "Less measurable but still significant costs were the social conflicts within the U.S. that were engendered by the war – the questioning of U.S. institutions by the American people and a sense of self-doubt."

Unlike their portrayal by the media and in the movies, the majority of veterans of the Vietnam conflict were much like their counterparts from previous wars. They may not have wanted to go to Vietnam, but they did so out of a feeling of duty for their country. They were the unfortunate victims of an unpopular war, a war in which success was difficult to measure. There were few ticker tape parades when they came home and little thanks for their sacrifice. Vietnam was the most prolonged conflict ever fought by America GI’s.

Of those wounded, 75,000 were disabled. What follows is the story of one of our cousins who made the supreme sacrifice during this conflict.

All of the sentences in the above summery enclosed in quotes were taken verbatim from Microsoft’s Encarta Encyclopedia. All other sentences were written by the editor of Clan Coulthart based on information obtained from other sources.

Gerald Francis Coulthart (1947-1969)
Spec 4, U.S. Army
B Battery, 1^st Battalion, 30^th Artillery
1st Cavalry Division (Air Mobile)

Gerald was born in Grafton, North Dakota on June 5, 1947. Family and friends called him Frankie. Frankie was the son of Raymond Coulthart and Louise Lambrecht. He was the great-grandson of Walter Coulthart (1820-1892) who had immigrated from Cummertrees, Scotland to North Lunenburg, Ontario with his parents and 13 siblings between 1824-1827. In 1864 Walter moved to Waseca County, Minnesota and by the late 1880’s, settled permanently on a farm a few miles north of Grafton.

Frankie was raised on a farm near Hamilton, North Dakota that his father purchased in 1947, the year he was born. He had four sisters and one brother of which he was the youngest: LuRae (1938), Rosalee (1939), Judith (1940), Serene (1944) and Raymond (1946-1973). His sisters remember him as a cheerful person who was always busy taking things apart and putting them back together again. In high school Frankie participated in wrestling. Around the time he graduated from Cavalier High School in 1966, his brother Raymond was drafted and sent to Germany where he served in the U.S. Army. In October 1966 their father passed away. Click on the thumbnail for a larger picture.

After graduation Frankie went to Hanson Trade School in Fargo, North Dakota. In April 1968, shortly after completing his studies, he was one of 296,406 men drafted into the army that year. He was sent to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri for basic training after which he was assigned to the field artillery. Most likely Frankie transferred to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, the headquarters and training center of the United States Army Field Artillery for advanced training. Click on the thumbnail for a larger picture.

On March 14, 1969, Frankie began his overseas tour of duty and left for Vietnam. When he arrived he was sent to the 90^th Replacement Battalion at Long Binh for a few days to await his orders. Most of the time there was spent trying to adjust to the 13 hour time change and the suffocating heat and humidity. By 1969 Long Binh covered 25 square miles and was like a small American city. It contained movie theaters, swimming pools and restaurants like many bases in the U.S. In one of his first letters home, Frankie wrote "where’s the war, I don’t see any war". This letter was most likely written during his first few days on the base at Long Binh.

Frankie was assigned to the 1^st Howitzer Battalion, 30^th Field Artillery Regiment which later became known as the "Hard Chargers" for their exclusive work with medium weapons such as the 155mm howitzer. "The 30^th Artillery had been in Vietnam since late 1965. In 1966 they were the first ever to move 155mm howitzers into combat by helicopter, melding the 1^st Cavalry Division’s air mobility concept with the unit’s heavy firepower. In over five years of combat from 1965-1971, 1st Battalion expended over 1,260,000 rounds of timely, accurate and deadly firepower in support of its infantry brothers and in direct fire defending its remote firebase positions against ground assaults and sapper, rocket and mortar attacks. These courageous actions cost the lives of 35 known Battalion members and resulted in hundreds of wounded in actions. Departing Vietnam in 1971, the Battalion and its batteries had earned two Presidential Unit Citations, four Valorous Unit Awards, three Meritorious Unit Commendations, five Vietnamese Crosses of Gallantry with Palm and innumerable individual medals for valor. It had become the second most decorated of over 70 artillery battalions in the Vietnam War. When Frankie arrived in 1969, the 30^th had just entered its hardest year of the war. He arrived during the height of the dry season, the season in which the most enemy attacks occurred.

In 1969, the 1^st Howitzer Battalion supported the operations of the 1^st Air Calvary, an infantry division that had its headquarters at a base camp in Phuoc Vinh. When new men arrived in the 1^st Howitzer Battalion or the 1^st Calvary Division they were sent to Phuoc Vinh for processing. They usually waited here for one or two weeks before being assigned to a specific unit or destination. Since most of the soldiers in Vietnam served a one-year tour of duty, there was a constant need to rotate men in and out of the bases where they served. As men completed their tour of duty and were returned to the States, the new men would be assigned to fill their positions. New men could also be assigned to positions vacated by individuals who were killed or wounded. It was probably during his short stay in Phuoc Vinh that Frankie was assigned to "B" Battery of the 1^st Howitzer Battalion.

The region in which the 1^st Calvary operated was a 50 square mile area located about 35-75 miles north and northwest of Saigon. This sector included several Vietnamese provinces that bordered Cambodia. One of these provinces, Tay Ninh, bordered Cambodia on three sides and because of its location was one of 10 provinces in South Vietnam that had the highest number of casualties during the war. In addition to the Division Headquarters, the men of the 1st Calvary were spread out over this area in either one of three smaller base camps which served as the three Brigade Headquarters or at one of many remote Fire Support Bases. The base camps served as the logistic centers and kept the operations functioning by providing supplies such as food and ammunition and other materials that the men would need. The remote Fire Support Bases, also known as firebases or Landing Zones (LZ), provided artillery support to the parolling elements of the 1^st Calvary. Many were located near the Cambodian border along one of the enemies principal supply routes to the south. Frankie was assigned to one of these firebases as were most of the men in the 1^st Howitzer Battalion.

Firebases were established whenever there was a need to move artillery weapons to a temporary position to support the infantry. With artillery support, the patrolling infantry could locate and destroy enemy supplies and prevent their movement toward Saigon. If the infantry came under enemy attack, they would radio their position back to the firebase and request artillery support. Most firebases were located about 5 to 8 miles from one of the base camps and were approximately the same distance from each other as this was the maximum range of their weapons. A typical firebase covered an area of 2 to 5 acres and was comprised of six 105mm howitzers supported by 80-90 men, three 155mm howitzers supported by 40 men and a company of infantry, roughly 80 men, who secured the firebase. In total, approximately 200 men resided on the firebase. When the men were not engaged in fire missions, they spent their time sandbagging their position, unloading ammo or constructing ammo bunkers. Because the patrolling infantry was constantly on the move, depending upon where the enemy was, the typical life span of a firebase was anywhere from 3 days to 3 months.

Near the center of each firebase was a bunker that contained the Fire Direction Center. The men in this bunker were responsible for processing requests for artillery support received from the patrolling infantry. These men would use their slide rules to calculate the firing data needed to fire the weapons. Although computers make these calculations today, in the 1960’s it was done manually and the men were very efficient at what they did. They could calculate the firing data within one minute of receiving an initial request and could make adjustments within 15 seconds. This information was then provided to the gun crews who were responsible for loading, aiming and firing the weapons. The role the men in the Fire Direction Center played was often the difference between life and death for the men in the field. If artillery fire was calculated incorrectly, the shell might miss the target altogether, or worst yet, fall short and land on their own troops. If artillery fire was delayed, the men in the field could be subjected to intense enemy attack. Frankie served in the position of Fire Direction Specialist for the 155mm howitzer and assisted in this crucial role.

The 155mm howitzer had a range of 9 miles and could fire one round per minute. It took 6-8 men to operate the weapon and each one of its high explosive shells weighed 95 pounds. It was hated by the North Vietnamese Army because of its range and ability to penetrate the jungle canopy. As a result, the firebases where the 155mm were located were frequently the target of enemy attack. In Vietnam, the artillery was as much in the front line as the infantry was. Only a few months before Frankie’s arrival, the firebase to which "B" Battery was assigned, LZ Rita, was hit in a two month period by 671 enemy mortar rounds, 52 107mm rockets and 7 rounds of 75mm recoilless rifle in an attempt to knock out the 155mm guns.

Although the exact details of Frank’s assignment have not yet been uncovered, he most likely served at firebase LZ Carolyn which was located in Tay Ninh Province, about 15 miles north of the city of Tay Ninh. Although LZ Carolyn did not come under major enemy attack until May 5, 1969, they received incoming mortar rounds on almost a daily basis from the North Vietnamese Army. On Monday April 28, 1969 the place where Frankie was assigned came under enemy mortar attack. During the assault Frank received multiple fragmentation wounds probably from an enemy mortar or rocket and was killed in action. He was 21 years old. Forty-eight percent of all army deaths in Vietnam occurred during a soldiers first three months in the country. Frankie had been there only six weeks. Within days the following letter was sent to his mother by the President of the United States.

Frankie’s body, accompanied by a member from his unit, was transported back to North Dakota. The funeral was held the week of May 10, 1969 and he was buried at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church near rural St. Thomas, North Dakota next to his father. During the funeral service, one of Frankie’s high school teachers read a poem he said was written by a teenaged boy a few years earlier. Evidently it was written as part of a high school assignment and reflected the point of view of many young men at the time. The boy who wrote the poem was Frankie. It was the first time his family had ever heard it.

In addition to the unit citations mentioned earlier, Frankie received the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart medals. His name is listed on panel 26W, row 69 of the Vietnam War Memorial, "The Wall" in Washington, DC. If you are ever in Washington, please stop by and pay your respects. Let this story be a reminder to never forget the sacrifice made by brave young men like Frankie who were killed in action in Vietnam. Let’s make a special place in our hearts for him and forever honor his memory. Frankie may be gone, but he is not forgotten.

The information in this edition of Clan Coulthart is the result of extensive research. In addition to family members, the sources and individuals listed below provided the majority of the background information for these articles. A complete bibliography with the sources of the quotations will be included with each story when they are reformatted over the next few months for publication as web pages on the Internet.

1. History of the Twelfth Wisconsin Infantry Volunteers.
2. Smithsonian Magazine June 1986– Letter to the editor from Alan Blue, historian of the 491^st Bombardment Group.
3. The Ringmasters – History of the 491^st Bombardment Group.
4. 1996 Memorial Brochure from Udenhout, Holland.
5. Don Shacklette, webmaster of the Hard Chargers website and Dan Gillotti, historian of the 30^th Field Artillery.

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