Years Later
A Commemorative Celebration of
the end of World War II
70 Years Later
WARTIME
2C
IREDELL IN
War was also difficult for
those left back at home. Some
dealt with the stress by writing
letters, making scrapbooks, or
caring for the families of the
boys fighting overseas. And they
had patriotic parades.
Photos courtesy
of the
Statesville Historical
Collection
70 Years Later
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70 Years Later
Soldiers story left in
prison camp ledger
By Donna Swicegood
[email protected]A typewritten postcard, dated Feb. 14,
1944, informed Stephen F. Chomos
mother that he was now a prisoner
of war.
I am a prisoner in German captivity,
but in perfect health. From here I shall
be transported during the next few days
to another camp, the address of which
I shall give you later. Only there I can
get your letters and can reply to them,
the card read. At the bottom, Chomos
name, rank and unit number were in his
handwriting.
The postcard is one of many remnants
of her fathers 15-months as a German
POW that Statesville resident Rose
Armstrong holds onto.
One of the prized possessions her
father managed to bring home from
Germany was a handmade box he got
from a Polish POW in exchange for two
American cigarettes. Her sister has
that box.
A collection of military memorabilia belonging to the late
Stephen F. Chomos is shown.
Another of the items that tells the
story of her fathers life in captivity is
a ledger, provided to the POWs by the
American Red Cross. Chomos used his
Army blanket to make a cover for the
ledger. Inside the more than 70-year-old
piece are intricately drawn pictures and,
in neat handwriting, everything from
poetry to Chomos observations.
One of the pictures Chomos drew was
of his girlfriend, Magdalene Kraynak.
He couldnt get her eyes quite right so
another prisoner finished it for him, his
daughter said.
A postcard notified the family of Stephen F. Chomos that he
had been taken prisoner in Germany in early 1944.
said, her father was with a group of
soldiers and they spotted a house in the
distance. Her father grabbed a grenade
and prepared to throw it toward the
house. A lieutenant asked him what he
was doing and he said he wanted to kill
any Germans who might be inside.
The lieutenant said all of the Germans
were gone and Chomos held off on
throwing the grenade. As he walked
around the back of the house, he found
himself face-to-face with German
soldiers. One of them said the war is
over for you, Armstrong said. He said
he always wondered what would have
happened if I threw that grenade.
Chomos spent the next 15 months
in Stalag IIB, eventually working in
a forestry camp. He was the only
American there, his daughter said.
During his captivity, he lost 80 pounds,
dropping from 190 to 110. We were
always hungry, he relayed to his
children.
He was released from the POW camp
when the war ended in Europe in May
1945. Like others of his generation, he
came home and set about reclaiming
his life. He married Magdalene and they
became parents. He worked in a steel
mill for 30 years and also worked as a
part-time police officer in Brookfield,
Ohio. After retiring from the steel mill,
he became the police chief in another
Ohio town and later retired from his
second career.
He was part of the invasion force at
Anzio Beach in January 1944.
In the latter years of his life, Chomos
began to deal with the trauma he
experienced as a POW and in battle
in World War II, his daughter said. He
started talking with others who were
part of a group with post traumatic
stress disorder. That helped him so
much. He realized he was not the only
person going through this, she said.
He embraced his time in service
with pride. He visited the World War
II Memorial and became active in
veterans organizations. He loved
being in the military and loved being a
soldier, Armstrong said.
After the initial invasion, Armstrong
Stephen Chomos died in 2006.
Chomos, the youngest of seven
children, was drafted as the war
was raging in the mid 1940s. As the
youngest son of a widowed mother
and with three brothers already in
service, Chomos could have gotten
a deferment. He went into the Army
after being turned down by the other
branches because of flat feet. He ended
up in the 179th Infantry 45th Division.
70 Years Later
Veterans relish war
stories, coffee at
Richards museum
By Jim McNally
[email protected]Lynn King and Arthur Rogers sat at
what is lovingly called the Geezers
Table at the venerated Richards
Coffee Shop and Military Museum in
downtown Mooresville.
Truth be told, most of the regulars at
Richards would classify as geezers, in
the most respectful sense of the word,
but King and Rogers are among the
most senior of those who regularly
frequent the place.
Both are World War II era veterans,
though Rogers spent his stint in
the Navy near the end of the war
stateside. King flew B-25 bombers in
the Pacific.
I flew 23 missions, he recalled. I
actually went out on 24 but we had to
abort one, he added and explained
that an aircraft had to be in pretty bad
shape to pull the plug on a mission.
If they could get if to fly, he said.
Wed fly it.
King is now 95 and, as mentioned,
hes one of the older folks who hang
out at Richards, which was named
in honor of Richard Warren, an Army
helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War.
For 14 years Warren ran an operation
just down Main Street from Richards
called Pats Gourmet Coffee named
for Warrens wife which had gotten
a reputation near and far as being a
kind of veteran hangout and a kind
of living museum where visitors
could hear and share stories of the
camaraderie they felt during their
times of national service.
They were greeted with, Welcome
Home, which has become an act
of contrition of sorts for Vietnam
veterans who were not held in high
esteem during the time of civil and
political tumult in which they served.
When Warren died in 2009, the many
vets whod become daily patrons
of Pats picked up the mantel of
celebrating and honoring veterans.
King and Rogers were among that
group.
King, with his background in
construction, took the lead in
transforming a former art studio into
a museum where memorabilia from
almost every war in which the United
States fought could be gathered and
displayed.
He sat right over there at that table
and said, we want to do this here
and that over there, Rogers recalled
of Kings leadership. And we got it
done.
And while Richards is certainly a
museum it is also, and perhaps more
importantly, a place where those
who fought those wars could feel
comfortable and take their places of
honor, like at the Geezers Table.
Richards is at 165 N. Main St. in
Mooresville. For more information,
call 704-663-0488, send an email at
[email protected] or go to its
website at welcomevets.com.
5C
6C
70 Years Later
Iredell County native John Patterson (front row, middle) is shown with the 9206 Tech Service Unit shortly after the war ended.
RCs Lawnmower
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Thank You For Your Service & Sacrifice
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Thanks to our veterans
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70 Years Later
7C
Photos courtesy of Judy and Troy Reed
Iredell County native Walter B. Cook was stationed at Pearl Harbor during World War II. At right, he is shown
during a visit home, posing for a picture with a relative in Morganton.
Thomas Tatum
Airman and Unity High School graduate Thomas Tatum went to the Tuskegee Institute.
During the invasion on Iwo Jima, in February 1945, advancing U.S. troops spot a
Japanese machine gun nest ahead of them. One of the men is establishing its
location on the map, so they can forward the information to artillery or mortar
units to wipe out these positions.
Servicewomen celebrate the announcement of the
Japanese surrender as a lone sailor looks on, in
Washington, D.C., Aug. 14, 1945.
Houpe Brothers
Navy sailors and Iredell County natives Bill (left) and
Clyde (Bub) Houpe met for a photo in Hawaii
during World War II.
Men of the American Expeditionary Force administer first aid to a wounded
French native soldier on a North African beach during an early phase of
landing operations in that strategic area on Nov. 18, 1942.
8C
70 Years Later
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