Almost Forgotten: The Men from the Bridgeville and South Fayette Area Who Lost Their Lives While Serving in the Military

By Joseph K. Oyler

At least 107 men from the Bridgeville and South Fayette area perished while serving our country in the military as early as the Civil War and as recently as the Vietnam War. The book documents who they were, where they lived, who their parents and siblings were, the conflict in which they served, their branch of service, when and where they perished, and where they are buried or memorialized. However, it goes beyond these details by relating anecdotes and human interest stories concerning the casualties, their friends, and their families. The author shares his memories of the men who perished, the conflicts in which they served, and his family's connection to the various conflicts. Hundreds of men and women who contributed information to the author are acknowledged. The book unveils many interesting findings. For example, Alexander Asti perished with the Five Sullivan Brothers when the Japanese sank the light cruiser USS Juneau at Guadacanal during World War 2. Most importantly, it resurrects the memory of these men who sacrificed their lives to preserve our liberty and freedom!

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jan 20, 2011
• ISBN: 9781452095257

Joseph K. Oyler

Joseph K Oyler grew up in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania, during the 1940's and 1950's. He graduated from Bridgeville High School in 1955 and earned a BS degree from Penn State University in 1959 and an MS degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1977. He worked as a Civil Engineer for Duquesne Light Company for 39 years prior to retiring in 1998. Joseph has resided in Scott Township with his wife Pauline since 1971. They have four grown children, Paul, Joseph, Douglas, and Rebekah and six grandchildren. When men from his neighborhood and church perished while serving in the military during the World War 2 and Korean War era it left a lasting impression on him. He has dedicated the last five years to commemorating all of the men from the Bridgeville and South Fayette area who made the supreme sacrifice for our country and are now largely forgotten.

Book preview

Contents

Acknowledgments

Preface

List of Bridgeville and South Fayette Area Men Who Lost Their Lives While Serving in the Military

Civil War Casualties

World War 1 Casualties

World War 2 Casualties

Korean War Casualties

Cold War Casualties

Vietnam War Casualties

The Men Who Lost Their Lives, Their Families, Their Friends, People Who Knew Them - Their Stories

Civil War Casualties

World War 1 Casualties

World War 2 Casualties

Korean War Casualties

Cold War Casualties

Vietnam War Casualties

Conclusion

Civil War

World War 1

World War 2

Korean War

Cold War

Vietnam War

References

Photographs

Acknowledgments

I’m indebted to the many people who supported me on this project. Simon Kern, Dorothy Maioli Stenzel, Patty Patton Lawrence, my brother John, William George, Curtis Copeland, Emily Nadeja Brady, John Kosky, Marion Grafe, Andrew Knez, Judy Brennan, David Colton, John Schneider and Russell Kovach were especially helpful and supportive of the project. Members of the local media were also particularly helpful. David Mayernik, writer for Gateway Publishing Company, Tim McNellie, editor of South Fayette Source Magazine, and Robert Podurgiel, freelance writer for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette West, helped to generate interest in the project and commemorate the men of this project by interviewing me and writing articles for their respective publications. Finally, I’m indebted to my wife, Pauline, who patiently allowed me to spend hundreds of hours on this project, often at the expense of spending time with her.

Preface

When I was growing up in Bridgeville in the 1940’s and 1950’s many families in the area lost sons who were serving in the military. This really hit close to home and left a lasting impression when William Hagerty, Samuel Allender, Amos Jones, Sam Patton and Richard Johnson became casualties[in this project I have used the word casualty to signify a loss of life]. These men were sons of either neighbors or friends of our family as well as being associated with our family’s church, Bethany Presbyterian. The first two men died in combat during World War 2, and the latter three men died in military accidents in the mid 1950’s. At the time it was difficult or perhaps impossible to comprehend how their families could deal with such a tragedy. It’s probable that these families never recovered from their loss. Unfortunately, time has passed and the supreme sacrifice that these and other men made has been largely forgotten.

With this in mind, in 2004 I took on a self-appointed project to resurrect the memory of all the men associated with Bethany Presbyterian Church[BPC] who lost their lives while serving in the military. In 2005, inspired by the Alexander Asti story, I initiated this project to commemorate all the men from the Bridgeville and South Fayette area who lost their lives while serving in the military. For the purpose of this project I have defined the Bridgeville and South Fayette Area as Bridgeville Borough, South Fayette Township and the contiguous parts of adjacent townships, Collier and Upper Saint Clair. For readers not familiar with these municipalities please note that they are located in Allegheny County approximately ten miles southwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Much of the information on the forenamed five men comes from my personal recollections. At times, working on this project was discouraging, but it also had its uplifting moments. It was disappointing to find that few people remembered anything about these men who grew up in the Bridgeville and South Fayette area and gave up their lives serving our country. On the other hand there were heartwarming and emotional interviews with their families and friends.

Numerous individuals, especially those mentioned in the Acknowledgments, provided support and information that enabled me to complete the project. Throughout the course of my research Dorothy Maoli Stenzil has forwarded information to me as it became available to her. I have found her to be nothing short of relentless in her research on Bridgeville’s history. Her most significant transmittal to me was a packet of newspaper articles[copies] pertaining to Bridgeville during WW2 which had been saved by Jean Dozzo Trzinski. In addition to being very interesting, the packet uncovered a new casualty and contained supplemental information on other known casualties. Simon Kern has lived in Bridgeville all of his life, is active in veteran’s affairs, and came up with many of the casualties for men who lived in the Bower Hill Road area of Bridgeville prior to its annexation into the Borough after WW2. Simon also pointed me in the direction of the five casualties buried at St Barbara RC Church Cemetery.

Patty Lawrence is the sister of Leslie Sam Patton, one of the casualties, and since she lives in Wisconson, provided assistance long distance via US Mail and the telephone. Her siblings, Jimmy and Jane Patton, Bridgeville historians, passed away recently, and fortunately, Patty had access to all of their records. I guess with their passing one might call my brother John, Bridgeville’s current historian. On January 27, 2008, John gave a talk on Bridgeville in 1906 at the Bridgeville Area Historical Society’s monthly meeting. Although John now lives in Mt Lebanon he still has strong ties to Bridgeville and wrote a weekly column for the Bridgeville News until its unfortunate demise in June 2008. When the newspaper was resurrected in February 2010 John once again was asked to contribute his weekly column, Water Under the Bridge. In 2009 John, the Bridgeville Area Historical Society’s Historian, was enlisted to write the book, Images of Bridgeville, a photographic history of the town. The book was published and made available to the public in April 2010. His most significant contribution to this project were newspaper obituaries for Korean War casualties, Edward Kolessar and Robert Shipe, and World War 2 casualty, Wayne Carson. Also, he provided major support when I presented the project at the South Fayette Historical Society Meeting on June 23, 2008, and at the Bridgeville Area Historical Society Meeting on March 31, 2009.

William George, now deceased, had a wonderful recollection of the past and provided information on several individuals, including his cousin Lloyd Warrensford. It was his tip that led me to the Alexander Asti story which ultimately motivated me to initiate this project in May 2005! Curtis Copeland was a huge help and gave me information on numerous men, including Robert Randolph. He also took me to Amy Perkin’s home for an enlightening interview with her regarding her father, Roy Purnell, a World War 1 casualty. From his US Postal Service career Curtis knew that John Fabeck’s sisters, Elizabeth Farrelli and Rosemary Batelli, lived at 204 Ramsey Avenue in Bridgeville. Subsequently, I had a long visit with them wherein they gave me information on Thornton Fleeher and their brother John Fabeck.

Emily Brady, niece of World War 2 casualty Andrew Zura, provided considerable assistance, including information on numerous South Fayette casualties and more importantly the opportunity to present the project at a South Fayette Historical Society meeting on June 23, 2008. Like Emily, John Kosky was a big help with the South Fayette casualties, one day going out of his way to visit the South Fayette War Memorial to confirm a World War 2 casualty for me.

Marion Grafe was a big source of information on the Civil War casualties. She has a wonderful book which records the Civil War history of Company D of the 149th Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, hereinafter called the Company D Book. The book was written by John W Nesbitt, a private in the company, and published in 1908. Nine of the eleven Civil War casualties served in this company, including her great-great uncle William Campbell. The book, which has information on each member of the company, has been passed down in her family through the years and now resides in her possession. Incidentally, after Marion Grafe shared her copy of the Civil War Company D Book with me, I found it in its entirety on the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh website. Andrew Knez, local historian and painter of French and Indian War era scenes, gave me considerable information on three of the Civil War casualties, John Park Hickman, Thomas Boyce and Richard Lesnett, the latter two being his distant relatives.

David Colton, the Manager of Melrose Cemetery, Judy Brennan, the Secretary at St Barbara RC Church, and Russell Kovach, a member of Holy Child RC Church, kindly reviewed their respective cemetery interment records to confirm casualties who were buried in their respective cemeteries. David showed me the location of several of the pertinent gravestones at Melrose.

John Schneider surfaced as a major contributor to the project after my presentation of the project at the Bridgeville Area Historical Society Meeting on March 31, 2009. John is an expert at internet research and discovered two previously unknown World War 1 casualties, William Barclay and Anthony Willinsky, and two previously unknown World War 2 casualties, Stanley Lublinsky and Ralph Sundy. He also provided a photograph of Civil War casualty Richard Lesnett, his distant relative, as well as a plethora of additional information on known World War 1 and World War 2 casualties. The forenamed individuals and everyone else who provided me with information are indicated with their name in{brackets} adjacent to the pertinent casualty in the list of casualties that follows this Preface. I’ve acknowledged many people here and in the list of casualties; hopefully I didn’t overlook anybody.

In addition to the individuals who contributed to this project, other sources of information were Bethany Presbyterian Church records, newsletters that Bethany Presbyterian Church sent to military personnel during World War 2, the Bridgeville World War 1 and 2 Memorial in front of the Beinhauer Fryer Funeral Home on Washington Avenue, the South Fayette World War 1 and 2 Memorial in front of the South Fayette VFD Building on Millers Run Road, the Thoms Run World War 1 Memorial at Federal, and cemetery gravestones. Gravestones for many of the casualties were found in Melrose, Holy Child RC Church, St Barbara RC Church, Bethany, Robinson Run, Holy Souls, Chartiers, and St Patrick RC Church Cemeteries. The internet, in particular, the World War 2 Memorial, American Battle Monument, National Archives, and Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh internet websites were a significant source of information. A book titled Soldiers of the Great War – Fallen Pennsylvanians of World War 1 was found on the internet by John Schneider. This book confirms the information found on the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh website and in some cases provides photographs of the casualties, including four men who are included in this project. This book which was found on the internet late in the project also uncovered a new WW1 casualty, Victor Kilinski.

Information on five of the Civil War men was found in the Bethany Church records. Most of the World War 1 and 2 casualties for residents of Bridgeville Borough and South Fayette Township were obtained from their respective war memorials[ men who lost their lives have a star beside their name]. Four additional World War 1 casualties from the Presto and Federal area were found listed on the Thoms Run Memorial. Unfortunately, although the Bridgeville and South Fayette war memorials honor Korean and Vietnam War veterans, they do not list them individually. The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh internet website had information on twenty of the twenty-two World War 1 casualties. The American Battle Monument internet website had records on six World War 1 casualties and three Korean War casualties. Information was obtained from the Bethany World War 2 newsletters on 19 of the World War 2 casualties, including William Phillips who has not been confirmed by any other source. Information on most of the World War 2 casualties was obtained from the World War 2 Memorial, National Archives and American Battle Monument internet websites. Newspaper obituaries for eight men were found on the Google News internet website as follows: World War 1 [one], World War 2 [six] and the Korean War [one] . I found three internet websites that addressed Vietnam War deaths: the Wall, the Virtual Wall, and the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Fund websites. Information on George Verdinek was discovered on the Wall website, and information on James McAleer on the latter two websites. Circumstantial information concerning many of the men was also found on the internet. For example, Alexander Asti perished when the cruiser Juneau was sunk at Guadacanal, the same incident that took the life of the five Sullivan brothers.

Sources of information and credits for this project would not be complete without elaborating on the support provided by the local media. The primary purpose of this project is to commemorate the Bridgeville and South Fayette area men who lost their lives while serving in the military. Dave Mayernik of the Bridgeville News has certainly helped to make that happen by publishing articles on the project in April, May and November of 2007, May 2008, and May 2010. The April 2007, May 2008, and May 2010 articles listed all of the known casualties at the time of their publication. The first three articles generated considerable feedback causing the list of casualties to grow from 49 to 65. Then in April 2008, Tim McNellie, editor of the South Fayette Source Magazine, interviewed me for an article in the May/June 2008 issue of the magazine. This led to 22 additional casualties when Tim pointed out that, like Bridgeville, South Fayette has a WW1 and WW2 Memorial. As you will see in the stories that follow, when I visited the memorial which is located in front of the VFD on Millers Run Road, I immediately found seven new WW1 casualties and over the course of time 15 new WW2 casualties. [Since the WW2 section of the memorial is very difficult to read it took several visits and more than a year before I finally found all 15 WW2 casualties]. I was already aware of four other WW2 casualties listed on the South Fayette Memorial. Incidentally, Tim grew up on South Fayette Street close to the memorial. After the Bridgeville News and South Fayette Source Magazine articles of May 2008 were published, ten more casualties were brought to my attention, and after my presentation at the Bridgeville Area Historical Society Meeting on March 31, 2009, three more casualties surfaced. Then in the summer of 2009 Robert Pordugiel, freelance writer for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette West, interviewed me and in the July 2, 2009, issue of the newspaper published an article on the project. Subsequently, the Post Gazette posted the article and the list of casualties on the internet where the two documents currently reside. Finally, after the Bridgeville News published their May 2010 article four new military deaths were brought to my attention.

At this time I have compiled a list of 107 men from the Bridgeville and South Fayette area who lost their lives while serving in the military. The list follows this Preface. It includes men who died during the Civil War [11], World War 1[22], World War 2[58], the Korean War[8], the Vietnam War[4], and Cold War accidents[4]. So far, no deaths prior to the Civil War or since the Vietnam War have been uncovered. All the casualties are men. When I knew the name of the individual’s relatives, I typically only listed several of them. This was done to keep the descriptions as concise as possible.

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001 Bridgeville WW1 and WW2 Memorial

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002 South Fayette WW1 and WW2 Memorial

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003 Thoms Run WW1 Memorial

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004 St Barbara RC Church Cemetery

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005 Holy Child [St Agatha] RC Church Cemetery

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006 Melrose Cemetery

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007 Bethany Cemetery

List of Bridgeville and South Fayette Area Men Who Lost Their Lives While Serving in the Military

Note –{bracketed} names are individuals who contributed information on the casualty in question

Civil War Casualties

J. Boyd Alexander

Union Army – Civil War – wounded and taken prisoner at the Battle of Yellow Tavern[Weldon Railroad] on August 21, 1864 - died November 12 or 27, 1864, in the Confederate Prisoner of War Camp at Salisbury, North Carolina – buried at Bethany Cemetery – his father was John Alexander – {Marion Grafe}

Thomas Boyce

Union Army – Civil War – died of wounds on October 7 or 10, 1864 – he was a member of a cavalry unit – left a wife [Ann Connor Boyce] – his parents were Isaac and Sarah Denniston Boyce – buried at Melrose Cemetery - {Andrew Knez}

William Campbell

Union Army – Civil War – died in the hospital with typhoid fever on November 4, 1862 – buried at Robinson Run Cemetery – probably lived in South Fayette – great-great uncle of Marion Grafe who lives on Firwood Drive in South Fayette - {Marion Grafe}

John Park Hickman

Union Army – Civil War – died April 27,1863, in Aquia Creek Hospital near Fredericksburg, Virginia - initially buried at Bethany Cemetery, but he was reinterred at Melrose Cemetry in 1910 - lived near Bridgeville - his father was John Hickman - {Marion Grafe, David Colton, and Andrew Knez}

John Jordan

Union Army – Civil War – taken prisoner near the Chickahominy River in Virginia on June 7, 1864, during the Battle of Cold Harbor – died of starvation and exposure September 20 or 24, 1864, in the Confederate Prisoner of War Camp at Andersonville, Georgia – buried at Melrose Cemetery – his father was Samuel Jordan – {Marion Grafe and David Colton}

Benjamin Kerr

Union Army – Civil War – taken prisoner at the Battle of Gettysburg, later paroled, then recaptured at the Battle of North Anna on May 23, 1864 - died of starvation and exposure on October 4 or 9, 1864, in the Confederate Prisoner of War Camp at Andersonville, Georgia – lived in the Woodville area - his parents were Robert and Abigal Snodgrass Kerr – buried at Andersonville, Georgia – {Marion Grafe}

Richard Lesnett

Union Army – Civil War – mortally wounded on May 28, 1864, at Haws Shop, Virginia, during the Battle of Cold Harbor – buried at Arlington National Cemetery – son of John and Polly Lesnett - third cousin of Dell Lesnett who lived on Lesnett Road in Upper St Clair Township – {Scott Lesnett, John Schneider and Andrew Knez}

David Forbes Morrow

Union Army – Civil War – died of sickness at Aquia Creek Hospital on June 7, 1863, after the Battle of Chancellorsville – buried at Bethel Church Cemetery – probably lived in Upper St Clair Township - his father was Thomas Morrow - {Marion Grafe}

William F Nesbitt

Union Army – Civil War – killed in action on May 8, 1864, at the Battle of Laurel Hill[Spotsylvania] in Virginia – buried at Melrose Cemetery – his father was Ebenezer Nesbitt – {Marion Grafe}

Samuel K Smith

Union Army – Civil War – taken prisoner at the Battle of Yellow Tavern[Weldon Railroad] on August 21, 1864 - died on January 15, 1865, in the Confederate Prisoner of War Camp at Salisbury, North Carolina – buried at Salisbury, North Carolina – lived in South Fayette near Noblestown – his parents were Andrew and Mary Smith - brother of William A Smith[also a casualty] – {Robert Leonard}

William A Smith

Union Army – Civil War – became sick on the march to Gettysburg and died at Frederick City, Maryland, on July 7, 1863 – buried at Noblestown United Presbyterian Church Cemetery – lived in South Fayette near Noblestown – his parents were Andrew and Mary Smith – brother of Samuel K Smith[also a casualty] – {Robert Leonard}

World War 1 Casualties

Note - All of the World War 1 casualties noted with an asterisk* are listed on the Bridgeville Borough War Memorial located in front of the Beinhauer Fryer Funeral Home on Washington Avenue in Bridgeville. All of the World War 1 casualties noted with a double asterisk** are listed on the South Fayette Township War Memorial located in front of the South Fayette Township VFD Building on Millers Run Road. All of the World War 1 casualties noted with a triple asterisk*** are listed on the Thoms Run War Memorial located on Thoms Run Road in Federal. ABM or CLP shown after a casualty’s name means that information was found on the American Battle Monument or Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh website respectively.

William Barclay {ABM,CLP}

US Army – World War 1 – died of wounds on September 19, 1918 – lived in Sturgeon – his mother was Martha Barclay - buried at Meuse Argonne American Cemetery at Romagne, France, and memorialized at Robinson Run Cemetery - {John Schneider}

Achille Barufaldi** {CLP}

US Army – World War 1 - killed in action on July 21,1918 – lived in Morgan - buried at Oise Aisne American Cemetery at Fere-en-Tardenois, France - {John Schneider}

Albert Comstock* {ABM,CLP}

US Army – World War 1 – accidental death on October 10, 1918 – buried at Meuse Argonne American Cemetery at Romagne, France

Walter Coppus**

World War 1 – this casualty is listed on the South Fayette War Memorial but has not been confirmed otherwise

Victor Kilinski {CLP}

US Army – World War 1 - killed in action prior to June 27, 1918 – lived in Morgan - {John Schneider}

William Kirkpatrick** {CLP}

US Army - World War 1 – died of wounds – lived in Cuddy – {John Schneider}

Louis Krezenosky** {CLP}

World War 1 – US Army – killed in action on November 7, 1918 – buried at Meuse Argonne American Cemetery in Romagne, France - {John Schneider}

Rudolph Kovach* {CLP}

US Army – World War 1 – died of wounds after being hit by machine gun fire in France – great uncle of Russell Kovach who lives on Lafayette Street in Bridgeville – buried at Holy Child RC Church Cemetery – {Russell Kovach and John Schneider}

Walter McCartney*** {CLP}

US Army – World War 1 - killed in action – lived in Hickman

James McCluskey **{CLP}

US Army - World War 1 – died of disease in France on December 25, 1918 – lived in Morgan - buried at Holy Child RC Church Cemetery – {John Brady and Russell Kovach}

Frank O’Block** {CLP}

World War 1 – US Army – killed in action – lived on Hickory Grade Road in South Fayette – {John Kosky}

Francis O’donnell** {CLP}

World War 1 – US Army – killed in action on October 9, 1918 – lived in Morgan - his parents were Dominick and Mary O’Donnell - had a brother Hugh O’Donnell – buried