Bob told us he only had 10 minutes to share his life's story, and wow, did he pick some good stories to share! Bob was the first son of Herman and Caroline (Platte) Trierweiler; he was born in 1923. He graduated from Westphalia High School in 1941 and then went to work at Ford Motor Company in Dearborn, MI. And then the war started... Bob served in the European War Zone with the 3816 Quartermaster Gasoline Supply Company. You'll have to read his story below to find out more about his time at war. So, look back at our 2018 Cemetery Walk with Bob's talk. He went from Ford Motor Company to WWII to Postmaster of Westphalia. Read his story by clicking the button below.
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In 2016, Sergeant Martin John Rademacher joined us to tell the story of his 19 years of life. In those years, he delivered milk, worked for Ed Witgen, played baseball and eventually made his way to Europe, where he was a B24 Liberator tail gunner during World War II. He was part of 26 missions before dying for his country.
Read about his story by clicking the link below. Marie Bengel came to Westphalia, Michigan on Memorial Day in 1948. Prior to that she had been a forced member of Hitler Youth, fled the Russians, been a refugee and married Julius Bengel in 1947. She flourished in her life in the US, learning English and just about anything else she could find to learn. In her "words", "Everything piqued my interest. Germans are known for their hard work ethic and I was no exception." Read Marie's story by clicking button below.
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Dick got right to the point by giving us an overview of his experience. He said he liked to take questions more than simply give details alone, and he challenged the adults to come up with as good of ones as the school kids.
The over 600 foot Indianapolis' mission was the deliver the atomic bomb, Little Boy, in July 1945. They took off (hightailed it) across the Pacific Ocean at 30 knots. During the voyage, he guarded the bomb, which put him within 20 feet of it. They delivered it to the island of Tinian on July 26.
Fast forward to a few minutes after midnight on July 30 when a torpedo hit. He was tossed into the air. Then another hit. Dick had been asleep, using rumpled up clothes for a pillow in his bunk below deck. He got knocked around. A lot. One torpedo hit midship, where gasoline and powder were housed, causing an explosion.
He said he always gets asked about jumping off the ship. His response? He didn't leave the ship, the ship left him. Since it sunk so quickly, he swam away from the ship.
Why three life jackets? Life jackets were made from milkweed and were not designed to last a long time (72 hours). He began with one and then accumulated two more as the days went on. See this link about the important role Michigan had in providing milkweed pods for WWII.
Dick was not in a life raft, but he was floating next to one. The benefit of that? Men in the raft were terribly sunburned with no where to hide from the sun. He could at least put what remained of his clothing on his head, while the rest of his body remained protected underwater.
Those who gulped saltwater got terribly sick, almost going mad.
At first, the men who went in the water faced 11-12 foot wake, but as the week went on, the water went calm.
Sharks came close to Dick. Why he wasn't plucked out of the water? He doesn't know.
He shared many incidences like this...call it chance, call it fate... but they were moments where things lined up oddly, for good and for bad. One example of this was the way they were torpedoed. Since it was night, the submarine was able to spot the ship because the Indianapolis sat between the submarine and a bright moon; this alignment gave it perfect sight of the ship. Had the submarine surfaced on the other side of the ship, or the moon been not as bright, it would've been harder for the ship to have been spotted.
Being rescued after multiple days without food, water, and soaking in saltwater left damage. He couldn't eat for 2 days, he said, and at that point it was simply a little alcohol, juice, and coffee.
There's so much more to his story not shared here: the story of his captain, the fight for a proper memorial, movies and documentaries.
Dick mentioned an upcoming National Geographic Special coming out this spring about this story. We look forward to seeing it and we hope you do too. As with any veteran, if you have a chance, thank them for their service and stand in awe of their accomplishments.
"Over the years, I administered to the young and old bringing new life into the world and seeing it leave, sharing the joys and sorrows of many families. There is a sense of pride in the community that I have wholeheartedly served for 43 years. | As promised, we will start posting some of the text from the Cemetery Walk presentations. Dr. Bruno Cook was Hubbardston born, a graduate of Fowler High School, the University of Notre Dame, and of Wayne State Medical School. He began his practice in Westphalia in 1930, and worked and lived here the remainder of his life. Read through stories of his family, the depression, WWII, delivering babies in blizzards, and much more. Dr. Cook witnessed the high and lows in many our lives, and for that, we are grateful. To read more of Dr. Cook's story, CLICK on the button below. |
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