Casualties during wartime: East Templeton men served, died during while on leave from war

EAST TEMPLETON – A lonely marker in a deep corner of Pine Grove Cemetery in Templeton reads “Pvt. Tauno L. Kangas 1922-1944, Memorial by Half-Bro. Oscar W. Bjork.”

It is in stark difference from other gravestones in the cemetery with the word “Memorial” on the stone, and likely for a good reason.

While Pvt. Kangas was home on leave from his post with the coast artillery unit in Maine, one day after his 21st birthday, he inexplicably ended his life by a self-inflicted shotgun wound.

In that era, suicide was a taboo subject, as was talking about the emotional stresses that would have led to such an act. In many religions, the church would not formerly grant burial in consecrated ground to someone who committed suicide.

While the circumstances leading up to the act will likely never be known, it appears as though the cemetery likely did not allow for a traditional gravestone for Pvt. Kangas. Instead, his half-brother Oscar W. Bjork purchased the granite marker in his memory and it commemorates his brief life and troubled ending.

A year earlier, a fellow East Templeton resident by the name of Corp. Paul Lojander also experienced a non-combat death when he was killed in a car accident not far from his base in Warwick, Rhode Island.

This is the continuation of the series Remembering Local World War 2 Heroes.

Pvt. Tauno Kangas (1922-1944) – East Templeton

Tauno Leo Kangas was born on Feb. 8, 1922 in East Templeton, the son of Leo and Mary Kangas, and had been a lifelong resident of the town.

He had been in the Army since Dec. 5, 1942, and was stationed in Maine with a coast artillery unit.

While home on a leave on Feb. 9, 1944, the 21-year-old Pvt. Kangas died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home on North Main Street, as determined by Gardner Medical Examiner James E. Waters of Gardner.

In addition to his mother, Mrs. Mary Kangas, he was survived by his stepfather, Adam Jackson, and a half-brother, Oscar Bjork of Whitinsville.

He was buried in Pine Grove Cemetery, Templeton.

Corp. Paul B. Lojander (1908-1943) East Templeton

Paul Bruno Lojander was born in Gardner on May 30, 1908, the son of Evert and Minnie (Kahela) Lojander and lived on Lake Avenue in East Templeton. He was employed by Hedstrom Union in Gardner, before joining the Coast Artillery in 1941.

Lojander, a Corporal Technician in the United States Coast Artillery had been stationed at Fort Adams in Jamestown, Rhode Island, throughout much of his time in the service and never left the country for active duty. The Tech 5 was a member of the 10th Coast Artillery.

In the early morning of March 3, 1943, Lojander was returning to Fort Wetherill in Jamestown when he apparently fell asleep at the wheel. His car crashed into the rear of a trailer truck that was parked on Quaker Lane in Warwick, Rhode Island.

Police reported that the accident occurred on a stretch of straight road with the truck parked well to the right of the road, which was visible for several 100 yards. The trailer operator had been sleeping in the truck cab, awaiting a repairman who was en route to fix two flat tires.

Two soldiers who came upon the crash in another vehicle helped Lojander from the wrecked auto and took him to the office of Dr. Louis Legris in nearby Centreville, who gave first aid. State police took the corporal, still unconscious, to Rhode Island Hospital.

Lojander suffered head injuries, possible internal injuries, a fracture of the collarbone, injuries to the right side of his chest, bruises of both hands and cuts and bruises of the nose and left knee.

After about 10 days at the hospital, he was reported to be recovering. However, his fractured rib would eventually cause a hemothorax when blood collected in the area between his chest wall and lungs. Tragically, he died at the age of 34 on March 13, 1943 of internal bleeding.

In addition to his parents, he left a brother Edwin Lojander, who was serving in the U.S. Navy and a sister Mrs. Esther Holden of West Hartford, Ct.

He was buried in Pine Grove Cemetery in Templeton.

Comments and suggestions for Remembering Local World War 2 Heroes can be sent to Mike Richard at mikerichard0725@gmail.com or in writing Mike Richard, 92 Boardley Rd. Sandwich, MA 02563.

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: East Templeton MA men died during the war