Greater Gardner's first WWII victim hailed from Otter River
OTTER RIVER – America’s involvement in World War 2 was scarcely four months old when the conflict claimed the first victim of the Greater Gardner area on Easter Sunday, 1942.
It was 80 years ago on April 5, 1942 when Second Lt. Roger P. Warfield was killed in action, serving with the U.S. Army Air Force somewhere in the Far East. Not only was Warfield the first soldier from the Gardner area to die, but he was also reported to be the first from Worcester County.
He was the first of 17 men from the town of Templeton to lose his life in World War 2.
This is the continuation of the series Remembering Local World War 2 Heroes.
2nd Lt. Roger P. Warfield (1915-1942)
Roger Perley Warfield, the son of Edwin Rue and Marion Waite (Perley) Warfield, was born in Fitchburg on Jan. 31, 1915. His family moved to Hamlet Mill Rd. in Otter River and Roger attended the Baldwinville grammar school.
While he was attending Williston Academy in Northampton, from which he graduated in 1932, his mother died when Roger was just 16. He later attended Dartmouth College for three years as a member of the Class of 1938.
Lt. Warfield joined the air corps in San Francisco on Feb. 11, 1941. He received his primary training at Emmett Field in Dos Palos, Calif. and received his basic training at Randolph Field in Texas.
He received his silver wings and the gold bars of a lieutenant following his graduation from the Air Corps Advanced Flying School at Brooks Field, Texas on September 30, 1941. He was then transferred to Mitchel Field, Uniondale, Long Island, N.Y.
At the outbreak of the war, Warfield was sent to join up with the Hamilton Field Air Corps combat team along the northern shore of San Francisco Bay in Novato, Calif.
Second Lieutenant Warfield was killed in action with the U.S. Army Air Force at the age of 27, somewhere in Australia on April 5, 1942, according to a telegram received by his father. No further details were contained in the war department’s notification.
He was buried at High Plains Cemetery in West Boylston, Mass.
On February 28, 1947, the Lt. Roger P. Warfield American Legion Post 373 received its charter in Baldwinville, and the young soldier from Otter River will forever be remembered for his bravery and service to country.
Seaman 1/c Ernest Rod (1925-1944)
Ernest David Rod was born in Gardner on Feb. 9, 1925, the son of Ernest and Hildur (Best) Rod and grew up on Depot Road in Otter River.
His mother was originally from New Jersey and sometime during the Great Depression, economic hardships hit the family and they relocated for a time to North Bergen, New Jersey. While there, Ernest enrolled in elementary schools for only a short time. The family later moved back to Otter River and Ernest attended school there.
He would go on to graduate from Templeton High at the age of 16 and enlisted in the U.S. Navy on his 17th birthday.
He entered the Navy in February of 1942 and received his boot training at the Naval Training Station in Newport, R.I. He had been in the service for two years and nine months when he was stationed aboard the USS Birmingham.
On October 24, 1944, the light cruiser USS Birmingham was seriously damaged by explosions while the ship was fighting fires alongside the stricken aircraft carrier USS Princeton.
The Princeton was struck by a kamikaze attack during the Battle of Leyte Gulf in the Philippine Islands.
The cruiser suffered 239 fatalities and 408 wounded men, with Seaman First Class Rod among them, succumbing to his wounds on October 26, 1944, two days after the attack. Another local soldier, Seaman First Class Osias J. LeBlanc of Gardner was also aboard the Birmingham and killed in the attack.
On Nov. 13, 1944, his parents received a telegram from the War Department in Washington informing them of the death of their son.
In addition to his parents, Rod was survived by a brother Robert, who was also a seaman first-class in the Navy, two sisters, Shirley and Phyrne, as well as his grandparents Mr. and Mrs. Hans Rod of Templeton and Mr. and Mrs. Henry J. Best of Gardner.
Ernest D. Wood was the son of Rod’s sister Shirley who was given his name and he recalled the toll his uncle’s death had on the family.
“My mom and her family were devastated by Ernest's death. It was particularly hard for my mom, as she and her brother Ernest were very close,” Wood said. “She first told me about him when I was about six years old and I have both his first and middle names.”
When Wood attended Narragansett Regional, many of the teachers and administrators from the school recalled Ernest Rod when he attended Templeton High School.
“I was told about my Uncle Ernest by several teachers and administrators,” he noted. “They told me how smart and studious he had been.”
Seaman Rod was buried at sea and is also listed on the Manilla American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines.
(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: Worcester County's first WWII casualty was from Otter River
