Memorial Day: Remembering the heroes of Ross County

Memorial Day is celebrated each year to honor those American heroes who gave their life in military service to our country.  In recent times it has been celebrated on the last Monday of May and was for many years called Decoration Day.  It is recorded that its origin began in the years after the American Civil War (1861-1865) honoring those who had died during that conflict.  It wasn’t until 1971 that it became an official U.S. holiday. In my article I have selected some of those fallen heroes from our area that gave their lives for United States and have recounted some brief biographies of them.  I realize that I have passed over many deserving individuals but I have been constrained by space and word count. I apologize to those deserving individuals and their families for this oversight. I further apologize for any errors that might be present in the biographies of the individuals listed.

American Civil War (1861-1865) – Captain Luther Morris Buchwalter

I begin with a war that accounted for more casualties than any other conflict in American history. Captain Luther Buchwalter was born in Hallsville, Ohio on July 16, 1839 the son of Levi and Margaret Buchwalter.  When the Civil War started Luther enlisted on October 12, 1861 being promoted to first lieutenant November 9th of 1861 and then to captain on August 5th, 1862 as a member of Company A of 73rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry. On September 25th, 1863 the Union 11th and 12th corps were loaded onto trains and over the next few days moved from Virginia and the eastern theater of war to Bridgeport, Alabama to fight to relieve the siege of Union troops at Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Samuel Hurst in his “Journal History of 73rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry” recounts the events of Captain Buchwalter’s death at Battle of Wauhatchie at Lookout Mountain; “Captain Buchwalter went forth with company A deployed as skirmishers…..enemy began to fire from hill right down the line of battle.” Company A was ordered to form a line and charge the enemy. “In executing which movement, that gallant officer fell, mortally wounded…..Among our fallen, the regiment was called to mourn that brave and accomplished officer, Capt. Luther M. Buchwalter who fell leading his men in the fight and lived but a few hours after his wounding. He was an officer of great gallantry and worth, and a young man of highest promise, greatly esteemed by all who knew him.”

Captain Buchwalter is buried in Hallsville Cemetery and a Memorial Day celebration is held each year around his monument.

World War One (1914-1918) - 1st Lieutenant William H. Eyler

America entered World War One on April 2, 1917 when President Wilson requested a declaration of war against Germany.  On November 18, 1918 World War One ended with signing of an armistice.  My article is about one of the Ross County natives who served valiantly.

Lieutenant Eyler was born in Ross County, Ohio on March 4, 1890 and was killed in action in France on Aug. 2, 1918 when he was 28 years old. At the time of his death he was a first lieutenant in 42nd Division of 166th Infantry Regiment.  Lieutenant Eyler is buried in the Oise-Aisne American Cemetery in Fere-en-Tardenois, France.  His awards include a Purple Heart, World War One Victory Medal and Distinguished Service Cross. He was awarded the DSC for extreme heroism northeast of Chateau Thierry, France.  His citation stated, “Never faltering in his advance during the attack on the hill commanding Marcuil-en-Dole and disregarding all personal danger Lieutenant Eyler led his company forward through heavy fire until he was killed.” Eyler’s three-year old son in 1921 unveiled a monument in Chillicothe’s city park to those killed in World War One. Lieutenant Eyler was in Europe when his son was born and never lived to see him.

World War Two (1939-1945) – Joseph W. Hoffman

Hope Wornstaff Hoffman was born Sept. 6, 1917, near Chillicothe and graduated from Chillicothe High School in 1936. In 1940 Hope legally changed his name to Joseph Warren Hoffman. In high school he played in the band and joined the Navy in 1937 as a musician first class on the USS Oklahoma.  At Pearl Harbor on the morning of Dec. 7, 1941 as the band assembled on the deck of the USS Oklahoma, Japanese airplanes attacked and the ship went down.  Many of the band members on the deck were killed including Joseph W. Hoffman as well as 428 sailors on board. Hoffman’s remains were recovered from the ship at a later time and buried in a mass grave in Hawaii as unidentified.  Hoffman is considered as the first serviceman from Ross County killed in World War Two.  In 2020 the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency using anthropological analysis identified the remains of Joseph W. Hoffman and he is to be returned to Ohio in August for his final resting internment after being gone for 81 years.

World War Two (1939-1945) – Dennewitz Brothers

A family losing a son in war is a horrible tragedy but a family losing three sons is almost unspeakable, yet that is what happened to Reverend Joseph and May Dennewitz of Chillicothe in World War Two.

* John P. Dennewitz, the oldest son, was born Nov. 22, 1919 and worked as a section hand for N&W railroad before enlisting in the Army on January 19, 1942. John went through military training in Texas and North Carolina before going overseas in fall of 1942 as a member of Company I, 39th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. PFC. Dennewitz served in Algiers, Tunisia, and Sicily before being selected to train divisions in England prior to the Normandy Invasion. After the Normandy invasion John was part of 39th Infantry Regiment fighting against the Germans near St. Lo, France. He was seriously wounded on July 18, 1944 and died later that day.  His parents were notified that he had been seriously wounded on August 7th and notified the next evening that he had died of his wounds. He was interred in an American cemetery in France but in 1949 his remains and that of his two brothers, James and William were buried in a triple funeral in Greenlawn Cemetery in Chillicothe.  He was first of the three Dennewitz brothers to die.

* James H. Dennewitz was the second son born to Joseph and May Dennewitz on Oct. 23, 1921. James worked on railroad and was married to Clarabelle Petit before enlisting in the U.S. Army in November of 1942. James served in Michigan and California before being deployed to Europe as a member of 785th Military Police Battalion of Third Army serving in France and Germany.  In April of 1945  T/5 Dennewitz serving as a radio operator died from bullet wounds when his vehicle was hit with machine gun fire. He was buried in an American Cemetery in Holland but brought back to Chillicothe in 1949 to be interred with his two brothers in the Greenlawn Cemetery.

* William J. Dennewitz the third son of Joseph and May Dennewitz was killed in combat one day after his brother, James, was buried in the American Cemetery in Holland.  William was born on October 26, 1926 and attended Chillicothe High School and at one time was employed at Mead Paper. He joined the Navy on Sept. 2, 1944 after his oldest brother John was killed in France.  After training at Great Lakes Naval Training Station he earned the rating of Fireman Second Class and was assigned to USS Harding, a combat minesweeper.  The USS Harding deployed, stopping at Pearl Harbor and then was part of the invasion force for the Japanese held island of Okinawa. On April 16, 1945 Japanese kamikaze planes attacked the USS Harding and William along with 13 other sailors was killed when a bomb exploded. He was at first buried on an island in the Pacific until his body could be moved at a later time.  William’s mother May had requested that he be moved from a combat area because of the death of his brothers but he was killed before it could be processed.   On March 21, 1949 William and his two brothers were buried in the Greenlawn Cemetery with over 4,000 people in attendance.  In 1955 a bridge south of Chillicothe was dedicated to these three brave brothers.

Korean War (1950-1953) – Howard Osborne Foor

Howard O. Foor  was born in Portsmouth, Ohio on Nov. 13, 1927 but raised in Chillicothe graduating from Chillicothe High School in 1945. Foor enlisted in Marines and received training at Camp Lejuene being commissioned a second lieutenant on June 8, 1949.  When war broke out in Korea in 1950 he was sent to Korea as a member of Company D, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. His unit invaded Inchon, Korea and engaged in heavy combat including hand-to-hand combat. Lieutenant Foor led an assault on the enemy and for his bravery was awarded a Silver Star.  When First Marine Division was surrounded at the Chosin Reservoir Lieutenant Foor was part of a relief effort and during this action Foor was killed on November 28, 1950.  Foor, like other American soldiers, was at first buried in Korea but later was interred in Grandview Cemetery on January 4, 1955.

Korean War (1950-1953) – PFC James D. Walker

Chillicothean James D. Walker was born on March 31, 1935 the son of Monroe and Lula Walker. James grew up as a Boy Scout and attended Chillicothe High School. At 17 on August 20, 1952 James joined the Marines and was stationed near San Diego, California. He arrived in Korea soon after July 4, 1953 and was assigned to Company F, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division at combat outpost, “East Berlin.” On July 8th the Communist Chinese in overwhelming numbers overrun this outpost only to have it taken back by the Marines in a counter attack. The next day, July 9th, the Chinese Communists attacked the outpost again and PFC Walker, a machine gunner, was killed. The Marines later counterattacked and took the position but they were unable to find the remains of Walker; he was listed as missing and one year later declared dead.  The POW/MIA Accounting Agency would like to get a DNA sample from a member of James D. Walker’s family with hope that someday his remains may be identified and recovered.

Vietnam War  (1955-1975) – SP5 James W. Lunsford Jr.

James W. “Bill” Lunsford Jr. was born on October 17, 1950 to William and Mary Lunsford.  James’ father William was an Army veteran of World War Two.  Bill attended Zane Trace High School and was a member of the Pioneers baseball team.  Tragedy struck the Lunsford family in 1966 when two of his younger siblings, Ricky and Lora, drowned while fishing in Salt Creek.  James entered the Army on September 23, 1968 just before his 18th birthday and received training at Ft. Gordon, Georgia and airborne school at Ft. Benning, Georgia. Specialist 4th Class Lunsford arrived in Vietnam on August 9, 1969 being assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry, 173rd Airborne Brigade. During combat Operation Washington Greene II, Lunsford was killed on November 29th by the detonation of a land mine. Lunsford was 19 years old. On December 6th Lunsford was laid to rest in the Londonderry, Ohio cemetery.  On January 10, 2014 a ceremony was held at Zane Trace High School to remember Specialist Lunsford with his picture being hung in a place of honor at Zane Trace.

Middle Eastern Terrorist Conflicts – Master Sergeant Brad A. Clemmons

At end of the twentieth century and into the twenty-first century the United States has been involved in conflicts in the Middle East including the Gulf War in 1990s, Iraq War, and other notable conflicts. One local resident who answered the call was U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Brad A. Clemmons.  Brad was born Aug. 27, 1968, the son of David and Pamela Clemmons.  Brad attended Southeastern schools being a member of their FFA program and a frequent name on the honor roll lists. Brad joined the U.S. Air Force and went on active duty in March of 1987 leading to his training in Texas and later assignment to an Explosive Ordance Disposal unit in Texas. In 1990-91 he was deployed for Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm.

In 2006 he was assigned to 354th Civil Engineer Squadron in Alaska and then deployed to Iraq serving in 732nd Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing as a Weapons Intelligence Officer investigating improvised explosive devices.  On August 21, 2006 Master Sergeant Clemmons was in a Humvee convoy when it was struck by an improvised explosive device and he was killed. His body was returned to Chillicothe for a funeral, but later buried in Arlington National Cemetery.  He received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star and the highway that begins on South Bridge Street in Chillicothe was named for him.

* Sources of information for this article include “The Journal History of 73rd Ohio Volunteer Infantry” written by Samuel Hurst. Thanks also to Pat Medert of Ross County Historical Society and Lieutenant Colonel Robert Leach for the information they provided.

This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Memorial Day: Remembering the heroes of Ross County