World War Two Memorial, Natrona County High School, Casper Wyoming.

We've been wanting to get this, and the Vietnam War memorial, from NCHS up for sometime, but, as can be seen, we've been frustrated by the glare present in the NCHS lobby.  My son recently took this photo with his cell phone camera, and it'll have to do until we can somehow get a photo without glare.  These types of monuments are hard to photograph in general, as the lighting conditions are always poor in one way or another.

This plaque lists NCHS's dead from World War Two, quite a number if you consider that the overall number of students in the 1940-45 time frame would have been considerably smaller than now.  Of course, it was also the only high school in the county at the time, so everyone of the bottom end of military age was attending the school.  

Also notable is that this is one of several monuments in Casper Wyoming commemorating the dead of World War Two, which says something both as to the impact of the war upon the town, and the number of people who were in the service.

The Fort McPherson National Cemetery | Nebraska History Blog

The Fort McPherson National Cemetery | Nebraska History Blog

Vietnam War Memorial, Natrona County High School, Casper Wyoming

The memorial inside the lobby of Natrona County High School in Casper Wyoming to graduates who died in the Vietnam War.

Ships Wheel, USS Natrona

 

The USS Natrona (APA-214) was a Haskell class attack transport that served in World War Two.  Named after Natrona County Wyoming, the ship's wheel and some memorabilia from the ship is displayed in the old Natrona County Courthouse in Casper Wyoming.

Salt Creek/Teapot Dome Historical Marker

These two markers, near Teapot Dome and the Naval Petroleum Oil Reserve, clearly fall outside the scope of the blog.  However, as I recently stopped and took photos of these markers, put up by the State of Wyoming, I thought I'd at least post them.

Teapot Dome is, of course, not associated with any sort of personal sacrifice, but unfortunately with scandal.  The scandal was real, but perhaps a more fitting consideration is that this Natrona County Wyoming oilfield was a long serving Naval Petroleum Reserve, and only recently has that status been altered.

Part of these memorials also commemorates the Salt Creek Oil Field. An incredibly long-lasting Wyoming oil field.

Grand Army of the Republic Cannons, Basin Wyoming

These are two Civil War era cannons provided, by Act of Congress, to the Grand Army of the Republic's post in Basin Wyoming.  These cannons are interesting in a variety of ways.  For one thing, they remain in fine shape.  Secondly, however, it's amazing to think that Basin, a very small town, had a GAR post.  The population of the town was probably larger in 1909 than it is now, but nonetheless, the fact that there were enough Civil War veterans in Basin, in 1909, shows how many veterans there were.

These two cannons, which managed to escape the great melt down of cannons that occurred due to World War Two scrap drives, are located outside of the library in Basin, which is located next to the Basin County Courthouse.

The Company of Military Historians

For those who may not be familiar with it, the Company of Military Historians is the premier organization dedicated to the study of military history.  At one time its membership was by invitation, but now invitation is open to those interested in the subject.  It's journal is excellent.

The flyer depicted above is available at http://military-historians.org/join/Revisedshowflyerw-QRC130201.pdf

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Today In Wyoming's History: Sidebar: World War Two and Wyoming

Today In Wyoming's History: Sidebar: World War Two and Wyoming: Regular readers here may have noted that there's been a lot of entries regarding World War Two recently. And, as a result, they might legit...

Today In Wyoming's History: December 7

Today In Wyoming's History: December 7:

Today is, by State Statute, WS 8-4-106, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day.  The Statute provides:

(a) In recognition of the members of the armed forces who lost their lives and those who survived the attack on Pearl Harbor, territory of Hawaii on December 7, 1941, December 7 of each year is designated as "Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day". The day shall be appropriately observed in the public schools of the state.
(b) The governor, not later than September 1 of each year, shall issue a proclamation requesting proper observance of "Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day".
(c) This section shall not affect commercial paper, the making or execution of written agreements or judicial proceedings, or authorize public schools, businesses or state and local government offices to close.

Your Recollections:  What about you?

Do you have any personal recollections about December 7, 1941?  Either first hand, or that you recall hearing from family and friends?  And, by that, not just Pearl Harbor stories, but I'd be very interested to learn of any family recollections from those at home, on that day.  Wyoming is three hours ahead of Hawaii, did your family hear it that morning, or later in the day?  Just after church, or while tuning in for a football game?  Any recollection is welcome.

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I also note, at least according to an engineer who explained it to me, that December 7 is also a date involving an astronomical anomaly, that being that it is the day of the year which, in the Northern Hemisphere, features the earliest sunset.  That doesn't, of course, make it the shortest day of the year, it's just that the sunsets the earliest on this day, or so I am told.

1868  U.S. Post Office reestablished at Green River.

1890   The subject of sermon at the Rawlins Presbyterian Church was “Choosing a Husband.”

1898  Battery A, Wyoming Light Artillery, arrives in Manilla where it will serve in the Philippine Insurrection.

1909   The Natrona County Tribune reported in a story that ran this week:

"Snowed In.

"W. L. Hobbs and Dr. J. W. Padgett left Lander over seven weeks ago on a three weeks' elk hunt, and the first of last week one of their horses returned, and their friends feared that they had perished in the deep snow in the mountains, and relief parties were organized to search for them. On Sunday night Dr. Padgett was brought into Lander by a trapper, and the doctor said that Mr. Hobbs was badly snowed in near Fremont Peak, there being three to five feet of snow all over the mountains. He said that Mr. Hobbs would not leave his horses, that he had plenty to eat and was clearing small patches of ground so his horses could feed, that there was no immediate danger of either the horses or Mr. Hobbs perishing."

1910  Cornerstone laid at high school in Lander.

1917  The USS Wyoming, under sail since November 25, arrives in Scapa Flow.  Four U.S. battleships arrive at Scapa Flow taking on the role of the British Grand Fleet's Sixth Battle Squadron. These include USS Delaware (BB-28), USS Florida (BB-30), New York (BB-34), and USS Wyoming (BB-32).

1933  Natural gas explosion at bank in Torrington kills one and injuries four

1941  US military installations were attack in Hawaii by the Imperial Japanese Navy bringing the US formally into World War Two.

The USS West Virginia at Pearl Harbor on this day.

The first shot was, surprisingly, an American one when the USS Ward engaged and sank a midget submarine at 06:37.  In spite of reporting its action, this did not result in a general U.S. alert.  At least two other miniature submarines were involved in the raid.

The first air wave struck at 07:48.  A second wave followed.  A third wave was debated, but not launched.

The first air strikes happened about 7:30 am Hawaii time.  Wyoming is three hours ahead of Hawaii (less than I'd have guessed) making the local time here about 10:30 a.m. on that Sunday morning.  The national radio networks began to interrupt their programming about 12:30.  On NBC the announcement fell between Sammy Kaye's Sunday Serenade and the University of Chicago Round Table, which was featuring a program on Canada at war.  On NBC the day's episode of Great Plays was interrupted for their announcement. CBS had just begun to broadcast The World Today which actually  headlined with their announcement fairly seamlessly.

2010  Lighting ceremony held in Washington D.C. for the Capitol Christmas Tree, which this year came from  the Bridger Teton National Forest.

Hanna Wyoming VFW Memorial Park

Hanna Wyoming, somewhat unusually for a small town, features a variety of memorials in different locations, including two different locations with war memorials. The other war memorial is featured just below, and is specific for World War One.  This memorial is an all war memorial.  It's additionally surprising as Hanna is a very small town.

The memorial features a M110 8in. howitzer, surplus form the Wyoming Army National Guard.  Carbon County Wyoming, where Hanna is located, was the situs of the Service Battery of the 3d Bn 49th FA, an 8in howitzer unit that was headquartered in Casper.

An unusual feature of this memorial is the helmeted rifle feature, symbolic of the battlefield method of marking the location of the dead.  The rifle, bayonet attached, is bayoneted to the ground with the soldier's helmet on the butt.  Here, in an oddity, the rifle used for the memorial is a World War Two era Japanese Ariska rifle, which was presumably used because it was available.

Here the markings on the Arisaka's receiver are visible.

By way of some added information, Mike Lewis, who viewed these photographs, informed me that the interesting cloud that appears in the last several photographs "is an altcumulus stqnding lenticular (ACSL)."  Additionally, the cloud type "is usually caused by moutain waves nad is an indicator of potentially bad turbulence."  For weather observers, because of the risk to flight, observation of this type of cloud requires mandatory recordation in a weather observer's log.  On the day I took these photographs, ground conditions were appalling, with winds gusting up to 60 mph on a regular basis.  Indeed, dust from a reclamation site is visible in the background.

World War One Service Memorial, Hanna Wyoming

This is a memorial in Hanna Wyoming dedicated to all from the region who served in World War One.  Hanna is a very small town today, and the number of names on this memorial is evidence of the town once being significantly more substantially sized than it presently is.

The memorial is located on what was the Lincoln Highway at the time, but which is now a Carbon County Highway.  This was likely a central town location at the time the memorial was placed.

Carbon County Miners' Memorial, Hanna Wyoming

This Miners' Memorial commemorates all Carbon County Wyoming miners who have lost their lives in the mines. This is one of two memorials to miners near Hanna which I am aware of.

Number One Mine Memorial, Hanna Wyoming.

 

A memorial to the men who lost their lives in the Number One Mine at Hanna, Wyoming.

The 1903 and 1908 Mine No. 1 explosions claimed 169 and 59 lives respectively, with the majority of the 59 killed in the 1908 disaster being men who were killed in an explosion that occurred after the first 1908 explosion.  The bodies of 201 men from the 1903 and 1908 disaster remain buried in the underground mine.

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Hot Springs County, Wyoming; World War Two Memorial

This memorial at the Hot Springs County Wyoming Courthouse lists every resident of Hot Springs County who served in World War Two, including my wife's grandfather, who served in the United States Marine Corps during WWII.

Ferdinand Brandstetter Post #1. First American Legion Post in the United States. Van Tassell Wyoming

This is the the memorial for the Ferdinand Brandstetter American Legion Post in Van Tassel, Wyoming.  This was the location of the first American Legion post in the United States.  The town must have been much larger at the time, as it hardly even exists now, and the legion post very obviously no longer exist.  The American Legion was formed in Paris immediately following World War One, for veterans of that war, and had very active participation almost immediately from veterans of the Great War.

Note:  Please see the correction in the comments, this Legion post is in fact still active!

Crazy Horse and Levi Robinson Memorials, Ft. Robinson, Nebrask

 

 

 

 

 

These are photographs of the memorials dedicated to Crazy Horse and Levi Robinson at Ft. Robinson, Nebraska.  These monuments were ones placed by the Army sometime during the period the post was an active Army post.

Levi Robinson was an Army lieutenant killed near Ft. Laramie, Wyoming.  The post was named after him.  Crazy Horse, the famous Sioux leader, was killed on the post during the famous incident that lead to his death.  Another monument to Crazy Horse, depicted just below on this blog, is also on the post near the spot of his death.

Crazy Horse Monument, Ft. Robinson Nebraska

Society of the Military Horse • View topic - Ft. Robinson, Nebraska

Quite a few relevant monuments are depicted on this thread on SMH, which deals with Ft. Robinson, Nebraska:

Society of the Military Horse • View topic - Ft. Robinson, Nebraska

Holscher's Hub: Gas Hills-Crook's Gap Monuments

Not an appropriate monument for this site, but given as I'm cataloging monuments, I thought I'd note this other one, of another type, that I've noted elsewhere:

Holscher's Hub: Gas Hills-Crook's Gap Monuments: This has to be one of the most obscure monuments in Wyoming. These are signs dedicated to the history of uranium mining in the...