Korean War Veteran

In honor of Veteran's Day 2022, I would like to Thank all Veterans and especially the Veterans who have served from our family.  This Veteran's Day, I will highlight a Korean War Veteran in the family - Charles W. Martin.  The photos and letters in this post belonged to his mother, Maymie Martin, and were found in her photo box.

Charles Wilbur "Chuck" Martin
Korean War

C. W. Martin was drafted into the Army in 1950.  He was sent to basic training at Fort Ord.  Fort Ord was a United States Army post in Monterey, California.  According to wikipedia, Fort Ord was a staging area for units departing for the war in the Korean War.  

After basic training and before shipping out for Korea, Wilbur's parents, Elmer and Maymie, made a visit to Wilbur at Fort Ord during Christmas time 1950.

Wilbur and his dad, Elmer Martin.
Christmas 1950 Fort Ord, CA

Maymie and son, Wilbur
Christmas 1950 Fort Ord, CA

After his parents left to drive back home to Yuma, Arizona, Wilbur sent a post card to them.  There are several things I want to point out on the postcard.  First, he put his brand "/H" on the top of the back of the card.  Secondly, he signed the card as "Chuck", which is a nickname for Charles.  Although I remember him occasionally being called Chuck, I mainly remember him as Wilbur.  Since horses were always Wilbur's first love, he asked his parents how the horses were when they arrived back home🐎🐴.  

Postcard to parents, 28 Dec 1950

Perhaps before shipping out

The following photos are of Wilbur while serving in Korea.

Wilbur in Korea.

Wilbur was a camp cook for a while. (colorized)

Below is a letter written by Wilber to his parents on 23 July 1951.  Note that he was just 200 yards south of the 38th parallel line.

Letter written to parents from Korea.
23 July 1951
200 yards south of 38th parallel line

The following is a photo of 1947 Korean money that Wilbur sent his parents.  Both the front and back are shown.  A notation is made on the back - "Korea - Chorwon".  Not sure if Chorwon is where Wilbur obtained the money or if it is the location of the image on the money.  

Charles Wilbur "Chuck" Martin

Korean War Veteran 

Related Posts:

Honoring Our Veterans 

Maymie's Picture Show 

Maymie Wilson Martin 

Remember the Alamo

This day, one hundred eighty-six years ago, was an eventful day in our family's history. The Battle of the Alamo took place on March 6, 1836.

Our Sadler and Lindley ancestors made the move from Illinois to Texas in 1833.  They, along with many other colonists living in Texas, were accustomed to the freedoms they had enjoyed previous to moving into Texas and were not happy with Mexico's increasing dictatorial attempts.  

Texas in Revolution
23 Oct 1835, Richmond Enquirer, pg 4

By the latter part of 1835, the Texians were engaging in battles and revolting against the Mexican government.  Our family's Jonathan Lindley was part of this movement of revolt. 

Jonathan Lindley joined Capt. Carey's Company in the regular Texas Army in the fall of 1835.  Jonathan then participated in the Battle of the Bexar on December 14, 1835, in which the Texians captured the city of  San Antonio de Bexar and fortified the Alamo into a fort.  Afterwards, Jonathan and many others returned home for Christmas hoping that the Revolution was over.  At some point in time after the first of the year, Jonathan returned to help defend the Alamo.

Alamo Battle - Texas State Archives

On February 23, 1836, a Mexican army commanded by General Santa Anna began a siege of the Alamo.  The siege lasted for 13 days.  At dawn on March 6, 1836, Santa Anna's Mexican assault troops stormed the Alamo and overpowered the Texians.   All the defenders of the Alamo, about 189 men, were killed in the battle, which lasted about 90 minutes.  After the battle, Santa Anna had the bodies of the dead stacked and burned.  

Battle of the Alamo

During the siege, on March 2, 1836, a congress of Texians convened at Washington-on-the-Brazos and declared Texan Independence from Mexico.  News of the Alamo's fall, prompted many to join Sam Houston's army and fight for Texan Independence.  On April 21, 1836, the Texan Army attacked Santa Anna's army at San Jacinto.  The battle, which lasted only 18 minutes, was a victory for the Texans.  The battle cry for the Texans was "Remember the Alamo!"

The Alamo

Alamo

Related Posts:

Jonathan Lindley - Defender of the Alamo 

John Sadler

Samuel Washington Lindley

Honoring Our Veterans

Since today is Veterans Day, I would like to say ‘Thank You’ to all Veterans and especially to the Veterans to have served from our family.  I love our Country and feel a deep debt of gratitude to all who have served and still serve in the military to keep this land free.

Below is a list of the wars, beginning with the Revolutionary War, with some known family veterans from each war.    If I have already written blog posts about a Veteran who served in the military, their name is the link to their information.  Links also provided to separate blog posts with compiled lists of all Revolutionary War Veterans and all Civil War Veterans.  These lists are far from complete, so leave a comment and add your family veteran.

Revolutionary War

LIST of Revolutionary War Ancestors

Nathan Cole – Patriot

Button from Nathan Cole's jacket he wore during
Revolutionary War

War of 1812

Michael Box   John C Cock  
Joseph Day   James Goble 
Luke Johnson   Greef Johnson 
Samuel Leffel   John Leffel 

John Obenshain  Peter Obenshain
Samuel W Lindley   Simon Lindley  
 Britton Medlin 

Civil War

LIST of Civil War Veterans

David Miller Leffel (killed by Confederates for Union support) 

Henry R Stewart
Union Army
Little Rock National Cemetery

Five Coddington Brothers all served in Union Army
Father (front center) also served (his photo later added to original picture)

World War I

Charles W Leffel and Kerby Leffel
Brothers of our Grandma Mabel Leffel Baldwin

John Wesley Leffel
Wounded in Action
Service included campaigns in
France and Germany

William High Baldwin
US Marine Corps

William Martin "Vern" Wilson
Brother of our Grandma Maymie

World War II

Weldon Albert Baldwin
Army Air Corps

Jack Edward Taylor
US Navy, Aviation Machinist Mate

Recipient of Purple Heart and Distinguished Flying Cross
Husband of  Ethel Baldwin

Robert Ward Pitts
WWII Navy
Re-enlisted in Army
Husband of Ethel Baldwin

Carroll Leroy "Buck" Neff
Recipient of Bronze Star

Husband of Esther Baldwin

Thomas Ernest Barker
US Army, Co A 128 Infantry

Troy Gene Barker

Leon A Killian
Recipient of Silver Star, Purple Heart, and Bronze Star
for Heroic Action under fire in Belgium during WWII

Korean War

Charles Wilbur Martin
Korean War - US Army

More about Wilbur Martin, click here

Jess V Baldwin
Korean War - US Army

I don't have a photo for my uncle Vernyle "Tommy" Thompson in his military uniform, he was in the US Navy. Uncle Vernyle was a champion rodeo bareback rider in 1959.

Vernyle "Tommy" Thompson
US Navy

Virgil Duane Lichliter

Sgt US Army Korea

82nd Airborne

Husband of Glenda Baldwin

Other Wars and Peacetime Military:

Leroy Martin
US Navy

Texas Independence

Jonathan Lindley – Alamo Defender

John Sadler - San Jacinto Hero

An update for our Alamo Defender - Jonathan Lindley

Recently I found some new documents while browsing through the records on the Texas General Land Office website. (Yes - that's what I do for fun!)

I have also updated the original post on Jonathan Lindley to include these documents, which can be seen by clicking here.

There are three documents in particular that I would like to share; the first being a letter of recommendation from 1834, and the other two bounty land grants awarded posthumously to Jonathan Lindley for bravely defending the Alamo with his life.

The first document shown is a letter of recommendation written on 31st of October 1834 stating that Jonathan was an "honest industrious man and and a good Citizen."  The Mexican government required letters of recommendation from reliable citizens before a man could enter Texas and obtain land.  Since Jonathan was already in Texas in October 1834, this was probably a requirement in obtaining a land grant.  Jonathan's father, Samuel W Lindley, received a letter of recommendation before entering Texas, which can be seen here.  His brother-in-law, John Sadler, also received a letter of recommendation which is shown on the John Sadler post.

Jonathan Lindley letter of recommendation

This second document is a bounty land certificate dated May 14, 1839, Houston, Texas.  Jonathan Lindley was awarded 1280 acres of land situated in Panola County, ten and one-half miles south, twenty degrees west from Carthage, Texas. It was patented March 9, 1860.  This document clearly states that Jonathan Lindley was "killed at the Alamo."

Jonathan Lindley Bounty Land Certificate 1280 acres

This third document is a bounty land certificate for 640 acres and states, "That Jonathan Lindley having been killed at the Alamo 6th March 1836 is entitled to six hundred and forty acres of Donation land..."

Jonathan Lindley Bounty Land Certificate 640 acres

These documents and other land records for Jonathan Lindley were found on The Texas General Land Office website.  In the past, I have spent many hours and many dollars at the Texas General Land Office in Austin searching for records and then having copies made.  Now the records can be found online -- for free:).  And, the resolution of the copies are much better than the xerox copies I had made.   From the home page of the Texas GLO (glo.texas.gov), click on the History tab, then the Land Grant Search tab.  The Research Links tab also has many useful links.

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July!

Remember our Revolutionary War Ancestors

Click here to see a list of our ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War or helped the cause of Freedom.

Weldon Baldwin 1919-1953

Weldon A. Baldwin

1919-1953

Army Air Corps

Father - Husband - Son - Brother

Weldon Baldwin as a youth

Weldon Baldwin was my mom's oldest brother.  Since Weldon died when I was young, I have no specific memories of him. But, I have heard many stories of him over the years -- it seems that everyone loved Weldon.  His sister Esther adored him.  His brother-in-laws trusted him and liked being around him.  Weldon was a friend to all who knew him.

YOUTH

Weldon Albert Baldwin was born January 30, 1919 in Mountain Park, Kiowa County, Oklahoma. He was the oldest of fourteen children born to Jesse and Mabel (Leffel) Baldwin.  Weldon spent the first fifteen years of life living in Oklahoma.  

Weldon started school in 1925 in Fort Cobb, Caddo County, Oklahoma.  Below are two of his school enrollment cards.  Weldon was enrolled in school by his middle name of Albert in 1925.  In 1929, he was still enrolled on the school records as Albert, but in 1930 he was listed was Weldon Baldwin.

Albert Baldwin
1925 School Enrollment, Fort Cobb, Caddo, Oklahoma

Weldon Baldwin
1930 School Enrollment, Fort Cobb, Caddo, Oklahoma

While the family lived in Mountain Park, Weldon’s great-grandmother Betty Medlin Stewart lived with them, and a lot of extended family members lived close by -- aunts and uncles from both sides of the family.  

  

Baldwin Family 
L-R: Weldon, Joe, Jess, Mabel, Sue, Ethel
Esther in front with cute hat.

The Great Depression was taking a toll on Weldon's family in Oklahoma. It was hard for his father Jesse to feed and care for the growing Baldwin family.  In addition, Jesse did not like living with the threat of tornadoes.  Jesse’s uncle, Charley Stewart, talked Jesse into moving to Gilbert, Arizona.  Charles Stewart had citrus groves and cotton fields and needed help. So Jess and Mabel sold their home in Oklahoma and moved to Arizona right after their daughter, Verna, was born in 1934.  Once they were living in Arizona, Weldon was old enough to help his family by working in the orange groves and cotton fields.

The Baldwin family lived in Arizona several years, before moving to Summit Point, San Juan County, Utah. Summit Point was located on the Utah–Colorado border.  Grandma Baldwin's brother, Lane Leffel, who had previously homesteaded in Southwestern Colorado, encouraged them to move into the area.

Below are photos of Weldon and his friend, Crock, when they were teenagers living at Summit Point.  Arthur "Crock" Cressler was Weldon's neighbor and friend.  Crock said of Weldon: "I never met a man as upstanding and true to his word as Weldon."  
Weldon's sisters said he had a pair of pants that looked looked like sailor pants and he would wear them all the time.  It looks as if Weldon had his "sailor pants" on when the below photos were taken.  Cute:)

Weldon (right) and friend, Crock.

Weldon (left) playing accordion, Crock playing guitar

  

Weldon on Horse

Weldon was musically gifted.  He could sing and play an accordion, guitar, saxophone, and piano.  In a photo above, he's playing his accordion.   
While living at Summit Point, Weldon was mentioned several times in the Monticello, Utah newspaper -- The San Juan Record.  Below is an article that mentioned some car trouble he had while returning home from a dance with his friends.  

San Juan Record, 8 Sep 1938

Marriages and Military

After living in Summit Point for several years, Weldon's family moved to Montrose, Colorado.  It was there that Weldon met Louise Hotchkiss.   Their marriage record is found in Clark County, Washington for the 6th of July 1942.  Two children were born to Weldon and Louise.  Weldon moved his family to Yamhill County, Oregon.  On 7 Oct 1942, he enlisted in the Army and soon left for basic training.  After Weldon was away serving in the war, Louise took their children and left them early one morning on the steps of the court house.  The children were placed in foster care.  After the war, Weldon returned home to find his children gone.  On 6 June 1947, Weldon was granted a divorce on grounds of cruelty by wife Louise.  With the help of his sister, Esther, found his children.  Esther eventually adopted the children.   

Oregon State Archives, Divorce Records

After joining the Army, Weldon was sent to basic training in San Antonio.  He was trained to be a pilot for the Army Air Corps.  After he completed his training as a navigator for B17's,  he was made an instructor for pilots.  According to different family members, Weldon was an instructor at Fort Hood and also at a military base at Sioux City, Iowa.

The US Army Air Corps was the military aviation arm of the US Army during WWII and was the forerunner of the US Air Force.

Weldon's sister Esther introduced him to one of her friends named Nancy Jane Tingstrom, a native of California.  In about 1948, Weldon married Nancy in California. They had one daughter.

Weldon and Nancy - Wedding Day

Weldon Baldwin Family

Weldon continued to fly airplanes after the war ended and he returned home to civilian life.  He and a friend, Alan Thomas, started flying supplies into Alaska. In September 1948 while flying an empty cargo plane back to Portland, they had a plane crash. His co-pilot died and Weldon almost froze to death before he was rescued.

28 Sep 1948; Oregonian newspaper

In another business venture, Weldon is said to have invented a fork-lift and obtained a patent for the fork-lift.  But, I have not been able to find a patent in his name.  After Weldon died, his brother Joe sold the fork-lift business.

Weldon Baldwin

Weldon and a friend started a business to investigate airplane failures and crashes for the military and insurance companies.  Below are photos of Weldon transporting airplanes.

Died in a Flaming Truck Crash

In 1953, Weldon was hauling airplane parts on a flat-bed trailer behind his truck when he was hit head-on by a car trying to pass a logging truck.  Weldon's truck exploded during the crash and he was burned over 80% of his body.  Six days later on July 31, 1953, Weldon died in a Eugene hospital from injuries and burns caused by the accident.

Weldon's truck after the crash

Newspaper articles about the crash

The Oregon Statesman (Salem, Oregon) 26 July 1953

Eugene Guard newspaper, 31 July 1953

Weldon's obituary was placed in the Ventura County (California) 

Oxnard Press-Courier on August 3, 1953.

Funeral program for Weldon

Weldon was only thirty-four years old at the time of his death.  

He had lived an extraordinary life in a short time. 

Weldon Baldwin (Colorized and Repaired)

WELDON A BALDWIN

1919-1953

Army Air Corps

Father - Husband - Son - Brother

To view Weldon's Find-A-Grave Memorial Page, click here.