Retired Marine Major Harvey Howard.
At 67 I don’t look like this anymore. I am a 1976 graduate of the University of Oklahoma and former Adjunct Professor, American Public Works Institute, Virginia Tech University. Now making my home in Wilmington, N.C.
My mother, Bernice Austin is a lifelong resident of El Reno.
Cary Lyle Baumwart Jr. and Evelyn Hall were married Sept. 10, 1942.
The following week, Lyle rode the train to Boston for training.
He would be sent to the European Theater with the fighting 45th Infantry Division. Lyle was a Sherman M10 tank destroyer driver.
Evelyn Baumwart would volunteer to be a WAC in 1944 after Lyle was wounded at Anzio Beach. He was wounded two more times.
Gary Baumwart is their son.
Dan Castrop, 94 years old
Served in the U.S. Merchant Marines from 1942-1944. Sailed around the world twice shipping materials for Allied War Effort.
Served in the U.S. Army from 1944-1946, stationed offshore on Siapan in preparation for the invasion of Japan prior to the surrender to U.S. forces in August 1945.
Castrop moved to El Reno in 1963. He retired from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, FCI-El Reno, in 1985.
Larry Castrop is his son.
A photo of my father in 1918 when he served in the war.
He never talked about it much, but mentioned France and Belgium.
After the war he came back to El Reno and enrolled in the first school for auctioneers. He worked as an auctioneer until his death in 1962.
Most people called him “Cal.” He was a people person.
Parry Everett Welsh is his daughter.
Donnell Hayes Jr.
Army and Army National Guard, 1989-2014
Bill Edwards was a 1954 El Reno High School graduate. He was in the U.S. Navy from 1951-54 and the U.S. Air Force from 1954-59.
Bill achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant and was awarded a number of medals and ribbons including the Purple Heart.
He is a member of the DAV.
Bill was proud to serve his country.
“He doesn't talk about it much.”
Cathy Edwards is his daughter.
E-4 Sgt. Freddie Hobson, U.S. Air Force, 1961-65.
Albert “Dutch” Musser served in the U.S. Navy during World War II from 1945-46.
Musser also served in the Korean War from 1950-54.
Military service in the United States was once more common than it is today.
According to the Council on Foreign Relations, the draft for military service was ended in 1973, a point in time when 2.2 million men and women made up the country’s active military personnel.
By 2018, the number had dipped below 1.3 million.
Memorial Day and Veterans Day each honor the military, though the two holidays are not the same.
Memorial Day, which is celebrated annually on the last Monday in May, honors the brave men and women who lost their lives while serving in the American military.
Many communities host memorial ceremonies honoring their fallen soldiers on Memorial Day, ensuring such soldiers’ bravery and sacrifices are never forgotten.
