Robert Fondell, Thomas Tschudi

FONDELL, JEWETT, TSCHUDI, HORAN, ENTWISLE, HAGENSTEN, BRANNON, ANTHONY

Posted By: Mary Durr (email)
Date: 10/7/2004 at 20:38:34

Dubuque Telegraph Herald
June 5 or 6, 1952

DEATH NOTICES

FONDELL -- Robert, age 21, 2350 Jackson Street, passed away at Norwalk, Ia, Wednesday, June 4, 1952. Funeral services will be held Saturday morning from Behr's to the Sacred Heart Church at 9:30 o'clock. Interment will be made in Mt. Calvary Cemetery. Surviving are the parents, Mr. and Mrs. Nick Fondell; four sisters, Mrs. Dean (Eileen) Jewett, Dubuque; Miss Betty Fondell, at home; Sister Mary Bonita, Mt. St. Francis; Miss Dorothy Fondell, Chicago, Ill.; also by three brothers, Donald and Harold Fondell, both of Dubuque, and Jack Fondell, with the U. S. Army in Korea. (Behr's).

TSCHUDI -- Pvt. Thomas L. Tschudi, age 21 years, of Durango, Ia., was fatally injured Wednesday morning, June 4, 1952 in an automobile accident near Norwalk, Ia. Friends may call at Didesch Funeral Home from which the funeral will be held Saturday morning to St. Mary's Church. Mass at 10:00 o'clock. Interment in Mt. Calvary Cemetery. He is survived by his mother, Mrs. Mary (Horan) Tschudi, Durango, Ia.; one brother, John Tschudi, Dubuque, Ia.; a nephew, Michael Tschudi, Dubuque, Ia.; his grandmother, Mrs. Nellie Horan, Dubuque, Ia.; several aunts and uncles. (Disech (sic) Funeral Home)

Dubuque Telegraph Herald Evening Edition
Wednesday, June 4, 1952

The headline on the front page reads:

Crash is Fatal for 3 GI's From Area

There is a picture of a steel bridge and a very smashed up car. The caption beneath reads:
The right side of this car was literally ripped off when it hit a bridge abutment (right) on Highway 28 south of Norwalk, Ia., early Wednesday. Three servicemen from the Dubuque area were killed, and three others from the area were critically injured. The northbound car was thrown across the roadway, stopping against the west rail of the bridge over North River. The soldiers were heading for their homes after starting furloughs from Fort Riley, Kans. (AP Wirephoto)

The column on the right hand side of the front page goes on to say:

3 Others In Critical Condition

Young Servicemen Were on Way Home For 10-Day Leaves

A Dubuque soldier and an Elkader, Ia., soldier were killed and a Durango soldier injured fatally Wednesday morning when the car in which they were riding hit a bridge abutment two and a half miles south of Norwalk, Ia., on Highway 28.

Two other Dubuque soldiers and one from Sherrill were critically injured, according to the Associated Press.

The dead:

Robert A. Fondell, 22, son of Mr. and Mrs. Nick Fondell, of 2350 Jackson Street.

Thomas Tschudi, 21, son of Mrs. Mary Tschudi, of Durango.

Derald Entwisle, 23, son of Mr. and Mrs. Orville Entwisle, of Elkader.

Listed as critically injured:

Ronald Hagensten, 22, son of Mrs. Bart Burnet, of 75½ Locust Street.

James L. Brannon, 21, whose address was listed simply as Dubuque.

Melvin Anthony, 22, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Anthony, of Sherrill.

Fondell and Entwisle were reported dead when ambulances arrived. Officers said Tschudi died en route (sic) to Broadlawns General Hospital in Des Moines, 15 miles north of the accident site.

Anthony was moved from Broadlawns to Veterans Hospital, but Broadlawns officials said the condition of Brannon and Hagensten was too serious to permit moving them.

The soldiers, all privates and stationed at Ft. Riley, Kan., were on their way home for a 10-day furlough. They had entered the army Jan. 28, 1952, and had just completed basic training.

Driving a short way behind the soldiers' car were Mr. and Mrs. John Klemm, of St. Mary's, Ia., who were on their way to Des Moines.

Warren County Deputy Sheriff Carroll Richards quoted Klemm as saying the car was "not speeding," that he, Klemm, was going about 50 or 55 miles an hour and the soldiers at about the same speed.

Richards said Klemm told him the soldiers' car went onto the shoulder of the road about 150 feet before it hit the bridge, "as though the driver had fallen asleep." The wheels were knocked off and the engine was knocked back into the front seat.

Richards said it was possible the young men had been driving all night from Ft. Riley. He said the car was registered in Anthony's name, but that it was impossible to determine who was driving.

Papers found on the men indicate they were to report to Camp Hood, Tex., after their furloughs.

Robert Fondell was born Aug. 31, 1930. He attended Scared Heart School and graduated from Loras Academy. He worked at the Dubuque Packing Company before entering the service in January.

Surviving are the parents, Mr. and Mrs. Nick Fondell; three brothers, Donald and Harold, both of Dubuque, and Jack, now serving in Korea; and four sisters, Mrs. Dean (Eileen) Jewett and Miss Betty Fondell, both of Dubuque, Sister M. Bonita, of Mt. St. Francis, and Miss Dorothy Fondell, of Chicago.

The Behr Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.

Tschudi was the son of Mrs. Mary Tschudi and the late Leo Tschudi, it was said at Durango. He was born July 10, 1930. He attended Loras Academy and worked at the Dubuque Packing Company before he entered the army in January.

Surviving, in addition to his mother, is a brother, John, of Dubuque.

Derald Entwisle, 23, was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Orville Entwisle, tenant farmers on the A. J. Myer and Lyle Barthel farm near Elkader.

Derald was born in 1929. Since he entered the army he had been stationed at Ft. Riley. He was home on weekend pass over Memorial Day.

Survivors include his parents and seven brothers and sisters, all at home.

Brannon was graduated from Loras Academy in 1949 and attended Loras College for one year. He was employed at St. Anthony's Home and the Sieg-Dubuque company before entering the Service.

Hagensten was reported to have worked for the Dubuque Packing Company before he entered service.

Anthony's parents farm a mile and a half east of Sherrill.

Pictures of the soldiers were included on page eight.

In the June 5, 1952 issue, page 9 is another article stating almost the same as above.

Submitter not related -- posted for benefit of others.