Four Mothers Are Given Gold Stars
Four navy mothers of Council Bluffs were awarded gold stars in honor of their sons who died in action at a special ceremony of the Bert Eugene McKeenan Navy Mothers Club of America Wednesday.
Those awarded gold stars were: Mrs. Mae McKeeman, 511 Stutsman street, in honor of Bert Eugene McKeeman; Mrs. Florence Edmundson, 1707 North Broadway, in honor of Bill Edmundson; Mrs. Flora Field, 1204 North Twenty-ninth street, in honor of John Field; and Mrs. Myrtle Ellsworth, 2120 Avenue B, in honor of Dale Ellsworth.
The presentations were made by Mrs. C. P. Kildahl, national commander, of Omaha.
Source: The Council Bluffs Nonpareil, Council Bluffs, Iowa, Sunday, January 16, 1944, Page 11
Return Bodies of 10 S. W. Iowans
Three From Bluffs Area
Bodies of 59 Iowa service men, including 10 from southwest Iowa, were among the 2,792 war dead returned Tuesday aboard the army transport Cardinal O’Connell, which docked in San Francisco, Calif.
Three of the men returned aboard the Cardinal O’Connell are from the Council Bluffs area, including M. Sgt. James B. Cavanagh of Neola, Seaman 1/c John Henry Field and Tech 5/g Lyle C. Smith of Council Bluffs.
Sgt. Cavanagh, son of Mrs. Angie Cecilia Cavanagh of Neola, was taken prisoner by the Japanese in the Philippines and died of disease in a prison camp in October, 1943.
Seaman Field, son of Mr. and Mrs. John A. Field, 1204 North 29th street, died Jan. 19, 1942 aboard his ship in the Pacific, malaria causing his death. He had served in the navy since 1938. He attended Thomas Jefferson high school in 1935-36. Surviving are his parents, five brothers, including Joe and Marshall Field of Council Bluffs, and three sisters.
Cpl. Smith, son of Clyde C. Smith, 3014 Avenue C, was fatally wounded on Kwajelein on Feb. 2, 1943. He was a native of Tekamah, Neb., graduated from high school there. He will be buried in Tekamah cemetery. His father came to Council Bluffs last year.
Bodies of the servicemen returned on the O’Connell were taken from many cemeteries throughout the Pacific. A large number of the bodies had been concentrated at the mausoleum in the Hawaiian islands after smaller mid-Pacific island cemeteries had been evacuated. The bulk of the others are being returned from cemeteries at Brisbane and Sydney, Australia, and Guadalcanal.
Source: The Council Bluffs Nonpareil, Council Bluffs, Iowa, Tuesday, February 10, 1948, Page 4
