THREE OKOBOJI VETERANS RETURN HOME
Okoboji residents celebrated an impromptu Old Home Week recently when numerous service men arrived home, some of them from German prisoner of war camps. Others are expected to arrive home soon. Three youths arrived from the west coast on Friday and T-Sgt. Ernest K. Harker arrived that day from two years in a prison camp. On Tuesday S-Sgt. Scott Menefee arrived home after a year’s absence, five months of it in a German prison camp. Jack Gipner’s arrival from England where he was with the air force, is expected daily. First home was Mervin Thompson, who had been a prisoner since the African fighting. Also among the first home was Lt. William Metz, a Sioux City youth, whose parents live near The Inn each season.
Source: The Milford Mail, Milford, Iowa, Thursday, June 28, 1945, Pages 1 & 8
***Further Research:
John Pershing “Jack" Gipner was born Mar. 26, 1918 to Charles F. and Bella Beatrice Roff Gipner. He died July 29, 1989 and is buried in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, CA.
Source: ancestry.com
