SERVICEMEN WRITE (to Joy Hanson, Editor of the Ellsworth News)
Soldiers’ Addresses
Pvt. Leo R. Severson
c-o Douglas Aircraft Co., Long Beach, Calif.
Pvt. Lawrence F. Doden
Train, H. Q. Co., 14th Arm. Div., U.S. Army, Barracks 710, Camp Chaffee, Ark.
Pvt. Newman Stangeland
365th M. P. E. G. Co., Internment Camp, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.
Pvt. H. W. Vining
98th Fighter Squadron, Drew Field, Tampa, Fla.
Source: Ellsworth News, Ellsworth, IA, Dec. 30, 1942
Camp Chaffee, Ark.
Dear Joy:
Well, I will try and write you a few lines and let you know where I am located in the U. S. A. I am in Camp Chaffee, Ark., and it sure is a nice camp; is a little over a year old but it sure is a large one.
The company which I am in has about 165 men including all the officers which are directly connected to it, and goes by the heading of Train Headquarters Co. Just what we really are to do I have been unable to find out exactly, so I can’t say so much about it, except that we really have a nice bunch of boys and officers in it.
We get all types of training and schooling. On Saturday, the 30th, we went on a march and it sure was one. We left camp at 3 o’clock and were back 55 minutes later and we had walked four miles; the way we felt we thought it was over that quite a bit but we were told it wasn’t, so the best thing we can do is believe it.
Beside getting my basic training in which we have just finished our fifth week, I am going to radio school which began the 25th and as a result does not give me much time during the day for anything else. I go to school in the morning and in the afternoon go to other classes which our company teaches in regard to guns and army vehicles, and do some marching, or whatever our schedule calls for, and it usually calls for quite a few things.
The weather here has been fairly nice except for a few cold snaps. It got down to about zero one time and most of the water pipes froze up but no damage resulted from it. A week ago we had about three-fourths inch of snow which was the first snow I had seen since I left Iowa; and it sure looked good to me, and in a way sort of took me back to good old Iowa. The snow stayed with us about two days and was gone.
Our weather here is very changeable; one day it is really warm and no coat of any kind is required and the next day you can change to heavy woolen underclothing and wear a coat and still not be exactly comfortable if you have to be outside all the time; the result is a lot of colds.
Well, Joy, greet all the other people in Ellsworth for me and hope to hear from you soon. My address is:
Pvt. Lawrence Doden
37447162, APO 264, Train Headquarters Co., 14th Armored Division, U. S. Army, Camp Chaffee, Ark.
Source: Ellsworth News, February 10, 1943
News From The Men In Service
Doden On Furlough
Pvt. Lawrence F. Doden is enjoying a 9-day furlough in the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Doden of Langworthy, and in the home of his wife's parents at Jewell, Iowa. He is in the 14th army division, and stationed at Camp Chaffee, Ark. Besides his basic training he is taking special study in radio and field problems. Mrs. J. W. Romp of Jewell is also a guest in the Doden home.
Source: Monticello Express, May 13, 1943 pg. 1, col. 2
Lawrence Frederick Doden was born Mar. 13, 1921 to Henry Harm and Emma Johanna Weers Doden. He died Oct. 19, 2006 and is buried in the Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery, Garden City, IA.
Lawrence served with the U.S. Army in World War II with the 14th Armored Division.
His Obituary:
Lawrence F. Doden, 85, passed away peacefully in his sleep Thursday, October 19, 2006 at Hubbard Care Center where he and his wife have made their home. Funeral services were held Monday, October 23, 2006 at 10:30 a.m. at Zion Lutheran Church in rural Radcliffe. Visitation was held at Boeke Funeral Home in Radcliffe on Sunday.
Lawrence was the eldest son of Henry Harm and Emma (Weers) Doden. He received his education by attending country schools Scotch Grove, Langworthy and Anamosa. He graduated from Cedar Rapids Business College in Cedar Rapids, IA and The College of Swedish Massage in Chicago, IL in 1940. In 1987 Mr. Doden received his GED from Central Arizona College.
On July 5, 1942 Lawrence was united in marriage to Dorothy Romp at Grace Evangelical Church in Story City. He retired from IMT Insurance in Des Moines after 25 years of service. Lawrence was a World War II veteran and a member of the American Legion, Masonic Lodge and Za-Ga-Zig Shriners. He greatly enjoyed his 20 years of retirement in Mesa, AZ. He was very involved with the many social activities in the retirement community. He enjoyed golf, playing cards and hiking in the desert mountains. He was always extremely active in his church, teaching Sunday School and singing in the choir. He and Dorothy were life-long dance partners.
His survivors include his wife, Dorothy; daughters Karen (Leland) Coburn of Radcliffe and Marcia (Blaine) Jungers of Tulsa, OK; grandchildren Angela Coburn of West Des Moines and Christopher (Ashly) Jungers of Tulsa, OK; great grandchildren Gabrielle and Blaine Jungers of Tulsa, OK; sister Delores Romp of Colorado Springs, CO; brothers Wilbur Doden of Vancouver, WA and Kenneth Doden of Gibson City, IL; as well as many other relatives and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Marvin.
~South Hamilton Record News, Jewell, IA - Oct. 25, 2006
Source: ancestry.com
