Where is Harold Smith?

Gordon: He lives in Brookside subdivision in Springville.  He just got out of the hospital, and a rest home.  He is starting to get his strength back.

---

From: mandlht@msn.com 
To: gf_smities@msn.com



Myrna: Where is your brother, Harold?

Article About World War II with Charles Edwards (Eva Responded)

Sent: Sunday, March 21, 2010 11:20:39 AM GMT -07:00 US/Canada Mountain
Subject: Charles Edwards


Utah WWII veterans share shattering memoriesBy Scott D. Pierce
Deseret News
Published: Sunday, March 7, 2010 4:41 p.m. MST
Utah WWII Stories: Untold Stories" isn't a high-gloss, highly produced documentary.

What it boils down to is members of the "greatest generation" sitting in front of a camera, telling us their stories. And yet producer Elizabeth Searles and her team have once again handled this project practically perfectly.

This is important history presented in a way that's thoroughly compelling. These are stories prompted by the success of the four-part "Utah World War II Stories" that aired in 2005-06 — additional stories that were shared by Utahns who saw that fine documentary series.

And some of these previously "Untold Stories" are shattering. Like the one shared by Jack Tueller, who piloted a P-47 against German tanks.

"At a thousand feet looking through the gunsight, I saw a French mother and her three children. She was trying to cover their bodies with hers. They were being held up there as human shields. And every tank had these on. Innocent civilians," he says.

He didn't open fire but was ordered to return and carry out his mission — civilians or no civilians.

"So for 65 years ago this last June, I live with that image," Tueller says. "I think that's what breaks my heart more than anything."

Not all the stories are tragic. Mark L. Heyrend tells a funny story about his first encounter with Gen. George S. Patton. Stanley Boyd Nance recalls his service in the "ghost army" — inflating rubber tanks to deceive the Germans.

Not all the stories are what you might consider traditional war stories. Roberta Windchief recalls Native Americans who served in the armed forces. Nell (Mickey) Stevenson Bright recalls her service in the WASPS.

Werner Sommerfeld, a "young Mormon boy" who lived in Hamburg, recalls being pressed into service in the Hitler Youth and training with boys as young as 12 as live ammo flew over them.

"Some, they got up and got shot and some got killed. And some cried for their mother," he says.

Tosh Kano, who was in his mother's womb at the time, tells of how she survived despite being only 800 yards from the epicenter of the Hiroshima atomic bomb.

Charles Edwards tells of jumping out of foxhole after foxhole, narrowly avoiding death by grenades while others died.

After the fourth time, "I guess I felt like I'd had it, and I started to cry. I don't know how long that lasted, but it was probably good for me. But I was so unnerved at that point that I just couldn't help myself."

The "Untold Stories" are accompanied by period photos and stock footage of combat, but it's the voices that count. And they count more because even the best writer can't capture in print the tone, timbre and emotion of those voices.

And, nearly 65 years after World War II ended, we're quickly running out of time to hear those voices — so KUED has done a great service in preserving them for us.

It's hard not to wonder how many stories we haven't heard because we didn't know to ask. Like the one shared by former Deseret News managing editor J Malan Heslop.

I met Heslop a quarter of a century ago when I was a young reporter and never had any idea that he was a combat photographer in World War II. That he was there taking pictures when the Ebensee concentration camp in Austria was liberated. Or that those photos are in the Holocaust Museum.

"As I remember, I photographed it rather matter-of-factly. I'm here doing a job," Heslop says. "It wasn't until sometime later that I really felt the impact of those people."

And you don't feel the real impact of that declaration unless you hear him in "Untold Stories."

On the web: www.kued.org/productions/worldwar2e-mail: pierce@desnews.com© 2010 Deseret News Publishing Company | All rights reserved  

To: L H TRAUNTVEIN
From: Eva Dixon

I know Tosh Kano very well.  He came to the County when I was working there  and I was involved with him in some things.  Also, I am going to copy this to give to a family I Visit Teach with the name of Nance.  Edwards' response seemed very real to me.  Thanks.  Love you.  Eva                                          

Now We Are Being Funny!

Julie: For many years, Dad said he was going to bury you with your stacks of newspapers. Now that they are not around anymore, maybe we should bury everything else with you. Isn't that what the Egyptians did? Ha, Ha.


Shawn: The newspapers are gone? How is Mom going to keep warm? I guess I could loan her a sleeping bag. Now the pharaoh didn't even have a nice sleeping bag to travel with. What were they thinking back then? He was probably so cold that he was huddled up and shivering as he left the cold dark interior of the pyramid and walked off to the afterlife, and that is why he couldn't carry the food that they left him. What a waste.


Myrna: There isn't a grave big enough. It would take a pyramid.


Eric: I want the top soil from the grave of stuff for my garden and yard. E.

Melanie Comments

I've never really thought about this subject. I would hope that the love that we have for each other would help us to divide up the personal belongings. We love our parents...not their things. I would think if someone wanted the slides, photographs, your poem journals, paintings or whatever, they would allow us to take copies, make prints, etc. We would know that we could borrow things, talk about things and enjoy the stories that come from the items. 
 
Mel


Myrna: Some families handle it well and others do not. I think Dad's family handled it well but, as you know, my one sister did not. It probably pays to talk about things in advance and then everyone knows what is what. Grandma T had a plan and everyone followed it. I have so many things that I just don't know. I am certain you will all want something from Dad. You know, we all hope we will live for many years but, in my experience, just about the time you get to feeling that way (that someone will be here longer); bam! someone has moved into the next world.

Kirsten Comments

Why don't you and dad come up with a list of items?  Then we can all openly discuss.  

Like I said, I think the furniture (piano, curio, table, etc.) might be something to discuss, as will the guns, fishing poles, work benches, poetry journals (originals can definitely be made into copies) and family history documents.  But I also think most of the family history things should be passed down like in days of old to oldest boy/girl... with copies for the rest of us.  

I think it would be wise to list it out and just see.  I'm sure there are things I haven't mentioned that others would love to include (like Grandpa T's old mining shovel and stuff like that), or your artwork, or the dolls and old pottery... your old newspaper journals, yearbooks, all books...

What does everyone else think?  I'm sure Ams would have suggestions on how she normally advises families to take care of this...

You and dad should do a "walk through."  Walk through the house and see...  Start room by room.  I think it will take a great deal of time, but think how much easier Grandma T's estate was to divide because she had dotted almost every i and crossed almost every t, down to her figurines...

I agree, Melanie.  The things I cherish most are not really things...  they're memories!  When it comes to dividing... I just want copies... copies of dad's slides from his mission, copies of birth certificates... copies of pictures from those old family photo albums... copies of your recipes, poetry.  I think we can all reconcile with each other... I think dad and the boys should work out the guns thing though...  we don't need one; no one here knows how to use one. :)

What other "things" do people want that would cause issues?  I think most of us have a piano... now if you would have kept your old water bed, I might have had to fight for that one... (hehehe)  Grandma's curio, etc.  I wouldn't know how to divide those items or who is most sentimentally attached to them.   I hope we each saw how giving you and dad both were upon your parents' deaths and learned how to also be charitable.  It is the people we will miss the most and the items, however wonderful they are, cannot replace the person.

Kirsten

Myrna: OK, the plan is that I make a list. It is back to my ballpark? How about if, when many of you are here, you help make a list? I'll start and then you fill in. See, I wouldn't have thought about the fishing poles. 

Shawn Trauntvein Comments

I know that I appreciate even small things, even things that others might think could have been DI’d or so forth. Grandchildren too often like something that they know was their grandparents. I remember going though Grandma Smith’s button cans and admiring the buttons when I was a child. I also got a pen that had belonged to Grandpa Trauntvein so many years ago, but now that I am older I regret that I asked Grandma for it at that time, and that I wasn’t more considerate of her feelings and needs following the funeral. I feel now as though I had ransacked her house (somewhat akin to plundering an archeological site), since she obviously was more closely connected with him than was I. I became ashamed of that as I grew older, although I never thought of it when talking with her, or I would have asked for her forgiveness. That is one of the many things I will still want to ask her forgiveness of if I am able to see her when I pass from this life. But returning to the subject, though I haven’t figured out what I did with the pen when I went on my mission, I still remember it (maybe it is in with my jamboree souvenirs, I’ll have to look). I know that recently I got something that was considered by someone else as nearly worthless, and was bound for the DI or trash. And, as embarrassing as it is to admit, I know that Melanie sent me a check for my birthday once, which I forgot to cash for too long. But I carried it around in my wallet for years as a reminder of how thoughtful she was. I have kept some things that David gave me for a birthday when I was in college many years ago. I have other things that others of you have given us, so the list goes on. Of course, my children would have no idea why I hang on to a plastic cup with pictures of antique automobiles on the side. There is often a longing in each of us for those things, physical or otherwise, that tie us to those whom we love.

But the physical things are perishable, and will be exhausted as the number of descendents multiply over the years. Although I want to know that things that remain will be well taken care of where at all possible (remembering it may be slightly out of our control as I learned from an elderly brother from our ward whose home was damaged by the Teton flood so many years ago), it is the pictures and stories that we can pass down to an unlimited amount of our descendents. So copies of these are always so vital. I think of Mom and her longing for anything, any picture of, or and tidbit that belonged to her mother who died when she was but an infant. Maybe that is one reason she didn’t ever want us to lose buttons from the button can, because she knew some might have belonged to her mother. Perhaps she even knew which ones. Fortunately we have been taught of the spirit of Elijah, and are wise enough to be aware that the longing that the Lord has put in us, of turning our hearts to the fathers, can (as many blessings) be used by Satan and combined with greed or pride, to turn to the hurt of others, similar to the story cited. As long as we communicate and share, we will come through all the better. The thing that is more important is that we come through making sure we care for the feelings of each other, and forgive if we somehow feel offended. But in the end, on this or any other subject, if I am a cause of offense, rather than feel that you are first required to forgive me, please talk to me first, hopefully you won’t feel you still need to forgive me when we are done. If I have learned anything of love and regret, it is that we become more astutely aware of both as we age, and all of the middle ground seems to fade.

It's Time to Talk!

Who gets Grandma's pie plate? Division of possessions may add more grief after a death

Published: Sunday, March 21, 2010 4:37 p.m. MDT

When the woman died, one of her prized possessions was the family Bible, which had been brought from Ireland. Each of her three children wanted it, but only one could have it.

The bitter fight that ensued ended up with the two daughters not speaking to each other for 25 years. The son did not even know who got the Bible, because he never dared bring up the subject.

Cousins grew up without knowing each other. Family memories were not built and shared. Instead of support and love, there was estrangement and bitterness.Who would have thought that something like a Bible could cause such heartache? It happens all the time, says Marilyn Albertson, Salt Lake County director of the Utah State University Extension Service.

"The two daughters eventually reconciled, but just think of all they missed," she says of this example from her own extended family.

"Almost everyone has personal belongings such as a Bible, wedding photographs, a baseball glove or a special yellow pie plate that contain meaning for them and other members of the family," she says. "What happens to them when you die? Who decides who gets what?"

These are not easy questions to answer, she says, but it's a topic everyone should think about.Albertson has a free program on the subject that she presents to community groups, church groups, senior citizens' gatherings, care facilities and other such places. (To schedule it, you can contact her at 801-468-3170 or e-mail at marilyn.albertson@usu.edu.) Her office also has a videotape and workbook that can be checked out for personal use.

Much of her presentation is based on materials put together by the Minnesota Extension Service, which also has a Web site that offers free materials and worksheets to help people start a dialogue or think about non-titled property distribution. Visit www.yellowpieplate.umn.edu.

At her classes, Albertson hears a lot of people say they don't think they need to worry about these issues for a long time, or that they don't want to think about dying yet.

"But anyone can face them. A woman in our office had her father die in his 50s. So you never know. Almost everyone has parents or grandparents or children to think about. And what happens in case of a second marriage?"

She knows of a case where a mother died and the father remarried. The stepmother moved into the house, and the whole family got along really well. Then the father died, and the stepmother continued to live in the house. "But when she died, all of the things went to her children, including some that had belonged to the original mother."

It is often not the big property items that cause problems, she says, but what is considered non-titled property — the items such as furniture, family photographs, fishing gear, tools, special dishes that don't have a legal document indicating ownership — that cause the most grief.

"These are the items that connect generations," says Albertson. "They are they things we value as a personal heritage. They give us a sense of who we are and how we belong in the family."

But all too often, she says, those involved in the transfer decisions — usually parents and adult children — fail to find out each other's ideas and desires about who wants what, what would be fair and how it should be handled. Inaccurate assumptions are made; misunderstandings and hurt feelings can result. It's not always an easy subject to bring up. "Parents are hesitant to discuss the issue because they don't like to think about being gone," she says. "Some think they don't want the hassle and will let their children do what they want when the parents are gone. Children hesitate to bring it up because they don't want their parents to think that they are just waiting for their parents to die," Albertson says.
But a lot of pain, heartache and discord might be avoided by advance planning.

There is not one right way to distribute non-titled property. Many people say they want to be "fair," but ideas about fairness vary. Is is fair to let the oldest decide first? Is it fair to consider only siblings and not in-laws? Is fair the same as equitable? How much does sentiment count? What role does dollar value play? What about financial, emotional and physical needs of family members? What about contributions, financial and otherwise, over the years? What about differences such as age, birth order and marital status?

Different families will see all these issues differently, Albertson says. There are no hard and fast rules.There are also various methods of distributing property, such as making a will, gifting, labeling items, making a list, even holding a silent auction or garage sale (which often works when parents are downsizing and moving to a smaller home or apartment).

One important thing to know about putting everything in a will is that it can not only be lengthy, Albertson says, but it also becomes a public document. "It's probably better to make a list and attach it to the will. But in most states, to be legally valid, the list must be mentioned in the will."

Which brings up another point: Albertson's workshops are not meant to replace legal advice, which you definitely should get in creating wills and trusts and for distributing titled property.
And even if you have a will or list in place, she says, it's a good idea to review it periodically to make sure it is up to date.The thing to remember is that "possessions are never more important than people, but having plans in place can help maintain good family relations. Plus, if you have to deal with all these issues at the time of the passing, it will probably be done at a time of great emotional stress, when you are not thinking as clearly. The less trauma involved in these issues, the better for everyone."

e-mail: carma@desnews.com© 2010 Deseret News Publishing Company | All rights reserved                                               

RE: Its time to talk. . .‏how do we divvy up the worldly goods.

Date: Mon, 22 Mar 2010

From Myrna: Is it that time?

When you get to be a certain age, you realize that you have 30-year's worth of planning to do and you know that you will not likely live that much longer.

"One man's junk is another man's treasure." That was the Pitts motto at the business. However, I cannot be buried with all my "stuff" because you cannot build me a pyramid. We will just have to come up with a plan to disburse the junk.

I need to take photos of items and write up why they are significant to me (and to LHT). I would rather just tell you about things but, judging from the time I take to do that, it will be wiser to just write it up.

So it is back in my ballpark. DRATS!


Myrna:
Is someone you know gravely ill?
Are you and Leonard ok?
This last article makes me ask these questions?

Love you
al pitts