The winter sun tried hard to warm the cold stone porch of the brick house in St. Louis. It stood on the corner of Cleveland and Lawrence. Inside the home was the usual excitement that took place on an ordinary Sunday, just weeks before Christmas. 

The family of eight that lived in the rental was busy with the day's activities. Six daughters ranging in age from 8 to 24 years lived there. One of the younger daughters was approaching 12 years old. Their two older sisters and only brother had married and started families of their own.


On Sunday the sisters went to church and Sunday School. The parents stayed home to prepare a big Sunday dinner.

At this time the United States was just beginning to get over the Big Depression which had begun in 1929 with the Stock Market crash. There was talk of the war in Europe and some companies began gearing up for defense work, but the general public was enjoying a time of slow growth and peace.

After dinner the twelve-year-old was helping to decorate the house for the Christmas season. This was a big event in the lives of this large family. Bolts of folded crepe paper were cut off at the ends to make long strips for streamers, red and green were pinned together, twisted, and thumb tacked to the corners of the room, then to the centered ceiling light fixture. The decorations were saved from year to year, but supplies had to be replenished at times.

The second youngest put on her wool coat and tied the requisite scarf around her head for warmth as she volunteered to go to the neighborhood “confectionary” for more crepe paper.


As she returned home, anticipating the fun of decorating, she noticed that the atmosphere of the usually busy household seemed changed. An older sister told her that the Japanese had bombed Pearl Harbor. The frightened young girl began to sob. This was a family that didn’t tolerate tears and she was immediately hushed with, “Don’t you dare start crying – Mother has enough problems right now.”

Their brother and his wife, who lived many blocks away, had been at home listening to the radio about the attack. They knew that the family seldom turned on the radio; so they had to run a long distance through the width of Tower Grove Park to inform their loved ones of the great tragedy. This was quite a feat for the very short, dark-haired lady whose legs were only about half the length of her taller husband’s!

The shocked relatives congregated in the living room as someone turned on the radio. The eight-year-old sat on the floor bewildered by all this mass confusion. Why was everyone so upset? What did it all mean?
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 2

The father of this large family, Al Lodwick was a moderately small man in stature.  He stood 5’5” tall and never weighed an ounce over 135 pounds.  What he lacked in size he made up in abilities.  He could build almost anything, be it from wood or metal.  He repaired all household disasters.  He was revered and loved by fellow workers at Busch Sulzer Diesel Engine Company in St. Louis, where he worked for forty-three years as a machinist.  He began work there in 1914, at the start of the Great War -- WWI.  Busch Company built large diesel engines for trains and ships.  

Al met Ethel McCoy in 1908 and married her a year later.  Their marriage lasted 61 years, until Al’s death in 1970 at the age of 81.  

Al registered for the Draft on June 15, 1917. On the card he wrote that he worked for Busch, lived at 3339 18th Street and that he then had a wife and four children to support.  

  In 1922 they moved to 1316 Sidney Street which was owned by Eddie O’Hare.  Eddie had two daughters, and a son also named Eddie, but called Butch.  The O’Hare children and the Lodwick children who were of similar age often played together. The family lived next door to the O’Hares for six years.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 3

Charles Schmiedeke was a tenant farmer in Illinois. In 1919 the worldwide influenza epidemic struck his home. His wife of many years, Ina, did not recover and he was left with seven children. The youngest, Cleo, was only four years and three months old.

Cleo’s sister Emma began to care for him, and they had formed a very strong bond as a result. She became a substitute for the mother he no longer had. There was a time that Cleo was put in a boarding house for 2 1/2 years and the woman who cared for him cried when he left.

Cleo received the highest accolades from his father and all who knew him. He was a cheerful, friendly, person who was always helpful to family and friends throughout his life.

During his teens he attended Roosevelt High School in St. Louis for a short time, where he met Al Lodwick (the younger). The two became inseparable most of the time and Cleo got to know the whole Lodwick family. Eventually he returned to Illinois where he graduated. His brothers, Harry and Noel were living in St. Louis and came to the Lodwick household often.

In 1935 Cleo enlisted in the US Navy as a career sailor. He served on the USS Medusa which was a repair ship that could repair “anything from a watch to a hull.” Later he was assigned to the USS Paul Jones, and finally to the Heavy Destroyer, the USS Chicago with her nine eight inch guns. Busch Company repaired the hull of the destroyer in December 1942 after it was damaged in battle.

While in the Navy Cleo met Lt Jg George Chipley and they became close friends, serving together on the Chicago. George had another friend, a former school mate, serving in the same convoy – as a fighter pilot on the USS Lexington, the Aircraft Carrier. His name was “Butch” Eddie O’Hare. Before George was discharged he was promoted often, eventually attaining the rank of Commander

Lt. Butch O’Hare became a war hero, winning the Medal of Honor for single handedly shooting down five of nine Japanese bombers before help came from the Lexington in a February 1942 battle. Lt. Commander O’Hare was killed November 1943 when he was accidentally shot down by another American plane on a night mission. Eventually the Chicago Airport was named “O’Hare” in his honor.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 4

December 7, 1941


As the family listened to the news of the raid in disbelief, the youngest daughter was reminded that her sister, Valerie, had married a career sailor, Cleo, in 1940 and was living in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Valerie had just given birth to their son, Allen, 5 weeks earlier. While still in the hospital she had an emergency appendectomy! Valerie was a high-spirited, intelligent, energetic adventurer throughout her life. She was a beautiful woman with very curly light golden blond hair and blue eyes. She favored the maternal side of the family. She went to work as a young teenager, as her oldest sister had, to help their father support the large family.

During the raid Cleo, a Chief Petty Officer which was the highest rank for a non-commissioned officer, was out at sea in the heavy cruiser, the “Chicago”. They were in the convoy with the Aircraft Carrier, the Lexington, and on the way to Midway.

In the days that followed the attack on Pearl Harbor, there was no way to reach Valerie to see if she was alright; and no way for her to reach Cleo. Communication lines were interrupted. Masses of people sending private telegrams and letters helped to bog down the system. Messages were sent over and over. Letters were written. No word received in response! No word from the government either. Daily radio announcements and newspaper reports were the only contact with the world.

Moving picture theaters would run first hand accounts of world events, including the war, on movie film but it might be days or weeks old before it was shown. A friend had gone to a movie where the Newsreels “The Eyes and the Ears of the World” were shown. They thought they saw someone who looked like Valerie on the news. Ethel and Al, who seldom ever went anyplace, went to the same theater, and saw one blond woman holding a baby in a shelter. But she didn’t even resemble their beloved daughter. They watched it again as it was repeated. They returned home doubly disappointed and under much stress.

Then Valerie’s mother, Ethel, who was extremely resourceful, remembered that Valerie had often mentioned her neighbors “Buster and Mabel” in letters in the past, so Ethel, in desperation, wrote a letter to those names and addressed it to:

“Buster and Mabel,
Next door to:   ”

And put Valerie’s address on it. The neighbors received it and answered right away! Still no direct word from Valerie, but at least it was known that she and Allen were alright! Thank the Lord!

Women and children were supposed to be evacuated first from this war-torn island, but for some reason, Valerie and Allen were some of the last to arrive home to the United States in late May or early June of 1942. Her parents and their entire brood were waiting at Union Station to not only welcome them home, but to envelope them with much needed love.

Cleo’s sister, Emma, lived in California near a port. One letter from Cleo told Valerie to go visit his sister. Letters were censored, so code had to be used.


Valerie figured he may be in port so she took little Allen to visit his aunt and uncle. Sure enough, the USS Chicago got into port and Cleo was able to visit with his wife and eleven-month-old son before he returned to defend his country at sea. His wife returned to her parents’ home.

On January 30, 1943 rumors reported that the ship the Chicago was sunk on the 29th or 30th, 1943 near the International Dateline. Cleo had escaped the tragic Pearl Harbor incident, only to fight for another year and die! The Los Angeles Daily News officially reported in the February 16, 1943 edition that the USS Chicago was sunk. Later seamen survivors from the ship notified the waiting wife that the torpedo had gone right through the engine room where Cleo was assigned though there was no official word of his plight.

A week later Valerie and her Mother saw a man, in a familiar blue uniform, approach the Lodwick home on Hawthorne Boulevard. Both immediately thought the worst. When they went to the door they found that it was someone selling tickets to raise money for the war effort!

On February 25, 1943, the second Navy-blue-uniformed man really did bring the news that Cleo was “missing in action.” Since there was no body Cleo couldn’t be declared dead for a whole year!
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 5

Life goes on...

Valerie went to work for the Social Security Administration where she was expert at helping people to obtain their rightful retirement benefits. Although she eventually received a widow’s benefit, she had to work to adequately support herself and her son. She continued this occupation until she retired.

Cleo’s best friend, Lieutenant Chipley, visited Valerie. He told her that he had a hard time saving his own men in the next engine room, and that there was no hope at all that Cleo had survived. The torpedo had ripped directly though Cleo’s engine room.

One year later Valerie experienced the nightmare of receiving the papers that her dear husband was killed in action which only served to prolong the grieving. The younger sister was now thirteen and clearly remembers the times she saw and heard Valerie lying on her bed sobbing her heart out, with toddler Allen next to her crying as hard as she did. He knew not why she cried but knew something was terribly wrong.

Valerie told her older sister that one day after Cleo died she had taken a calendar and counted up all of the weekends Cleo had spent with her and added the few times he was on leave. These moments they had shared together were only a fragmented nine months out of the three years of their marriage.
* * *
The younger sister entered High School. There were many “Aud” sessions where the students congregated for patriotic and informational meetings. The sessions opened with the “Star Spangled Banner” and the girl wept silently through each time it was sung.

At fifteen the young girl met the love of her life! He was eighteen at the time. He entered the Army in November 1945 and served for 18 months. At one time he was shipped to a coastal area with orders to go overseas in an occupational force. For some reason those orders were rescinded and he served out his time in the States. They married in 1948.

Two of the middle sisters met and married service men during the Second World War. Their father and one son-in-law worked many overtime hours in defense factories building ships’ engines and fighter planes. One sister was a telegraph operator typing in many war-time messages.

Rationing began. Tires, gasoline, dairy products, meats and sugar were all scarce and ration coupons were needed to obtain them when they were available. Tin cans were recycled into tanks and airplanes.

The youngest daughter met and married a man a bit older than she was. Before they had met he also served overseas in the war.

Through the years things change, babies are born; deaths occur in families, people move from their birthplaces, grandchildren are born. Life goes on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Many times Valerie would visit the second youngest sister’s family on the West Coast. They were very close even though 16 years of age, and the birth of a brother and five sisters separated them. It was as if she wanted to be close to the place where she and Cleo began their life together, and where it eventually ended. “She lived her life as if she expected to find Cleo walking in the door at any minute,” as a brother-in-law once said. "MIA always gives hope."

The younger sister took her to San Francisco, to the street where she and Cleo had once lived. The place no longer existed. It was evident that she relived their time together while visiting the area.

When asked in later years what it was like on that terrible day in 1941, Valerie got that far off look in her clear blue eyes and said, “I was still in bed sleeping, with Allen in bed with me. There were explosions but I thought it was practice or war games going on. Mabel from next door knocked at my apartment door and said they were bombing our boys in Pearl Harbor. There were two planes dog-fighting right over our house. The school house two blocks away was bombed.” Valerie, who was always very afraid of thunder, was asked what she did. “I took Allen in my arms and went out in the yard and watched it all!”

Valerie died in 2004 at the age of 91 and her son has kept her ashes at home with him. When he dies he has requested that relatives take both their ashes and strew them at sea so they could be with his Dad – the Dad he never knew except through stories, letters, and photos.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 6

Wars continue...


During the Viet Nam war Allen also put on a uniform. A total of six cousins served their country. Five served in Nam. The sixth was badly injured in a military accident while in the States and received permanent retirement.

Upon Allen’s return to the States he stayed with his West Coast aunt’s family for a short time to orient himself to civilian living again. The visit was a great welcome home, and a sad reliving of some very disturbing events. None of these cousins came back unchanged. War is Hell!
* * *
And as the eighty-year-old great-grandfather installs a new faucet in the kitchen sink, the great-grandmother is called from her writing to hold a wrench or hand him a tool.  He doesn’t know that while he works from below, tears drip down the drain from above.  They are so blessed to be celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary together, but at this moment she is still in a reverie of the twelve-year-old.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Credits:
Request for writing this was from Cheryl Leonhardt Newcomb
Photos and newspaper clipping were family archives on hand and sent by family members
Lorna Lodwick Brakemeyer
Allen Charles Schmiedeke
Veva Lodwick Marrow
Ronald Lee Smith


Vivid memories provided in the past by
Valerie Lodwick Schmiedeke
And more recently by Lorna and Veva above, and
Dellora Lodwick Cook


Weeks of great suggestions for editing and revisions via email came from
Cheryl Leonhardt Newcomb
David Ray Leonhardt
Lynn Leonhardt Tappan

Much needed encouragement was thankfully received from
Al D. Lodwick, R. Pharm.
And my beloved husband Raymond A. Leonhardt

A Special "Thank You" to Yvonne Lodwick Leonhardt and Family
for sharing this story with us. As history has proven, war is hell, not only for the men and women who fight for our Freedoms, but for the families and friends who must carry on with life on the Home Fronts.
God's Blessings be with you all.
Doris and John

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