Private First Class (PFC) Carl Hilding Stensson, USMC -- Exceptional Gallantry on a 1918 French Battlefield

The capture of Blanc Mont Ridge by Captain George Harding

 Image: The Naval History & Heritage Command

                      

                          USMC US Army 2nd Infantry Division

  Distinguished Service Cross

Distinguished Service Cross

Navy Cross

                      

          Victory Medal w/Silver Star Purple Heart 

Carl H. Stensson was born on 13 July 1893 in Framingham. His family lived on Pleasant Street.Both of his parents (Andrew and Christine) were born in Sweden.Carl worked on a local farm until enlisting in the Marine Corps in 1918.He completed boot camp at Parris Island,South Carolina in May of 1918.Carl arrived in France on or about 26 August 1918.He was assigned to the 18th Company,2nd Battalion of the 5th Marine Regiment (the 5th Marines).Eventually,the 5th Marines would be attached to the US Army’s 2nd Infantry Division (2nd ID) as part of the American Expeditionary Force (AEF).The iconic Army General John J. Pershing commanded the AEF. Major General John A. Lejeune, USMC,was the first Marine to command a division when he took command of the 2nd ID on 28 July 1918.He remained in that position until 15 July 1919.He would later become the 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps.

Major General John A. Lejeune,USMC (note 2nd ID patch)

Image: Wikipedia

The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was a part of the final Allied offensive of World War I.It was fought from 26 September until 11 November 1918,when the Armistice was signed.It was the largest operation of the AEF in World War I, with over a million Americans participating.It resulted in over 26,000 “leathernecks” and “doughboys” being killed in action (KIA) and over 120,000 total casualties.The Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge, near St. Etienne took place during the offensive.The ridge was 200 feet high.This costly engagement lasted from 03 to 09 October.On the 4th of October alone,the Marines suffered 1,097 casualties.


On 03 October 1918,Private Stensson’s 18th Company was fighting the Germans on a heavily defended section of the ridge.On that day,he was serving as a stretcher-bearer.He and his partner were continuously removing casualties from the battlefield, frequently under heavy enemy fire.On one trip,his assistant stretcher-bearer was wounded on a road that was being swept by enemy machine-gun fire. In what has been described as a feat of “great heroism and utter disregard for personal danger,”Carl attempted to rescue his partner who lay wounded on the exposed road in the killing zone.Private Stensson was killed in this self-sacrificing attempt.For this exceptional bravery,the Army posthumously honored him with the Distinguished Service Cross. This was possible because the 5th Marines were attached to the Army’s 2nd ID.Because he was a member of the Marine Corps, which is a Navy component,he was also awarded the Navy Cross. Later,he was again posthumously given a Silver Star Citation for his WWI Victory Medal. At that time,the Silver Star Medal did not exist (was not established as an individual medal until 19 July 1932).The Citation and Star for the ribbon was its equivalent.Carl was buried in France with many of his Marine brothers.His body was returned to the US in 1921.His final resting place is in Edgell Grove Cemetery in Framingham.

Framingham Soldiers and the Bataan Death March

Lieutenant Colonel Theodore T. Teague,USA

Sergeant William Dennis,USA

Private First Class Peter Larnis,USA

  Private First Class Frances Lavelle,USA

On 03 April 1942,the Japanese army launched its final assault on the Bataan Peninsula in the Philippines.The battle ended on 09 April 1942,when General Ned King, US Army (USA) surrendered the remaining US and Philippine troops to the Japanese.These soldiers and marines had held out for three months against the Imperial Japanese Army,while almost every other island and nation in the Pacific and Southeast Asia fell to the Japanese. At that point,75,000 soldiers became prisoners of war, approximately 10,000 Americans and 65,000 Filipinos.What followed cannot be called anything other than a war crime — the Bataan Death March.

Once the surrender went into effect,the Japanese gathered the American and Filipino soldiers and began marching them north toward Camp O'Donnell,65 miles away.It is estimated that Japanese guards killed between 7,000-10,000 men during the five-day death march.The majority of those killed were Filipino soldiers.Those who survived the march were held in confinement camps under deplorable conditions.Many died,having suffered from malnutrition,disease, and abuse.At least four Framingham men were victims of this horrific treatment,with three eventually making the ultimate sacrifice.

     

Image:The LIFE Picture Collection

   

     Image:Department of Defense/Wikimedia Commons

Colonel Theodore T.“Tiger”Teague,USA 

Image: US Army

       Silver Star Legion of Merit      BSM (two awards)  Purple Heart

Colonel Theodore Thomas “Tiger” Teague was born in Chicago in 1891.By 1900,he lived in the Nobscot section of Framingham.He joined the Army in 1918 and served in World War I (WWI).Prior to the war,he was employed as a telegrapher/wireless operator with Western Union,which led him to the Army Signal Corps. Following WWI,he remained in the Army,serving at multiple duty stations as he worked his way up the ranks.By 1942,he was a Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) on General Douglas MacArthur’s staff in the Philippines.He survived the Battle of Bataan and the Bataan Death March.He remained a Japanese Prisoner of War (POW) until 28 October 1945.He was confined in eight different camps, with his final stop at the infamous Hoten POW Camp in Mukden, Manchuria.After his release,he was awarded the Silver Star Medal,2 Bronze Star Medals,and a Purple Heart for his actions in the Battle of Bataan and on the Death March.During his career,he was also awarded the Legion of Merit.He retired as a Colonel in May of 1949.He passed away in 1962 at the age of 71 from cirrhosis of the liver,likely due to malnutrition.

Sergeant (SGT) William Dennis,USA

SGT William Dennis was attached to the Army’s 60th Coast Artillery Regiment,which was stationed in the Philippines.He survived the Bataan Death March but succumbed to disease in a Japanese POW Camp.The telegram the family received from the War Office reads in part -- “Your brother Sergeant William Dennis who was previously reported as Missing in Action died in a Japanese prison camp,May 3rd,1942.”

PFC Peter Larnis,USA

PFC Peter Larnis (given name was Peter Laniauskas) was born in 1917.His parents,who resided on Second Street,were both born in Lithuania.Peter enlisted in the Army in October of 1939.At the time of the surrender,he was assigned to the Army’s 809th Engineering Battalion (Aviation) at Nichols Field,Philippines. Peter survived the Death March,which took him to Camp O’Donnell.He was later transferred to Cabanatuan Camp #1.On 16 November 1942,Peter was shot and killed trying to escape.His remains were never recovered.Unfortunately,he was carried as Missing in Action-Likely a POW in Manchuria until 1945 when his parents were officially notified of his 1942 death in the Philippines.

PFC Francis L. Lavelle

Francis Laurence Lavelle was born (1919) and raised in Framingham.His family lived in the Irving Square area.He was a Framingham High School graduate.He enlisted in the Army on the 10th of August in 1940.In late 1940,he was assigned to the Quartermaster Corps (part of the supply specialty) in the Philippines.In May of 1942,the International Red Cross reported him to be a Japanese POW.He survived the Bataan Death March and was held in Camp Olivas,which was in the vicinity of Camp O’Donnell.

On 04 September 1944,Francis was aboard a Japanese freighter known as the SHINYŌ MARU.The SHINYŌ was part of a convoy moving north.By 1944,the likelihood of an Allied invasion of the Philippines was high.To prevent the liberation of Allied prisoners,the Japanese established a maritime route using freighters to move Allied prisoners from the Philippines to other locations in the Japanese empire (such as Formosa,Japan, and Manchuria).These vessels were called "hell ships" because POWs were forced to live in inhumane and unsanitary conditions. The ships were crewed by merchant mariners and Japanese Army soldiers.SHINYŌ MARU was one of these ships.On that fateful day,the submarine USS PADDLE (SS-263) located and attacked the convoy when it was two to three miles off the coast of the Philippines.The merchant ships had been reported to be carrying Japanese troops.After the SHINYŌ was hit by two torpedoes,the freighter captain decided to ground the ship on the beach.Once the ship was hit,the Japanese guards began to machine gun the prisoners.Hand grenades were also thrown into the two holds that contained POWs.Some prisoners were able to escape the holds and jump overboard.The guards continued to shoot prisoners in the water.Japanese soldiers who had left the ship in lifeboats also participated in the killings.No POWs were allowed in the lifeboats.

Of the 750 POWs on board, 668 were killed,either in the torpedo explosions,drowned while swimming ashore or were killed by the guards.Of the 668 deaths,663 were Americans.Eighty-three POWs made it to the beach and were rescued by locals.Of the 83,82 survived and were returned to the Allies.PFC Lavelle was believed to have escaped the ship,but died in the water.

   

        Japanese Motor Vessel Shin’yō Maru        

     

USS Paddle (SS-263)

Images: Wikipedia

Framingham’s 50 Mission B-17 Aviators; Captain Ron Forward and First Lieutenant George Devine, USAAF

 

Captain Ron Forward and First Lieutenant George Devine,USAAF 

As we discussed in “Framingham’s 50 Mission B-17 Aviators; Lieutenant Colonel Skip Stoddard, USAAF,"the town had three,50 mission B-17 aviators – Lieutenant Colonel Stoddard, Captain Ron Forward and First Lieutenant George Devine.

B-17s Over Germany (Image:USAAF)

LTC Stoddard was truly an elite pilot.Captain Forward and LT Devine were also brave and skilled air warriors.Each handled his duties with outstanding airmanship and faced the constant stress inherent in this new,unpredictable and dangerous form of warfare.

Their stories:

            Captain Ronald Bradley Forward,USAAF

Captain Forward lived at 7 Central Street before joining the military.Born in 1918,he was a 1936 graduate of Framingham High School. In 1941, Ron completed the US Government funded Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) in Framingham.At that time,Framingham operated two airports and was the first town in Massachusetts to host CPTP.He attended the inaugural class at Gould’s Airport.His group included Norm McDonald who later reached “Double Ace” status flying Spitfires and P-51 Mustangs. Through this unique program,Ron received his Civilian Pilots Certificate on 01 January 1941.Shortly thereafter,he joined the AAF as a Flying Cadet.

The Civilian Pilot Training Program

(Image:Framingham News)

Following the completion of his flight training,he received his wings,was commissioned as an Army Second Lieutenant,and headed off to England.While in England he met his future wife Sheila Dean (they eventually married in July of 1943).

          

                                                                USAAF Pilot Wings

Air Medal

Stationed in England and then the Mediterranean,he flew fifty (50) combat missions.For his valorous efforts he was awarded the Air Medal with seven Oak Leaf Clusters (8 total awards).He returned to the U.S.in late 1943,where he was assigned to the Army Air Transport Command in Wilmington,Delaware and Westover Field,MA.He was given command of the 30th AirLift Squadron in 1956.Ron eventually settled in Wyndham,NH after completing his 28+ year Air Force career.He retired as a Colonel.He passed away in 2019 at the age of 100.

Image: USAAF

: USAAF

 Image: Framingham High

First Lieutenant George Francis Devine,USAAF

 USAAF Bombardier Wings 

 

George F. Devine Image:Framingham High

George grew up at 90 Clark Street.He was one of six brothers to serve.Born in 1919,he was a 1936 graduate of Framingham High School.In 1937,he married Virginia L. Mercer and by 1940 lived in Stamford,CT.He served as a B-17 Bombardier in the 8th Air Force’s 99th Bombardment Group (346th Bomb Squadron).He also flew for the 15th Air Force.As a B-17 Bombardier,he had to be intimately familiar with the iconic Norden Bombsight.He flew fifty (50) missions and was awarded the Air Medal with nine Oak Leaf Clusters (10 total awards).He passed away in June of 1990 in Florida.

“Accurate and effective bombing is the ultimate purpose of your entire airplane and crew.Every other function is preparatory to hitting and destroying the target.That's your bombardier's job. The success or failure of the mission depends upon what he accomplishes in that short interval of the bombing run.When the bombardier takes over the airplane for the run on the target, he is in absolute command.He will tell you what he wants done, and until he tells you "Bombs away,"his word is law.”

From the B-17 Pilot Training Manual -1943

B-17 Bombardier Position (Image:USAF/AFA Library)

Norden Bombsight (Image:National Air & Space Museum)

“The Norden bombsight functioned as a part of a whole system. As the bomber approached its target,the bombardier entered data about wind direction, airspeed and altitude into the bombsight's analog computer,which calculated wind drift and provided the correct aim point.An internal gyroscope provided the stability necessary for using the telescopic sight at high altitudes.When connected to the Sperry C-1 Autopilot,the Norden bombsight provided unprecedented accuracy.”

From the National Museum of the United States Air Force, Norden M-9 Bombsight Fact Sheet

Regardless of the theater in which they flew,these men were members of an elite fraternity – USAAF aviators who completed 50 missions over hostile territory.Concrete examples of the valor and unflinching sacrifice so prevalent in the citizens of Framingham during turbulent times.

Suggested Reading

Dewar, Martha E. and M. Joan Gilbert (eds.).Framingham Historical Reflections.Framingham:Town of Framingham, 1975.

Holland, James.Big Week:The Biggest Air Battle of World War II, Atlantic Monthly Press,2018 

Miller, Donald L.Masters of the Air:America’s Bomber Boys Who Fought The Air War Against Nazi Germany,Simon & Schuster,2007

The United States Strategic Bombing Surveys: Summary Reports (Europe and Pacific).US Army Air Force,30 September 1945

Suggested Videos

Inside the B-17; Imperial War Museum

Army Air Corps B-17's are filmed in action; British Pathe

RADM Charles Jackson Train, USN ; 49 Years of Service to His Country

 

                

   

        Image: Framingham History Center Collection

           

       Image: Naval History & Heritage Command  

Rear Admiral (RADM) Charles Jackson Train was born in Framingham on 14 May 1845.He was the son of Charles Russell Train (1817-1885).Charles Russell was a Framingham lawyer,a Massachusetts Attorney General,a Congressman and an Aide to General George Gordon (of Framingham) during the Civil War. Charles Russell was the son of the Reverend Charles Train (1783-1849) who was the minister of the First Baptist Church of Framingham for twenty-nine years.

(see https://biographies.framinghamhistory.org/rev-charles-train/)


In 1861,after spending two years at Phillips Exeter Academy,Charles Jackson was accepted at Harvard.Three months after matriculation (November 1861),he was nominated to the US Naval Academy.He left Harvard for the Academy,which had relocated to Newport, Rhode Island as a “safe harbor” during the Civil War (1861-1865).Charles followed a typical Navy career path with significant time spent at sea.His performance was exceptional as he rose through the ranks.In 1894,as a Lieutenant Commander,he was a member of the Naval War College Staff in Newport.While there,he and two other staff officers were tasked to develop a naval campaign plan that addressed the possibility of war with Spain.This effort included both maritime and land components given likely Navy involvement in troop movements to Spanish-owned Cuba.Assistant Secretary of the Navy Teddy Roosevelt played an integral role in the development of such war planning.Train received significant accolades for this work.

On 19 April 1898,then Commander Train, assumed command of the USS Prairie,an auxiliary cruiser.On 24 April 1898,the US declared war on Spain.As the Commanding Officer of the Prairie, he successfully participated in the US Blockade of Cuba.On 19 April 1898,he took command of the battleship USS Massachusetts. Hostilities ceased on 12 August 1898 and the Treaty of Paris, ending the war,was signed on 10 December 1898.In November of that year,prior to the treaty,Charles was promoted to the rank of Captain.In 1904,he was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral.On 30 March 1905,Train became the Commander-in-Chief of the US Asiatic Fleet.His son,Charles Russell Train (1879-1967) served as his aide.Charles Russell would also have a highly successful career,including reaching the Rear Admiral rank.On 04 August,at the age of 60,Charles Jackson Train passed away from uremia (kidney failure) while on an official visit to China.A funeral service was held on his flagship,the USS Ohio in Japan.His remains were then transported back to Washington,DC aboard the steamer Empress of China.His final resting place is at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

    

       Image: Framingham History Center Collection

Warrant Officer Richard C. Neitz, Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF); Framingham Flying for the Commonwealth

Framingham Flying for the Commonwealth 

Image: Framingham High 

          

    RCAF Pilot's Wings            403 Squadron Patch

                             R 

                                                                         Dick's Spitfire

 Images:Neitz Family

Richard C. “Dick” Neitz was born in Swindon,England on 15 January 1918. He would,however,spend most of his life as a citizen of Framingham.In fact,he graduated from Framingham High School (FHS) in 1935 with “Double Ace” Norm MacDonald.Flight Sergeant Dick Neitz, RCAF also served as Norm’s Best Man for his 1944 marriage to Helen Maplebeck,also an FHS Grad (Class of 1938).Dick’s father,George Louis (Lou) Neitz (1898-1976) was the founder of Framingham's iconic "Lou's Doughnuts." He started the business in the early 1920s."Lou's" was in the basement of the family home on Bishop Street.

Image: Neitz Family

As a British citizen,Dick could easily enlist in the RCAF.In August of 1942,at the age of 24,he headed north to Nova Scotia to do so.Following his initial flight training,he transitioned into the sleek British Spitfire fighter.He was assigned to the RCAF’s 403 Squadron.The squadron’s patch was adorned with a wolf’s head and the motto “Stalk and Strike.” Dick and the 403rd would participate in Allied operations in France (including Normandy),Beligum,Holland,and Germany.In early 1945,he was promoted from Flight Sergeant to Warrant Officer. One day in May of 1945,he downed one German FW-190 fighter and damaged two others. 

Upon his return to Framingham after the war,Dick continued to help with the family business while also working with Norm MacDonald in real estate.In the late 1950’s,after several years at Adams & McDonald,he founded his own real estate company (Gateway Realtors).Dick worked there until his death in December of 1982.Like Norm,Dick was also a “fixture” at Framingham Lion’s Club events and fundraisers.

Dick and best friend Norm MacDonald

**Of note,prior to Pearl Harbor,9,500 Americans volunteered for the RCAF.Of that number,4,450 transferred to the US Army Air Force after Pearl Harbor -- 5,100 remained with the RCAF.

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