Pictured are the Sullivan brothers who died during World War II.

The Musings of A Simple Country Man

By Hobie Morris

(Brookfield, NY – Jan. 2012) The hand -written letter expressing the writer’s sincerest condolences at the death of her five sons”…who have died gloriously on the field of battle” was sent from the Executive Mansion to a Boston widow named Lydia Bixby. The letter was signed “A. Lincoln” and dated Nov. 21, 1864. Four days later the Boston Evening Transcript newspaper reprinted the entire letter.

This letter, the original copy allegedly destroyed by Mrs. Bixby, who was a Confederate sympathizer who disliked Lincoln, has produced tremendous controversy over the years. Did President Lincoln, for example, compose the letter or did John Hay, one of Lincoln’s White House secretaries? (In 1904, Hay said that Lincoln had authored this letter).

Lincoln’s condolence letter had been prompted by information sent to the President by Massachusetts Governor John Andrew.

Recently Lincoln’s famous letter was prominently featured in the award winning World War II blockbuster movie Saving Private Ryan.

Their names were Joseph, Frances, Albert, Madison and George. Five tough Irish brothers, the sons of Thomas and Alleta Sullivan of Waterloo, Iowa. Tom was a hard pressed railroad worker.

When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7,1941 one of the Navy men killed was Bill Ball of Fredericksburg, Iowa. Bill was a close friend of the Sullivan boys. When they heard of Ball’s death all five brothers enlisted (or reenlisted) in the US Navy, determined to avenge Bill’s death. The Sullivans insisted they must serve together. The Navy granted their wish. It was war time and men were desperately needed.

On Nov. 14, 1942 the light cruiser USS Juneau was torpedoed by a Japanese sub. It broke in half and disappeared in a flash. Out of a crew of nearly 700 men only 10 survived. It would be almost two months before Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan got the horrible news that all five sons were missing and presumed death. Four died quickly when the Juneau exploded. George, the oldest, died four or five days later at sea.

The Tom Sullivans and Lydia Bixby had several things in common. They each had sons named George; each had five sons who served in a war and each, according to some accounts, had five sons killed.

The death of the Sullivan brothers in naval action off of Guadalcanal in the South Pacific is irrefutable.

The alleged Civil War death of the five Bixbys needs careful examination.

In November, I923, the Oswego (NY) Palladian newspaper contained a short article entitled “Boston House of Famed Civil War Mother Condemned.” The article goes on to say”…the house…which Abraham Lincoln immortalized during the Civil War…will be razed shortly…the spot once occupied by Mrs. Lydia Bixby…whose five sons died on Civil War battlefields.” (author’s emphasis)

More recently in the 1980s Time/Life published a nearly 30 volume history of World War II. In the volume entitled The Home Front; USA there is reference to the death of the five Sullivans noting “…not since Mrs. Lydia Bixby of Boston lost five sons in the Civil War in 1864 (Author’s emphasis) had any one American family suffered so many deaths in the service of its country.”

Are these accounts accurate?  Some clarification is necessary.

A clerk in the Adjutant General’s office jotted down some information that was passed on to Governor Andrew. The Governor relayed it to President Lincoln who in turn penned the condolence letter to widow Bixby. While Lincoln’s anguish was unquestionably sincere, he had been informed incorrectly; an unintentional mistake about the five Bixby sons. This is what actually happened to them.

Only two were killed in battle.

*Sergeant Charles N. Bixby, 20th MA Inf. killed May 3, 1863 at Fredericksburg, VA

*Private Oliver C. Bixby, 58th MA Inf. killed July 30, 1864 at Petersburg. VA

*Private George Way (Bixby), 56th MA Inf. Enlisted under an assumed name. Captured on July 30, 1864. Imprisoned in Richmond later at Salisbury, NC. He was reported to have deserted to the enemy and to have died in prison. George used his middle name “Way” as his last name so his wife would not know of his enlistment.

*Corp. Henry C. Bixby, 32nd MA Inf. was honorably discharged at Boston Dec. 17, 1864 (died 1871). It was reported that Henry was killed at Gettysburg. He wasn’t. He was captured, spent some time in prison, escaped and made his way to Cuba.

*Private Edward C Arthur Edward) Bixby, 1st MA Heavy Artillery, deserted May 28 or 29, 1862 (died 1909). Edward was erroneously reported as killed in South Carolina (confused with desertion?) He was honorably discharged and moved to Boston

The Sullivans’ tragic record remains intact and unchallenged. Today siblings are prohibited from serving in the same unit. The brothers paid the ultimate price for this seemingly common sense policy. Sometimes we learn too slowly, often with deadly consequences.

Hobie Morris is a Brookfield resident and simple country man.

Submitted by Don Logan

(Chittenango, NY – Jan. 2012) Oxford Academy, was this year’s host to the 6th District American Legion Oratorical Contest. On Jan. 14, five students recited portions of the Constitution. They all spoke clearly and enthusiastically from just memory, it’s just amazing!

Pictured from left are Sam Aldridge from Milford, Karlene Becker from Chittenango, Nidhi Shah from Horseheads, Michael Freeman from Walton and Amanda Thornton from Marathon. After the judges had scored each student, Michael Freeman will move on to the Zone level, at Mohawk C.S. Feb. 4. Each student won a scholarship award.

By Daniel Marvin

(Cazenovia, NY – Jan. 2012) This book should be mandatory reading at West Point Military Academy and all service academies. I have fought in two wars, was enlisted and commissioned and retired as a Green Beret.

I believe this book to be a primer on the real world of military indoctrination, the mental path from the glamour of war to the reality of serving in actual combat, the physical and mental stress involved in actual combat and the effect of post-combat stress.

Cheryl Pula has gotten it right, and we need to take advantage of this important book and the series; it is the first in making certain that those who will one day face combat have a panoramic mind picture of beginning to end of involvement in the military combat role.

Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Marvin, US Army Special Forces (ret’d), author of “Expendable Elite – One Soldier’s Journey Into Covert Warfare.”

Pictured: An 8th Air Force Flying Fortress bombs a Focke Wulf plant at Marienburg, Germany in 1943. (Photo courtesy USAF)

(Oneida, NY- Jan. 2012) Fresh from first-hand interviews with war veterans and flush with rarely seen photographs of the air war in World War II, historian Cheryl Pula will present in word and pictures The Children’s Crusade: The Story of the 8th Air Force Men in World War II at the Oneida Public Library Saturday, Jan. 21, at 11 a.m.

Pula will also be on hand to sign her latest book, a historical fiction entitled “The Children’s Crusade.” Her novel traces the lives of several American airmen stationed in England who flew B-17 bombers or Flying Fortresses in air raids over Germany. Pula based many of the story’s incidents on interviews with actual veterans of the 8th Army Air Force.

The novel is the first in a proposed series that will follow the same characters through the war years in Europe.

Pula, a native of New York Mills and the village’s historian, is the author of “Impossible Defence: The Battle of Rorke’s Drift” (2010) and a co-author of “With Courage and Honor: Oneida County’s Role in the Civil War” (2010).

In 2006, Pula was named Oneida County Historian of the Year by the Oneida County Historians Association, and in 2011 she was given the Polish-American Historical Association’s Distinguished Service Award. Currently, she is the acting director of the New York Mills Public Library.

The program is free and open to the public. For more information, stop by the Oneida Library, 220 Broad St., or call 363-3050.

(Sylvan Beach, NY – Jan. 2012) U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 26 based in Sylvan Beach held its Change of Watch banquet Jan. 7, swearing in staff officers for 2012 and honoring 2011′s top performers.

Division 2 Vice Commander John Steinbarge of Baldwinsville administered the oath of office to newly elected Flotilla Commander William Cummings of Utica and Flotilla Vice Commander Karen Beehm of Hubbardsville, along with a number of appointed staff officers.

Steinbarge, Cummings and Beehm then presented several awards.

Thomas Paatz of Dolgeville received both the Flotilla’s Top Performer Award in Operations and the Division’s Commodore James J. Phillips Excellence in Operations Award for, among other things, spending the most time patrolling Oneida Lake and assisting boaters in distress.

David Troutman of Rome received the Flotilla’s Program Visitor Award for making the most visits – over 360 visits – to retail, boating and recreational outlets to promote boating safety. Troutman and Bonita Stilwell of Canastota shared the Flotilla’s Top Vessel Examiner Award for performing the most free safety checks for boaters.

Robert Stronach of Marcy was named the Flotilla’s Coast Guard Auxiliarist of the Year, reflecting participation in training, photographing and writing about missions, training and other activities, and designing Coast Guard Auxiliary publications.

Steinbarge made brief remarks about the need to continue addressing boating safety with the public, especially with paddle crafts becoming a popular recreational sport. “They’re selling thousands of paddle crafts,” he said, which presents an opportunity to provide safety education to reduce the number of mishaps and injuries.

The Coast Guard Auxiliary supports the U.S. Coast Guard and the public by patrolling the waterways, responding to boaters in distress, conducting search and rescue operations, promoting and teaching boating safety, offering free vessel exams, and providing auxiliary chefs (AuxChefs) for short tours at Coast Guard stations, on Coast Guard cutters, and at VIP events.

(Morrisville, NY – Jan. 2012) The Valentine Express is happening on Tuesday Jan. 17 at 1 p.m. in the Morrisville Community Church’s Fellowship Hall, Swamp Road, Morrisville.

Remember the fun we had as kids making valentines?  Remember how much fun it was sharing these valentines with special people?  This is the aim of the Valentine Express.

During an afternoon of fun and fellowship, we invite you to help make valentines to fill up the Valentine Express. The purpose for this activity: to deliver the valentines to Crouse Community Center, Valentine’s Day 2012.

Materials for making the valentines will be provided. What participants need to bring:  Scissors!  However, those that want to make valentines using stamping materials will need to bring their own stamping supplies.

All aboard! Join the Valentine Express.

This event is sponsored by the Presbyterian Women’s Ministry team of the Morrisville Community Church.  Questions: contact Maxine Hunter, 684: 9278.

(Canastota, NY – Jan. 2012) On Nov. 29 Canastota VFW Post 600 received many thanks from the participants of the AARP Drivers Safety Course that was put on by Robert Haehl and available free to the veterans and their spouses. We thank our Ladies Auxiliary for their help putting on the free meal and refreshments. We hope it can be offered again next year.

More than 60 people were in attendance for the Pearl Harbor Day Remembrance Service held. Dec. 7. Officer of the Day Bill Yorton officiated. Commander Tom Daily of Charles Miller American Legion Post 140 led their honor guard, firing squad and bugler Pete Finocchiaro in commemoration.

Past Naval Commander and Attorney Gerald Taylor gave a great speech on the events leading up to the attack at Pearl Harbor and the aftermath.

Past VFW 600 Commander Joe Carinci, who was aboard a torpedoed ship and spent approximately five hours in the water before being rescued, rang the bell for each ship that was sunk at that time. Joe was invited aboard the battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay for the Japanese surrender.

Doug Ginney, Past VFW Commander and President of WAVEM, was Master of Ceremonies and introduced life member and honored veteran Al Paviglianti.

Senator David Valesky’s father Joe presented Paviglianti with awards and a proclamation, as the Senator had been called away to Albany by the Governor.

Our Ladies Auxiliary once again came through with refreshments and food for the event.

Madison County Veterans Administrator Don Smith and many top leaders from the area were in attendance. Representing the Madison County Sheriff’s department were Sheriff Allen Riley, Undersheriff John Ball, Past Commander Timothy Flynn and other officers

Also in attendance were the Town of Lenox Supervisor Rocco DiVeronica, the Town Highway Department, Fire Department, the good people representing Senator Valesky’s office and other local organizations.

Boy Scouts from Troop 43 put on a successful Spaghetti Dinner later in the day and realized approximately $650 towards their summer camp and camping equipment.

COV Director and Deputy Sheriff Joe Gaiser was the main cook and used our fallen comrade Louie Balducci’s special recipes for sauces, etc. The boys looked real sharp in their uniforms and waiting on the public.

The annual Christmas Party held Dec. 10 and hosted by our Ladies Auxiliary, was a great event with lots and lots of food, comradeship, interesting gifts and fun. Thank you all.

On Dec. 15 and 16 new updated Bingo equipment was installed and will be in operation.

We welcome new members Gerald Morton and David A. Taylor.

Auxiliary News

On Nov. 29, the VFW sponsored a driving course for Veterans and their spouses. About 40 attended. The Auxiliary prepared and served a nice luncheon for all to enjoy.

Dec. 7 was Pearl Harbor Day. After the ceremony our Auxiliary served light refreshments for those who attended.

Dec. 10 was the VFW/Auxiliary/COV Christmas Party. The friendship, exchange of gifts, door prizes, 50/50 raffle, and best of all was the supper, which as always was outstanding. We also had a can food collection as people came in. We had two large boxes full. The Opportunity Shop received them gladly.

On Dec. 13 Auxiliary members Bev Mosca, Virginia Steward, Imogene Downer, Virginia Mariano and Gerry Williamson traveled to the Veterans Hospital in Syracuse with a donation from our Auxiliary and nine lap blankets made by our own Barbra Reidy.

At our December meeting the Auxiliary voted to send $100 to the Department of NY VFW Relief Fund.

A flag was given to the Auxiliary from Jeremy Miller as a thank you for the care packages and letters he received from us. The flag had been flown during a ceremony in Afghanistan on Sept. 11, 2011.

Kristen and Justin Muir sent care packages to five soldiers overseas, each containing 100 signed Christmas cards. The goal is to send out a round of care packages every month. They have also collected 12 packages to be delivered to homeless veterans at LeMoyne Manor and crossword puzzles for the VA Hospital.

Volunteers Carl Bartlett, Jerry Boyd and Steve Lorraine from the Madison County Soil and Water District help local coordinator Kim Lorraine from Community Action Partnership to sort toy donations.

Community Action Partnership news

(Morrisville, Wampsville, NY – Dec. 2011) The aroma of hot cocoa mingled with the scent of sugar cookies, a jolly “Ho Ho Ho” rang through the air and gifts were delivered by helpers to families in need.

Although this may sound like the magic of the North Pole on Christmas, it was actually volunteers bringing the Toys for Tots pickup days to life Dec. 14 at the Morrisville Community Church in Morrisville and Dec. 16 at the New Beginnings Church in Wampsville and the Kallet Civic Center in Oneida.

Even Santa took time out of his busy schedule to help out!

The Toys for Tots program is a U.S. Marine-sponsored program that is brought to our community in partnership with Community Action Partnership for Madison County. Thanks to the many generous donations of toys and funds made by community members, there were hundreds of children with big smiles on their faces on Christmas Day as they opened some presents from under the tree.

Santa also has a few new gift ideas to add to his list after talking to some of the children who came. This year especially, thanks to community volunteers, local organization volunteers such as the Madison County Soil and Water District and RSVP, Salvation Army volunteers and CAP volunteers, the spirit of Christmas was in the air.

“This event is so inspiring because people who would otherwise be strangers pull together to do something kind for families and children that need a little helping hand this holiday season,” said Kim Lorraine, coordinator of the events from Community Action Partnership.

CAP is an anti-poverty agency that improves the well-being and safety of children, families and community through a variety of programs and services. Last year, CAP served approximately 5,000 individuals, nearly one in 14 Madison County residents.

Pig City Garden Calendar

By Daniel Marvin

(Cazenovia, NY – Dec. 2011) As this year ends and we go into 2012 as citizens of the United States of America who are free to do as our conscience would permit, including doing what we just did in celebrating Christmas, we should thank all those men and women who have volunteered to be in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Coast Guard and have offered their own life as the ultimate sacrifice so we can be free!

Think about it: they are all volunteers who offered to safeguard each and every one of us. What follows about a soldier applies, as well, to all other services. If you do not respect our Armed Forces, I highly recommend you leave this country right away.

What a soldier is bound by his or her oath to do: all soldiers have a moral and legal obligation or duty to obey the lawful orders of the officers and leaders appointed over them. All soldiers have a moral and legal obligation to perform each task assigned by those in authority over them to the best of their ability.

All soldiers have a moral and legal obligation to work as a part of the team to accomplish all assigned tasks. They must be willing to assume leadership responsibilities when called upon to do so.

All soldiers have a moral and legal obligation to maintain a military appearance, to keep their minds and bodies physically fit, and to keep their equipment and clothing at standard levels.

All soldiers upon entering the service of the United States Army solemnly swear (or affirm) that they will “…support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies.”

The next time you meet up with an American who has or is serving in the armed forces of this nation, thank him or her, and tell them you appreciate their sacrifice.

Happy gardening, and remember who gave us the freedom to garden.

Daniel Marvin is a retired lieutenant colonel and hobbyist gardener. He can be reached at 52Dangerous@windstream.net.

Pictured is Sylvan Beach Flotilla 26 Vice Commander Karen Beehm of Hubbardsville.

(Dec. 2011) Central New York members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary have elected leaders for 2011-2012 for Division 2 and its five flotillas.

Helen “Lou” Cummings of Utica is Division 2 commander and John Steinbarge of Baldwinsville is vice commander.

Cummings is a qualified boat crew member, instructor, recreational boating safety visitor, vessel examiner, and uninspected passenger vessel examiner.

Steinbarge is a qualified coxswain, instructor, recreational boating safety visitor, vessel examiner, watchstander and team coordination training facilitator.

The newly elected flotilla leaders are:

Flotilla 21, Syracuse: Flotilla Commander Kenneth Straw of Pennellville; and Vice Commander Daniel Welch of Nedrow.

Straw is a qualified aid to navigation verifier, instructor, recreational boating safety visitor, vessel examiner and uninspected passenger vessel examiner.

Welch is a qualified coxswain, instructor, vessel examiner and watchstander.

Flotilla 22, Ithaca: Flotilla Commander Paul Phelps of Cortland; and Vice Commander Robert Schleelein of Ithaca. Phelps and Schleelein both are qualified boat crew members.

Flotilla 24, Oswego: Flotilla Commander Jan Just of East Syracuse; and Vice Commander Deborah Somers of Fulton.

Just is a qualified boat crew member, instructor, recreational boating visitor and vessel examiner.

Somers is a qualified coxswain, instructor, vessel examiner and uninspected passenger vessel examiner.

Flotilla 26, Sylvan Beach: Flotilla Commander William Cummings of Utica; and Vice Commander Karen Beehm of Hubbardsville.

Cummings is a qualified coxswain, instructor, recreational boating safety visitor, qualification examiner, vessel examiner, assistant harbor safety specialist, and uninspected passenger vessel examiner.

Beehm is a qualified instructor.

Flotilla 2-14, Bridgeport: Flotilla Commander Richard Kunz of East Syracuse; and Vice Commander Michael Kennedy of Fayetteville.

Kunz is a qualified instructor and vessel examiner.

Kennedy is a qualified boat crew member, instructor and vessel examiner.