John Robert Gracey, Edward Milton, Harold A. Schafer

The last three names listed in the Globeville Veteran's memorial book were John Robert Gracey, Edward Jay Milton, Jr. and Harold A. Schafer with the notation "no photo or information available." Although these veterans' names were engraved on the memorial itself, the circumstances of their deaths were not available at the time the monument was dedicated in 1948. But they have not been forgotten. Each of these servicemen from Globeville is honored for their sacrifice on the Colorado Freedom Memorial, Springhill Community Park, 756 Telluride Street, Aurora, Colorado, 80011.
Colorado Freedom Memorial

John Robert Gracey was a Fireman 1st Class, a member of the Naval Reserve and killed in action. He memorialized on Panel 12, Column 1, Row 26.
Colorado Freedom Memorial

Edward Jay Milton, Jr. was a Gunner's Mate 3rd Class in the Navy who was killed in action. He is honored on Panel 3, Column 4, Row 34.
Colorado Freedom Memorial

Harold A. Schafer was 28 years old when he was killed in action December 10, 1944. A Sargeant with the Army Air Corps, Harold is buried at Fort Logan and listed on Panel 8, Column 2, Row 32 of the
Colorado Freedom Memorial

Photo ® Bruce Quakenbush for the Colorado Freedom Memorial

Lester Samuel Riedel, Frank E. Tezak, Henry Weber

Lester Samuel Riedel was born on June 10, 1921 and enlisted in the Army in August, 1942. Riedel received training at Fort Bliss, Texas, Indio Desert, California, and Richmond, Virginia before departing from Fort Devins, New York, for England to participate in an assault on the European mainland. With 531st Anti-Aircraft Battalion, Battery C., Riedel invaded France on "D Day plus ten" and was killed in action July 11, 1944, near Cavagney, France. Riedel was awarded the Purple Heart, European Theater and American Theater Medals, the Good Conduct and World War II Victory Medals. Riedel was survived by his parents, Mr and Mrs. John Riedel, brothers Lee, Alvin,  John Jr., and Ralph Riedel, and sister Caroline Haubert.

The Tezak family lived on 47th Avenue, right across from Holy Rosary Church. Frank was born on May 6, 1923 and enlisted in the Army Air Corps on March 18, 1943. Tezak received specialized training at Stephenville, Texas and was assigned to the 99th Division of the 395th Infantry- the Checkerboard Division. Tezak departed the US for the European Theater Setptember 23, 1944, was assigned to the First Army under General Hodges and participated in major European battles. Tezak was killed in action  March 1, 1945, near Cologne, Germany. Tezak received the Purple Heart, European Theater and American Theater, and World War II Victory Medals. Tezak was survived by his parents Mr. and Mrs. J. Tezak, and brothers Joseph, Anthony and Louis Tezak. Tezak is one of the men who is honored on the Colorado Freedom Memorial - Panel 9, Column, Row 19.

Colorado Freedom Memorial

When France fell to the Nazis in June 1940 many in the United States felt the conflict edging closer and may have motivated eighteen-year-old Henry Weber to enlist in the Navy in October. After receiving his basic training at San Diego, California, Weber was assigned to the USS California, one of the battleships sunk at her moorings during the attack on Pearl Harbor. Initially reported Missing in Action, Weber was later confirmed as wounded and assisted in the defense of Pearl Harbor. Weber was then assigned to the destroyer, USS Barton, which was sunk in the battle of Savo Islands, November 13, 1942. This time, Weber was confirmed Missing in Action. Weber was awarded the Purple Heart (2), American Defense, Asiatic-Pacific, American Theater, and World War II Victory Medals. He was survived by Mr. and Mrs. John Weber, sisters Molly Seegar, Pauline Wolf, Natalie Brantner, Amelia Campbell, and Matilda Weber and brothers Samuel, Reuben and Albert Weber.

Samuel Graff, Charles Arthur McClellan, Albert R. Metzger

Samuel Graff was 24 years old when he enlisted in the Army and traveled to Camp Roberts, California for basic training in November, 1943. Assigned to the 41st Division, 163rd Infantry, Company I, Graff participated in operations in New Guinea, Netherlands, East India and the Philippines. Graff was killed in action during an invasion of Mindinoa, Sambo Ango on March 19, 1945 and received the Purple Heart, Asiatic Pacific, American Theater and World War II Victory Medals. His family were members of the First German Congregational Church in Globeville and he was survived by his sisters Natalie Befus, Ruth Mitchell, Irene and Rosalie Graff, and brothers Carl and Alex Graff.

Charles Arthur McClellan was 25 years old and married when he enlisted in the Navy March 6, 1942. He did his basic training in San Diego, California and was assigned to LST-455, a repair ship, as an electrician's second mate. McClellan was reported "missing in action" September 12, 1943 as a result of a direct hit by enemy bombers during a bombing attack in the South Pacific. McClellan received Purple Heart, Asiatic Pacific, American Theater and World War II Victory Medals. He was survived by his widow, Mrs. Helen Kornafel McClellan, and his mother, Mrs. H. W. McClellan.

29-year-old Albert R. Metzger enlisted in the US Army Air Force January 6, 1941, before the United States entered the conflict and received his basic training with the 120th Observation Squadron of the National Guard.  Metzger was later assigned to 153rd Observation Squadron and departed the US in August 1942. As a Liaison Pilot in Bath, England, Metzger received orders to server as an observation pilot for the 190th Field Artillery and was killed in a crash near Market Livingston, England, June 27, 1943. Metzger was awarded the Purple Heart, American and European Theater Medals and was survived by his parents, Mr and Mrs. John Metzger, and sisters Gertrude Metzger and Mrs. Alma Hartfiel.

Anticipating Christmas

There was a time before door-buster sales, Black Friday, Gray Thursday, Christmas in July, 24-hour advertising, piped-in carols, gift catalogs and decorations that appear in the fall. Despite the lack of constant reminders, the days leading up to Christmas in Globeville (and in America before World War II) were filled with hope and anticipation.
For months, women would set aside a little in their food budget to afford the walnuts, honey, raisins, and poppyseed to make potica, kolache, kuchen, blini or the other ethnic treats that reminded immigrants of home. Obtaining oplatek, a wafer impressed with religious scenes and eaten before Wigilia, (the Christmas dinner) required a conversation with the pastor of St. Joseph's Polish Church or a request (well ahead of time) from a relative in Poland. Baking family favorites was a day-long event that involved helpful children and the telling of family stories in the process.
And there were choir practices, play rehearsals and special scripture readings during Advent.  Traditions from Eastern Europe, such as setting an extra table setting for an unexpected visitor or to remember someone who died, were preserved. Hymns, legends and symbols from the Old Country were maintained in church services and lodge events.
Children from large immigrant families didn't expect a lot of toys, and were likely to receive practical things like socks, sweaters, or shoes. Ed Wargin longed for a bike, but got a donkey because the animal could transport building supplies for Ed's father, and June Jackson remembers the delight of receiving the doll her older sister Helen had outgrown. Many old timers fondly recall the sack of hard candy distributed at church, probably donated by grocers Carl Gerhardt or John Yelenick. And a Christmas tree was a genuine treat, maybe purchased at Bomareto's, fresh, fragrant and decorated with strings of popcorn, lights, glass ornaments and tinsel.
Our current preparations for Christmas seem to involve the non-stop activities of shopping, wrapping, eating, attending multiple gatherings, texting and posting. Yet there are many of us who miss the richness and flavor of those earlier times.
Here's wishing you some memories of a simpler time as we await the birth of Jesus.

Potica or Povitica

Kolache

Oplatek

Blini

Frederick F. Dometrovich, Theodore Dorak, Lawrence Goreski

There is a stained glass window above the altar in Holy Rosary Church that was donated in 1920 by the Dometrovich family, immigrants from Croatia. How proud they were to have son Frederick complete school at North High, then graduate from the University of Colorado School of Medicine. At age 34, married, and the father of two children, Dometrovich would have been exempt from the draft, but enlisted in the Army Medical Corps in August, 1942. Dometrovich served as a physician in the South Pacific, including Oro Bay, New Guinea and Gilbert Islands and died as the result of typhus contracted in the line of duty. Survived by his wife, children Margo and Fred, Jr., mother Mrs. Anna Dometrovich, brothers Frank and John, and sister Mrs. Mary Hamilton, Dometrovich received the American Theater Medal, and the Asiatic Pacific Medal and Citation.

Theodore Kenneth Dorak was one of many young men who enlisted in the Navy December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. After training at San Diego, California, Dorak was assigned to the Naval Air Force aboard the USS Yorktown. A later assignment took Dorak to the aircraft carrier USS Franklin, where he participated in air raids over Marcus, Wake, Kwajalein, Truk, Saipan, Palau, Hollandia, and the Japanese mainland. Killed in action March, 1945, during a battle off the Japanese coast, Dorak was remembered with a plaque on the east side of St. Michael's Chapel at Riverside Cemetery. Dorak was survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. E. E. Dorak, brothers Edward J. Jr. and Daniel Dorak, and sister Mary Ellen Dorak. Dorak was awarded the Purple Heart, Asiatic Pacific Medal, Presidential Unit Citation, and the American Theater, Good Conduct and World War II Victory Medals.

Lawrence Goreski was 27 years old, married to Margaret and had a young daughter, Laura Jean when he enlisted in the Army Air Force January 11, 1942, a month after Pearl Harbor. Goreski entered flight training at Ellington Field, Houston, Texas, and received his commission as 2nd Lieutenant at Victorville, California. Assigned to combat flight duties in England October 28, 1942, Goreski was reported Missing in Action December 30, 1942, while participating in a bombing mission of a submarine base in Lorient, France. Besides his wife and children, Goreski was survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Pete Goreski, and a brother, Paul Goreski. Goreski received the Purple Heart, European Theater, American Theater and World War II Victory Medals. 

Daniel Baker, Charles A. Carbone, Stanley Marion Czajowski

The young men smiling from the pages of the booklet published by the Globeville Veteran's Club are the sons of immigrants, confident and eager to take on the world in defense of America. Many had never been farther than their home state of Colorado when they enlisted, but would give their lives for their country in remote parts of Europe, the Pacific and the United States. The first three men from World War II are: 
Daniel Baker, one of eight children of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Baker, enlisted in the Army July 14, 1943, and received his basic training at Fort Logan, Colorado, Georgia and Virginia. Assigned to Company L, 317th Infantry Regiment, 80th Division, Baker was killed in action in the vicinity of Cologne, France, November 10, 1944. Baker was awarded the Purple Heart, Good Conduct, American Theater and European Theater Medals.

Charles A. Carbone's home town is listed as New Haven, Connecticut where his parents, four brothers and two sisters lived. His enlistment in the Army in December, 1939 suggests that he was one of many young men who chose military life as a temporary career solution at a time when the United States was still recovering from the Great Depression. Perhaps he met a Globeville girl, Betty Tanko, while in basic training at Fort Carson, or when he was assigned to the 102d Infantry of the Colorado National Guard. When the United States entered the conflict, Carbone was assigned to Company C, 16th Infantry, 1st Army and participated in operations in France, Belgium and Germany. Carbone died February 26, 1945 as a result of wounds received in action,was buried in the American War Cemetery at Henri-Chapelle, and was awarded the Purple Heart. He was survived by his wife Betty Tanko Carbone and daughter Charlene. 

Stanley Marion Czajowski, one of eight children, was born in 1913, enlisted in the Army in June, 1939 and served with Company F, 1st Infantry Division. Czajowski died July 20, 1940, while on maneuvers at Lake Shamineau, Little Falls, Minnesota. Czajowski was buried from St. Joseph's Polish Church, and was listed by his Polish name, Stanislaw Marion Czajkowski, in the parish ledger. Czajowski was awarded the American Defense, the American Theater and World War II Victory Medals.

Globeville Veterans

The city of Denver will celebrate Veteran's Day in 2013 with a 5K run, a parade, a remembrance ceremony at Civic Center Park, activities for veterans and their families and an evening of fireworks. The Globeville Veteran's Club, which was organized in 1947, didn't want a parade or even recognition for their recent service, but to honor and commemorate those from Globeville who had died serving their country. In their meetings, it was suggested that a memorial honoring veterans be erected in Argo Park and the idea grew from there. The club's 200 members, former servicemen of both World War I and II, spoke to neighbors, businesses, fraternal organizations and churches to raise funds for the project. The 12-foot-high granite monument was dedicated in Argo Park on August 25, 1948, with Denver Mayor Quigg Newton, Governor Henry Knous, Councilman Ernest Marranzino and Congressman John Carroll in attendance. The Denver Post reported, "It is believed to be the first monument dedicated to the dead of the last war." 1.
The memorial stands in a quiet space in Argo Park, inscribed with the names of two men killed in World War I, 12 men lost in World War II and one Korean War casualty. Information will be given about the men whose names are inscribed on the monument in future posts. It is hoped that people who visit Argo Park will pause to remember the men from Globeville who sacrificed their lives for their country.

"The tumult and the shouting dies;  

The captains and the Kings depart;  

Still stand Thine ancient sacrifice,  

A humble and contrite heart.  

Lord God of Hosts. Be with us yet

Lest we forget! Lest we forget!"2

 1. Denver Post, Globeville to Dedicate War Heroes Memorial, August 25, 1948, pg. 28

2, From the dedication booklet, August 25, 1948