(Courtesy of Beatrice Lepley Saylor)

In the Battle of Okinawa in April, 1945, a Japanese Kamikaze plane hit the stern of the destroyer Sigsbee, broke it off and was sunk. Fireman Luther Fessler, married to Ada Shirk of Beavertown, was on this ship, but survived unhurt. Later, the ship, what remained of it, made it back to Pearl Harbor, and while being repaired, Life Magazine did a feature article (August 27, 1945) and chose Luther as one of its main subjects. He appears above dancing the hula with the “Mae West of Hawaii”.

(Who else from this area was on the Sigsbee? Answer next month.)

Answer to Last Month

Mr. Middleswarth had a butcher shop here before Thomas Kohler had his business.

Oscar Freed then had a restaurant and small store, had a paint store here up to the 1980s.

If you know of any others, please call us and share your information so we can pass it on to others later.