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BAKER COUNTY LIBRARY
2400 RESORT ST
BAKER CITY OR 97814-2721
Exp 05/07/2016
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Photo coúrtesy of the Eastern
Oregon Museum in Haines
July 4 Parade in Haines -1914
Positively Baker County
www.therconune.com
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Est. Haines 1901 ~ Haines, Baker County, Oregon
■
Volume 114, Number 27 • 12 Pages • 75 cents
A Toasty 'Toast*
to Haines Royalty
By Gina Perkins
Photo by Gina Perkins
Tim Kerns giving his wife Jan a little ride
onday night's potluck dinner celebration in honor of
the 2015 Haines Queen and Grand Marshal, Jan and
Tim Kerns, was very well attended. The room was
packed with family and friends and, although a bit toasty in the
Methodist Fellowship Hall, everyone outdid themselves-rn-trnrr^-
ing wonderful food and seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves.
Special thanks to Marge and Helen Loennig who provided the
ham, to Vicki Justus who baked and decorated the beautiful (and
scrumptious!) cake, and to Mary Rider who served as
By Gina Perkins
hostess.Thank you as well, to the Friends of Haines president,
Melissa Garner who emceed the event and to Sandy Wood who
veryone has a unique story and path Georgia.....to answer the call, some battle
helped in many ways behind the scenes. The Kerns were each
they
travel
in
this
life. scarred, some new to the ways of war, each
presented a special clock generously donated and engraved by
While
Harry
Galloway's
began
in different but with one thing in common: They
J. Tabor Jewelers. The tables were very festive and folks had fun
The Call.
Pennsylvania nearly 99 years ago, and Answered
Fred
sharing stories about the couple.
The Unit was officially designated as the
Warner Sr.'s started about a decade later in
Duane Boyer had a special surprise for the Kerns. He borrowed
Baker County, the two men's paths merged in 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional); Code
one of Gene Westberg's buggies and had banners displayed on
May. They were selected to be part of the Name: "Galahad," later it became popularly
the carriage. Tim noticed something was up when the Grand Mar
Honor Flight and Oregon Delegation and flew known as "Merrill's Marauders," named after
shal Banner seemed to be on one of the shafts where the "horse"
to Washington D.C. together to be honored for its leader, Brigadier General Frank Merrill.
should be. He quickly caught on and gave his Queen a short little
their important service to our country. Warner Formed into six combat teams (400 per team),
ride on the lawn. Jan noticed right away what the buggy whip was
detailed the experience of the trip in his letter color-coded Red, White, Blue, Green, Orange
for, too.
and Khaki, two teams to a Battalion, the rest
which appeared in last week's Courier.
We are all blessed to live in Baker County and it’s wonderful
Harry Galloway and his wife, Phyllis who he formed the H.Q. and Air Transport Commands.
little communities like Haines can have such a big heart for their
After preliminary training operations were
met and married in Melbourne, Australia, came
neighbors and such a sense of patriotism.“
undertaken in great secrecy in the jungles of
to
Baker
City
in
the
mid-70s.
"We
were
looking
When we hear of all the terrible, unimaginable things happening
for a nice, quiet place to live," explained Phyl Central India, the Marauders began the long
in other parts of the world, the words, "there's no place like home,"
march up the Ledo Road and over the outlying
lis.
seem to have even more meaning.
The couple had lived and worked in 43 ranges of the Himalayan Mountains into
Wishing everyone a safe, fun, and meaningful Independence
states, New Zealand, and other exciting places Burma. The Marauders with no tanks or heavy
Day celebration.
as Harry worked on the pipelines as a laborer, artillery to support them, walked over 1,000
earning his way to becoming an inspector. He miles through extremely dense and almost im
and his wife live now quite close to the natural penetrable jungles and came out with glory.
In five major (Wallabum, Shaduzup, Inkan-
gas pipeline in Baker City that he had in
gahtawang, Nphum, Ga, and Myitkyina) and
spected decades ago, ironically.
An Army man, Galloway says he was in thirty minor engagements, they defeated the
heavy artillery prior to WWII. During the War, veteran soldiers of the Japanese 18th Division
(Conquerors of Singapore and Malaya) who
he was a part of the elite Merill's Marauders.
The following information explaining their criti vastly outnumbered the Marauders. Always
cal role in the War was taken from the website moving to the rear of the main forces of the
honoring Merrill's Marauders 5307 Composite Japanese, the Marauders completely dis
rupted the enemy supply and communication
Unit (Provisional) www.marauder.org.
"In August of 1943 at the Quebec Confer lines, and culminated their behind the lines op
ence, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime erations with the capture of Myitkyina Airfield,
Minister Winston Churchill, and other allied the only all-weather airfield in Northern Burma.
The attack on Myitkyina was the climax to
leaders decided that an American Long Range
Penetration Mission behind the Japanese four months of marching and combat in the
Lines in Burma was needed to destroy the Burma jungles. No other American force ex
Photo by Gina Perkins
Japanese supply lines and communications cept the First Marine Division, which took and
Above, Tim and Jan Kerns are
and to play havoc with the enemy forces while held Guadalcanal for four months, has had as
the 2015 Haines Grand Marshal
an attempt was made to reopen the much much uninterrupted jungle fighting service as
and Queen.
Merrill's Marauders. But no other American
needed Burma Road.
At right, The festive cake was
made by Vicki Justus.
President Roosevelt issued a Presidential force anywhere had marched as far, fought as
call for volunteers for "A Dangerous and Haz continuously or had to display such endurance,
ardous Mission." The call was answered by ap as the swift-moving, hard-hitting foot soldiers,
proximately 3,000 American soldiers. The of Merrill's Marauders.
volunteers came from state side units, from the
jungles of Panama and Trinidad.....from the
campaigns of Guadalcanal, New Guinea, New
See THE CALL page 2
M
E
0
94922 23720
0
Reminder:
July 11, 2 p.m.
Dedication of late
Don R. Guyer’s
Wartime
Memorabilia
at the Warhawk
Air Museum in
Nampa, Idaho.
Hells Canyon
Motorcycle Rally
July 9-13
www.hellscanyonrally.com
Baker County
Fair Board
Meeting
July 7
at 6 p.m.
at the
Event Center
Jimmy Lloyd
Rea, Jr.,
you will be missed
by our community.
Celebrating
the sweet notes
of your life.
4005 23rd Street • PO Box 226
Baker City, OR 97814
(541) 523-3616