Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (May 1, 2002)
MAY 1, 2002 Smoke Signals 5 Hero Distinguished WWII Pilot led, and allowed others to live "Lives of Destiny" Tribal Elder Carroll Grenia passed away early this year, but he lives on in the memories of his family and fellow Veterans whose lives he saved again and again. By Chris Mercier The address indicates Iowa Falls, Iowa. In bold cursive font, inscribed at the top of the letter, is written: From the desk of Kermit Neubauer. "Dear Trudy" begins the letter. " could sit and write for hours about my love, respect, and feelings I had for Carroll and still not say what I would like to say. He was the brother I always had, always keeping me under his watchful eye. "J remember one mission, about our first or second one, when they were tracking our aircraft with flak guns and I called on the intercom and said 'flak.' Shortly after that we got several direct hits. Our oxygen sys tem was short and we had to go on emer gency (illegible) and also lost the power on our engine. We made it home okay, but I could tell Carroll wasn't happy. He didn't say a word until he got me alone. He didn't get angry, but in his soft, gentle voice told me if I had properly reported the location of the flak, he could have used 'Evasive Action' and we wouldn't have been hit. He always said 'I'll make you the best tailgunner in the Eighth Air Force.' "So now I'm in sorrow, because I've lost a very dear friend." Grand Ronde Tribal Elder Carroll Frank Grenia passed away on January 6 of this year, losing a battle with Parkinson's disease. But he did live to see the sterling age of 84 years, 55 of them mar ried to Trudy, who following his passing was flooded with letters from longtime chums, acquaintances and most no tably, members of that "My Ideal" crew who flew bombing raids in Europe during World War II. Glancing through the mound of paperwork Trudy loaned us, one couldn't help but feel that who ever this Carroll Grenia fellow was, respect, love and grace under fire fit him like a finely tailored suit. Everything about him screamed "extraordinary," from young to old. To start Carroll was born Oct. 12, 1917 in Skamania to Joseph and Carrie (Williams) Grenia. His bloodline was pure pioneer a de scendant of the Charles Williams family of Skamania and the James Grenia family of Greenleaf, Washington. His great-great-greatgrandfather was none other than Stilgat, Chief of the Chinook village at Baker's Bay, located in Washington near the mouth of the Columbia. Stilgat's son Tomalth was a signer of the Janu ary 10, 1855 treaty. Carroll had the type of upbringing that Mark Twain would have loved to write about. A poi gnant letter to Trudy, written by his sister from White Swan near Yakima, captured so elo quently an early 20th century rural childhood, not what one would call privileged. "Carroll grew up very poor, so poor," explained Trudy. "His mother was very Indian, she knew how to live off the land berries, roots, fish. She died at 94." They lived during the 1910's and 1920's, be fore the age of supermarkets, meaning that fami lies would often produce their own food. A cow supplied them with milk, and they churned their own butter. Fishwheels still lined the Columbia near their Cascades home, and in that same river they caught the salmon and dipped into the water for the annual smelt runs. Smoked, canned and pickled fish were the norm, from salmon to sturgeon. To help out the family, Carroll and his sister would trek into the local blackberry trestles to pick the fruits. Portland weekenders at Moffet's Hot Springs Resort would buy the berries. Joseph and Carrie still had to find odd jobs to make ends meet. Carrie cooked in a logging camp and Joseph eventually had to go away to Bea ver Creek to find work. Carroll's education was an odd one. At one point he and his sister were the only two stu dents in their one-room school. In 1930, the fam ily moved to Washougal where Carroll would play in the local high school band. He gradu ated from Washougal High School in 1935, an avid reader, a good student talented in math and English. Carroll worked after high school for a few years and also attended Clark Junior College in Vancouver, Washington. When the war broke out in Europe, he enlisted in the United States Air Force. Like a lot of people, what he probably didn't know at the time was that World War II would make him a hero, a man whose name would outlive his life. After completion of the Army Air Corps Flight Training School in November of 1943, Carroll was selected to serve as a pilot in the European Theater of Operation as a First Lieutenant. From June of 1944 to November of that same year he par ticipated in four major Wwi m mrs. t mim m i n mmm mm, i i m il u m m i i ii campaigns: Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, and Air Com bat Europe. He logged 271 hours of piloting on 35 different combat missions, some of which his B-17, dubbed "My Ideal", was the only one to return, and not always in the best of shape. Carroll was known for his calm demeanor, Trudy explained. Physically, he wasn't exactly an imposing figure, being only 5 foot 8, weigh ing in the neighborhood of 160 pounds. As some of his old crewmembers told her, upon first meet ing Carroll, he did not look like a pilot. Yet all his missions were completed successfully, the entire crew intact. Looking over photocopies of his war diary, Carroll was amazingly candid, admitting fear at times, yet cool and resilient throughout. He put to pen what must have been the most hor rific of conditions. "Enemy fighters hit from 5 to 7 o'clock high. 385th lost 12 ships." Berlin Or another entry, the 31st mission: "10-15-44 Gas Generating Plant-Cologne (Germany) Poor fighter support beautiful sunrise 2 B-17 exploded in group in back" Or yet another entry, his 32nd mission: "10-17-44 Marshalling Yard Cologne ship 156 Hydraulic system shot out motor caught on fire Used chutes for landing (lost wagons and wheels, not me)" Indeed, neither the crew nor Grenia had an easy time in their raids, not from the start even. Here reads the July 13, 1944 entry for "Pappy" or Chris B. Chapman of Georgia, in what was his second mission, and consequently their sec ond mission, a bombing raid over Munich: "Enemy fighters attacked mostly the for mation behind us I was scared at first but ail the fellows said I did OK. It really sur prised me I don't want to see fighters again." To pilot 35 missions of such nature took an extraordinary person, and the U.S. Armed Forces were quick to recognize that following the war, and really, the entire career of Carroll Grenia. Few U.S. Servicemen are ever as decorated as he. His list of decorations and awards is just amazing Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with Four Bronze Oak, Leaf Clusters, Air Force Outstanding Unit Award, American Cam paign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Four Bronze Service Stars and a World War II Victory Medal. And that's only about half of them. Following the war, Carroll continued to serve, even after meeting Trudy and marrying her in 1946. True to character, the wedding was a military one, held at Scott Field, Illinois. A career in the service meant two things. One, that he would be required to leave for long peri ods of time, in one in stance eight months. Two, the couple, and eventually, family, had to move con stantly. For three years they lived "overseas" in a U.S. territory called Alaska. They also spent another three years in Hawaii, from 1959 to 1962. Carroll did one six-month stint installing radar towers in Iceland. The family also lived in Boca Raton, Or lando, Clovis (New Mexico), Biloxi and others, usually aver aging a one-year stay at each stop. "If I counted cor rectly," said Trudy. "I'd say we moved 30 times." Carroll and Trudy had four children and were essentially married for life. Trudy now boasts one grandchild and one great grandchild. Carroll's dedication to country went on the bulk of his life. He was involved in the Korean Con flict and was flying supplies to Vietnam long before anybody knew what was about to unfold there. Even after retiring from the service in 1966, he still continued in a civil service capac ity, working as a contracting officer for 16 years. All in all, he put in 40 years of federal service. Friendship carried a special meaning to him throughout his life. He kept in touch with all the crew of the "My Ideal" B-17 Bomber, despite each living in different parts of the country. Their reunion 45 years later was one for the ages. "They were so happy to see each other," said Trudy. The admiration for Carroll apparently never died either. In a letter to the Grenia's posted December 5 of last year, Bill "Red" Staley wrote: "This Thanksgiving (what with 9-11) was very special for many. I personally was thankful that we survived as "My Ideal" crew in our ventures over Europe. Carroll, I never told you but I have always felt that this was possible because you were our pi lot. Many times when we were landing af ter a mission, I would thank the Lord that you were our pilot. I knew the rest of the crew felt the same. Your calm and quiet approach to each mission gave us a lot of confidence that we would survive. We did and we all were able to live lives of destiny." Which pretty much does a good job of summa rizing just who was Carroll Grenia. B I U ' '
