Medford mail tribune., November 27, 1955, Image 14

rouRTrrw MEroRD (oregoit) mail tribune
Ex-General in German
Now Makes Home i
Henry Warrelmann
Recalls Service
With Airika Corps
By SID HOLLINGSWORTH
l War is a cruel taskmaster and
k hardest blows may be struck
after the fighting has ceased.
! No one appreciates this more
than the family of Henry Warrel
mann, of Medf ord. Their experi
ences, however, are an encour
aging chapter in the history of
oost war adaptation to circum-
stances. They came from Ger
many to Oregon to find a new
wav of life.
With only a smattering of
English, and with little or no
experience as a laboring man,
Henry took a job first in a
lumber mill. Then he decided to
learn the trade of a carpenter
and found employment.
Not Easy Change
But it was not easy to change
from the military life, for which
he was trained in the Prussian
tradition, and which commanded
his attention for 25 years.
Since the war is ended, he is
more concerned today with the
problems of peace, although his
daughter, married to a Navy
man, and his two sons, serving
with the American Army in West
Germany, maintain his interest
in military problems.
When the war ended, he was
Maj. Gen. Henry Warrelmann,
who served with General Rom
mel in the African campaign,
and who went with the forces
that invaded Russia before the
tide turned and he was called to
the western front, where he was
captured and lodged in a British
prison camp.
With his family in need and
his resources gone, he made his
way with them to the new coun
try. They lived in Grants Pass,
where they have relatives, and
for a time in Oakland, Calif.,
before deciding to settle down
in Medford, where they have ob
tained a comfortable home.
May Return
' But General Warrelmann is a
little apprehensive about the
future now, since he is not get
ting any younger. He has been
considering the possibility of
going back to Germany to finish
out his career with the new
army there, and retire after 30
years service with a pension.
The Warrelmann family has
made numerous friends in this
section since they have been
here, and when it was learned
that a general who fought under
Rommel was living in this part
of the country, ranking military
authorities came from Washing
ton to interview him.
One of the lessons learned by
General Warrelman is that isola
tionism is a real enemy in these
times.
Sei Isolationism
"I notice a trend here in this
country toward isolationism. It
was isolationism that held Ger
many back in the years before
the war. That, and the delay in
getting started in the drive for
world trade."
He referred to the history of
the formation of the Hanseatic
League, to show that his native
land was not always behind the
times in setting the pace in trade
and intercourse with other na
tions. He comes originally from
the region around Hanover.
General Warrelmann now
speaks excellent English, but is
' somewhat baffled by the Amer
ican idiom. He discussed tech
nical phases of the war freely,
and with considerable insight re
garding the "grand strategy" as
well as the psychological factors
involved.
Hands Were Tied
'"It was in the winter cam
paign of 1941 that Hitler lost
the war," he stated. "By ignoring
the recommendations of his gen
erals to strike toward Moscow
in the summer of 1941 or the
spring of 1942, and by retaining
his army to hold the Russians
in a circle, our hands were tied."
He gave his view of the rea
son for the position assumed by
the Germans in Africa in the
south, and in Norway in the
north. "It was not simply occu
pation, but self-defense, w-hich
necessitated this action: These
bases were a threat to the secur
ity of the Reich, as they are to
all of Europe today, in the event
of another encounter," he stated.
Rommel was not only a great
field marshal, but he was a stu
dent of the problems of war, and
he regarded the stand under
taken by the Germans as the
only means of preventing an east
and west conflict, Warrelmann
believes. He was popular, not
only with his men but at home,
where he was considered avail
able for the presidency.
Speed and Tactics
Asked what it was that made
the "desert fox" so hard to catch,
Jie answered "Speed and tac
tics." He found British generals
proverbially slow, not only in
movement but in recognizing
the significance of strategy.
"I kept the tagebuch, or what
I suppose you would call a diary,
of this campaign, showing on a
ill
' MM ,A A
JbJ ' gp fef
WARTIME PICTURE Henry Warrelmann, now a resident of Med
ford, is shown above (right) in
when he was a major general in the Germany army, serving with
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps. The famed "Desert
Fox" is shown at right. The picture was taken in North Africa
during the early part of the campaign that made Rommel's name
known throughout the world for brilliant, rapid and hard-hitting
strategy. Warrelmann, a professional soldier, came to this country
after the war, and now is a carpenter employed by Cascade Forest
Products.
III hst v Mr Ml
EX-GENERAL TODAY Shown above is a picture taken last
week of Henry Warrelmann of Medford, a former major general
in the German army, whose reminiscences about the war are told
in the accompanying article. (Brainerd photo)
map what we did. It was cap
tured and destroyed, and the
record of my judgment got lost,"
he said. The loss, from a military
standpoint, is considerable, in
view of the originality and the
efficiency displayed by the Pan
zer troops.
General Warrelmann feels
that a misunderstanding about
the term Prussian should be cor
rected. The Prussian junkers or
land holders are confused with
the Prussian military tradition.
"It must be a good system of
training for military life." he
said. "Your own General Wash
ington placed General von Steu
ben, a Prussian, in charge of the
training of soldiers in the Amer
ican revolution."
Still Vigorous
Perhaps no other German of
ficer now living has met the
tests of his profession with a
greater degree of fortitude than
General Warrelmann. His mili
tary career made him resouceful
and adaptable. Today, he has the
vigor and alertness of step that
belie his age at the midcentury
mark.
In viewing the apparent soft
ness of young men today, the
general feels strongly that it is
the fault of civilization but not
of culture. He feels that with
culture a man is more flexible
and alert mentally, and is able
to meet adversity.
"I wonder how many in the
army today, with the meals that
are available, would keep going
if they had nothing to eat but
grass. I have been in places
where that was all there was to
eat," he said.
Sunday, November 27, 1953
Army
this picture taken during- the war
General Warrelmann has a
book of photographs, clippings
and orders, one of .them signed
Adolph Hitler, to remind him of
the pages of. his life that are
finished.
Fears Propaganda
Like most soldiers, he has an
aversion toward propaganda and
is a little hesitant about letting
reporters know too much of
what is happening for fear they
will distort the story to make
"propaganda."
The wounds of Germany and
the German people should be al
lowed to heal without having
salt thrown into them, he feels.
He did offer one comment on
Hitler the fact that his power
rested in the circumstance that
he was a great speaker who
could sway the crowds. But in
his closing days, he noted that
the voice was gone.
"He spoke so low that he
could hardly be understood,"
the general recalled.
Monkey Has Talent But
Can't Sign His Name
Stockholm, Sweden U.R)
Visitors to an art exhibit Sat
urday voiced mixed reaction to
a "primitive painting signed ;
"A. P. E. Van Troot, Djurgaard-j
en." i
Most of the visitors studied ,
the canvas with puzzlement that ;
turned to amusement when they
looked more closely at the sign-,
ature. It was painted by a mon- j
key who resides in Stockholm's
Djurgaarden zoo.
The journalist who promoted
the stunt admitted, however,
Stale Taxes To Be
Roundtable Topic
The roundtable meeting of the
Jackson County Chamber of
Commerce Monday will deal
with aspects of taxation at the
state level, according to Paul
Hornbeck, chairman.
He said State Tax Commis
sioner Sam Stewart will be a
guest at the meeting, and Jackson
county's legislators,. State Sen.
Phillip B. Lowry and Represent
atives Al Littrell and E. H.
Mann, will also attend.
The roundtable sessions are
being devoted to questions of
taxation for the next few weeks,
and last week about 35 persons
attended a discussion of city and
county tax problems.
Mark Goldy Named
To Agency Committee
Mark Goldy, Medford, has
been named to the Region XV
committee of the Housing and
Home Finance Agency, the fed
eral office which administers the
voluntary home mortgage credit
program, it was reported last
week.
He will represent the National
Association of Real Estate
Boards on the committee, which
serves the northwestern area
with headquarters in Portland.
The program is designed to
foster the channeling of private
mortgage investment funds into
remote areas and small commun
ities, and for the housing of mem
bers of minority groups.
The appointment was . an
nounced by Albert M. Cole, administrator.
Member Drive Planned
In Farm BureauWeek
Dave Blair, president of the
Jackson County . Farm Bureau,
which is affiliated with the Ore
gon Farm Bureau and the Amer
ican Farm Bureau, has announ
ced that "Farm Bureau Week"
will be observed here the' week
of Dec. 4. '
The objective is to better ac
quaint the people of the county
with the importance- of a pros
perous agriculture and the ef
forts of the organization to im
prove farm conditions, Blair
said. A membership campaign
will be conducted to invite all
Jackson county farmers to join
the bureau, he added. Teams
will be formed in each of the
county centers.
Blair pointed out that Gov.
Paul Patterson has issued a
statement endorsing the mem
bership campaign, and the work
of the bureau.
A radio program dealing with
Muscular Dysirophy
Drive Ends Monday
Results of the fund raising
campaign for muscular dys
trophy research will be reported
here the first week in December,
it was announced Saturday by
Wes Coleman, of Medford Fire
Fighters, and Larry Rose, of the
Medford Letter carriers, co-sponsors
of the drive.
The drive will close Monday,
and they urged those who may
still wish to participate to mail
their donations in the return en
velope provided local residents
as soon as possible.
Mitch Millick, chairman of the
event, and leaders in other
phases of the campaign, have ex
pressed their appreciation for
support given the fund drive, in
cluding the fire department, the
post office, the Chin Up club,
and, others, including press, ra
dio and television for informing
the public of the facts about the
disease.
"Only through public aware
ness of the seriousness of the dis
ease and through voluntary con
tributions for medical research,
can this baffling disease be
brought under control," Millick
said. "Nearly 200,000 victims in
the United States are grateful
for the generous support given
the drive."
To help insure raising healthy
calves, some dairymen keep
them in individual pens with
about 25 to 30 square feet of
floor space until they are three
or four months old.
that the signature was a forg-1
ery. "I couldn't teach the monk j
to sign his name," he said. j
COUPLES
N1TE
Every Tuesday
at
ASHLAND
SKATE WAY
Couples Admitted for
Single Admission Price
Police Chief Urges Cooperation
In Making 55 SD Day Success
Medford Police Chief Charles
Champlin pointed to last year's
Safe-Driving Day record in Ore
gon, and urged local residents
to cooperate in reducing the
number of accidents.
On Dec. 15, 1954, Safe-Driving
Day' last year, there were
no fatalities in the state, and
the number of accidents was
reduced about 40 per cent, ac
cording tb figures compiled by
the traffic division 'of the state
highway department.
In Medford last S-D Day, there
were two accidents, both rel
atively minor.
Suggests Rules
Champlin suggested that mot
orists follow several basic "com
mon sense" traffic rules in help
ing prevent accidents Dec. 1,
this years Safe-Driving Day.
Drivers should check their
speed, make sure the car is
mechanically safe, should not
drive if fatigued or sleepy, drive
according to weather conditions
and time of day, and be court
eous. Champlin noted that more
than 3 out of 10 drivers in fatal
accidents violated speed laws.
Violations of speed laws are
almost twice as high on rural
highways as in urban communi
ties, he said.
Vehicles involved in fatal ac
cidents for which vehicle condi
tion was reported, about six
per tcent had unsafe conditions,
the police chief pointed out. He
added that about 1 out of 14
drivers involved in fatal accid
dents had physical conditions
the bureau will be heard over
KMED at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Dec.
5, with Stan Tiegs, former field
representative for the Oregon
Farm bureau, discussing the ob
jectives. ,
Tiegs last week issued a de
scription of the Farm Bureau.
It follows:
The American Farm Bureau
is the largest farm organization
in the world with a membership
of approximately 1,500,000 fam
ilies. In Oregon we have 7,653
family memberships, and in
Jackson county, 207.
Our policies are developed by
the farmers themselves through
center meetings throughout the
counties of the United States.
$ince farmers are a minority
group they must necessarily have
the support of a large segment
of non-farmers. So our policies,
thus developed, have been, and
are, beneficial both to the na
tional economy and to the farm
ers. Non-Partisan
We are non-partisan, backing
issues rather than candidates or
parties.
In the Farm Bureau a person
must have 60 per cent of his in
come from the farm (this amount
may be variable due to economic
conditions beyond the farmer's
control), in order to hold office
or to vote on policy matters. Our
meetings are open to anyone to
present issues or to participate
in discussions.
The Farm Bureau is non
sectarian and non-ritualistic. It
is a business organization to pro
mote the welfare of farmers.
Our Jackson county organiza
tion consists of four centers in
Central Point, Eagle Point, Ev
ans Valley and Talent. All but
Eagle Point are active.
County officers are Dave
Blair, president; Henry Conger,
vice-president; Clarice Lemley,
secretary-treasurer; Mr. Davies,
delegate. ;
The officers for the Talent
center are Cleo Small, president;
Al Wheeler, vice-president; Bob
Lytle, director; Lois Struve,
secreary-treasurer.
Central Point officers are Ho
mer Conger, president; Carl
Hover, vice-president; and Henry
Conger, director.
Evans Valley officers are Al !
Hall, president; Jack Koop, vice-1
president; Natalie Hall, secretary-treasurer;
and O. D. Hart,
director.
SHOPPER'S
SPECIAL
BRONZE
Butter Baked
TURKEY
'A Tasty Treat We
Know You'll Like"
THE
Top Notch
Craterian Theater Bidg.
COURTEOUS DRIVER Mrs. Joyce Meadow, route 2, Medford,
receives a check from Aubrey Loper, secretary of the Medford
Safety council, for being the first winner of the council's "Courtesy
Driver of the Day" program. The program, along with the "Part
ner in Safety" project, is in conjunction with the council's mem
bership drive. Mrs. Meadow identified herself from a license num
ber published in the Mail Tribune
which could have contributed to
an accident. In the majority of
the latter, the condition was
fatigue or sleepiness.
Weather is Factor
The weather was rainy, snowy
or fqggy in about one out of six
fatal accidents, according to fig
ures compiled by the National
Safety council based on' fatal
accident reports from more than
20 states.
Champlin pointed out that
during winter months weather
conditions are at their worst.
In addition to adverse weath
er conditions, night driving is
considerably more hazardous
than day driving in winter
months, Champlin noted.
Failure to yield the right of
way or to remain on the right
EATON'S
812 Crater Lake Avenue
WILL BE CLOSED
Until January 1st
We Wish All of Our Friends and Patrons a
JOYOUS HOLIDAY SEASON!
Find the True Meaning of ' Christmas
Centuries ago a child was born in the humblest stable in Bethlehem.
The Child was the Son of God, and He brought to mankind a new spirit
of love and forgiveness and the promise of eternal life. Let us re
member that Christmas is the celebration of His Birth. Let us find the
true meaniog of the day by attending church at Christmastime.
l-" I T T f II f I -f
ATTEND
Cljurrf),
lOFYOURFAl
i ii .iin.waii.jp.
' y :J
(Landis-Shangle photo)
side of the highway contributed
to a great number of fatal ac
cidents, as well as many less
serious accidents. Champlin urg
ed drivers to practice good man
ners on the highway as in the
home or elsewhere.
According to . National Safety
council figures, about 24 out
of 100 fatal accidents the driver
or an adult pedestrian had been
drinking.
Safe-Driving ' Day has been
designated by President Eisen
hower's Committee for Traffic
Safety in cooperation with na
tional organizations to demon
strate that traffic accidents can
greatly be reduced when motor
ists and pedestrians fulfill moral
and . civic responsibilities . for
I safety.
'. i -
o
' Contributed to The Religion in American Life Program by
The
MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE
Physicians Slale
Television Showing
Medford is 6e of only about
35 U.S. cities where a closed
circuit television showing for
doctors will be given this week,
it was announced Saturday.
Members of the medical socie
ties of Jackson, Josephine and
Siskiyou counties will attend
the private broadcast the eve
ning of Wednesday, Nov. 30, at
the studio of television station
KBES-TV. Arrangements for the
showing were made Vith the co
operation of the station, and it
was pointed out that Medford is
probably the smallest city in the
nation to have the showing.
The program will originate at
the clinical session of the Amer
ican Medical association in Bos
ton, Mass., and will be edited by
Dr. Chester S. KeftEer, director
of Boston University school of
medicine and physician-in-chief
at Massachusetts Memorial hos
pital.
The "videclinic, as it is
called, is a visual medical journal
designed to be of assistance to
doctors in practice. It is spon
sored by Smith, Kline and
French laboratories.
WEATHER By United Press
Northern California: Mostly
fair through Sunday but varia
ble cloudiness extereme norfti;
fog night and morning in val
leys; little change in tempera
ture; variable wind 8-16 MPH
near coast.
Time to Make
Plans for that
Office
Christmas
. PARTY!
A 'few reservations still j
available. Room! to ac
commodate 10 to 200-
persons. '
Call Mrs. Boyle. She'll be happy t
help you, mak your arrangements.
Phone
JACKSON HOTEL
ami iiMilii