World War II memorials in Sandusky remember those who served, and died

SANDUSKY — Erie County and Sandusky residents who fought in World War II are remembered in at least two public monuments in Erie County.A bronze plaque in the cafeteria of Sandusky High School memorializes 66 former students at the school who died during World War II.And a stone memorial at Veterans Memorial Park in downtown Sandusky honors all World War II veterans from Erie County.According to the Sandusky History blog maintained by Sandusky Library, the bronze plaque honoring Sandusky High students who died serving during World War II was dedicated on May 29, 1947, in the lower corridor of the high school. The former high school building is now Ontario School at Adams, 318 Columbus Ave. in downtown Sandusky.A program was presented in the school's auditorium that day, which included music and speeches.The plaque remained at the school for many years, even after Sandusky High School moved to its current location. It was still at the Adams location in 2012, when the Sandusky Register published an article on one of the men listed on the plaque, Paul Baum, a Sandusky High School football player and local baseball player. A bombardier on a Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber, Baum died on March 27, 1944, when his plane, which had been hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire, ditched in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of France.But today the plaque is on the wall of the cafeteria at Sandusky High School, 2130 Hayes Ave.The Sandusky High School students memorialized on the plaque are Norman Abele, Thomas Amato, Charles Askren, Harry Barber, Paul Baum, John Beatty, Nello Berardi, Robert Berardi, Leonard Bickley, Leroy Bossetti, Donald Brengartner, Davis Chaffee, Jimmie Davis, Don Dickman, Chester Dunkel, David Dunnigan, James Engel, William Fenker, David Fischer, Thomas Gall, Sam Gant, William Gast, Cletus Greek, Clyde Green, Edmund Grimani, William Gurtz, Guerdon Hansen, Charles Hecht, Robert Hedelund, Jack Himes, John Holzaepfel, Robert Howald, William Jarrett, Lee Keaney, Richard Knupke, Kenneth Kopp, George Kubach, Robert Lickfelt, Walter Luipold, Linford Mainzer, Charles Menefee, Edward Meyer, Lester Milkey, Kenneth Miller, Madio Muratori, Fred Paone, Paul Patzke, Robert Pollack, Charles Poole, Robert Price, Don Reis, James Riggs, William Seeley, Leno Silvani, Robert Skillman, Tom Sletz, Ralph Sprau, Alvin Stiewe, Frank Thiede, James Van Dyne, Jack Wallace, Jack Ward, Ashley Waterfield, Jack Waterfield, Laverne Whitcomb, and Clifford Willeat.Many of the last names will sound familiar to people who live in Sandusky nearly 75 years after the war, and indeed, the Register has little trouble locating people who are related to the people named on the sign.Sue Holzaepfel, a former Sandusky resident who moved away and now lives in Oregon, said that John Morgan Holzaepfel was her uncle and her father's brother. "His parents were Harold and Josephine, and they had two boys, John, and my father, Henry. John was killed in 1944 at the age of 21. He was a scout in the infantry," she wrote in an email. "John and my dad grew up at 402-46th St., and my parents built our home next door at 406-46th St. My mom still lives there. My dad liked to go by "Hank", and he owned and ran Holzaepfel Bros., on the corner of Columbus Ave. and Market St.," she wrote.Elaine Waterfield, a former member of the Perkins school board, said Jack Waterfield was the brother of her late husband, Charles "Mick" Waterfied, 83, who died last yeaer. The World War II memorial at Veterans Memorial Park is one of several monuments set up at the park. Other monuments remember the veterans of other wars, such as World War I and the Vietnam War.Every year, a Veterans Day service is hosted at a downtown Sandusky church and at the park. The event begins at First Presbyterian Church and concludes at Veterans Memorial Park.A monument at Veterans Memorial Park in Sandusky remembers the Erie County men who fought in World War II. A bronze plaque at Sandusky High School names the former students from the school who died in World War II. Students sit in the Sandusky High School cafeteria near a bronze plaque honoring SHS students who died during World War II. John Holzaepfel, one of the former Sandusky High School students who died during World War II.