Blue Star Service Flag shows sacrifice of soldiers from Albion congregation
By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian
“Illuminating Orleans” – Volume 5, No. 39
Photos from Orleans County Department of History: A World War II Blue Star Service Flag is shown from the First United Methodist Church of Albion.
ALBION – A World War II Blue Star Service Flag was recently donated to the Orleans County Dept. of History.
It is large, 8 feet by 12 feet with a red border. The center is white and contains twelve rows of blue stars. Each star has a name underneath, written on heavy paper and stitched on to the cloth background.
The flag dates to World War II. The names represent the members of the First United Methodist Church of Albion Sunday School as well as members of the church who “had entered our country’s service.”
The flag was dedicated on October 11, 1942, and was displayed prominently in the church sanctuary. It contains 72 stars. Seventy-two sons from this one congregation in Albion off in the war, a lot of worry for their families.
Mercifully, there is just one Gold Star. It is for Pvt. James A. Brundish Jr., who was killed in action on the Italian front on June 16, 1944. He was the son of James and Irene Brundish. The family lived at 117 Chamberlain St. in Albion. According to his registration card, James was 5’10”, 150 lbs., had brown hair and blue eyes. He worked at Loblaw’s Grocery Store. He enlisted at the age of 18 and was killed 14 months later. He is buried at the Zachary Taylor National Cemetery in Louisville, Ky.
Two families had four sons in the service: the Massaro brothers: Anthony, Louis, Thomas and Joseph and the Vick brothers: Arnold, Howard, Charles and Harold, while the three Woodruff brothers: Clayton, Raymond and Gerald were also enlisted.
This poignant reminder of bravery was donated by June V. Schuck of Albion. Her grandfather was one of the Vick brothers mentioned. June also donated several volumes of newsletters sent to service members and their responses, which we will share next week.
List of the World War II Service Members from the First United Methodist Church of Albion
- Lyman J. Clark
- William Kast
- Noran Bibby
- Harold Vick
- James A. Beckwith
- Arnold C. Garrison
- Earl Whitbeck
- Charles McOmber
- Clayton Woodruff
- Raymond Woodruff
- Gerald Woodruff
- Arthur Brundish
- Lewis Grimes
- Harold E. Frank, Jr.
- George A. Brace
- Robert Swartz
- Francis Dunn
- Charles T. Milliken
- Earl Filer
- John Shipman
- Robert Lee
- Charles Carr
- Robert Sanford
- Leonard Garrity
- James C. Lewis
- Earl F. Bacon
- John O. Ellis
- Charles A. Vick
- Lyman Stetson
- Gilbert Pritchard
- William Campbell
- Donald Bloom
- Gordon Swartz
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A star on the flag is for Harold Knapp.
Robert Moore
- Fr??? Howe
- George Clark
- Albert Miles
- Harold Winer
- Edward Brundish
- Claude Shenton
- Lloyd Cornwell
- Robert Bloom
- Ronald J. Bartlett
- Alonzo M. Webber
- Roy Rutledge
- Herman Brockway
- Clark Miller, Jr.
- Arnold N. Vick
- Claude Marshall
- Howard J. Vick
- Everett Young
- Charles A. Vick
- Thomas F. Hazard
- John Waldo
- Rexford C. Briggs
- Richard C. Bloom
- Clyde Nixon
- William A. Marsh
- Harold C. Knapp
- Hubert Richey
- Arnold Jensen
- Horace J. Holliday
- Louis Massaro
- William Wolfe
- Milton Bibby
- Frederick Brace
- Laverne Wiers
- Wesley Campbell
- John Weeks
- Joseph Massaro
- Gerald Eddy
- Thomas Massaro
