HOME FAMILY YESTERDAY SOLVAY STARSTRUCK MIXED BAG
 
Most of the information below was gleaned from War Department announcements that appeared in the Syracuse Herald-Journal. Some servicemen and women listed on these pages did not live in Solvay or the town of Geddes, but in neighborhoods associated more with the village than with the city of Syracuse where their homes were located. I've corrected what I believe were spelling errors, particularly in regard to names. However, I'm sure errors remain. To correct them or to add people I inadvertently overlooked, contact me at the email address at the bottom of the page. — JACK MAJOR
 
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Lieut. Clarence E. Haaf, 25, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Haaf of 305 Montrose Avenue, Solvay, has been killed in action on Okinawa. Lieut. Haaf was inducted February 3, 1942, and was sent to the Pacific with the infantry 26 months ago. He was a graduate of Solvay High School. (7/4/45)
 

Richard J. Haley of 3109 Milton Avenue was a Solvay High School graduate and a Marine Corps veteran of World War 2 when he became a New York State Trooper, retiring in 1980 after 33 years of service, which included works as an investigator for the BCI — Bureau of Criminal Investigations. He died in 2003 at the age of 78.

 

Paratrooper Donald E. Hall, son of Mrs. Frank Williams, 412 First Street, Solvay, and husband of the former Louise Fortino, of the same address, had a reunion with his brother-in-law, Sgt. Carmen J. Fortino, son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Fortino, 806 East Division Street, Syracuse, while on furlough

Paratrooper Hall had been transferred to the combat engineers and is stationed at Camp Chaffee, Arkansas. He formerly had been with the paratrooopers at Fort Benning, Georgia. Sgt. Fortino has been in Alaska two years. It was the first meeting of the brothers-in-law in 15 months. Sgt. Fortino is the husband of Mrs. Margaret Fortino. They have a son, Carmen Jr. (8/31/44)

 

Lieut. Dalton R. Hardy, 23, son of Mr. and Mrs. John C. Hardy of 406 Center Street, Solvay, was one of two victims of a fatal crash late yesterday at Cochrane Field, Macon, Georgia, according to word received from the Army Field Public Relations Office.

Hardy was a graduate of Solvay High School and a member of the class of 1939 at Syracuse University, where he received a bachelor of science degree in business administration and journalism. (1/9/42)

 
Michael Haresky, 75, of 835 State Fair Boulevard, Lakeland, died in February, 1996. He was a life resident of the area, retiring in 1980 from Crucible Steel. He was an Army veteran of World War 2. He was married to the former Agnes Smoral.
 
Earle O. Harrington, 207 Lionel Avenue, Solvay, was inducted into the Army in May, 1944. After the war he worked as a tool maker at Pass & Seymour, retiring to Mesa, Arizona, where he and his wife, Olive, died a week apart in 2011. He was 91, she was 88.
 
Chief Petty Officer Richard N. Hartigan of Taunton was promoted to his present rank from petty officer, first class, in New Guinea, a year after his enlisting. He has been in New Guinea for seven months. His wife and three-year-old daughter live on Fay Road, Taunton. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas J. Hartigan, 700 Avery Avenue. He formerly was a safety inspector at Solvay Process Company. (8/12/44)
Hartigan was a native of Solvay who worked for the Solvay Process Company (Allied Chemical Corporation) for 40 years. He was a resident of Baldwinsville when he died in 1997 at the age of 86.
 
Pvt. Ronald J. Hayes, son of Mrs. Flossie Hayes, 302 Hall Avenue, Solvay, has been awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge for participation in combat against the enemy on the Fifth Army Front in Italy. (5/13/45)
Ronald J. Hayes died in 2004 at the age of 80. He was a graduate of Syracuse University and a former engineer with IBM in Poughkeepsie and East Fishkill, New York.
Carl A. Hayes, brother of Ronald J. Hayes, graduated from Solvay High School, entered the Navy in 1944 and served in the Pacific Theater of Operations. He married the former Dolores Orzell, then attended LeMoyne College and was a member of the school's first graduating class. He worked as a brokerage manager for Provident Mutual Life Insurance. He died in 2004 at the age of 78
 
Second Lieutenant Jack A. Haynes of Solvay, a pilot in the air force, was killed in action over Wittlich, Germany. Lieut. Haynes had been awarded the Air Medal and six Oak Leaf Clusters, the Presidential Citation and the Purple Heart Medal.
 
S/Sgt. Carl R. Henry of 103 Cherry Road, Westvale, recently was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for heroism in combat in Germany on April 26, 1945. He has been in service five years and has participated in both the European and Pacific theaters of operation. (8/21/45)
Carl R. Henry became a pharmicist. He also was a ham radio amateur and an accomplished jazz guitarist. He died in 2010 in Sutton, Massachusetts. He was predeceased by his wife, Marion Skinner.
 
AC William N. Hergenhan, son of Mrs. Joseph Hergenhan, 611 Montrose Avenue, Solvay, has reported to Dorr Field, Arcadia, Florida, where he will receive one phase of his pilot training leading to wings. His brother, Robert D. Hergenhan, enlisted in the Navy in February. (6/12/43)
William N. Hergenhan was killed in action over the Netherlands on October 12, 1944. An older Hergenhan brother, Joseph, had served in the Navy several years earlier, enlisting in 1927.
 

The crash of an Army bomber on a routine training flight yesterday cost the life of Staff Sgt. Fred W. Herring Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Herring of Camillus, the Associated Press reports. The accident occurred near Post Falls, idaho. All five of the crew were killed.

Herring was graduated from Solvay High School in 1937 and attended a Syracuse business school before entering the employment of Dun & Bradstreet, with whom he served three years. (7/17/42)

 
Seaman First Class Kenneth E. Hess, son of Mr. and Mrs. Marvin G. Hess, 126 Boulder Road, Solvay, returned to his base at Rhode Island, accompanied by his wife, after a furlough spent with his parents. He graduated from Naval Air Technical Training Center, Memphis, Tennessee, following basic training at Sampson. (10/7/44)
Kenneth E. Hess worked for Syroco as a tool maker. He was a musician and an avid gardener. He died in 2008 at the age of 91.
 

Francis Himpler Jr., son of Frank N. Himpler of 408 Montrose Avenue, Solvay, was recently appointed a naval aviation cadet and transferred to the Naval Air Training Center, Pensacola, Florida, for intermediate flight training. (10/3/43)

Francis Himpler Jr. of Solvay is among a group of aviation cadets who have completed training at the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida, and have been commissioned ensigns in the Naval Reserves. (3/4/44)

Francis J. "Frank" Himpler was the former owner of Himpler and also worked for the East Syracuse-Minoa School District and the Liverpool School District as a mechanic. He died in 2010 at the age of 88.

 

Staff Sgt. Herbert W. Hoag, his brother, Pvt. Arthur B. Hoag, and his brother-in-law, Sgt. LeRoy J. Rice, are all serving overseas. Staff Sgt. Hoag, husband of Laura Rice Hoag, 315 Hall Avenue, Solvay, was recently promoted to his present rank with the Air Force in England. Pvt. Arthur B. Hoag had been with the Medical Corps in North Africa since February, 1943. Sgt. Rice, brother-in-law of Staff Sgt. Hoag, and only son of Mrs. LeRoy J. Rice and the late Mr. Rice of 315 Hall Avenue, is with the Signal Corps in England. Staff Sgt. Hoag entered service in December, 1942. Pvt. Hoag has been in the Army three years. Sgt. Rice entered service in June, 1942. (5/5/44)

Tech. Third Grade Herbert W. Hoag, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Hoag, 134 Boulder Road, Solvay, and whose wife, Laura, resides at 315 Hall Avenue, in Solvay, was promoted to his present rank in England. A graduate of Solvay High School, he was employed by the Solvay Process Company before entering service. (5/9/44)

An interesting, but often tragic story developed over the years around Arthur Hoag and Herbert W. Hoag, sons of Frank and Emma Hoag of 134 Boulder Road, Solvay.

Arthur Hoag enlisted in 1941 and in July of that year was stationed at Camp Blanding, Florida, and assigned to the 63rd General Hospital. In February 1943, he was with the Medical Corps in North Africa.

His brother, Herbert, was married to the former Laura Rice, daughter of Mrs. LeRoy J. Rice and the late Mr. Rice of 315 Hall Avenue, Solvay. He entered the service in December, 1942, and became a staff sergeant with the Army Air Force, assigned to England. His brother-in-law, LeRoy J. Rice, also was sent to England with the Signal Corps.

All three men survived the war; the tragedies in their families occurred back home.

 

Syracuse Herald-Journal, August 23, 1945
One of the first war brides to come to Syracuse welcomed her mother to “this wonderful country” this week.

Micheline Bastien Hoag, wife of Pvt. Arthur B. Hoag of Solvay, came to Syracuse in June, 1944, two months before her child was to be born. The couple had met and married in Casablanca where Pvt. Hoag was attached to a hospital unit.

On the day that America was staging a premature celebration of V-J Day in New York, Mme. Madeleine Bastien arrived from Casablance and came with her daughter to Syracuse. She is a guest of Pvt. Hoag’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank L. Hoag of 134 Boulder Road, Solvay.

Grief entered the lives of the young couple and dimmed the pleasure of the wife in her adopted country when their baby died six weeks after it was born. Pvt. Hoag is now with the 70th hospital unit in Italy.

In 1946 Herbert and Laura Hoag had a daughter, Marcia, who graduated from Solvay High School, Onondaga Community College and Syracuse University. She became a paralegal and had a daughter, Wendy. In December, 2000, Marcia Hoag Mereweather died in the front yard of her home at 315 Hall Avenue, her body discovered some time later under a blanket of snow.

Four years later, her daughter Wendy Mereweather Gauer, three months pregnant, died in Hartford, Connecticut, during a business trip for Coyne Textile Services. Cause of death was attributed to a pre-existing medical condition.

Laura Rice Hoag died in 2005 at the age of 94. She had been predeceased by her husband, Herbert Hoag, her daughter and her granddaughter. Her only survivor was her brother, LeRoy Rice.

 
Three sons of Walter and Catherine Hodnicki, who emigrated from Poland to Solvay, were in service during World War 2.
Anthony Hodnicki, 124 Worth Avenue, Solvay, was told to report by Draft Board 471 — Solvay — on January 31. (1/29/41)
Anthony Hodnicki died in 1977.
Stanley Hodnicki was a sergeant in the Army Signal Corps during the war, serving overseas. He was a life resident of Solvay and retired in 1981 from the General Electric apparatus service division. He died in 1988 at the age of 70.
Pvt. Walter Hodnicki of 124 Worth Avenue, Solvay, is among soldiers newly enrolled at the Armored Force School, Fort Knox, Kentucky, for a course as a tank mechanic. (9/10/42)

Walter Hodnicki served in North Africa and Italy with the 68th Armored Field Artillery Battalion of the First Armored Division. He received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star. He was a manager for an air conditioning wholesale company until his retirement in 1976. He lived in the Solvay area until 1962 when he moved to Colorado. He died in 1990 in Boulder City, Nevada. He was 75. A fourth brother, Chester Hodnicki, died in 2010.

 
SM 2/c Joseph P. Holgado, Solvay, was discharged from Sampson Naval Base. (11/13/45)
Solvay High School graduate Joseph P. Holgado retired in 1987 after 35 years as a field representative with the Social Security Administration and later served as a code enforcement officer for the village of Solvay. He was a member of the Solvay Tigers and the Stanley Pennock Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2893, and like many of this list was a communicant of St. Cecilia's Church. He died in 2001 at the age of 79.
 
Pfc. John Hoomany, U. S. Marine Corps, son of Mr. and Mrs. Dominick Hoomany, of 405 Stasko Road, Lakeland, has returned to Quantico, Virginia, after a story leave at home. He entered the service last March. (1/16/43)
John Hoomany served on Guadalcanal during the war. While on leave in Washington, DC, he met and married Ann Meylor from Cherokee, Iowa. They were married 66 years until she died in 2010. John Hoomany died a few months later, in January 2011, in Boca Raton, Florida. He was 91.
 
Sgt. James Horrigan, 210 Trump Street, Solvay, was discharged from Fort Dix, New Jersey. (11/24/45)
 
Harold E. Howard, Mo. M.M. 3-C, son of Mrs. Hazel Howard, 110 Hazard Street, Solvay, won a citation from Admiral Nimitz: “For conspicuous bravery and efficient performance of duties as a member of a boat crew in landing medium tanks on the reef of Saipan Island, June 15, 1944, although subjected to heavy mortar and gunfire by the enemy, and without regard for personal safety. It was in keeping with highest traditions of the Naval service." (9/21/44)
Harold E. Howard retired after 46 years at Pass & Seymour. He was a member of the Solvay-Geddes Vets and was a past member of the Solvay Volunteer Fire Department. He died in 2006 at the age of 84, survived by his wife, the former Wanda Stewart.
 
S/Sgt. John R. Huette, Box 287, Armstrong Road, Lakeland, was discharged from Fort Dix, New Jersey. (6/23/45)
 
Sgt. Robert O. Humphrey, son of Orval and Margaret Humphrey, 3325 West Genesee Street, is serving with an Air Service Group of the Air Force in Italy. He also saw service in North Africa and Italy. (8/20/44)
 
Cobart D. Hunt was a native of Solvay who was a Navy veteran of World War 2. He retired from Valley Electronics of Syracuse and was a resident of Fairmount when he died in 1990 at the age of 69.
 
William Hurley of 206 Parsons Drive, Westvale, completed “boot” training at Sampson Naval Training Center. After a seven-day furlough, Seaman 2/c Hurley will be assigned to a station. (11/26/44)
 
Pvt. William A. Hurst, son of Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Hurst, 188 Boulder Road, Solvay, finished basic training at Camp Wheeler, Georgia, and was granted an eight-day furlough home. He entered service in September, 1942, and his new assignment is at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. (2/13/44)
William A. Hurst, a graduate of Solvay High School and Syracuse University, moved to Liverpooll and worked at General Electric Company for 39 years. He was a combat veteran of the war, serving with the Army in North Africa and Italy. He died in 2008 at the agxe of 83.
 
These others were three inducted into the armed services:
Thomas A. Halstead, 412 Abell Avenue, Solvay (Army, 8/10/43)
Robert E. Heffernan, 723 State Fair Boulevard, Lakeland (1/18/43)
Robert C. Heim, 2601 Milton Avenue, Solvay (Navy, 3/2/44)
 
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Anthony J. Iadanza, 104 Hazard Street, Solvay, served in the Navy during World War 2. Later he worked at Celi Builders and lived in Syracuse where he died in 1999 at the age of 77.
 
Marine Pfc. Michael Iadanza, son of Mr. and Mrs. Angelo Iadanza, 204 Cogswell Avenue, Solvay, has been in the South Pacific for four months. (7/16/45)
Michael Iadanza moved his family to Jacksonville, Florida, in 1973. He died in July, 2011, at the age of 86.
 
Corp. Marvin G. Ingerson, husband of Mrs. Ruth Ingerson, 1902 West Genesee Street, is stationed at Governor’s Island, with the military police. He formerly was stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland. (6/22/43)
 
Pvt. Charles C. Ingraham Jr., son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles C. Ingraham, 217 Fay Road, Solvay, finished his basic training at Camp Wheeler, Georgia, and was granted an eight-day furlough home. He entered service in September, 1943, and his new assignment is at Forge George C. Meade, Maryland. (2/21/44)
Charles C. Ingraham Jr. worked at Carrier Corporation until he retired in 1982. He and his wife, Elza moved to Lake Worth, Florida, where he died in 1994 at the age of 73.
 
Corp. Rudolph Ivanchak, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Ivanchak, RD1, Warners, was recently home on furlough from Yuma, Arizona, where he is with the Air Corps as a clerk. He received basic training at Miami Beach, Florida, and graduated from Technical Clerical School, Los Angeles, California. A graduate of Solvay High School and CCBI, he was formerly employed in the office of Wilson’s Packers. (5/30/43)
Rudolph G. Ivanchak was a life resident of Warners. He retired in 1987 from BOCES after several years in maintenance. He formerly was president and co-owner of Syracuse Castings Corporation. He died in July, 1993, at the age of 71. His wife, the former Frances Korszeniewski, passed away four and a half months earlier.
 
 
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For more on Solvay way back when, check out
the Solvay-Geddes Historical Society
 
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