War Veterans

If you have any stories you’d like to add here, let me know. Go to the email link on the homepage to send suggestions, requests and comments. This is not intended to be a complete list of Hopedale people who served in the armed forces. It’s a menu with links to articles on most who were killed and a few others for whom I’ve found stories. To see complete lists, at the end of each war below, there is a link to the names on the town website.

* Denotes killed in action or died in service during war.

Revolutionary War 

Gen. Alexander Scammell

Civil War

William F. Draper  In many battles – Badly wounded at the Wilderness    Letters, 1861 – 1862

Charles Johnson *     54th Massachusetts Infantry – Died in Battle of Fort Wagner

Gilbert Thompson   Served as a cartographer.  Survived to live an interesting life.

Spanish-American War

Paul T. French * Died on hospital ship, Bay State

For more about Paul T. French see see Linda Hixon’s book, Following the Threads, Buried at Sea: The Story of Paul French, by Nicole O’Connell. pp. 109 – 111.

List on town site for the Spanish-American War 

World War I

Edward Burnham * Killed in rifle range accident

Kenneth Burnham   Letter written in France, to his mother

Davis Gabry * Died of pneumonia (probably flu) in France

Wickliffe P. Draper   Gave a talk about his experiences

Paul H. Harris * Died of disease in France

Darrell E. Lindsey * Died while guarding a bridge in Chester, Mass.

Thomas Malloy   Rescued his friend

Raymond Alden Piper* Died in plane crash in France after the war

John M. Raymond * Died while guarding a bridge near Warwick, R.I.

Walter Tillotson *  Killed in action in France – Legion post named for him

Victory celebration and welcome home banquet     

World War I Honor Roll    

Hopedale war-related news   

List on town site for World War I    

For for more about the seven men from Hopedale who died in World War I, see Linda Hixon’s book, Following the Threads, Hopedale’s World War I Sacrifices, by Nicole O’Connell. pp. 113 – 118.

World War II

David Allen   Letter from Japan

Frederick Austin *   Ship named for him

William Baer *   Died in the South Pacific

John Barr *   Served in WWI and WWII

Lawrence Barrett   Served in WWII, Korea and Vietnam

Robinson Billings *   Shot down near Singapore

Arthur  Brown   Shot down over Germany

Philip Callery – Plane shot down over North Sea, POW

William Caufield, Jr. Visit to a concentration camp.

Leverett Clark *   Died when plane crashed in Africa

James Cox* Killed when his B-24 was shot down in the Adriatic area.

Walter Dec   Home from Australia

Russell Dennett   Served in Germany

Francis DeRoche *   Died in France

Robert Draper   Cotton Chats article

William Draper   Navy combat artist

Francis X. Gaffney *   Killed in the South Pacific

John Gilbertson, Jr.,   Served with the Coast Guard on a sailboat

Arthur Hall – Attacked with a saber on Okinawa

Lowell Hammond * First Hopedale man killed in WWII

Larry Heron   Severely wounded in France

Harry Kimball *   Killed in Germany

Donald Kirby*  Killed in France

Richard Knight *   Killed in the Central Pacific

Edward Malloy   Served with Signal Corps in  Europe

Joseph Manella  – Bombardier, POW in Indo-China

Donald Midgley *   Annapolis grad, died on sub

Harry Midgley   Hit by V-1 attack

Wilfrid Midgley   Was Japanese prisoner of war

Joseph Miller *  Killed on Luzon

Richard Newell   C-47 navigator

Roy Rehbein     Served with infantry in Europe

Nello Ripanti     Bomber pilot in Europe and the Pacific

Henry E. Rumse *   Killed in the South Pacific

Ferdnand Peter Spadoni *   Killed in South Pacific

Charles Stewart   Reported KIA, but wasn’t

Al Tarca   Served in the Navy in Europe and the Pacific

Richard Volpe   Served on three carriers during and after the end of the war.

Francis Wallace *  HHS Honor Society named for him

Thomas Woodrow Wilson *  Killed in the Philippines

William Wood   Bronze Star after 60 years

Wartime photos from Cotton Chats  

The war years in Hopedale   

World War II Honor Roll     

List on town site for World War II        

Hopedale WWII vets – unidentified photos   

Korean War

Richard Griffin *

John Bell   Served four tours in Korea

List on town site for Korean War 

Vietnam War

John Bell   Served in Vietnam as well as in Korea

Douglas D’Orsay * Killed in restaurant bombing in Saigon.

John Steel * Killed while serving as a radio operator

Carl Taft   With Air Force unit based at Nha Trang

Vietnam vets join American Legion, 1971   

List on town site for Vietnam War                                                   

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List on town site for Persian Gulf War  

List on town site for Bosnia-Kosovo    

List on town site for Afghanistan War     

List on town site for Iraq War     

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Howitzers made by Draper Corp during World War II  

Veterans’ Memorial at Hopedale Village Cemetery     

V.F.W. Home   

American Legion Home   

Veterans’ Breakfast – 2012   

Memorial Day Observances  

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