Six New Middletown brothers served during WWII, and all returned home safely.

Six New Middletown brothers served during WWII, and all returned home safely.
By MARY ELLEN PELLEGRINI
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
N THE EARLY DAYS OF JUNE 1944, a sense of apprehension surrounded Rudy Ohlin.
As commander of an Army supply convoy stationed in Reims, France, he knew something big was about to happen.
"There was more [military] activity. People were talking," he said. Although no one around him knew what that something was, Rudy's unit was on heightened alert to expect more work.
As events unfolded, it wasn't the workload that overwhelmed Rudy. It was the devastating news that quickly spread about the Normandy invasion June 6, 1944 -- 62 years ago today.
"An awful thing happened," he said, the sadness over the enormous loss of life still evident in his voice.
Rudy was a son of Mr. and Mrs. George Ohling Sr. of New Middletown, one of six who were scattered across the globe as members of the Army during World War II.
Where they were stationed
Three of the Ohlin brothers were stationed in the Pacific Theater: George Jr., also known as Woody, in the Aleutian Islands, Tony in Japan and John in Australia and New Guinea.
Two others were assigned to the European Theater: Rudy in England and France and Bill in Scotland and France.
Joe, married with five children, was sent to California. The Ohlins' three remaining sons did not serve in the military.
Woody, the only brother to enlist, expected to serve one year in the Army when he entered in January 1941. The attack on Pearl Harbor delayed his discharge until 1945 and sent his unit to Kiska, in the northern Pacific.
Because an earlier unit had sustained heavy causalities on the nearby Aleutian island of Attu, Woody's unit expected the same.
Cindy Bones of New Middletown, Woody's daughter, remembers her dad saying the soldiers were praying on the boat before disembarking.
"They had a big steak dinner [on the ship] thinking it was their last meal," said Woody's widow, Justine, also of New Middletown.
Miraculously, when the soldiers landed on Kiska, the Japanese troops had just fled. The rice they were cooking was still hot.
Rudy recalls
In spite of the danger, Rudy, of Poland, the second-youngest and only surviving brother, said, "At that young age, we weren't afraid."
Rudy, who attained the highest rank of the six, staff sergeant, led 20-truck supply convoys that drove from Cherbourg, on the French coast of the English Channel, to the front lines of the D-Day invasion five hours away. The invasion proved to be the turning point of the war in Europe, leading to the defeat of Nazi Germany a year later.
Ninety miles southwest of Reims, Bill was assigned to the 11th medical depot near Paris. He and Rudy were the only two brothers who saw each other during the war.
In spite of all the close calls and hardships he endured, Rudy's favorite World War II stories involve those meetings with Bill.
Three times the two crossed paths, twice in France near the end of the war. During one encounter, Rudy unknowingly stood behind Bill at a washbasin.
"It was unbelievable, such a great feeling," he said.
A month later, Rudy spotted Bill walking down a Paris sidewalk as his convoy drove by.
Back at home
The close-knit brothers' separation was painful, especially for those at home.
In a family history, Joe's daughter, Elizabeth Ratliff of Roanoke, Va., wrote that her father's absence was difficult for her mother, who didn't drive and had no telephone.
Justine said the married women banded together to support each other and their mother-in-law. She remembers Mrs. Ohlin dreading the mailman's arrival for fear of receiving bad news about one of her sons.
The family believes prayer and a strong faith brought all six brothers home safely.
After the war, Rudy said they "were just glad to be home," adding that no one expected celebrations.
Rudy said the Ohlins were proud of their military record. "We like to think that we helped."
After returning home, the brothers joined an older brother, Louie, in starting Ohlin Bros. Lumber, Hardware and Builders Supply Co. in New Middletown. They built 21 of 22 streets and the first shopping center in the village, many hundreds of homes and commercial buildings throughout the Mahoning Valley and nearby Pennsylvania, and St. Paul the Apostle Church and parish house in New Middletown.
In the late 1940s, the Ohlin brothers also built and owned the first sanitary sewer system in New Middletown.
Their venture was the first such plant built and owned by individuals in Mahoning County and one of the first in Ohio.