Combat veterans from Valley recall highs, lows of service

Two lifelong friends share war stories of danger, close calls and some craziness.

By WILLIAM K. ALCORN

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

YOUNGSTOWN — World War II combat veterans and lifelong friends Raymond E. Kinn of Austintown and Dr. William D. Jones of Columbiana remember humor as well as horror in their war experiences.

Kinn, 83, was wounded twice and received two Bronze Star medals for bravery as a member of the 1st Armored Division, 6th Armored Infantry, in Italy in 1944. He fought in major battles at Mount Porchia, Anzio and the Po Valley, where he won a battlefield commission from sergeant to lieutenant just 16 days before the war in Europe ended.

The action that led to one of Kinn’s Bronze Stars occurred on Sept. 2, 1944, near Orentano. His patrol was ordered forward to investigate enemy positions. Kinn and three others protected the flank of the patrol moving along a canal when a fire fight broke out.

Three men were wounded and the patrol was ordered to withdraw. His citation reads in part: “Sgt. Kinn took it upon himself to remain in an exposed position and covered the withdrawal and evacuated the wounded.”

That was part of the difference between the Americans and the Germans — and probably part of the reason the war was won, Kinn said. The Germans had to wait for orders before they did anything, while the Americans could act more on their own initiative, he said.

Close calls

Jones, 83, was a technician 5th grade jeep driver delivering ammunition and supplies for the 76th Division of Gen. George Patton’s 3rd Army when it pushed back into Germany.

“Ours was the first outfit back into Germany when we crossed the Rhine River at Echternoch. That was a bloody night,” he said.

“We ran out of gasoline, but the Army wouldn’t give us any fuel until England’s Gen. Montgomery caught up,” he said.

During that push, Jones was a member of an eight-man patrol that was sent out on May 8 to check for Germans. Two of the group were killed.

“I’ll bet they were the last two killed in the war in Europe,” Jones said. “I still remember their names: Walter Nogus and Al Parker.”

The lives of Kinn and Jones have always been closely linked. They both sang in the mixed chorus at Chaney High School. Jones graduated in January 1943, and Kinn in June 1943. They were drafted within three days of each other: Kinn on April 5, 1943, and Jones on April 8.

Kinn grew up on Rhoda Avenue and moved to North Meridian Avenue when he was a high school senior. Jones, also a West Sider, grew up on Meridian.

Getting lucky

Their war stories are laced with danger, luck, close calls and plain craziness.

Kinn said he heard a large piece of shrapnel coming in his direction — and the metal cut the strap on his backpack as it went by. “Another inch and it would have gotten me in the neck,”” he said.

Jones said he was turning his jeep around when he ran over a land mine. “It was defective and all that happened was a puff of smoke. There were five or six guys standing around. We could have all been dead,” he said.

Kinn said his battlefield commission was both a blessing and a curse. He said he when he conducted weapons inspection, an enlisted soldier handed him his rifle — and he handed it back to him backwards.

“I was used to being enlisted. I felt so dumb,” he said.

On the other hand, the commission enabled Kinn to help an Austintown man, Bob Murphy, impersonate a lieutenant for a day. This was by lending him his lieutenant insignia, so he could attend an officers party in occupied Germany. “I still see him every once in a while and he reminds me about that. I could have gone to jail,” Kinn said.

More memories

After the war, Kinn was transferred to the 7th Armored Division and was the youngest lieutenant in the outfit, which he said led to him getting all the dirty jobs. On one occasion, though, he used this to his advantage.

He was put in charge of liquor rations for the officers and enlisted men’s clubs. Always one to take care of enlisted personnel, he said he’d give half of the officers’ liquor rations to the enlisted men. “I shared everything with the men,” he said with a laugh.

Jones said his outfit got into a warehouse in Altenhaus, Germany, where a large supply of wine for the Luftwaffe was found. “The Luftwaffe had only the best, you know. You never saw so many drunk American soldiers,” he said.

The irony is that both men could have avoided military service in WWII. Kinn was building tanks at Federal Machine and Welder in Warren, and Jones had perforated eardrums.

“I signed a release,” Jones said.

It was a different story when the Korean War came along in the early 1950s. Both men had joined the reserve after the war and were called for active duty. But they had had enough of war.

“My ears kept me out,” Jones said.

Kinn said his wife Louise was pregnant, “and I was deferred.”

Staying close

Neither man is active in veterans organizations, although Jones is a member of VFW Post 290 in Columbiana.

“I don’t go. I don’t like the saluting. I had enough of that,” Jones said.

“When I came home, I just wanted to get on with my education and work,” Kinn said.

Even after the war, the men’s paths have been intertwined.

Kinn arrived back in the U.S. in time for Christmas 1945, but Jones, who went overseas later than his friend, did not earn enough points to come home until March 1946. In the meantime, Kinn began dating Louise Koran, Jones’ high school sweetheart.

It turned out OK: Louise was matron of honor at the wedding of Jones and Joan Guthridge, and Joan was maid of honor at the marriage of Kinn and Louise, who celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on May 24.

The Kinns have two children and five grandchildren, and the Jones’ have four children and seven grandchildren.

Kinn sang for years in the Youngstown Barbershop Chorus, of which Jones was the director for 15 years in the 1970s and 1980s. Jones also directed the Salem Barbershop Chorus in Salem for 14 years.

Looking back

Kinn used the GI Bill to become a machinist while working at Federal Machine and Welder, and retired from Wean United as a parts programmer in 1985.

Jones used the GI Bill to become an optometrist, studying at Youngstown College for a year and for four years at The Ohio State University. He opened an office in Columbiana in 1951 and retired eight years ago.

Both men wondered more than once how the war was won.

“At basic training [at Fort Knox, Ky.], we didn’t have any equipment. We used sticks for guns in basic,” Jones said.

Jones’ theory is that the war was won because Americans were so loose, and could adapt better to situations. Also, he said, even though the Germans had better equipment, America just out-produced them. They couldn’t keep up, he said.

“I don’t think the war changed me much. I’m still goofy,” Kinn said.

“You grew up in a hurry, but when you think back, you weren’t that scared,” Jones said.

But for Kinn, fear had intensified toward the end. “I was starting to get worried taking patrols out. I had had a lot of close calls,” he said.