World War II in McCook and researching genealogy

By Susan Doak

SW Nebraska

Genealogy Society

McCOOK,. Nebraska -- I had such a great response to the questions concerning the Harts from Bartley and the Bartley InterCity Ocean that I am going to put another request out there and hope that someone can help.

A lot has been written about the WWII base that existed north of McCook. Activated in 1943, the service men/women and civilian staff that came to McCook overflowed the barracks built to hold 5000 servicemen. It was, despite the fact that our country was at war, a bustling social scene in McCook where families invited soldiers for home-cooked meals while their own sons fought overseas. The airbase also hosted socials, dances and concerts which were well attended by the locals.

Consequently, several of those young men fell in love and married Red Willow County girls, and my request comes from just such a love story. Harold "Zom" Lingle, a North Dakota boy, was in his 20s' when he found himself in McCook at the Army Airbase. He met and married a local girl, Joann Amen. His service was as 2nd Lieutenant Navigator serving from 1942 to 1946. When he returned from overseas, he found work in McCook and eventually he and Joann bought a home on Sunset Rd.

Their daughter, Cheri, has been my dearest friend since 1964. When I decided to research Cheri's family for her, I called to get some details and Cheri had a request. Her dad, Zom, died in 1969; her mother was blessed with a second marriage to Jack Santi. In 2006, when Joann moved to North Carolina, Zom's dog tags from WWII were lost in McCook. All of Cheri's memories of her dad survived except those tags, last seen in a trunk that did not make the move.

The trunk, purchased by a cabin owner in Cambridge may hold the secret, or they may have fallen into a garage sale box. If you have information, Cheri's only son would love to have them back. You can contact me at 308-345-1583.

My mother moved to McCook shortly before the air base was activated. One of her dearest friends was Velma Paul, Paul's Drugstore prior to becoming A & M Rexall. Velma married Joe Morgan, an engineer with BN and Joe was best man for mom and dad when they married.

Joe was a talented wood carver and he built a diorama in his home that fascinated me as a child. I hope those carvings still exist somewhere. Their son, Don, has written two books about the Frank Lloyd Wright home on Norris Avenue.

Fred and Alice Butler were also friends; Fred had a barbershop downtown. Mom came for a job with the Nebraska Department of Roads and a friendship with Dave and Louise Coolidge was formed. George and Callie Moss were friends, with Callie hosting some of the best social events around (their house was thankfully saved from destruction and moved from East 1st to Norris Ave, now home of the Dave Pohl family). As single women in McCook during that period, Velma and mom didn't miss many events, and those events were covered by the Gazette, in which I have found notations of my mother or her many friends.

In 1944 the Gazette printed a full center page (paid for by Olympia owner Alex Gochis, a patriot whose ancestry will be featured in a future article) listing all of the men and women who were veterans from Red Willow County in 1944. A copy of that page hangs at the SW Nebraska Genealogy library for research. Between the air base north of McCook and the prisoner of war camp north of Indianola, Southwest Nebraska played a large part in the war. Our residents did their best to make those men and women so far from their hometowns feel welcomed.

Join us at our library on the third Saturday of every month: 110 West C Street, Suite M-3. We open at 1 p.m. and will help research your family's history.