By COLBY ROOT
Contributing writer
Introduction
Between January 1942 and December 1972, the Hound Street family of Burchard Bailey Root, (born 1889) and Esther (Gehring) Root (born 1900) was greatly affected by WWII and the conflicts which followed. Of the couple’s seven sons, five served in the US military. Of the two who did not, one had died shortly after birth; the other sacrificed his wishes of fighting in Korea to the responsibility of maintaining the home farm during a time of family crisis. In order of age, the brothers are: Vern Russell Root born in 1921, US Navy WWII; Marvin “Hans” “Tiger” Curtis Root, born 1923, US Navy, WWII, Korea, Vietnam; William “Bill” Burchard Root, born 1927, US Navy WWII, US Army Occupation of Germany and Vietnam War; Donald Jack Root, born and died 1928; Orville “Buck” Keith Root, 1931 farmer; Gene “Buzz” Harlan Root born 1933, US Marines, Korean Conflict; and David Wayne Root born 1938, US Navy 1956 to 1959.
Eugene “Buzz” Root and Orville “Buck” Root
When his older brothers came home from the War in the Pacific in late 1945 and early 1946, Gene “Buzz” Root, then 12 years old, must have been awed. He and two other of the youngest boys-- Orville “Buck’’ Root (13) and David Wayne Root (7) had been too young to serve in the biggest conflict the world had ever seen...but they would have if they could have. They must have pestered their older brothers about the War in the Pacific, life in the navy, and the broader world in general. What was Hawaii like? How big were the ships? What is that medal for? Their parents and six sisters must have been just as riveted to what little their sailor brother’s divulged.
Burchard and Esther Root must have been relieved and proud. Their boys had done their duty and made it home without a scratch. The two oldest had seen action in the Asiatic Pacific Theater and one, perhaps two of them, had been there for the final show downs at Iwo Jima and Okinawa, and Japan’s surrender in Tokyo Harbor. The third oldest, William, had made it to Hawaii but no farther. He had been kept away from dangerous action, very likely because of what had happened to the Sullivan brothers of Waterloo, Iowa: The ill-fated five brothers had had all perished simultaneously when the USS Juneau went down off Guadalcanal, leaving their parents with no living sons., William had been reassigned stateside on the day his ship arrived in Hawaii. Bill’s first ship would set sail for Iwo Jima and Okinawa without him.
Esther and Burchard Root, and the rest of the family were likely relieved the Navy had adopted that policy. Still, they were proud of all three. Burchard himself had not been able to participate in the great war of 1917. According to Esther, that had bothered him. She describes it in her remembrances: “Anyhow, he did feel that way (disturbed) about it,” she wrote .“When the second world war came along, he wouldn’t have stood in the way of his boys going for anything.” Burchard’s father had died young , which left Burchard responsible for the farm. By the time America entered WWI, Burchard had years of fidelity to the farm and was the only one left to run it. His fate of having too much responsibility to have the luxury of fighting in a war was a fate that would befall his number four son, Orville “Buck” Root who was next in line to join the military.
Orville, who was 13 when WWII ended, had reached 18 in 1950 when war rolled onto the Korean Peninsula. But now he was hemmed in. His dad had begun having seizures in 1947. This left Orville as the oldest and most reliable boy left on the farm with the task of running it. In fact, since 1945 he had been the main farmhand. Somewhere in this time frame he had also run a neighbor’s farm for a woman whose husband had died. As Burchard’s health deteriorated, Buck’s responsibility increased. In 1950, Burchard died. Later that year, the Korean War started.
Both Orville “Buck,” 18, and his younger brother Gene “Buzz”-- now 17—wanted to join. Esther asked Buck to stay and run the farm. The fact that he had started dating Monica …., his future wife, may have had something to do with his decision to acquiesce. In a recent chat regarding these circumstances, Buck’s surviving siblings joked that he hadn’t joined because he was a lover not a fighter. Either way, Buck’s decision cleared the way for Gene, who was only 17, to sign up.
Esther signed the paperwork allowing Gene “Buzz” Root to join the Marines at 17 several months before graduating high school. The youngest, David (12), would pick up Gene’s high school diploma during graduation ceremonies.
Gene’s odyssey in the marines is as enigmatic as those of his older brothers. What his DD 214 tells us is he signed up on February 23, 1951. He was discharged February 15, 1954. He likely completed boot camp at Camp Lejeune or Camp Pendleton. Later he spent 19 months in Korea during the war. This likely happened between July of 1952 and February of 1954. On December 1, 1952, after being in Korea for five or six months, he was promoted to the rank of Sergeant. After that what we found on an enquiry with Ancestry.com indicates that he could have been in the Automotive Maintenance Company, 1st motor Battalion, 1st Marine Division Reinforced.
According the 1st Marines Division Journal for the month of December, President elect Dwight D. Eisenhower was visiting the 1st Marine Division on the front lines around that time. It’s not inconceivable that Buzz and his company saw Eisenhower during the inspection. It's unlikely but still possible that the president saw Buzz’s and other PFC’s promotions to sergeant. After all, the 1st motor maintenance battalion would have been based a little back from the front line nearer to division headquarters. This does not mean Buzz did not suffer: Marines arin e infantry first; mechanics, cooks, and truck drivers second. Though he might not have participated directly in scouting or assaults, squads were probing the North Korean/ Chinese side of the line on a regular basis, mostly at night. But whether he served on these clandestine missions or not, it is still possible he saw battle: Mechanics sometimes had to repair vehicles in the field, closer to the line. It is not hard to imagine him buried deep under a truck hood with his posterior in the air exposed to the brutal winds of the Korean winter or an occasional pot shot taken from a North Korean or Chinese soldier. After all, a Marine is a rifleman first, a specialist ie. mechanic second.
He was awarded two combat service medals, which means he was there for at least ten of the fifteen major actions in Korea. He also had at least one Korean service medal and a good conduct medal.
Gene “Buzz” Root was 64 when he died May 7, 1997 in Aurora, Colorado. He is buried at Fort Morgan National Cemetery in Denver Colorado.
Orville “Buck” Root, who served America by maintaining the family farm, died in 1983. He is buried next to his brothers and sisters in Saint Peters Cemetery, New Richland. May they all rest in peace.
Editorial Note : The girls of the Root clan were no less patriotic than their brothers and bear mentioning here as their names may be scattered throughout the coming articles: Anita (Root) Jewison born 1922 who quit her job as a beautician to work at a factory making radio equipment for the military during WWII; Barbara (Root) Tolzmann, 1925 who was training to be a teacher at the time of WWII; Nona (Root) Smith, January 1929, who married David Smith a sailor in WWII, and whose son George was wounded in Vietnam; Iola "Odie" (Root) Schroeder Borchert December 1929; Thelma (Root) Yess 1934 who married Orville “Ibb” Yess who served in Korea; Opal (Root) Hofius 1935, who married Charles Hofius, US Army Korea. Opal Hofius, her two sons also served in the military, Donnie Hofius and Chad Hofius.