Nashua New Hampshire’s Secretary, World War 2 WASP Aviatrix and Carmelite Nun: Anita L. Paul aka Sister Teresa (1924-2010)

Posted on 4 June, 2016 by Janice Brown
Anita L. Paul, WASP test pilot from Hudson NH.

Anita L. Paul, WASP test pilot from Hudson NH.

Anita L. Paul was born in Nashua into a working class family, her father being a fireman for the Boston & Maine Railroad. She grew up on the family farm in Hudson, New Hampshire, studying in the local schools, and later attending and graduating from Nashua High School in 1941.

Even at the age of 17 she knew what she wanted. In her high school yearbook, under “immediate plans” she listed, “take a vacation.” As for her “Ambition” she would make it come true–“Aviatrix.” Continue reading →

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The Lost Faces of World War One — Part Two

Posted on 3 June, 2016 by Janice Brown

This is the continuation of a series of stories about men who died in World War 1, and whose photographs appeared in a publication called “Our Nation’s Roll of Honor.” The original post and explanation can be found at this link.  There will also be a complete listing of all the names researched at that same blog post.

LOST FACES OF WORLD WAR ONE: Our Nation’s Roll of Honor — Part 2

ATKINSON Clermie Denmark ORATKINSON, Private Clermie [Clemmie]
Denmark Oregon
Died of Wounds

Clemmie Atkinson was born 27 November 1894 in Ursula,  Sebastian Co., Arkansas, according to the registration form he completed [though he spelled the town “Arsula.”]  He was the son of James & Eliza (Autria/Antria) Atkinson, grandson of Jesse & Elizabeth (Easter) Atkinson.  He grew up in a farming family who lived in Arkansas, and then later removed to Sutton, Oklahoma, and even later lived in Denmark, Oregon. Continue reading →

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First Portsmouth New Hampshire Casualty of World War 1: Lieutenant Frank Booma (1893-1918)

Posted on 1 June, 2016 by Janice Brown
Likeness of Frank Booma, from the Boston Globe newspaper of 2 September 1917.

Likeness of Frank Booma, from the Boston Globe newspaper of 2 September 1917.

Lieutenant Frank Booma died on July 11, 1918 in the Champagne region of France, during World War 1. He was killed by a bomb dropped from a Boche aeroplane, as he led his men a second time into the trenches, after a period of rest behind the lines. He was 24 years old.

He had come close to death at the age of three. The Boston Herald announced, on April 20, 1896: “Portsmouth, N.H. April 19 (the previous day). Frank E. Booma was riding a bicycle on a wharf this afternoon when the wheel took a sudden turn and went into the river. Young Booma could not swim, and was about to sink for the last time when Christopher Killenbeck jumped into the water and saved him.” Continue reading →

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New Hampshire’s 2016 Memorial Day

Posted on 30 May, 2016 by Janice Brown

Victorian Decoration Day postcardAs I mentioned in an article of last year, New Hampshire’s special day to remember our FALLEN military was originally called DECORATION DAY. It was a custom that began following the Civil War, when many of the dead never made it back to be buried in a family plot. Besides flowers and wreaths, visitors to the resting place of the fallen often left personal tokens, such as amulets, a stone or round glass object, shells, and notes, in addition to an American flag (or a Confederate one in the South). Continue reading →

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Not New Hampshire: The Lost Faces of World War One

Posted on 29 May, 2016 by Janice Brown

HONOR ROLL BANNER 2During World War 1 American newspapers sometimes printed photographs of those who died in action or from disease.  One publisher called it “Our Nation’s Roll of Honor,” and bi-weekly showed a pictorial of 25 small photos of young men who had died in the wartime effort. [Editor’s note: It has been suggested that these poster-like newspapers were part of the New York Times publication.]

American losses in World War 1 were less than its counterparts in Europe. Though the numbers even today are not definitive, it is estimated (by the International Encyclopedia of the First World War) that there were 116,516 deaths, and approximately 320,000 sick and wounded of the 4.7 million who served. “The USA lost more personnel to disease (63, 114) than to combat (53, 402), largely due to the influenza epidemic of 1918.” WGBH additionally provides a table showing all losses in that War. Continue reading →

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