Winston Churchill once said of World War Two that it was not a war of princes or chieftains, but of peoples and causes; a war fought by unknown heroes. Here we acknowledge the unknown heroes that Churchill was referring to as well; our fallen heroes as well as those that fought for our freedoms and returned with their memories. We remember and honour in our hearts the Allied heroes, war veterans and all the affected people, who valued freedom in their life above all else.

John C. Rebarchek

John Rebarchek received his commission as a captain in 1944, just 4 years after he enlisted. However, it was as a lieutenant that he stormed up a vital hill above Cherbourg, France, leading his company of one hundred and twenty-five men to capture a three-hundred-man German stronghold. With only sixty men remaining, they took two hundred and twenty-eight German soldiers prisoner, leaving seventy dead. In a book written by his brother, he quotes John as saying, "My outfit was the famous Fourth Division. We were the first to hit the beach on D-Day, and were the first into Cherbourg. We were the first into Paris, and the first to break the Siegried line and pushed on into Germany." Back home in Graceton, Minnesota, he was known as the "Hero of Cherbourg".   ~ Submitted by Janie Nuese (Rebarchek)

Vernon O. Reece

S/Sgt. Reece received basic training in October 1942 at Camp Blanding, Florida. In the spring of 1943, he participated in Tennessee manuveurs around Murfreesboro, Hoovers Gap, and Tullahoma,Tennessee. In the summer of 1943, he participated in desert manuveurs at Camp Laguna, Arizona. In the Fall and Winter of 43' and the early months of 44', he was located at Camp Phillips, Kansas. March of 1944 found him at Camp Miles Standish, New York. And then, on the 3rd day of April 1944, his 22nd birthday, he boarded the ship USS Cristobal, destination Liverpool, England. On the 12th day of June 1944, he landed on Normandy Beach, France. He received four bronze stars for Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, and the Rhineland. Oak leaf cluster with two purple hearts. He was a machine gun section leader. After the war he helped occupy Berlin, Germany for three months & was then sent back to the states & honorably discharged at Fort Knox, Kentucky on the 27th day of November, 1945. ~ Submitted by Vernon O. Reese

Paul Roberts

SSGT Paul Roberts was a Ball Turret Gunner on the B-17G "Blonde Bombshell". He flew 23 missions, his 23rd to be his last when she went down over her German target, in the surroundings of Diekirch, on Christmas Day, 1944. While in the lead plane position, she was hit with flak. 3 of the crew were able to evacuate the plane and spent the remainder of the war as POWs.  ~ Submitted by Grandson, Gene Spanos

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