Remembering When
by
Jerry Person
Huntington Beach City Historian
Dedicated to the people of Huntington Beach
'Lest we forget our heroes’ on this Thanksgiving Day
When we sit down at the family table for Thanksgiving dinner, let us remember all those heroes who gave their lives and be thankful that we are able to do that. The men and women who perished on that morning of September 11th, those who perished because of terrorists.
Many years before that day, the world was faced with another world terrorist organization, Hitler’s dreaded Gestapo, which reached out to terrorize people during World War II.
This week we’re going to remember the boys of Huntington who believed in their country and in the end gave everything.
It was on New Year’s Day, a day that should be a time of rejoicing, but at the home of our City Attorney, Ray Overacker, a messenger arrived with a telegram from the War Department. As his eyes scanned the document his eyes began to tear up at the news that his 27-year old son Clifford had died from wounds on December 13, 1944 while fighting German soldiers near Aachen.
Although Clifford had been born in Palo Alto, he had spent most of his life right here in Huntington Beach where he attended our elementary school before going to Huntington High where he graduated in 1936. With a bright future ahead, Clifford entered Fullerton Junior College where he graduated in 1938 and in 1940 he graduated from U.C. Berkley with a B.A. degree.
Once out of school Clifford went to work for the Los Angeles Times and shortly after the country went to war he joined the army in May of 1942. Two years later he was stationed with the Fifth Armored Division in Germany when his future was cut short. Reverend James G. Hurst of the Christian Church delivered a special memorial service on January 7, 1945 for Clifford Overacker.
With only one more mission to complete his 35th, Charles Fred McIntosh was looking forward to return to his home in Huntington Beach. Fred as he was called here was the son of John and Eunice McIntosh.
Like Clifford Overacker, Fred had graduated from Huntington High and would attend UCLA with plans of becoming a dentist. He latter enrolled at Santa Ana Junior College to take pre-dental courses and in September 1942 Fred joined the Army Air Corps to learn to fly and by April 1944 he was sent overseas where he distinguished himself in the air.
Fred was awarded the air medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the European theatre ribbon with two stars and a presidential unit citation with one oak leaf cluster, but while flying his B-17 Flying Fortress over Germany on September 10, 1944, he was shot down leaving his wife Peggy to raise their 2-year old son Monti alone.
In just over a month before Fred McIntosh died in his Flying Fortress, another McIntosh son died while stationed in Italy. Although Kenneth A. McIntosh was not part of Fred’s family, they were both hometown boys.
Kenneth’s parents ran a small grocery store at Eighth and Olive in Huntington Beach and lived at 302 Eighth Street. Kenneth was born in Pennsylvania on August 25, 1920 to Robert N. McIntosh and his wife. The family moved to Huntington Beach where Kenneth attended both elementary and high school.
After he graduated from high school in 1939, Kenneth went to work with his brother-in-law, Billy Hengoed, at the Triangle service station at 426 Fifth Street. Later in 1939 Kenneth joined the Army Air Corps as a ground crewman for the colorful Flying Fortress squadron. Kenneth’s group was one of the first air force units to reach England in the middle of 1942. The planes he serviced saw action against the enemy in France.
Kenneth was transferred to Africa and was based in Algeria and Tunisia where the Flying Fortresses bombed Rommel’s African Corps. He would later be transferred to Italy where he helped keep his planes flying against Hitler’s “Fortress Europe,” as they hit targets in Italy, France, Austria and Germany.
Back home in Huntington Beach on August 22, 1944 his parents received a telegram from the War Department that told of Master Sergeant Kenneth A. McIntosh had been accidentally killed on August 4, 1944. The next week his parents received a letter from Major General J.A. Olio that explained how their son had died while inflating one of the huge tires on a Flying Fortress, it exploded, fracturing Kenneth’s skull.
On September 3, 1944 Reverend James G. Hurst conducted a memorial service just as he would do in January 1945 for Clifford Overacker.
It was on February 17, 1924 that William Phillip Henry, Jr., was born in Los Angeles. Shortly afterwards the family came to live in Huntington Beach where William attended our schools. He would attend Huntington High and Whittier High School and like Overacker would attend U.C. Berkley and was a member of Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity.
William joined the army on March 31, 1943 and took his training at Camp Roberts before transferring to the infantry, he trained for the Signal Corps at Sacramento and finished his training at Fort Leonard Wood. He was sent to France on December 6, 1944 and three months later on March 6, 1945 William would never again see the beautiful Pacific from the top of our pier.
Reverend Luther A. Arthur of the Baptist church held a special memorial service for William on Saturday, March 31, 1945.
So you can see how the lives of these sons of Huntington Beach would pay the ultimate price to keep America free. So for this Thanksgiving, give a little prayer of thanks to remember these three Huntington Beach boys.