Gold Star Mass at St. Mark's Catholic Church, May 31, 2021
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| Photo by Peoria Journal Star photographer Conor Courtney |
The St. Mark’s Church basement is a basement lover's delight. Dark and cavernous, with pockets that seem to go on forever, it is filled with stuff from the church’s 130-year-long existence. It was not until my 57th year as a St. Mark’s parishioner that I descended into its recesses, courtesy of Bob Ripp, the Boy Scout leader and unpaid parish handyman, who gave me a tour. Bob is a regular frequenter of the basement, as it is where the Boy Scouts meet. Amidst all the stuff—old pews, photos, Christmas decorations—Bob pulled out a three-foot-high, worn, wooden plaque in the shape of a cross. The faux bronze façade had lost its luster and there were cracks and chips in the wood. The plaque had been commissioned by Boland Mortuary, and on it were listed the nine men of the parish who gave their lives in World War II.
Albert Hudson
Vincent Lamb
John “Jack” Bushell
James Donovan
Eugene Weisbruch
Herbert Eaton
Thomas McClurg
Robert Klepfer
Herbert Kelch
I stared at the names and the names stared back at me. Two, in particular, jumped out—Jack Bushell and Herbert Eaton, both of whose families are still in the parish.
Bob explained that he had pulled the plaque out of a pile of junk that was destined for the trash bin. “Thank you for saving it,” I said. “Can we bring it out of the basement and see about getting it restored?” He was in agreement and hauled the plaque up to my office in the rectory.
Not long after this, a family friend, Tony Bushell went into hospice with metastatic lung cancer. Tony is the younger brother of Jack, who is listed on the plaque. Jack died on February 1, 1944 at the young age of 19 in the assault on the Pacific islands of Noi and Ramur.
I thought Tony might like to see the plaque so it made a pilgrimage out to the Richard L. Owens Hospice Home. Tony was only a few days from departing this life. But he knew right away what the plaque was. “Uncle Jack,” one of his children said. The loss of Jack Bushell in the war was such a major event in the life of Tony. How must that absence shaped him and even affected his children, who had heard many stories about their dad’s brother.
The plaque’s not in the greatest shape, I said. “It’s a treasure,” replied Tony. I told him of my plans to restore the plaque. “I’ll pay for it,” he said.
I wish I could say that after Tony died, I sprang into action to get the plaque restored. But it sat for many more months in the rectory. Finally, I picked up the phone to make some calls about getting the plaque restored. After consulting a couple of places, I was referred to Heritage Restoration. They asked if I could bring in the plaque so they could take a look at it.
I hauled it down to their warehouse on Voris St., which turned out to be much more than a warehouse. I was met by Michael Berlinger, owner of the company. He gave me a tour of the building, which includes an amazing museum/display of their work. They do all kinds of restoration projects—paintings, statues, churches, metal work, stained glass—all over the United States and the world. A 3D printer was churning out parts as we walked through the gallery. They have a huge historical house restoration project in LaSalle, IL. This fifth-generation family runs the business and warrants a story of their own. I knew after spending a few minutes with Michael that I had found the place that could do justice to the plaque. “This is a baby project for you,” I said.
Michael looked over the plaque and pointed out some structural problems with the wood that I hadn’t noticed, as I was focused on the appearance of the plaque. He talked about what they could do to fix the plaque. After giving me an estimate of $450 and ascertaining that I didn’t need it back in a hurry, I left the plaque in their capable hands.
I had been keeping the pastor of St. Mark’s, Msgr. Brian Brownsey appraised of the plaque project. We had talked about a ceremony to reinstall the plaque and he mentioned having a Mass on Memorial Day. Some time later, I was explaining the project to our advancement consultant Larry Furey. “You could have a Gold Star Mass like Chaminade High School,” he said. The Mineola, New York high school has been honoring its 56 alums who fell in battle for more than 70 years. We would have the First Annual St. Mark’s Gold Star Mass.
We wanted to find out as much as we could about to how these young men’s names came to be on the plaque. We also wanted to invite as many family members as we could track down to attend the Mass. The first person I contacted was Sr. Lea Stefancova, the Diocesan archivist, who had helped me many times before. She put me in touch with Alice Brophy and Bob Scherer, who does research on soldiers. Alice sent me an email with some information about each of the men and Bob responded with information as well.
Once we had a date of death and a military unit for each man, through Internet research, it wasn’t difficult to figure out the battle in which they died.
A friend connected me with Herb and Pam Eaton, who live in Bloomington. Herb is an artist who was named after his uncle. At lunch, they shared information about Herbie, as the family called him, and the merchant ship he was serving on from the book, “Life Boat #6: The Sinking of the S.S. Fort Lee.” Later, when I met the sisters of Herbert Eaton, Sr., Bernadette Eaton and Eileen McDonough, Eileen lent me her copy of the book.
We put notices in the area bulletins and on Facebook, trying to track down the men. St. Mark’s parishioner Susan Scott connected me with her cousin, Ann May, who was the daughter of one of the men. Ann was born a couple of months after her father, James Donovan was killed in fighting on Saipan, in the northern Marianna Islands in the Pacific.
Alfred Hudson, like Eugene, was a Lieutenant in the Army Air Corps. He too perished in a B-24. Al died in a training accident in Mountain Home, Idaho on October 23, 1943. A mind-boggling 15,000 men died in aircrew training in the United States before they even had a chance to confront the enemy.
Alice Brophy suggested I check out the Spalding yearbooks and class pictures at Peoria Notre Dame. I found a Spalding yearbook photo of Tom McClurg. He was one of the few Marine paratroopers. Tom was taken prisoner in fierce fighting on the Pacific island of Tarawa. He was declared dead on December 1, 1944.
Like Jack Bushell, Herbert Kelch was a teenager when he died in the war. Herbert was killed in the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium. He is buried with a white cross for a marker in Belgium. Herbert is the only man who I thus far haven’t been able to find a photo of.
We had a reception in the gym afterwards. It was one of the first receptions since COVID. There were 25 members of the Eaton family, and one of them told me that it was like a family reunion. A couple of the families brought artifacts to display.
I wrote this essay to give you a bit of a taste of what finding and reinstalling this plaque was like. For me, the best parts were learning about the men and meeting their families.
I'll end with a description of the photo at the top of this post. Here is is again. It was taken by Peoria Journal Star photographer Conor Courtney. I love this photo. There are so many elements that are special. Bob Ripp, the preserver of the plaque, is helping his Boy Scouts hang the plaque. The lighting is beautiful and you can see the rosary Msgr. Brownsey has placed on the plaque, encircling the world, as if for protection. Jesus, on the crucifix, looks on as the plaque is reinstalled.
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| Jack Bushell from Spalding Institute yearbook. |
The plaque’s not in the greatest shape, I said. “It’s a treasure,” replied Tony. I told him of my plans to restore the plaque. “I’ll pay for it,” he said.
I wish I could say that after Tony died, I sprang into action to get the plaque restored. But it sat for many more months in the rectory. Finally, I picked up the phone to make some calls about getting the plaque restored. After consulting a couple of places, I was referred to Heritage Restoration. They asked if I could bring in the plaque so they could take a look at it.
I hauled it down to their warehouse on Voris St., which turned out to be much more than a warehouse. I was met by Michael Berlinger, owner of the company. He gave me a tour of the building, which includes an amazing museum/display of their work. They do all kinds of restoration projects—paintings, statues, churches, metal work, stained glass—all over the United States and the world. A 3D printer was churning out parts as we walked through the gallery. They have a huge historical house restoration project in LaSalle, IL. This fifth-generation family runs the business and warrants a story of their own. I knew after spending a few minutes with Michael that I had found the place that could do justice to the plaque. “This is a baby project for you,” I said.
Michael looked over the plaque and pointed out some structural problems with the wood that I hadn’t noticed, as I was focused on the appearance of the plaque. He talked about what they could do to fix the plaque. After giving me an estimate of $450 and ascertaining that I didn’t need it back in a hurry, I left the plaque in their capable hands.
 |
| Work begins on the plaque at Heritage Restoration. |
I had been keeping the pastor of St. Mark’s, Msgr. Brian Brownsey appraised of the plaque project. We had talked about a ceremony to reinstall the plaque and he mentioned having a Mass on Memorial Day. Some time later, I was explaining the project to our advancement consultant Larry Furey. “You could have a Gold Star Mass like Chaminade High School,” he said. The Mineola, New York high school has been honoring its 56 alums who fell in battle for more than 70 years. We would have the First Annual St. Mark’s Gold Star Mass.
We wanted to find out as much as we could about to how these young men’s names came to be on the plaque. We also wanted to invite as many family members as we could track down to attend the Mass. The first person I contacted was Sr. Lea Stefancova, the Diocesan archivist, who had helped me many times before. She put me in touch with Alice Brophy and Bob Scherer, who does research on soldiers. Alice sent me an email with some information about each of the men and Bob responded with information as well.
Once we had a date of death and a military unit for each man, through Internet research, it wasn’t difficult to figure out the battle in which they died.
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| Naval Armed Guard Herb Eaton |
A friend connected me with Herb and Pam Eaton, who live in Bloomington. Herb is an artist who was named after his uncle. At lunch, they shared information about Herbie, as the family called him, and the merchant ship he was serving on from the book, “Life Boat #6: The Sinking of the S.S. Fort Lee.” Later, when I met the sisters of Herbert Eaton, Sr., Bernadette Eaton and Eileen McDonough, Eileen lent me her copy of the book.
Herbie was a Naval Armed Guard who was escorting the Fort Lee when it was torpedoed in the Indian Ocean. Survivors of the ship reported that Herbie was in one of 16 men in Lifeboat #5, which eventually washed up on the shore of Sumba Island, a Japanese controlled territory 76 days after the ship went down and 2,850 miles away from the site where the Ft. Lee perished. Only three men were on the boat and one died immediately. It is not known who the other two were and they died at the hands of the Japanese while on the island.
Herbie's sister, Sr. Bernadette Eaton, C.S.J. shared memories of her brother. Before the war, he worked for Western Union and Hiram Walker. He was an energetic tease, who left high school before graduation to join the Navy. Herb's three brothers also enlisted and within six months, they had all left home. Sr. Bernadette was in high school when Herb went missing in action. A year later, he was declared dead.
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| Marine Lt. James Donovan |
We put notices in the area bulletins and on Facebook, trying to track down the men. St. Mark’s parishioner Susan Scott connected me with her cousin, Ann May, who was the daughter of one of the men. Ann was born a couple of months after her father, James Donovan was killed in fighting on Saipan, in the northern Marianna Islands in the Pacific.
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| Jim Donovan with his buddies at Spalding. |
Ann shared mementos of her fathers and fun stories that her mother had told her about her father. One time in high school when her mom was on a date at Cornstock with another fellow, they came out to the car to find that the air had mysteriously been let out of the tires. Ann has her father’s diploma from St. Mark’s School. On it, his middle name is not listed as Richard but puzzlingly as Oscar! How that happened is another mystery. Ann has a large collection of letters that her parents exchanged during the war. It is obvious they were madly in love, and Jimmy was so excited about the impending birth of his child. Other letters written by fellow Marines after Jimmy's death indicate how loved he was by his men.
One of the coincidences revealed during the research is that both Jimmy Donovan and Jack Bushell were in the 24th Regiment of the 4th Marine Division. Jimmy Donovan is the only one of the nine men who left behind a child.
We received an email from the niece of Robert Klepfer, along with a photograph and some information. At 32, Robert was the oldest of the men who died in the war, and one of two who was killed in the European theater.
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| Robert Klepfer |
We received an email from the niece of Robert Klepfer, along with a photograph and some information. At 32, Robert was the oldest of the men who died in the war, and one of two who was killed in the European theater.
I exchanged texts with the great niece of Eugene Weisbruch. Lieutenant Weisbruch flew for both the Canadian and U.S. Army Air Forces.
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| Lt. Eugene Weisbruch |
He was one of three officers among the men. On September 30, 1944, Eugene took off in a B-24 from Wake Island and went down somewhere near Boreno.
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| Alfred Hudson |
Alfred Hudson, like Eugene, was a Lieutenant in the Army Air Corps. He too perished in a B-24. Al died in a training accident in Mountain Home, Idaho on October 23, 1943. A mind-boggling 15,000 men died in aircrew training in the United States before they even had a chance to confront the enemy.
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| Tom McClurg from the Spalding Institute yearbook. |
Alice Brophy suggested I check out the Spalding yearbooks and class pictures at Peoria Notre Dame. I found a Spalding yearbook photo of Tom McClurg. He was one of the few Marine paratroopers. Tom was taken prisoner in fierce fighting on the Pacific island of Tarawa. He was declared dead on December 1, 1944.
Like Jack Bushell, Herbert Kelch was a teenager when he died in the war. Herbert was killed in the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium. He is buried with a white cross for a marker in Belgium. Herbert is the only man who I thus far haven’t been able to find a photo of.
Vincent Lamb was the only one of the men who didn’t grow up in Peoria. He was raised in the Quad Cities and after graduating from St. Joseph’s High School in Rock Island, moved to Peoria to work at Caterpillar. I contacted Lee Fosburgh, the archivist at Caterpillar and he sent some information. Vincent was an outstanding bowler and won bowling tournaments at Cat. He enlisted in the Navy and was killed in a mail truck accident in Berkeley, California. His Caterpillar bowling teammates served as his pallbearers.
The day for the Gold Star Mass finally arrived.
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| Carl Williams and his daughter Kristen Reynolds with American Legion Bugler Carol Edwards |
Carl Williams and his daughter Kristen Reynolds signed on to perform the music during the Mass. We contacted a bugler from the American Legion to play. Family members of the men did the readings. We contacted the media, who were interested in the ceremony and covered it.
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| Herbie Eaton's sisters, Sr. Bernadette Eaton and Eileen McDonough |
Heritage Restoration did a magnificent job with the plaque. Jeff Hoerdeman, husband of Herb Eaton's niece Annette, prepared an elegant backdrop for the plaque in the church.
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| Msgr. Brian Brownsey with Jim Donovan's rosary |
There were special touches throughout the Mass. The Donovans brought the rosary Jim was carrying when he died. Msgr. Brownsey talked about the rosary in his homily and draped it over the plaque.
The servers were Isabella and Maddie Schmillen the great-great nieces of Jack Bushell. The Boy Scouts presented the colors and reinstalled the plaque, so appropriate as it was their Scout Master Bob Ripp who rescued the plaque. Most of the men had been Boy Scouts during their days at St. Mark’s School.
We had a reception in the gym afterwards. It was one of the first receptions since COVID. There were 25 members of the Eaton family, and one of them told me that it was like a family reunion. A couple of the families brought artifacts to display.
I wrote this essay to give you a bit of a taste of what finding and reinstalling this plaque was like. For me, the best parts were learning about the men and meeting their families.
Below are the remarks I gave at the end of Mass and links to the program and some of the media accounts.
Thanks for reading. God bless our men.
Good morning. My name is Maria Carroll and I serve as the advancement director of St. Mark’s School. I am also a graduate of St. Mark’s as are my husband John and my son Luke. Please join us for a reception in the gymnasium afterwards. We will have items of some of the men on display.
We are here today to honor the memory of those listed on this plaque, who gave their lives in World War II—the boys from St. Mark’s. One of them, Herbert Kelch, died in the Battle of the Bulge, on the fields of Belgium at age of 19. The oldest, Robert Klepfer, also died in Europe, fighting in Germany, a few months before Herbert at age 32.
These were our boys who grew up on the West Bluff and who lived on the streets around this church that are so familiar to us—Ayres, Rohmann, Glenwood, Main St. Bradley, Kellogg, Garfield—these boys, they answered the call of their country. They went to fight an evil that seemed to be sweeping the entire world.
Before they went off to the war, they had lives here in Peoria. Most of them went to St. Mark’s School across the street, under the watchful eyes of Msgr. Burke. They were Boy Scouts and played football and basketball. They walked home from school with their classmates. They teased their brothers and sisters. After finishing 8th grade, most went on to Spalding Institute, where they wore the purple and white. After high school, they worked at places like Hiram Walker and Caterpillar. One of them, Vincent Lamb, grew up in Rock Island and came to Peoria after high school to work in CAT’s apprentice program. He joined St. Mark’s Parish.
The normal path of life took a u-turn for them when our nation and others were attacked. Our young men from St. Mark’s left their very good lives here and joined the military services—three in the Marines, and two each in the Army, Navy, and Army Air Corps. Five served in the Pacific Theater, two in the European and two at home.
Jimmy Donovan and Jack Bushell were both in the 24th Regiment of the 4th Marine Division and died in battles in the Pacific four months apart. Jimmy Donovan’s daughter, Ann, was born a few months after he died. She is with us here today. Two men—Eugene Weisbruch and Al Hudson—perished in the cockpit of a B-24, Eugene in the Pacific and Al in a training accident in South Dakota. Tom McClurg, a paratrooper, was lost to the Japanese on the island of Tarawa. And Herbie Eaton, an Armed Navy Guard, was lost at sea in the Indian Ocean, when the tanker he was guarding was torpedoed by a German sub. His sisters Sr. Bernadette and Eileen remember much about him and are also with us here today.
All of our men lost their lives within 15 months of each other. From our vantage point, it may seem that victory in World War II was a foregone conclusion. But of course it wasn’t. It was the sacrifice of our men from St. Mark’s and men and women like them who made it possible. They gave up their lives so that we might have ours in freedom.
Now, these men have been gone for more than 75 years. They have been missed by those who remember them and those who never knew them but have been shaped by their absence, including those of us here today. We come together to rededicate this plaque and to offer this Holy Mass for these men. Beyond that, to paraphrase Lincoln, we cannot consecrate or add anything to their sacrifice.
I have heard Msgr. Brownsey say during funerals that we are not mainly remembering the small part of the soul’s existence that takes place on earth. No matter how many years we get, our time here is brief. But we live and die with the faith and hope in God’s steadfast love which leads to eternal life. In that faith, we can have joy in our hearts that our men from St. Mark’s are now resting in God’s peace where we will hopefully one day join them. Until then, we can honor them by living our lives with a full measure of gratitude, appreciating all the moments of our lives, both the good ones and the difficult ones. We can exercise our precious freedoms to practice our faith and to make other people’s lives better. And as we are doing today, we can remember.
Peoria Journal Star article
Thanks for reading. God bless our men.
Good morning. My name is Maria Carroll and I serve as the advancement director of St. Mark’s School. I am also a graduate of St. Mark’s as are my husband John and my son Luke. Please join us for a reception in the gymnasium afterwards. We will have items of some of the men on display.
We are here today to honor the memory of those listed on this plaque, who gave their lives in World War II—the boys from St. Mark’s. One of them, Herbert Kelch, died in the Battle of the Bulge, on the fields of Belgium at age of 19. The oldest, Robert Klepfer, also died in Europe, fighting in Germany, a few months before Herbert at age 32.
These were our boys who grew up on the West Bluff and who lived on the streets around this church that are so familiar to us—Ayres, Rohmann, Glenwood, Main St. Bradley, Kellogg, Garfield—these boys, they answered the call of their country. They went to fight an evil that seemed to be sweeping the entire world.
Before they went off to the war, they had lives here in Peoria. Most of them went to St. Mark’s School across the street, under the watchful eyes of Msgr. Burke. They were Boy Scouts and played football and basketball. They walked home from school with their classmates. They teased their brothers and sisters. After finishing 8th grade, most went on to Spalding Institute, where they wore the purple and white. After high school, they worked at places like Hiram Walker and Caterpillar. One of them, Vincent Lamb, grew up in Rock Island and came to Peoria after high school to work in CAT’s apprentice program. He joined St. Mark’s Parish.
The normal path of life took a u-turn for them when our nation and others were attacked. Our young men from St. Mark’s left their very good lives here and joined the military services—three in the Marines, and two each in the Army, Navy, and Army Air Corps. Five served in the Pacific Theater, two in the European and two at home.
Jimmy Donovan and Jack Bushell were both in the 24th Regiment of the 4th Marine Division and died in battles in the Pacific four months apart. Jimmy Donovan’s daughter, Ann, was born a few months after he died. She is with us here today. Two men—Eugene Weisbruch and Al Hudson—perished in the cockpit of a B-24, Eugene in the Pacific and Al in a training accident in South Dakota. Tom McClurg, a paratrooper, was lost to the Japanese on the island of Tarawa. And Herbie Eaton, an Armed Navy Guard, was lost at sea in the Indian Ocean, when the tanker he was guarding was torpedoed by a German sub. His sisters Sr. Bernadette and Eileen remember much about him and are also with us here today.
All of our men lost their lives within 15 months of each other. From our vantage point, it may seem that victory in World War II was a foregone conclusion. But of course it wasn’t. It was the sacrifice of our men from St. Mark’s and men and women like them who made it possible. They gave up their lives so that we might have ours in freedom.
Now, these men have been gone for more than 75 years. They have been missed by those who remember them and those who never knew them but have been shaped by their absence, including those of us here today. We come together to rededicate this plaque and to offer this Holy Mass for these men. Beyond that, to paraphrase Lincoln, we cannot consecrate or add anything to their sacrifice.
I have heard Msgr. Brownsey say during funerals that we are not mainly remembering the small part of the soul’s existence that takes place on earth. No matter how many years we get, our time here is brief. But we live and die with the faith and hope in God’s steadfast love which leads to eternal life. In that faith, we can have joy in our hearts that our men from St. Mark’s are now resting in God’s peace where we will hopefully one day join them. Until then, we can honor them by living our lives with a full measure of gratitude, appreciating all the moments of our lives, both the good ones and the difficult ones. We can exercise our precious freedoms to practice our faith and to make other people’s lives better. And as we are doing today, we can remember.
Alfred Hudson
John “Jack” Bushell
James Donovan
Robert Klepfer
Eugene Weisbruch
Herbert Eaton
Thomas McClurg
Vincent Lamb
Herbert Kelch
Peoria Journal Star article
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