He followed brother's footsteps

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Charles Sands of Rock Falls points to medals earned by himself, his father and his father-in-law that are on display in his home. Sands will be making the Honor Flight trip to Washington, D.C., in November for his service in World War II. (Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@svnmail.com)

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Note to readers – This is the first in a series of Sauk Valley Newspapers articles on some of the World War II veterans who are going to Washington, D.C., Nov 10 on the Whiteside County Honor Flight.

ROCK FALLS – In 1944, Charles Sands received a phone call from his brother’s commanding officer.

Eugene Sands, a radio operator on a three-man torpedo plane in the Naval Air Corps, was training off the coast Nantucket, Mass., when the plane had mechanical difficulty and went into a dive.

Petty Officer 3rd Class Eugene Sands’ voice was the last the Navy heard. He and his crew members never were found.

A year later, the 17-year-old, who had just finished his junior year at Rock Falls High School, decided to follow in his brother’s footsteps. He enlisted in the Navy, 4 days before Japan formally surrendered on the USS Missouri.

He became a petty officer second class, stationed on the USS Stentor, a boat that repaired landing crafts. He was a storekeeper, in charge of spare parts.

He left the Navy 3 1/2 years later, in January 1949.

Sands still has his brother’s wings displayed above his computer, along with the Purple Heart and other medals his father, William Sands, earned in World War I and his father-in-law, Charles Eberle, earned in the Spanish American War.

To honor his brother, Sands listed him on the National World War II Memorial registry, an electronic record of those who served.

Now Sands will be one of 37 Whiteside County WWII vets who will fly to Washington, D.C., on Nov. 10 to see the National World War II Memorial, dedicated in 2004.

The trip is being funded by the county Honor Flight chapter, the mission of which is to honor vets by getting them to the nation’s capital to see their memorial, and others. The trip is free for the elderly veterans, many of whom will be accompanied by “guardians.”

Guardians are volunteers, often friends or family, who help the veterans with mobility or health problems, and who fly at their own expense.

Sands didn’t know if he would qualify for the trip, because he never saw combat, but his daughter and son-in-law, Kristine and Jeff Rogers, encouraged him to apply.

During his time overseas, Sands spent time in China and Korea, and skirmishes never were far away.

“The war supposedly ended, but the [Japanese] didn’t know the war was over,” Sands said.

There were communists moving through China and into Korea.

“We knew when we came back, that was going to be the next hot spot, and that’s what it was,” Sands said. “It was the next war.”

Charles Sands

Age: 81

City: Rock Falls

Branch: Navy

Rank: Petty Officer 2nd Class

Term of service: August 1945 to January 1949

Theaters: China and Korea

Medals: Navy Occupation Service Medal, Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal and the China Service Medal

Employment after service: A regional credit supervisor for Wolohan Lumber Co.

Give ’em a hand

To help send a World War II veteran to Washington on an Honor Flight, send donations to United Way of Whiteside County, 502 First Ave.; the Sauk Valley Chamber of Commerce, 211 Locust St.; the American Legion, 601 First Ave.; or Ward, Murray, Pace and Johnson, 202 E. Fifth St., all in Sterling, IL 61081.

Make checks out to Honor Flight of the Quad Cities.

For more information, go to www.honorflightqc.org online.

Registry of Remembrances

You can register your veteran on the World War II Registry of Remembrances at the National WWII Memorial Web site, www.wwiimemorial.com,

According to the site, “The memory of America’s World War II generation is preserved within the physical memorial and through the World War II Registry of Remembrances, an individual listing of Americans who contributed to the war effort. Any U.S. citizen who helped win the war, whether a veteran or someone on the home front, is eligible for the Registry. Names in the Registry will be forever linked to the memorial’s bronze and granite representations of their sacrifice and achievement.”

Veterans scheduled to take Nov. 10 Honor Flight

Albany: Charles Vos.

Erie: Vernal Beckstrom, George Hawk, Leslie Kincaid, Robert Latham and Richard Shearer.

Fulton: William Barber, Charles Bokenkroger and Walter Fields.

Lyndon: Gordon Bennett.

Morrison: Loretta Crow, John Hamstra, Arthur Schroeder, Donald Stralow and Adam Yoeckel.

Prophetstown: Arlyn Cady.

Rock Falls: Donald Card, Harold Hagenow, Alfred Lopez, Leonard Norman, James Partridge, Oresto Pro, Charles Sands and Cletus Terveer,

Sterling: Herman Beveroth, Harriet B. Burch, Burdette Burch, John Dauen, Elwin Haak, Donald Johnson, Harvey Johnson, John McMillin, Eugene Sellstrom, Oliver Taylor, Paul Van Oosten and James Wells.

Tampico: Donald Fortune.

Related story: 37 vets taking this trip; 140 more are eligible

Click to view The Vets of Honor Flight main page

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