80th anniversary of the D-Day landings

From: Ken Bloss

On June 6th, 2024, my Grandson, Jed Sivley, who is currently enlisted in the Army, was fortunate to be sent to France to work at the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. 

Jed chaperoned the returning Veterans and Celebrities. Approximately 10,000 people attended the ceremony at Normandy American Cemetery. While there, he met Rosie the Riveter and got to know General Dwight D. Eisenhower's Granddaughter. 

This was a military event my grandson will never forget!

Saucon Valley Defenders Update- March 10, 2025

The brief article on the Air Post Inspection, published in the August 1942

issue of Home News by the Saucon Valley Defenders Association has achieved precisely what we hoped for: it has sparked further investigation into the lives of Saucon Valley residents during WWII. The following articles include “Typical Observation Post Room, " “Plane Spotters at Home Front,” “Air Raid Instructions for Hellertown,” and “Women on the  Hellertown Homefront—WWII.” All articles were taken from Lee Weidner’s “Saucon Secrets: Hellertown and Lower Saucon History Revealed, Volume I “ and in the “Defenders of Freedom“ post by Robert R. Hoppes.

Please enjoy the articles. We are confident you will remember many of the Hometown Heroes mentioned.

If this prompts further information on these subjects, please share any comments, articles, or photos in the comments section of this blog article. If you are wondering where the Civil Defense Observatory was located, just visit the Hellertown Area Library and imagine the site near the corner of Constitution Avenue and Juniper Road. It was somewhere in that

vicinity.

Enjoy the History!

Ken Bloss and Dan Ruth

     The video clip below informs how citizens were supposed to behave during an Air Raid!

        Make sure to enlarge the video to FULL SCREEN using the viewer tool in lower right!

This clip (above) highlights the lower right section of the page below.

Saucon Valley Defenders – Update February 3, 2025

 

Did you know that a P-47 fighter plane was named after the borough of Hellertown in July 1943?

 

This information reached the Saucon Valley Defenders Committee through a letter from Pfc. Francis Gollinger, who was stationed at the Orlando Air Base in Florida. Before enlisting, he drove a Lehigh Valley Dairy truck around town. He had seen the plane and recognized the name on it—so it must have indeed been the real “McCoy.” The acquisition of war bonds in sufficient quantities made this feasible.

 

This July 1943 Saucon Valley Defenders V-Mail, signed “Faithfully yours, CHRISTOPHER HELLER,” makes for intriguing reading. It talks about the July 4th fireworks and mentions many locals, including Freeman, Kies, Sabo, Wagner, Ache, Schellhase, Bergstresser, Hoppes, Heffner, and Gozzard. 

 

The local war support initiatives of the Boy Scouts and the Edward Ackerman Post of the American Legion were acknowledged, along with the local volunteers at the Hellertown Observation Post who completed the Army’s airplane recognition course.  

 

Please help! If you have any information about the P-47 airplane named after the Borough of Hellertown, please share it on this blog so others can appreciate how the efforts of the Saucon Valley Defenders and the Borough of Hellertown were recognized during the war years.

• Did this WWII-era fighter plane serve in the European or Pacific theatre?

• When did it first fly?

• When was it retired or lost in combat?

• Are there any photos or news articles that can be shared on this blog?

 

To leave a comment (below) on this Blog, you will need to sign in with a GOOGLE ID (if you have one) and click on the COMMENT link at the very bottom of this (or any other) blog post. Note: if no comments have been yet been posted, the link will read “No Comments” - just click on that!

 

Also, if you have not downloaded the 80 V-Mails from published by the Saucon Valley Defenders, please follow these instructions: the complete collection of these communications are immediately available for downloading as one rather LARGE word-searchable PDF (Adobe) file that can be used for targeted searches for names or other pertinent information you may be interested in. The link to this file will appear on the sidebar of this blog - click on the picture REACH YOUR BOY OVERSEAS. The files are printable should you desire copies for family members and friends.

 

Enjoy the read, and hopefully, we can get more information on the P-47!

 

Ken Bloss & Dan Ruth

Saucon Valley Defenders Update - January 7, 2025

Who were the local Hellertown and Lower Saucon men and women responsible for providing the monthly publication that gave the men and women in service our hometown news, information, and the addresses of other local youths in the armed forces?

The Hellertown and Lower Saucon Committee members identified in the 1942 V-mail and a 1942 Morning Call article provided monthly V-Mails from 1942 to the end of WWII in 1945.

The Saucon Valley Defenders organized two local divisions to complete the task: the Hellertown Division and the Lower Saucon Township Division. 

Please see the information below and read through the digitized versions of all 80 V-Mails our local committee published in this Blog.

Enjoy the history.

Ken Bloss & Dan Ruth

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****Saucon Valley Defenders: Founding Members, 1942***

Information obtained from V-Mail Saucon Valley Defenders Dec. 7, 1942, and attached Morning Call Article from 1942 provided by Karen Samuels, Lower Saucon Historical Society

Hellertown Borough Division Officers
Clarence Templeton – Chairman of the Defense Committee
Max E. Parsons – Secretary
Katie Weidner – Treasurer

Committee to Solicit Townspeople for their assistance in publishing the V-Mails
Joseph Schipser, Clayton Schrantz, H.K. Lerch, H.G.C. Hoffert, R.N. Nicholas, Mrs. Ira Jones,
Stanley E. Bergstresser, George Solomon, Howard Grafton.

Editing Committee
M.E. Illick, Fred Keiper, Katie Eidener, Max Parsons, Mrs. B. Deibert, Homer Lerch, Mark Mindler.

Lower Saucon Township Division
Lower Saucon Twp. Civilian Defense Council.

Comprised of 4 men from each district.
1. The Chief Fire Warden
2. Chief Air Raid Warden
3. Captain of Police
4. Head of the Casualty Station

Officers of the LST Civil Defense Council
C. Weidner – Chairman
C. Klein – Secretary
K. Fulmer – Treasurer
R.E. Sheetz – Acting as Secretary for the Saucon Valley Defenders, the organization responsible for this letter – V-Mails.

District #1 –
Area: the Seidersville – University Heights area
1. C. Weidner,
2. L. Callahan,
3. L Reitbauer,
4. F. Schuster.

Appointee to CD Board of Governors for District #1: 
Richard Weiss.

District #2 –
Area: Bingen, Leithsville, Appleport School area, Spring Valley (Lehigh County)
1. J. Leith, Jr.,
2. C. Klein,
3. H. Landis,
4. K. Fulmer.

Board of Governors member: 
Leroy Hafler.

District #3 –
Area: Polk Valley, Wassergass, Lower Saucon
1. O. Wilhelm,
2. J. Raab,
3. D. Waite,
4. A. Keshel

Board of Governors Member: 
Jacob Raab.

District #4-
Area: The area north of Apple Butter Road Includes Steel City and Redington
1. J. Martin,
2. A. Antonelli,
3. C. Bloss,
4. A.J. Gawell

Board of Governors Member: 
Charles Bloss

 

V-Mail from:

Saucon Valley Defenders Committee,
Hellertown PA,
December 7, 1942

 

One year after Pearl Harbor, the Saucon Valley Defenders Committee wrote using V-Mail (Victory Mail) to all the Saucon Valley inducted Service People.

This V-Mail was signed by Christopher Heller (explained by the Committee in the letter why they are signing and using Christopher Hellers’ name).

Most of those in the service from Saucon Valley lived for the distribution of mail - or “mail call.” Mail calls were either a regular or rare treat depending on where one was stationed.

Mail call was often the only thing to look forward to, but it could be a bitter disappointment if the mailbags were emptied - and your name wasn’t called.

Our Saucon Defenders sent over 80 Victory Mails to our Saucon Valley enlisted worldwide.

Look at this December 7th, 1942 to uncover the happenings at home and more sent out to our troops!

**Don’t forget you can view all 80 V-Mails on this blog site by clicking on the left side of the blog photo “Reach your Boy Oversees by Mail.”

Have you saved items from this era you want to share? Please do so on this blog. The more information we gather on Saucon Valley’s Greatest Generation, the better!

Ken Bloss & Dan Ruth