In Honor of All Who Served

Posted: June 3, 2025, 6:33PM

New Library Exhibit Honors Ohio Valley Veterans

---

William Leighton, Jr.  (1833–1911) came to Wheeling to work as a chemist at Hobbs Glass Works. Eventually he became a managing partner and plant manager. A graduate of Harvard, he was known for writing poetry. In fact, whenever a glass formula failed, Hobbs workers joked that there was “too much poetry in the batch.” In 1883, Leighton wrote the Soldiers and Sailors Monument Poem, titled, “THE PRICE OF THE PRESENT, PAID BY THE PAST,” that he then read at the dedication of the Soldiers & Sailors Monument at “Capitol Square” in front of the old state capitol (city building) at 16th and Chapline Streets.

This rare photo of the event is housed in the OCPL‘s Archives.

---

The dedication of the Soldiers and Sailors monument, 1883. OCPL Archives.[/caption] In the spirit of Leighton’s poem and the dedication of the Soldiers and Sailors monument, OCPL Archives presents this salute to Ohio Valley veterans through artifacts.

---

MEMORIES IN HAND

---

The exhibit contains numerous images from our Memories in Hand Veterans Project. If you a U.S. military veteran from the Ohio Valley area or if you have a relative or close friend who served, you can participate. If you are veteran, just bring a photo of yourself in uniform. If you are a friend or relative, just bring a photo of your veteran in uniform. And the photo can be from any time-period, wartime or not. We will take a photo of your hands holding the photo and create an image, like the example you see here, featuring a brief quote. These images will be made the perfect size for a Facebook cover image, and we encourage you to use them accordingly, especially on Veterans Day (Nov. 11).  Just send us an email or give us a call at 304-232-0244 so that we can arrange a time. See the Memories in Hand Gallery.

---

A VALIANT CHAPLAIN

---

REV. JOHN J. MUELLER Rev. John J. Mueller (1911-1992) served as a U.S. Army Chaplain in the Pacific Theater during WWII, 1943-1946.

Ordained a Catholic priest in 1937, after the war, Mueller served as pastor at Sacred Heart Church in Wheeling, 1946-62 and at St. Joseph’s Cathedral, 1969-81.

Promoted to Captain in 1844, Mueller served with the 161st Army anti-aircraft gun battalion in New Guinea, where, according to a newspaper report, he oversaw the building of a chapel, "the first in a considerable area" made from "native materials 'procured, begged, or stolen,' and had a tent roof."

As the war ended. Captain Mueller took part in the first US Army landing of occupation troops on the Japanese homeland at Yokohama on Tokyo Bay. His battalion was to serve as military police. His troop transport was within earshot of the Missouri in the bay. "As the peace was signed there in the harbor on the battleship Missouri," Mueller wrote in an October 1945 letter home, "we could look over the side of the ship and see the Missouri as we heard a play by play account of the signing on the ship's radio."

---

Japanese Surrender - One-of-a-Kind Image

The exhibit contains a copy of a photo taken by Jake Churchman, a Cpl working for Gen. MacArthur in his communications department during the occupation of Japan. Jake left his ship, disobeying orders to go to one of the gun turrets on the Missouri, where he shot this photo just as the Japanese delegation started signing the agreement. It is only photo of its kind taken at the exact time from that location. ~courtesy the National American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Museum, Wellsburg, WV.

---

The Japanese civilians Mueller encountered were distrustful, many turning their heads as the American GIs marched by. "Only the children smile," he wrote. "I fear that one of these days the men are going to begin taking swift kicks at those who turn their backs. They remember how the Japanese made the poor Filipinos bow before every sentry."

Seeing a Japanese man looking at him quizzically, Father Mueller winked at him and "he was simply amazed. He had probably been told that we would cut them  all up in little pieces to make army stew."

In addition to the people, Mueller witnessed what constant bombing by American B-29s had done to the city. "Tokyo was devastated," Mueller said when recalling his service during a 1991 newspaper interview, "For six to eight blocks in the heart of the city, not one building was left standing."

The part of his service he liked the least was administering last rites to the dead or dying. "We used to have to meet the bombers as they came back from their missions and unfortunately, not everyone came back. And some of the ones who did come back were so badly injured they never made it through the evening. That was the hardest part of my job."

Several artifacts belonging to Captain Mueller, including his uniform, dog tags, pistol holster, and rosary, are on loan from the Archives of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.

Mueller was awarded the Bronze Star for moving wounded men to safety under enemy artillery fire. He was promoted to Major.

---

Commendation for the Bronze Star Captain John J. Mueller, Chaplain Corps, US Army. For heroic achievement in connection with military operations against the enemy in Luzon, Philippine Islands, on 12 April 1945. Chaplain Mueller was visiting a detachment of men from the headquarters of the anti-aircraft artillery battalion who were employing their guns for direct support of the infantry, when the enemy began shelling the position, killing one man and wounding seven others. With complete disregard for his personal safety, he, while under enemy artillery fire, helped move several wounded men to safety and assisted in giving the wounded men such first aid as was possible. The calmness and the heroic example set by him did much to reassure the wounded as well as other personnel present. The outstanding courage and devotion to duty exhibited by Captain Mueller is in keeping with the highest traditions of the service and reflects great credit upon himself and the military service. Home address: Mr. John Mueller, (Father), 636 National Road, Wheeling, West Virginia.

---

Chaplain Mueller’s New Guinea Photo Album The photo album contains several photos taken in New Guinea in 1944, many depicting indigenous people. Left: The text reads: “Near Aitape, N. G. there was a large village of natives. All Catholic, converts of the S.V.D. German missionaries. After the missionaries were forced to leave (by the Japanese) the chaplains took turns giving them weekly Mass.”

Top Right: Captain John J. Mueller, U.S. Army Chaplain, hears confession in “pidgin English” from a child in New Guinea.

Bottom Right: Chaplain Mueller gives Holy Communion to a New Guinea man. ~ Courtesy Archives of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston

---

MILITARY NURSES

---

The uniforms and artifacts belonging to two of Wheeling’s highest-ranking military nurses are also on display.

LCDR PINTO

Marie L. Pinto (1926–2025) was a member of the U.S. Navy Nursing Corps., rising to the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

She had been inspired to enter military service by her brother's service in the Navy during the Second World War. Pinto served with honor in both Korea and Vietnam.

Pinto graduated from the Wheeling Hospital School of Nursing, then earned her BSN at Duquesne University. Encouraged by her family and other nursing students to join during the Korean War, she left Wheeling to join the Navy Nurse Corps in 1955.

During the Vietnam War, she served as an operating room instructor, where she helped many wounded Marines, who tended to be on the front lines. Her duties after surgery included daily check-ups and dressing changes for the wounded Marines.

During her career, Pinto served all over the world, including Guam, Japan, Italy, and naval hospitals all over the US. She enjoyed the travel. After retiring from military service in 1976, Pinto continued to work as a nurse for seven more years at Wheeling Hospital.

She passed away at age 98 in January of this year. These artifacts showcased in the exhibit are from her early days as a nurse cadet, including her uniform, epaulets, hat, photos, and ephemera, all courtesy the Archives of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston.

---

THE AIR FORCE WAY - COL. JUDITH MINDER

Air Force Nurse Corps Col. Judith Sanders also graduated from the Wheeling Hospital School of Nursing.

She responded to the call for nurses after the Tet Offensive in Vietnam in 1968, becoming a Vietnam flight nurse, accompanying wounded soldiers on a C-140 jet to keep them stable as they were returned home. "The soldiers had to be stable because it was another 14-hour trip across the water to get back home," Sanders told a newspaper reporter in a 2023 interview. 

She remembers climbing ladders to get to soldiers at different levels in the plane. "The sickest ones were at the bottom," she said. Each flight contained up to 18 patients with only two nurses to care for them. "That was emergency nursing at the highest level, no pun intended."

Sanders would serve as a military nurse for nearly 25 years, from Guam to Taiwan, and from Thailand to Greece.  She retired in 1993. Her uniform is on display courtesy of the National American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Museum, Wellsburg, WV.

When informed that her uniform was on display, Col. Sanders stopped by the Library for a visit.  When she saw LCDR Pinto’s display, she said that Pinto's family had asked her to help dress her when she passed. “She was Navy!” Sanders said. “I don't know anything about Navy dress code. So I did it the Air Force way. I figured they must be similar.”

Col. Sanders's Memories in Hand

---

Additional components of this exhibit include:

A Memorial Board honoring Wheeling Central Men Killed in WWII

This poignant memorial board was created to honor twenty-two young men who were killed in action while serving their country in the Second World War. Ranging in age from 19 to 26, these men all had one additional thing in common: they had graduated from or were still attending Wheeling Central Catholic High School when they died. The memorial board is on display courtesy the Archives of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. Read More

The Mule Driver

A farm boy and World War I soldier from Wheeling, Lester Scott was drafted in 1917 and trained at Camp Lee, Virginia. He served as a Wagoner (mule team driver) in the 314th Field Artillery Supply Company in France. Just two weeks before the Great War would finally end, Lester was killed in action on October 29, 1918, during the final push to end the war, the massive 47-day Meuse-Argonne Offensive, during which more than 26,000 American soldiers died. It remains the most lethal military operation in the history of the United States. A few years ago, the OCPL created a podcast, using voice actors to chronologically read the letters written by Scott and his cousin Charles Riggle to family back home while they were in training camp and while in France for the war. Listen to the Podcast.

---

From South Wheeling to the South China Sea: The Ordeal of Freddie Elkes On Board a Ship to Hell

October 24, 1944. South China Sea. The Japanese freighter, Arisan Maru, is churning toward Formosa. Packed in the stifling heat of the ship’s holds are 1,782 mostly American war prisoners of the Empire of Japan. The men are destined for forced labor camps. Seeing only an unmarked enemy vessel, a U.S. Navy submarine fires three torpedoes. Direct hit. Split in two, the Arisan Maru slips beneath the waves. While most of the POWs escape the sinking ship, they are left to die on the open sea. Only nine men survive. It is the largest loss of life at sea in American history. Among the dead is 42 year-old Private First Class Frederick William Elkes, a 17-year veteran of the U.S. Army Air Force. Stationed in the Philippines, the South Wheeling boy who grew up on McColloch Street was captured during the fall of Bataan. Read More

---

Also on Display:

~ A slate of names created to honor WWII veterans of the Sacred Heart Parish; WWII era helmets, weapons, and medals; Vietnam era helmets, weapons, and medals

---

Plans are for the exhibit to stay in place through Veterans Day 2025. It can be viewed during regular library hours.

Many thanks to the Archives of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston and the National American Defenders of Bataan and Corregidor Museum, Wellsburg, WV.

---

Sources

---

General Order No. 288, HQ 6th Army, Dec. 29, 1945. W

Wheeling Intelligencer, Oct. 20, 1944.

Wheeling Intelligencer, Feb. 13, 1991. W

Wheeling News-Register, Oct. 5, 1945. W

Wheeling Sunday News-Register, Nov. 12, 2023.

---

Comments

No comments on this post.

---

Add a Comment