American Legion Post 50 SAL 50 New York USA
Private Vincent J. Kain, attended St. Catharine's School and Pelham Memorial High School. He was married to
Ruth C. Kain and the couple lived at 20 Beach Street in Mt. Vernon. His father John J. Kain lived at 554 East Third
Street, Mount Vernon.
Serving in Italy during WWII Private Kain was wounded in Italy on September 28, 1944. After nine months overseas,
he was returned to the US on Nov. 18th. Surgeons at the Crisle Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio removed shrapnel from
his shoulder. He was able to be home with his family for Christmas 1944.
Private Kain was awarded the Purple Heart Medal and two Bronze stars. The Standard Star December 26, 1944
Roy Skiles Kelley, was a graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point, class of 1941. He served with the
Corps. of Engineers during WWII and after. He married Catherine Regina Lahey of Pelham who graduated from the
Harriett Melissa Mills School in NYC and attended Columbia University. Kelley was a career Army officer and retired at
the rank of Brigadier General. Both are interred at Arlington National Cemetery. The New York Times March 24,
1944 (February 23, 2008)
PFC George H. Kelly USA was the son of Mrs. Anna H. Kelly who lived at 15 Anderson Street. He was a graduate of
St. Catherine's School and Pelham Memorial High School where he was an active athlete and member of the football,
baseball, track, and tennis teams.
He joined the military and trained at Camp Swift, Texas and and Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. His unit also
practiced their maneuvers in Louisiana. He went overseas to Italy early in 1944 with the 135th Infantry unit and was
wounded on October 18th 1944. The 24 year old PFC recuperated at a hospital in Naples and was able to write his
parents with then news which they received in Pelham a month later in November.
The Standard Star Nov. 3, 1944. (March 21, 2008)
Private John Kenedy USAAF and Ensign Thomas Kenedy USN. Originally from New Rochelle, the family moved
to 603 Monterey Avenue, Pelham Manor. John, a graduate of the Canterbury School in New Milford, CT,was attached
to the camouflage division of the Army Air Forces. His brother Thomas was a graduate of Iona School and the
University of Notre Dame. Thomas enlisted in January 1943 and was commissioned in to the Naval Reserve after
completing training at the Great Lakes Academy. Before joining the Fleet, he studied at communications work at
Harvard University. The Standard Star May 17, 1943
Lt. John P. Kessler USAAF grew up at 543 Manor Lane in Pelham Manor, graduated from PMHS in 1935 and went
on to study at Colgate University for one year. He worked as a salesman before enlisting in the Army in February
1941 and initialed served with the Coast Artilery an anti-aircraft unit before transferring to the Army Air Force in
January 1942. He took initial flight training in Texas and was given his wings and commissioned at Moore Field on
Oct. 9, 1942. He was promoted to first Lieutenant in August 1943.
As a fighter pilot, Lt. Kessler flew a P47 Thunderbolt he nicknamed "Fistolysis" a member of the Eighth Army Air Force
fighter group responsible to provide coverage to heavy bombers making missions over Germany and other Nazi
territories. In February 1944, at age 26, Lt. Kessler was awarded the Air Medal for meritorious service in completion
of 10 operational sorties over enemy occupied Europe. He received an Oak leaf Cluster on completion of 20
operational sorties over enemy territory. Standard Star February 25, March 22, 1944 (Dec. 27, 2007)
LTC Kenneth G. Kraetzer USA (Ret.), a World War II veteran, a career Army Officer, and a member of American
Legion Post 50 in Pelham. He was honored in 2000 as the Grand Marshall of Pelham’s Memorial Day Parade. The
retired Lieutenant Colonel lived in Pelham Manor for many years, passed away on October 14, 2004 at the age of 85.
A native of the Bronx, LTC Kraetzer joined the New York National Guard in October 1939 based at the Kingsbridge
Armory and was called up to active duty in February of 1941. He was a sergeant stationed at Fort Ethan Allen in
Vermont the day Pearl Harbor was attacked and in October 1942 he was commissioned an artillery officer at Fort Sills,
OK. Three days later he returned to Pelham and married the former Adele Lahey, a member of PMHS ’38, at the
chapel where Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church now stands. After training in Washington State and Oregon, Mr.
Kraetzer went to North Africa in May of 1944 with the 348th Field Artillery Battalion of the 91st Infantry Division. The
next month, his unit was sent to Italy as part of the 5th U.S. Army and served in the battles at Arno, North Apennines
and Po Valley which marked the final liberation of Italy.
After World War II, LTC Kraetzer served with the 415th Field Artillery Group at Fort Jackson, SC and later as Army
liasion to the flagship USS Taconic; ACG17, based in Norfolk, VA. In 1949 he joined the 2nd Armory Division at Fort
Hood TX and later served with them for several years in Germany. In 1955 he served as an Operations Commander
of the Nike Missile Project in Baltimore. In 1957, he served at Camp Zama, Japan with the United Nations forces and
later on the 38th Parallel border of Korea. LTC Kraetzer completed his military service at First Army Headquarters at
Governors Island, NY. Upon his retirement in 1961 he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal.
Mr. Kraetzer was associated with RH Donnelly in Mt. Vernon, Hort & Hardart and the Sealtest-Tuscan-John Labatt
Company in New York. In 1989 he received the J. H. Moore Award for Excellence from Labott recognizing lifetime
achievements. LTC Kraetzer graduated from the University of Maryland and in retirement completed a MS in Pastoral
Counseling at Iona College in 1994. He was the father of Mary Kraetzer of Ossining, Ann Kraetzer of Colorado Springs
and Kenneth Kraetzer, Jr. of White Plains and grandfather of Colin Whiteneck and Ryan Whiteneck. His wife of 46
years, Adele Lahey Kraetzer, passed away in 1988. A Mass of Christian Burial washeld at Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Church with interment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne, NY. Journal News (Nov. 17, 2007)
Capt. Warren A. Kraetzer USA, grew up in the Bronx NY and joined the National Guard with his older brother
Kenneth in 1939. Both were commissioned US Army Field Artillery officers at Fort Sill, Oklahoma on Oct. 1, 1942.
While his brother went to North Africa and Italy, Warren landed in Normandy in June 1944 with the US Third Army. He
lead an artillery unit at the Battle of the Bulge that winter, and participated in the liberation of POW camps at the end
of the war.
Mr. Kraetzer was the husband of Coralie D. (Dudley) Kraetzer who grew up in Pelham; they were married for 53 years
until his death at age 80. Born in New York City, he was a son of the late Alfred and Stella (Armand) Kraetzer, he was
a graduate of NYU.
A fellow member of Pelham’s American Legion Post 50 with his brother, Mr. Kraetzer was an executive in public
television in New York City, Philadelphia, and finally Providence, RI. He won an Emmy Award, in New York, for the
creation of Sunrise Semester, a classic educational program featuring for-credit college courses. He was a resident
of Warwick RI at the time of his death and he was interred at Elm Grove Cemetery in Mystic Connecticut.
(January 7, 2008)
PFC Frederick V. Krais USA, an outstanding tennis player, grew up at 1007 Grant Avenue in Pelham Manor the son
of Frederick V. Krais. A student at Fordham Uniiversity after the 1942 academic year to join the Army. During the
early months of 1944 he went overseas and served with the 401st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion. He received two
battle stars for service in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, mostly likely in Italy.
Krais was captain of the Tennis team at Pelham Memorial High School and in 1941 and 1942 was Captain of the
Tennis team at Fordham University. He won the National Junior Indoor Doubles title, the New York State Junior Single
and Doubles, the Cape Cod men's Single and Doubles, Westchester County Junior Singles, and the Maine State
Junior Singles and Doubles titles. Standard Star May 15, 1945 (January 6, 2008)
Lieutenant Louis Charles Krauthoff II USAAF, was born in Montclair NJ in 1917 and later his family moved to 164
Ancon Avenue in Pelham. In 1935 he was valedictorian of his class at Pelham Memorial High School. He attended
the Lawrenceville School before graduation from Williams College in 1939. He attended Harvard Law School for two
years before the outbreak of World War II.
Louis enlisted six weeks after Pearl Harbor in 1942, training to become a pilot in the Army Air Forces and later a flight
instructor at Gunter Field. He was part of the French Pilots' Training Program, spending
the last year of the war as a squadron commander and deputy group commander. The French government decorated
him with Brevet Militaire de Pilote d'Avion.
After the war, Mr. Krauthoff completed his law studies at Boston University, then worked for the H.D. Catty Corp. in
Conn. In 1956 he moved to Washington, D.C. and worked for the Committee for National Trade Policy until 1964 while
earning a doctorate in economics from American University. He went on to work as an economist for Presidents
Johnson and Nixon at the Office of the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations in the Executive Office of the
President. There he worked as chairman of the Trade Information Committee and then chairman of the Advisory
Committee of the Consumer Education Council. Later he joined the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress,
until his retirement in 1983.
Mr. Krauthoff, an avid sportsman, played at the National Tennis Championship in Forest Hills as a junior. He was an
excellent golfer winning the Sankaty Head Golf Club Championship six times. With his wife Tabitha Turner Krauthoff,
the couple were responsible for the preservation of 1,462 acres of the “Middle Moors” on the island on Nantucket.
They had three sons, Philip Krauthoff of Stuart, Paul Krauthoff of Hancock, N.H. and Carl Krauthoff of Plains, Mont.
He died on Sunday, Sept. 6, 1998 in Stuart, Florida at age 81. http://www.obitcentral.com/obitsearch/obits/ma/ma-
nantucket6.htm
(February 27, 2008)
Ralph H. Kruse Jr. lived at 14 Beech Tree Lane in Pelham. He was a graduate of PMHS and was attending
Fordham University when he joined the military in the fall of 1941. In October he was serving at Fort Benning, GA
when he was promoted to First Lieutenant. He served with the 923rd Ordinance company. Twin brothers Air Cadet
Louise C. Kruse and Corp. Carl T. Kruse trained in the Army Air Forces.
Their sister Gay Kruse married Francis Ludington. Mr. Kruse passed away on March 1980. He was interred at Gate
of Heaven Cemetery in Valhalla. The Standard Star October 26, 1945 The New York Times December 7, 1944 and
March 26 1980. (April 6, 2008)
Lt. Lester Jones LaGrange, JR. USNR, an Amherst, TX native, served in the USN for three and a half years. He
was on active duty for 15 months and returned home to the US for a year where he married Virginia Smith of Pelham
before going to the Pacific on the carrier USS Bon Homme Richard in January 1945.
Lt. LaGrange was engaged to Virginia Osborne Smith of Pelham on July 29, 1944. They were married at Christ
Episcopal Church in Pelham Manor on Aug. 20th. When her husband returned to the Navy in January 1945,Mrs.
LaGrange Jr. lived with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Smith at 7 Garden Place. A graduate of the Pennsylvania
School of Horticulture, she was a member of the Women Flyers of America and the Junior League. Lester was a
graduate of Rice Institute and held a Master's degree in chemical engineering from the Texas Technology College.
In October 1945 Virginia Lagrange flew to San Francisco to meet her husband, who arrived back with his ship on the
west coast after ten months of combat at sea. The New York Times July 30, 1944 The Standard Star Oct. 22, 1945
(January 13, 2008)
Lt. George Lambert, Jr. was part of the original invasion force of North Africa on Nov. 8, 1942. He then served at
several air bases as the Allied forces moved east.
Lambert graduated from Pelham Memorial High School and Columbia University in January 1941. Four months later
in May he volunteered to enlist in the Army. He trained for the Engineers Corps. at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, then in
Oct., he attended Officers Candidate School at Fort Belvoir, VA, and was commissioned at Second Lt. in January
1942. From February to July 1942 he served as an instructor of combat engineering at Fort Belvoir, and then was
sent to the aviation branch of the Engineers Corps., located at Westover Field in MA. He went to England in August
1942 and was stationed there until the North African invasion Fleet left that Fall. The Standard Star May 15, 1943.
Lt. James Samuel Lansing, USNR was born Sept. 16, 1919, in Pelham, N.Y., the son of Corporal and Mrs. James
F. Lansing who lived at 135 Fourth Street. He graduated from Pelham Memorial High School and then from Seton Hall
Prep in South Orange, N.J.
In 1940, when Fordham University was a national football power, Lansing helped the Rams to an 8-1 record and a trip
to the Cotton Bowl, where they lost to Texas A&M, 13-12. In 1941, he led the Rams to another 8-1 record and the
Sugar Bowl, where they beat Missouri, 2-0. Jim Crowley, then the Fordham coach, called Lansing the best end he
had ever coached. Before the Sugar Bowl game, William D. Richardson wrote in The New York Times, ''In addition to
being one of the best, though least publicized defensive players in the college ranks today, Lansing is a great pass
receiver.'' Lansing was named an All-American at Fordham.
In 1942, Lansing was called to active duty by the Navy Air Corps. He served as a dive-bomber and fighter pilot and
received the Distinguished Flying Cross. He flew as a member of unit commanded by "Butch" O'Hare, killed during a
raid on Makin Island, who O'Hare Airport in Chicago was named for. He participated in the raids on Truk Island in the
Pacific and other engagements in the aircraft carrier battles of the Pacific War in WWII. While home on leave, in
March of 1944, he described the Battle at Truk,
"We flew from our carrier at dawn after the fighters had eliminated Japanese opposition in the air. After a short space
of time, we arrived and the fun began. My target was a light cruiser and luckily my bombs made a direct hit on the
stern, causing the sides to blow out." The account of his remarks went on, "He attributed the success of the fliers to
coordination learned in American sports. The fighters, dive bombers, and torpedo bombers worked together, "Like a
group of professional football players" and with such teamwork, he held it is only a question of time until Togo will wish
he had minded his business."
In May of 1945, Lt. Lansing was reported to have shot down a Japanese plane, known as a "Judy" that was
attempting to attack his home aircraft carrier off of the coast of Japan. It was the first combat engagement for his
squadron. His parents lived at that time at 125 Mayflower Avenue, in New Rochelle.
Lt. Lansing returned to Fordham for his senior season in 1946 but injured a shoulder in the opening game, ending his
playing career. From 1947 through the 1954 season, he was an assistant coach under Ed Danowski, working with
fellow assistant Vince Lombardi. From 1955 to 1961, Lansing coached at Blessed Sacrament High School in New
Rochelle. He coached Fordham's return to football as a club team starting in 1964, and won the national club
championship in 1965 and 1968. His six-year record with the club team was 18-10-1. He continued as coach when
Fordham regained varsity status in 1970. In 1972, he retired from coaching to devote his time to administrative jobs
in the Athletic Dept at Fordham.
Jim Lansing died in his sleep in early December 2000 at his home in New Rochelle at age 81. His second wife, the
former Janice Graham of Mount Vernon, died in 1982. He was survived by two daughters, Janice Brecht of Franklin,
Mass., and Jennifer Lansing of San Diego; a son, James of Mount Vernon, N.Y.; and two grandchildren. The Standard
Star March 15, 1944 and May 7, 1945. The New York Times, FRANK LITSKY Dec. 9, 2000 (Dec. 4, 2007)
Wikipedia Edward O'Hare
Lahey, Raymond, US Navy Born February 25, 1914 and graduated from Pelham Memorial High School and studied
engineering at New York University. He joined the Martin Aircraft Company in the late 1930s and later the US Navy as
a pilot and flight instructor. After World War II, he worked for RCA and later Grumman when they built the Lunar
Exclusion Module which was a key part of landing astronauts of the moon in 1969 and saving the Apollo 13 mission.
Lahey had a passion for astronomy and enjoyed using telescopes through out his life. He died in Lake Worth, Florida
in 1990 just before the Hubble Space Telescope went operational which would have fascinated him. Ancesrty.com
(August 1, 2009)
Robert Bryarly Lee was promoted from First Lt to Captain according to the War Department on Sept. 21, 1943. He
lived on Highbrook Avenue, in Pelham. 39h1 The Standard Star September 21, 1943.
Louis G. Leahy, was a bomber pilot on the European front in World War II. Shortly after his return from the service
he married Patricia (Cusack) Leahy of Pelham, NY, both were graduates of Pelham Memorial High School. She was
the daughter of the late May (Curren) and Matthew Cusack of Pelham. Mrs. Leahy had two sisters, Joan (Cusack)
Schuler and Geraldine (Cusack) Luby, both of Pelham. They had a daughter Kathleen (Leahy) Born and her husband
John Robert Born. Lou was known as an avid golfer at the Pelham Country Club. Lou died on January 31, 1999, his
wife in August 2006. (Dec. 1, 2007)
Brigadier General F. W. Lewis; US ARMY
A 27 year veteran of the Army, Brigadier General Frederick W. Lewis, of the Army lived during his retirement years at
124 Pelhamdale Avenue, Pelham, New York.
Born in Buffalo, New York, General Lewis studied engineering at Cornell University attended the United States Military
Academy at West Point from which he was graduated in 1896. He was the son of another senior officer and veteran
of the Civil War, Brigadier General John R. Lewis, and the late Mrs. Helen Mattice Lewis.
Lewis served in the Cuban Campaign in the Spanish-American War as an Infantry Second Lieutenant, and fought in
the battle of El Caney. Later he served twice in the Philippines. He headed the Publications Division of the Adjutant
General’s Office in Washington, D. C. during the First World War and retired in 1923. His promotions occurred
Additional Second Lieutenant, 13th Infantry, 12 June 1896
Second Lieutenant, 22nd Infantry, 27 August 1896
First Lieutenant, Infantry, 1 November 1898
Assigned to 17th Infantry, 1 January 1899
Transferred to 12th Infantry, 2 October 1899
Transferred to 8th Infantry, 21 January 1901
Captain, Infantry, 1 July 1901
After his retirement General Lewis served for a time in New York as advertising manager of the Foundation Company,
an engineering and construction company, before retiring from business in 1928. He was a member of the Army and
Navy Club in Washington and the University and Governors Island Clubs in New York.
General lewis died on late April 28,1948 at Tilton General Hospital after a long illness at the age of 75. He was
survived by his wife, Mrs. Edith Jackson Lewis, and a son, Corporal Frederick W. Lewis, Jr., of the Army, who in 1948
was stationed in Alaska. The General and his wife are interred at Arlington National Cemetery section 1, site 462.
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/fwlewis.htm
Alexander Marshall Loeb, USNR of Meridian, Mississippi served as a US Navy officer during WWII. His
engagement to Jean Robinson of Pelham Manor was announced on May 23, 1944. He was a graduate of Washington
and Lee University in 1939. Jean was a graduate of Swarthmore College and Columbia School of Journalism. The
New York Times May 23, 1944
Francis H. Ludington, Jr. during WWII served in the Navy as an Engineering Officer on the Fletcher Class Destroyer
USS TERRY DD513 which fought in the battles of the Western Pacific and eventually sailed into Tokyo harbor.
Mr. Ludington graduated from the Lawrenceville School in NJ and officially was a member of the Princeton University
class '45, although his college time was altered and cut short by military responsibilities. In college he qualified for the
V12 program which was designed to train young men to be naval and marine officers. He was sent to Cornell for one
year to study engineering then completed his degree at Princeton. He then trained for several months on the USS
Praire State, the decommissioned USS Illinois which had been disarmed from its original stature as one of the
battleships of the famous Great White Fleet. He was sent to Pearl Harbor in late 1944 and joined the crew of the
TERRY. "I was very green but knew engineering. It was good to listen a lot."
"We participated in shore bombardments and worked with the fast carriers of Task Force 38 and 58. We were a very
active and happy ship. We were able to pick up quite a few fliers who had crashed. Off of Iwo Jima the TERRY was
badly damaged by 6 inch gun fire from a shore battery", commented the long time Pelham Manor resident.
That happened on March 1st, 1945 when the Terry was hit amid ships on the starboard side sustaining heavy
damage and 10% casualties(killed and wounded). The forward engine was knocked out and that engine room quickly
flooded. After temporary repairs at Siapan and later at Pearl Harbor, the ship continued back to Mare Island near San
Francisco.
The TERRY returned to service escorting several aircraft carriers for the final months of the war nearing the
Japanese islands. She was one of the first American ships to steam into Tokyo Harbor immediately after formal peace
documents were signed on Admiral Halsey's flagship, the battleship USS MISSOURI. The TERRY remained in
Japanese waters for two months and then headed back to San Diego on nov. 20, 1945.and serviced the occupational
forces for several months before heading back to San Diego, CA on November 20, 1945.
Mr. Ludington married the former Gay Kruse on Aug. 31, 1946 at St. Catherine's Church at a ceremony performed by
the Rev. Arthur A. Campbell, who had been an Army chaplain. The couple settled in Pelham. He went on to be
Chairman and CEO of the Chase Bag Company and also serve as Mayor of Pelham Manor. Interview February
2008. (March 1, 2008)
CPL Thomas W. Lynch, USMC son of Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Lynch Sr., lived at 11 Lawrence Place in Pelham Manor.
He was a graduate of St. Michael's Prep in the Bronx and worked at the Francis H. Leggett Company, a food
distributor, before enlisting in the military in July 1942. He trained at Paris Island, SC; New River, NC; and Camp
Pendleton, CA before going overseas in January 1943.
CPL Lynch was twice wounded in action, the first time on July 4th 1944 at Saipan. He was a veteran of the campaigns
in the Marshall Islands, Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima.
At Iwo Jima, he helped evacuate wounded Marines under deadly enemy machine gun fire by using grenades for
cover. They wrapped the wounded in ponchos and dragged them from hole to hole.
On February 26th 1945, the 24 year old Marine was wounded in the left hand in action on Okinawa and awarded the
Purple Heart on April 12th On June 26th, his parents were informed in a letter from the Navy Dept., that their son had
been injured, and that he had been awarded the Purple Heart. "Cpl. Lynch Wounded In Hand" Standard Star July 11,
1945. (March 12, 2008)
23
Ruth C. Kain and the couple lived at 20 Beach Street in Mt. Vernon. His father John J. Kain lived at 554 East Third
Street, Mount Vernon.
Serving in Italy during WWII Private Kain was wounded in Italy on September 28, 1944. After nine months overseas,
he was returned to the US on Nov. 18th. Surgeons at the Crisle Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio removed shrapnel from
his shoulder. He was able to be home with his family for Christmas 1944.
Private Kain was awarded the Purple Heart Medal and two Bronze stars. The Standard Star December 26, 1944
Roy Skiles Kelley, was a graduate of the US Military Academy at West Point, class of 1941. He served with the
Corps. of Engineers during WWII and after. He married Catherine Regina Lahey of Pelham who graduated from the
Harriett Melissa Mills School in NYC and attended Columbia University. Kelley was a career Army officer and retired at
the rank of Brigadier General. Both are interred at Arlington National Cemetery. The New York Times March 24,
1944 (February 23, 2008)
PFC George H. Kelly USA was the son of Mrs. Anna H. Kelly who lived at 15 Anderson Street. He was a graduate of
St. Catherine's School and Pelham Memorial High School where he was an active athlete and member of the football,
baseball, track, and tennis teams.
He joined the military and trained at Camp Swift, Texas and and Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. His unit also
practiced their maneuvers in Louisiana. He went overseas to Italy early in 1944 with the 135th Infantry unit and was
wounded on October 18th 1944. The 24 year old PFC recuperated at a hospital in Naples and was able to write his
parents with then news which they received in Pelham a month later in November.
The Standard Star Nov. 3, 1944. (March 21, 2008)
Private John Kenedy USAAF and Ensign Thomas Kenedy USN. Originally from New Rochelle, the family moved
to 603 Monterey Avenue, Pelham Manor. John, a graduate of the Canterbury School in New Milford, CT,was attached
to the camouflage division of the Army Air Forces. His brother Thomas was a graduate of Iona School and the
University of Notre Dame. Thomas enlisted in January 1943 and was commissioned in to the Naval Reserve after
completing training at the Great Lakes Academy. Before joining the Fleet, he studied at communications work at
Harvard University. The Standard Star May 17, 1943
Lt. John P. Kessler USAAF grew up at 543 Manor Lane in Pelham Manor, graduated from PMHS in 1935 and went
on to study at Colgate University for one year. He worked as a salesman before enlisting in the Army in February
1941 and initialed served with the Coast Artilery an anti-aircraft unit before transferring to the Army Air Force in
January 1942. He took initial flight training in Texas and was given his wings and commissioned at Moore Field on
Oct. 9, 1942. He was promoted to first Lieutenant in August 1943.
As a fighter pilot, Lt. Kessler flew a P47 Thunderbolt he nicknamed "Fistolysis" a member of the Eighth Army Air Force
fighter group responsible to provide coverage to heavy bombers making missions over Germany and other Nazi
territories. In February 1944, at age 26, Lt. Kessler was awarded the Air Medal for meritorious service in completion
of 10 operational sorties over enemy occupied Europe. He received an Oak leaf Cluster on completion of 20
operational sorties over enemy territory. Standard Star February 25, March 22, 1944 (Dec. 27, 2007)
LTC Kenneth G. Kraetzer USA (Ret.), a World War II veteran, a career Army Officer, and a member of American
Legion Post 50 in Pelham. He was honored in 2000 as the Grand Marshall of Pelham’s Memorial Day Parade. The
retired Lieutenant Colonel lived in Pelham Manor for many years, passed away on October 14, 2004 at the age of 85.
A native of the Bronx, LTC Kraetzer joined the New York National Guard in October 1939 based at the Kingsbridge
Armory and was called up to active duty in February of 1941. He was a sergeant stationed at Fort Ethan Allen in
Vermont the day Pearl Harbor was attacked and in October 1942 he was commissioned an artillery officer at Fort Sills,
OK. Three days later he returned to Pelham and married the former Adele Lahey, a member of PMHS ’38, at the
chapel where Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church now stands. After training in Washington State and Oregon, Mr.
Kraetzer went to North Africa in May of 1944 with the 348th Field Artillery Battalion of the 91st Infantry Division. The
next month, his unit was sent to Italy as part of the 5th U.S. Army and served in the battles at Arno, North Apennines
and Po Valley which marked the final liberation of Italy.
After World War II, LTC Kraetzer served with the 415th Field Artillery Group at Fort Jackson, SC and later as Army
liasion to the flagship USS Taconic; ACG17, based in Norfolk, VA. In 1949 he joined the 2nd Armory Division at Fort
Hood TX and later served with them for several years in Germany. In 1955 he served as an Operations Commander
of the Nike Missile Project in Baltimore. In 1957, he served at Camp Zama, Japan with the United Nations forces and
later on the 38th Parallel border of Korea. LTC Kraetzer completed his military service at First Army Headquarters at
Governors Island, NY. Upon his retirement in 1961 he was awarded the Army Commendation Medal.
Mr. Kraetzer was associated with RH Donnelly in Mt. Vernon, Hort & Hardart and the Sealtest-Tuscan-John Labatt
Company in New York. In 1989 he received the J. H. Moore Award for Excellence from Labott recognizing lifetime
achievements. LTC Kraetzer graduated from the University of Maryland and in retirement completed a MS in Pastoral
Counseling at Iona College in 1994. He was the father of Mary Kraetzer of Ossining, Ann Kraetzer of Colorado Springs
and Kenneth Kraetzer, Jr. of White Plains and grandfather of Colin Whiteneck and Ryan Whiteneck. His wife of 46
years, Adele Lahey Kraetzer, passed away in 1988. A Mass of Christian Burial washeld at Our Lady of Perpetual Help
Church with interment at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, Hawthorne, NY. Journal News (Nov. 17, 2007)
Capt. Warren A. Kraetzer USA, grew up in the Bronx NY and joined the National Guard with his older brother
Kenneth in 1939. Both were commissioned US Army Field Artillery officers at Fort Sill, Oklahoma on Oct. 1, 1942.
While his brother went to North Africa and Italy, Warren landed in Normandy in June 1944 with the US Third Army. He
lead an artillery unit at the Battle of the Bulge that winter, and participated in the liberation of POW camps at the end
of the war.
Mr. Kraetzer was the husband of Coralie D. (Dudley) Kraetzer who grew up in Pelham; they were married for 53 years
until his death at age 80. Born in New York City, he was a son of the late Alfred and Stella (Armand) Kraetzer, he was
a graduate of NYU.
A fellow member of Pelham’s American Legion Post 50 with his brother, Mr. Kraetzer was an executive in public
television in New York City, Philadelphia, and finally Providence, RI. He won an Emmy Award, in New York, for the
creation of Sunrise Semester, a classic educational program featuring for-credit college courses. He was a resident
of Warwick RI at the time of his death and he was interred at Elm Grove Cemetery in Mystic Connecticut.
(January 7, 2008)
PFC Frederick V. Krais USA, an outstanding tennis player, grew up at 1007 Grant Avenue in Pelham Manor the son
of Frederick V. Krais. A student at Fordham Uniiversity after the 1942 academic year to join the Army. During the
early months of 1944 he went overseas and served with the 401st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion. He received two
battle stars for service in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, mostly likely in Italy.
Krais was captain of the Tennis team at Pelham Memorial High School and in 1941 and 1942 was Captain of the
Tennis team at Fordham University. He won the National Junior Indoor Doubles title, the New York State Junior Single
and Doubles, the Cape Cod men's Single and Doubles, Westchester County Junior Singles, and the Maine State
Junior Singles and Doubles titles. Standard Star May 15, 1945 (January 6, 2008)
Lieutenant Louis Charles Krauthoff II USAAF, was born in Montclair NJ in 1917 and later his family moved to 164
Ancon Avenue in Pelham. In 1935 he was valedictorian of his class at Pelham Memorial High School. He attended
the Lawrenceville School before graduation from Williams College in 1939. He attended Harvard Law School for two
years before the outbreak of World War II.
Louis enlisted six weeks after Pearl Harbor in 1942, training to become a pilot in the Army Air Forces and later a flight
instructor at Gunter Field. He was part of the French Pilots' Training Program, spending
the last year of the war as a squadron commander and deputy group commander. The French government decorated
him with Brevet Militaire de Pilote d'Avion.
After the war, Mr. Krauthoff completed his law studies at Boston University, then worked for the H.D. Catty Corp. in
Conn. In 1956 he moved to Washington, D.C. and worked for the Committee for National Trade Policy until 1964 while
earning a doctorate in economics from American University. He went on to work as an economist for Presidents
Johnson and Nixon at the Office of the Special Representative for Trade Negotiations in the Executive Office of the
President. There he worked as chairman of the Trade Information Committee and then chairman of the Advisory
Committee of the Consumer Education Council. Later he joined the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress,
until his retirement in 1983.
Mr. Krauthoff, an avid sportsman, played at the National Tennis Championship in Forest Hills as a junior. He was an
excellent golfer winning the Sankaty Head Golf Club Championship six times. With his wife Tabitha Turner Krauthoff,
the couple were responsible for the preservation of 1,462 acres of the “Middle Moors” on the island on Nantucket.
They had three sons, Philip Krauthoff of Stuart, Paul Krauthoff of Hancock, N.H. and Carl Krauthoff of Plains, Mont.
He died on Sunday, Sept. 6, 1998 in Stuart, Florida at age 81. http://www.obitcentral.com/obitsearch/obits/ma/ma-
nantucket6.htm
(February 27, 2008)
Ralph H. Kruse Jr. lived at 14 Beech Tree Lane in Pelham. He was a graduate of PMHS and was attending
Fordham University when he joined the military in the fall of 1941. In October he was serving at Fort Benning, GA
when he was promoted to First Lieutenant. He served with the 923rd Ordinance company. Twin brothers Air Cadet
Louise C. Kruse and Corp. Carl T. Kruse trained in the Army Air Forces.
Their sister Gay Kruse married Francis Ludington. Mr. Kruse passed away on March 1980. He was interred at Gate
of Heaven Cemetery in Valhalla. The Standard Star October 26, 1945 The New York Times December 7, 1944 and
March 26 1980. (April 6, 2008)
Lt. Lester Jones LaGrange, JR. USNR, an Amherst, TX native, served in the USN for three and a half years. He
was on active duty for 15 months and returned home to the US for a year where he married Virginia Smith of Pelham
before going to the Pacific on the carrier USS Bon Homme Richard in January 1945.
Lt. LaGrange was engaged to Virginia Osborne Smith of Pelham on July 29, 1944. They were married at Christ
Episcopal Church in Pelham Manor on Aug. 20th. When her husband returned to the Navy in January 1945,Mrs.
LaGrange Jr. lived with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Smith at 7 Garden Place. A graduate of the Pennsylvania
School of Horticulture, she was a member of the Women Flyers of America and the Junior League. Lester was a
graduate of Rice Institute and held a Master's degree in chemical engineering from the Texas Technology College.
In October 1945 Virginia Lagrange flew to San Francisco to meet her husband, who arrived back with his ship on the
west coast after ten months of combat at sea. The New York Times July 30, 1944 The Standard Star Oct. 22, 1945
(January 13, 2008)
Lt. George Lambert, Jr. was part of the original invasion force of North Africa on Nov. 8, 1942. He then served at
several air bases as the Allied forces moved east.
Lambert graduated from Pelham Memorial High School and Columbia University in January 1941. Four months later
in May he volunteered to enlist in the Army. He trained for the Engineers Corps. at Fort Leonard Wood, MO, then in
Oct., he attended Officers Candidate School at Fort Belvoir, VA, and was commissioned at Second Lt. in January
1942. From February to July 1942 he served as an instructor of combat engineering at Fort Belvoir, and then was
sent to the aviation branch of the Engineers Corps., located at Westover Field in MA. He went to England in August
1942 and was stationed there until the North African invasion Fleet left that Fall. The Standard Star May 15, 1943.
Lt. James Samuel Lansing, USNR was born Sept. 16, 1919, in Pelham, N.Y., the son of Corporal and Mrs. James
F. Lansing who lived at 135 Fourth Street. He graduated from Pelham Memorial High School and then from Seton Hall
Prep in South Orange, N.J.
In 1940, when Fordham University was a national football power, Lansing helped the Rams to an 8-1 record and a trip
to the Cotton Bowl, where they lost to Texas A&M, 13-12. In 1941, he led the Rams to another 8-1 record and the
Sugar Bowl, where they beat Missouri, 2-0. Jim Crowley, then the Fordham coach, called Lansing the best end he
had ever coached. Before the Sugar Bowl game, William D. Richardson wrote in The New York Times, ''In addition to
being one of the best, though least publicized defensive players in the college ranks today, Lansing is a great pass
receiver.'' Lansing was named an All-American at Fordham.
In 1942, Lansing was called to active duty by the Navy Air Corps. He served as a dive-bomber and fighter pilot and
received the Distinguished Flying Cross. He flew as a member of unit commanded by "Butch" O'Hare, killed during a
raid on Makin Island, who O'Hare Airport in Chicago was named for. He participated in the raids on Truk Island in the
Pacific and other engagements in the aircraft carrier battles of the Pacific War in WWII. While home on leave, in
March of 1944, he described the Battle at Truk,
"We flew from our carrier at dawn after the fighters had eliminated Japanese opposition in the air. After a short space
of time, we arrived and the fun began. My target was a light cruiser and luckily my bombs made a direct hit on the
stern, causing the sides to blow out." The account of his remarks went on, "He attributed the success of the fliers to
coordination learned in American sports. The fighters, dive bombers, and torpedo bombers worked together, "Like a
group of professional football players" and with such teamwork, he held it is only a question of time until Togo will wish
he had minded his business."
In May of 1945, Lt. Lansing was reported to have shot down a Japanese plane, known as a "Judy" that was
attempting to attack his home aircraft carrier off of the coast of Japan. It was the first combat engagement for his
squadron. His parents lived at that time at 125 Mayflower Avenue, in New Rochelle.
Lt. Lansing returned to Fordham for his senior season in 1946 but injured a shoulder in the opening game, ending his
playing career. From 1947 through the 1954 season, he was an assistant coach under Ed Danowski, working with
fellow assistant Vince Lombardi. From 1955 to 1961, Lansing coached at Blessed Sacrament High School in New
Rochelle. He coached Fordham's return to football as a club team starting in 1964, and won the national club
championship in 1965 and 1968. His six-year record with the club team was 18-10-1. He continued as coach when
Fordham regained varsity status in 1970. In 1972, he retired from coaching to devote his time to administrative jobs
in the Athletic Dept at Fordham.
Jim Lansing died in his sleep in early December 2000 at his home in New Rochelle at age 81. His second wife, the
former Janice Graham of Mount Vernon, died in 1982. He was survived by two daughters, Janice Brecht of Franklin,
Mass., and Jennifer Lansing of San Diego; a son, James of Mount Vernon, N.Y.; and two grandchildren. The Standard
Star March 15, 1944 and May 7, 1945. The New York Times, FRANK LITSKY Dec. 9, 2000 (Dec. 4, 2007)
Wikipedia Edward O'Hare
Lahey, Raymond, US Navy Born February 25, 1914 and graduated from Pelham Memorial High School and studied
engineering at New York University. He joined the Martin Aircraft Company in the late 1930s and later the US Navy as
a pilot and flight instructor. After World War II, he worked for RCA and later Grumman when they built the Lunar
Exclusion Module which was a key part of landing astronauts of the moon in 1969 and saving the Apollo 13 mission.
Lahey had a passion for astronomy and enjoyed using telescopes through out his life. He died in Lake Worth, Florida
in 1990 just before the Hubble Space Telescope went operational which would have fascinated him. Ancesrty.com
(August 1, 2009)
Robert Bryarly Lee was promoted from First Lt to Captain according to the War Department on Sept. 21, 1943. He
lived on Highbrook Avenue, in Pelham. 39h1 The Standard Star September 21, 1943.
Louis G. Leahy, was a bomber pilot on the European front in World War II. Shortly after his return from the service
he married Patricia (Cusack) Leahy of Pelham, NY, both were graduates of Pelham Memorial High School. She was
the daughter of the late May (Curren) and Matthew Cusack of Pelham. Mrs. Leahy had two sisters, Joan (Cusack)
Schuler and Geraldine (Cusack) Luby, both of Pelham. They had a daughter Kathleen (Leahy) Born and her husband
John Robert Born. Lou was known as an avid golfer at the Pelham Country Club. Lou died on January 31, 1999, his
wife in August 2006. (Dec. 1, 2007)
Brigadier General F. W. Lewis; US ARMY
A 27 year veteran of the Army, Brigadier General Frederick W. Lewis, of the Army lived during his retirement years at
124 Pelhamdale Avenue, Pelham, New York.
Born in Buffalo, New York, General Lewis studied engineering at Cornell University attended the United States Military
Academy at West Point from which he was graduated in 1896. He was the son of another senior officer and veteran
of the Civil War, Brigadier General John R. Lewis, and the late Mrs. Helen Mattice Lewis.
Lewis served in the Cuban Campaign in the Spanish-American War as an Infantry Second Lieutenant, and fought in
the battle of El Caney. Later he served twice in the Philippines. He headed the Publications Division of the Adjutant
General’s Office in Washington, D. C. during the First World War and retired in 1923. His promotions occurred
Additional Second Lieutenant, 13th Infantry, 12 June 1896
Second Lieutenant, 22nd Infantry, 27 August 1896
First Lieutenant, Infantry, 1 November 1898
Assigned to 17th Infantry, 1 January 1899
Transferred to 12th Infantry, 2 October 1899
Transferred to 8th Infantry, 21 January 1901
Captain, Infantry, 1 July 1901
After his retirement General Lewis served for a time in New York as advertising manager of the Foundation Company,
an engineering and construction company, before retiring from business in 1928. He was a member of the Army and
Navy Club in Washington and the University and Governors Island Clubs in New York.
General lewis died on late April 28,1948 at Tilton General Hospital after a long illness at the age of 75. He was
survived by his wife, Mrs. Edith Jackson Lewis, and a son, Corporal Frederick W. Lewis, Jr., of the Army, who in 1948
was stationed in Alaska. The General and his wife are interred at Arlington National Cemetery section 1, site 462.
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/fwlewis.htm
Alexander Marshall Loeb, USNR of Meridian, Mississippi served as a US Navy officer during WWII. His
engagement to Jean Robinson of Pelham Manor was announced on May 23, 1944. He was a graduate of Washington
and Lee University in 1939. Jean was a graduate of Swarthmore College and Columbia School of Journalism. The
New York Times May 23, 1944
Francis H. Ludington, Jr. during WWII served in the Navy as an Engineering Officer on the Fletcher Class Destroyer
USS TERRY DD513 which fought in the battles of the Western Pacific and eventually sailed into Tokyo harbor.
Mr. Ludington graduated from the Lawrenceville School in NJ and officially was a member of the Princeton University
class '45, although his college time was altered and cut short by military responsibilities. In college he qualified for the
V12 program which was designed to train young men to be naval and marine officers. He was sent to Cornell for one
year to study engineering then completed his degree at Princeton. He then trained for several months on the USS
Praire State, the decommissioned USS Illinois which had been disarmed from its original stature as one of the
battleships of the famous Great White Fleet. He was sent to Pearl Harbor in late 1944 and joined the crew of the
TERRY. "I was very green but knew engineering. It was good to listen a lot."
"We participated in shore bombardments and worked with the fast carriers of Task Force 38 and 58. We were a very
active and happy ship. We were able to pick up quite a few fliers who had crashed. Off of Iwo Jima the TERRY was
badly damaged by 6 inch gun fire from a shore battery", commented the long time Pelham Manor resident.
That happened on March 1st, 1945 when the Terry was hit amid ships on the starboard side sustaining heavy
damage and 10% casualties(killed and wounded). The forward engine was knocked out and that engine room quickly
flooded. After temporary repairs at Siapan and later at Pearl Harbor, the ship continued back to Mare Island near San
Francisco.
The TERRY returned to service escorting several aircraft carriers for the final months of the war nearing the
Japanese islands. She was one of the first American ships to steam into Tokyo Harbor immediately after formal peace
documents were signed on Admiral Halsey's flagship, the battleship USS MISSOURI. The TERRY remained in
Japanese waters for two months and then headed back to San Diego on nov. 20, 1945.and serviced the occupational
forces for several months before heading back to San Diego, CA on November 20, 1945.
Mr. Ludington married the former Gay Kruse on Aug. 31, 1946 at St. Catherine's Church at a ceremony performed by
the Rev. Arthur A. Campbell, who had been an Army chaplain. The couple settled in Pelham. He went on to be
Chairman and CEO of the Chase Bag Company and also serve as Mayor of Pelham Manor. Interview February
2008. (March 1, 2008)
CPL Thomas W. Lynch, USMC son of Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Lynch Sr., lived at 11 Lawrence Place in Pelham Manor.
He was a graduate of St. Michael's Prep in the Bronx and worked at the Francis H. Leggett Company, a food
distributor, before enlisting in the military in July 1942. He trained at Paris Island, SC; New River, NC; and Camp
Pendleton, CA before going overseas in January 1943.
CPL Lynch was twice wounded in action, the first time on July 4th 1944 at Saipan. He was a veteran of the campaigns
in the Marshall Islands, Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima.
At Iwo Jima, he helped evacuate wounded Marines under deadly enemy machine gun fire by using grenades for
cover. They wrapped the wounded in ponchos and dragged them from hole to hole.
On February 26th 1945, the 24 year old Marine was wounded in the left hand in action on Okinawa and awarded the
Purple Heart on April 12th On June 26th, his parents were informed in a letter from the Navy Dept., that their son had
been injured, and that he had been awarded the Purple Heart. "Cpl. Lynch Wounded In Hand" Standard Star July 11,
1945. (March 12, 2008)
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