the BEACON Newspaper, Indiana beacon12-17web | Page 7

December 2017
S
Clarence
"Batch" Batchelor
Clarence was born on Janu-
ary 15, 1934, to Perry Batch-
elor Sr. He had a brother,
Perry Jr.,
and two
sisters,
Virginia
(Craigmile)
and Louise
(Hughes).
Batch
attended the
Clarence Batchelor Leinegar
School on
Weisburg Rd. and then went
to school in Manchester. He
went to Aurora High School
with the Class of 1952. He
entered the United States Air
Force in 1952 and served for
eight years. He took basic
training at San Antonio, TX
and then went to Hunter AFB
in Savannah, GA. Mr. Batch-
elor was deployed overseas to
French Morocco in North
Africa for eighteen months
and came home to Hunter
AFB. He was sent back to
French Morocco, then re-
turned to the USA as an E~5
and was discharged in 1960.
Mr. Batchelor was awarded
the National Defense Medal,
the Air Force Good Conduct
Medal and an Overseas Rib-
bon. He has three children:
Charles, Katheryn (Tony
Starkey) and Rebecca (Dan-
iel Smith). He also has six
grandchildren: Collin, Na-
than, Brittany, Wyatt, Erica
and Sabrina, and one great-
grandchild, Dakoda.
Mr. Batchelor worked at
Thatcher Glass from 1956-
1991. He is a member of the
Southeastern Indiana Korean
War Veterans Association,
Chapter #4 (KWVA), Moores
Hill American Legion Post
#209, Aurora VFW Post
# 5312 and the 40&8. Mr.
Batchelor is proud of his ser-
vice to our nation in the Air
Force and readily supports
those serving today, especially
those in harm's way.
THE BEACON
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ALUTE TO THE MILITARY
Breckenridge, KY and then
went to Camp Kilmer, NJ. He
was sent to Munich, Germany
for eighteen months to serve
with the 485* Combat Engi-
neers, Headquarters Platoon
and returned to the USA and
was discharged in January
1953 as a Corporal.
Corporal Oelker was
awarded the National Defense
Medal and Occupation of
Germany Medal.
On April 11, 1953, Cpl.
Oelker married Marjorie
Bohl. They had three chil-
dren: Jeff(Joy), Dale (Tonja)
Cindy (Tom) Moreo. The
Oelker's grandchildren are
Chris Oeiker, Kara Oelker,
Ryan Oelker, Rachael Wil-
liams, Ciara (Robert) Rus-
sell, Amanda Moreo and Joni
Moreo. They have seven great
grandchildren.
Mr. Oelker retired as a
Union Carpenter and has been
a member of that union for
sixty-two years. He is a life-
long member of the St. John's
Lutheran Church on Ludlow
Hill. Bob is a faithful member
of the Southeastern Indiana
Korean War Veterans Asso-
ciation Chapter #4 (KWVA)
and dedicated member of
the Color Guard. He faith-
fully loads the rifles and helps
in any way possible to pay
that final tribute to a fellow
veteran.
Mr. Oelker has a strong
belief in God and our na-
tion. He supports our troops
serving today and knows the
steep price that has been paid
for our freedoms. He truly un-
derstands the meaning of the
words Duty-Honor-Country.
Ralph E. Cole
Ralph Cole was born on
December 8, 1935, to John
and Ina (Carrigan) Cole. He
had three brothers: Stanley,
John, and
Bill along
with two
sisters,
Marie and
Mildred.
Ralph
attended
grade school
at the old
Ralph Cole
one-room
school called Tuff in Aurora
for grades 1-4. He then
attended school at Wilming-
ton for two years, followed by
attending Cass Union School
in Ohio County. He continued
his schooling at Wilmington
then became a student at the
Aurora High School with the
Class of 1953. He entered the
United States Air Force on
July 8, 1954, and reported to
San Antonio, TX for basic
training. Mr. Cole then
reported to Shepard Air Force
Base at Wichita Falls, TX for
advanced training followed by
going to Etain, France,
Avalonia, Italy, and then
Grosseto, Italy where he was
assigned as an Aircraft
Maintenance and Material
Control Specialist. He re-
turned to the USA and went to
Minot AFB in North Dakota.
Mr. Cole was discharged on
July 7, 1962, as an E-4. At the
age of 48, he enlisted in the
Indiana National Guard for
one year with his son-in-law,
Pat Ferrari at Madison, IN. He
was awarded the National
Defense Medal, the Air Force
Longevity Medal and the Air
Force Good Conduct Medal
with two oak leaf clusters.
Mr. Cole married Gloria
Oilman on Nov. 13, 1964.
They had five children: Ron-
ald, Rodney, and Ralph II. Mr.
Cole had two daughters: Rox-
anna (Pat) Ferrari and Rena
(Kurk) Henson. They have
twelve grandchildren includ-
ing one they raised, Jamie.
They also have twenty-three
great-grandchildren, including
one they raised, Sebastian.
Ralph worked at Thatcher
Glass in Greendale for
thirty-five years. Mr. Cole is
a member of the Southeastern
Indiana Korean War Veterans
Association (KWVA), Chap-
ter #4, where he is a valuable
member of the Color Guard
and the Vice Commander,
40&8, Amvets and the
Disabled American Veterans
(DAV). Mr. Cole is proud to
be a member of these Veter-
ans' organizations and very
proud to be a part of such an
outstanding Color Guard that
helps to pay that final respect
to a fellow veteran.
Robert C.
"Bob" Oelker
Bob was born on Dec. 29,
1928 to Clarence and Amelia
Oelker. He has two sisters;
Janet and
Dorothy
(Lattire).
Bob attend-
ed a one-
room school
and then
went to
Homestead
School and
Robert Oelker
Central
School in Lawrenceburg. He
attended Lawrenceburg
Consolidated High School
(LCHS) with the Class of 1946.
Bob entered the U.S. Army
on January 18, 1951, at Camp
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