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WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU We Regret to Inform You: An Ashland family lost all three sons in WWII By Lynne Hasselman DailyTidings.com By Lynne Hasselman Posted Oct. 21, 2015 @ 8:17 pm By Lynne Hasselman Posted Oct. 21, 2015 @ 8:17 pm » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2324,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> Editor's note: This is the 10th installment of a series of stories about Ashland residents who lost their lives in military service during World War II. It continues through Nov. 11, Veterans Day. It was a terrible gamble for parents who sent multiple sons into harm’s way, one that Thomas and Aletta Sullivan of Iowa knew all too well. They lost all of five of their sons on the USS Juneau (CL-52) when it was torpedoed and sunk in November 1942. The death of the Sullivan brothers was the impetus behind the Sole Survivor Policy protecting members of a family from the draft or combat duty if they had already lost family members in military service. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enacted into law until 1948. In his letter of condolence to the Sullivans, President Roosevelt wrote, “I realize full well there is little I can say to assuage your grief. We who remain to carry on the fight must maintain spirit, in the knowledge that such sacrifice is not in vain.” Shouldering the burden of loss every day was former Ashland High School history teacher Norman Ashcraft and his wife, Ethel, who lost all three of their sons within a year. At Mountain View Cemetery, a polished granite memorial carved with the picture of a four-engine aircraft and a cross reads “In Memory of the Ashcraft Brothers.” Engraved upon it are the names of the three young men who made their parents so proud — Navy Lt. j.g. Dean Bruner Ashcraft, who died on June 5, 1943; Navy Lt. Kent Norman Ashcraft, who died on Dec. 27, 1943; and Army Staff Sgt. Leland James Ashcraft, who died on Feb. 29, 1944. Dean, the youngest Ashcraft, was handsome with an infectious wide, toothy grin. He had attended Southern Oregon College of Education (SOCE) and was a senior at Oregon State College when he enlisted. The ideal candidate for Naval Flight Preparatory School, Dean attacked his grueling coursework with customary diligence and enthusiasm — mathematics and physics, physical training, military skills, naval customs and etiquette, flight simulation work and flight testing. Passing with high marks, he received his gold-metal aviator's wings and finished his training with 200 flight hours on front-line Navy aircraft. Dean was chosen as a flight instructor at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Fla. Dean and his passenger were killed on June 5, 1943 in an aircraft accident off the coast of Miami Beach. His brother, Lt. Kent N. Ashcraft, solemnly accompanied his younger brother’s body to Ashland for burial. “Dean’s jovial disposition was a dominant characteristic,” the minister said at the memorial service. “With malice toward none and with divine faith, he held high hopes for himself and for all of humanity.” Sturdy, strong, and focused, middle brother Kent lived at 8 Beach Street with his wife, Beulah, also a graduate of Ashland High, and his brother Leland. Enrolled in the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) at SOCE, Kent went on to become one of first from Oregon to graduate from advanced pilot training. He was also assigned to the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, completing his training on Aug. 15, 1941. As a flight instructor and the Officer in Charge of his squadron, Kent was at the controls of a PBY-5A patrol bomber with his crew of five when they went missing after failing to arrive on Baker Island on a flight from Makin in the Gilbert Islands. His last letter, written just a few days before, simply said that he was leaving on a flight operation. He was never heard from again. Kent left behind a 2-year-old daughter. His wife, Beulah, later became president of the Portland Gold Star Wives, advocating for government medical, dental and educational benefits for the children of fallen servicemen. Leland, the oldest son, worked at the Ice and Storage Company in Ashland before becoming a forestry student at Oregon State College. As Staff Sgt. in Company C of the 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division, he saw combat in Africa and in Italy. Knowing he was his parents’ last remaining son and that he was still on front lines must have been terrible. Wounded during the invasion of Italy, Leland recovered, only to be sent to Monte Cassino, a dry and dusty mountain dotted with the remains of bodies, blackened trees, and dead pack mules. The Germans were determined to hold it at all costs — every foot of the way was heavily mined and men died waiting for transport over the circuitous trails to aid stations. It was here on its rocky, rubble strewn hillside in the shadow of the once majestic Abbey of Monte Cassino where Leland died on Feb. 29, 1944. For the rest of her life, Ethel Ashcraft wore her treasured Gold Star Mother pin with its three stars in honor of each of her sons. Although she and Norman moved to Canyonville, they chose to be buried next to the memorial to their sons. Cpl. Alden D. Powell Jr. had this written next to his senior class picture in the 1939 Ashland High yearbook: “Good looks, good personality, good tennis ability, good leadership. All he needs to get along with everyone.” Alden enlisted on his 18th birthday, assigned to the Fourth School Squadron at Chanute Field in Champaign, Illinois. From there, it was onto heavy bomber training at Fort Worth Army Airfield. Shortly thereafter, Alden was selected to be a B-24 Liberator instructor with the 2519th Squadron. On May 13, 1944, while a passenger in a B-24, Alden’s aircraft belly landed due to engine failure or fire half a mile northwest of the Fort Worth Air Force Base. He died instantly. In a double tragedy, his grandmother, Lillian Powell, who lived on Oak Street next door to Alden’s family, died immediately upon hearing the news. The shock of her grandson’s death two years to the day since Alden’s mother died was just too much to bear. William and Virginia Cox of Ashland were also a Gold Star family, losing both of their sons within a month of each other in 1944. Older son Lloyd, Tech. Sgt., 10th Troop Carrier Squadron, 60th Troop Carrier Group, was killed over Sicily on Nov. 15 and their youngest son, David, Pfc., 399th Infantry Regiment, 100th Infantry Division, died on Dec. 16 in the Battle of the Bulge. Their sister resigned her job teaching school in California to come home to be with her parents. “Loss, often the worst kind, also arrived through the deafening quiet of an absence,” wrote Kristina McMorris. For each parent, wife, sibling, and child who loved and remembered, a piece would always be defined by the empty spaces of those no longer here. Next week: "Remembering the Prisoners of War: Family Members Fighting to Survive Cabanatuan." By Lynne Hasselman DailyTidings.com By Lynne Hasselman Posted Oct. 21, 2015 @ 8:17 pm » Comment or view comments Terms of Service /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Mobile Site Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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