January 6, 1945 (Saturday)

STILL PLENTY COLD

Just a wee bit warmer

but still plenty cold.

Cleaned all over house.

Rec'd a card from

Alice saying they

reached Detroit O.K.

at 3 o'clock Tuesday.

Kate and Bill out tonight.

Played 15 games of

euchre. Kate and I won 7.

Men 8 games.

Paul and Dick here for

dinner. Bob plowing

out roads.

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Every entry in my great grandmother's journals lead me on path of exploration about her, and about the world in which she lived. Something I enjoy the most is discovering stories about ordinary people, many of whom have experienced extraordinary things.

Quite often, I begin my research on each journal entry by looking at the archives for the local newspapers in search of something that substantiates what Edna has detailed. For this particular entry, other than news of the weather, there weren't any commonalities between the two. But there was a news item that caught my attention.

Throughout WWII, the Lowell Ledger featured a column entitled NEWS OF OUR BOYS on the front page.

Each small tidbit in the column shared news about local servicemen. Letters received. Medals awarded. Injuries sustained. Local boys running into one another overseas.

It is the sixth item in the column for this week that captured my attention.

---

Pvt. Robert E. Kiste, 18, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Kiste, formerly of near Moseley, was killed in Germany Dec. 16, Pvt. Kiste was one of four sons of the Kistes in service, all of whom have been wounded, and was a nephew of Mrs. Earl Kropf of Lowell.

---

My own son, Alden, like Robert Kiste, is 18. Alden is just off to college. Robert was just off to war when he was killed in action at the age of 18. I have spent the last several months worrying about how my 18-year old child is adjusting to college only to discover that Mrs. Kiste's worry about her 18-year old son was losing him to war. It hit me hard.

Robert Eldon Kiste was born on February 18, 1926 to Ralph and Ruth Kiste. He had several siblings, including three brothers who also served during WWII.

Robert enlisted in mid April of 1944 and trained for 18 weeks before shipping overseas. His service took him to France, Belgium and eventually to Germany, where he was killed in action on December 16, 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge.

The Battle of the Bulge began when German forces launched a surprise attack on Allied forces on December 16, 1945 It lasted until January 16, 1945. Robert was killed on the first day of the battle.

A little more than two months after the death of Robert, his brother Paul was killed in action.

Paul Ardin Kiste was born on March 25, 1922.

Paul entered the service in 1942 and was sent overseas in February of 1943. He was wounded at Guam in July of 1942 and spent two months in a naval hospital.

He was killed in action at Iwo Jima on February 25, 1945, just one month shy of his 23rd birthday.

U.S. Marines invaded Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945, Nearly 7,000 U.S. Marines were killed. Another 20,000 were wounded. The island was finally declared secured on March 26, 1945 (one day after what would have been Paul's birthday). It was one of the bloodiest battles in Marine Corps history.

The brothers were laid to rest in a double ceremony at Alton cemetery in Lowell, Michigan.

Robert was initially laid to rest in Belgium, the closest national cemetery to where he fell but was eventually brought home and laid to rest next to his brother. I am not certain of the date of the burial in Michigan. I found the news article FINAL RITES FOR BROTHER HEROES SET FOR SUNDAY attached to their burial information on the Find a Grave Sight webpage. There were no dates attached to the article.

I was able to find a copy of the application Robert's father made to the US government for a headstone for his son. That application was in October of 1948, nearly four years after Robert was killed in action. I am not certain if that application coincided with the ceremony referenced in the article above.

Paul and Robert's brothers, Lloyd and Ralph, both saw action and were wounded in WWII but returned home.

Ralph entered the service in 1942 at the age of 24. He served in France, Belgium and Germany. He was wounded in action and Germany and awarded a Purple Heart. Lloyd entered the service in 1943 at the age of 29. He served in New Guinea, Netherlands, East Indies, Saipan, Australia, and the Philippines.

I hope that Edna somehow knew the legacy she was building when she picked up her pencil each day and wrote a few words in her journal. We are meeting Paul and Robert and Lloyd and Ralph Kiste because of her.