"After World War I, Cleveland and its neighboring suburbs, including Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights, established 'Liberty Row' to honor local soldiers who had died in the war. This memorial, dedicated on Memorial Day in 1919, consisted of over 800 oak trees planted along a nine-mile stretch of roadway. Each tree was accompanied by a bronze plaque bearing the name of a fallen servicemember. The route began at Gordon Park on Lake Erie, continued through Rockefeller and Wade Parks, and extended along Ambler Drive into Cleveland Heights and North Park Boulevard into Shaker Heights." heightsobserver.org
Most plaques are now gone, and the key street has been renamed to honor the Rev Martin Luther King.
How long until we no longer honor or remember the deeds of the WW2 vets or MLK?
When I was a leader of a Scout troop, we were often asked by our local American Legion or VFW post to place flags at the gravesites of veterans on Memorial Day weekend. I'm sure this is done in lots of other places too.
Usually there's a small stand by the headstone that will hold that flag at the appropriate time. Who knows why Pautot had no stand by his grave marker? Possibly his family was traumatized at the time of his death, and it was all they could manage just to make sure a headstone was placed. I've seen that happen before.
So it's fortunate that you noticed it was missing. Because I'm sure if you mention it to the American Legion, they'll be happy to provide the appropriate flag holder for that veteran's grave. So going forward, Eugene Pautot will have the recognition he deserves on Memorial Day, when a Scout troop or another group places those flags to honor veterans who have passed.
I was honored to know your Dad while he was with us, and knowing he was a veteran just increases the esteem I hold for him.
I found his information in Folds3, a military history database. His father was also named Eugene. He enlisted in the Army in Cleveland on Nov. 22, 1941. Before joining, he was an employee of the post office in Youngstown and lived at 237 Scott St. He was single. He named the person to contact as his aunt, Mayme O'Horno. On Oct. 13, 1944, he and the plane's crew he was with went missing on their plane out of Grottaglie AAB in Italy. They were on a B2 plane "had difficulties" and the crew had to bail. They were on a bombing mission to Vienna. The name of the plane was Old Faithful. His mother was notified. He must have married and had a son, named Robert Eugene Pautot, who was born in 1948 and died in 2009 in Deland, FL.
His father's name was also Eugene Pautot, he was born in 1891 and lived in Youngstown. He served in WWI, but his service was not as illustrious. He served on the USS Alabama and deserted in 1919. He later lived with a nephew and was a bricklayer.
What happened to honoring the WW1 veterans?
"After World War I, Cleveland and its neighboring suburbs, including Shaker Heights and Cleveland Heights, established 'Liberty Row' to honor local soldiers who had died in the war. This memorial, dedicated on Memorial Day in 1919, consisted of over 800 oak trees planted along a nine-mile stretch of roadway. Each tree was accompanied by a bronze plaque bearing the name of a fallen servicemember. The route began at Gordon Park on Lake Erie, continued through Rockefeller and Wade Parks, and extended along Ambler Drive into Cleveland Heights and North Park Boulevard into Shaker Heights." heightsobserver.org
Most plaques are now gone, and the key street has been renamed to honor the Rev Martin Luther King.
How long until we no longer honor or remember the deeds of the WW2 vets or MLK?
When I was a leader of a Scout troop, we were often asked by our local American Legion or VFW post to place flags at the gravesites of veterans on Memorial Day weekend. I'm sure this is done in lots of other places too.
Usually there's a small stand by the headstone that will hold that flag at the appropriate time. Who knows why Pautot had no stand by his grave marker? Possibly his family was traumatized at the time of his death, and it was all they could manage just to make sure a headstone was placed. I've seen that happen before.
So it's fortunate that you noticed it was missing. Because I'm sure if you mention it to the American Legion, they'll be happy to provide the appropriate flag holder for that veteran's grave. So going forward, Eugene Pautot will have the recognition he deserves on Memorial Day, when a Scout troop or another group places those flags to honor veterans who have passed.
I was honored to know your Dad while he was with us, and knowing he was a veteran just increases the esteem I hold for him.
That is a good idea. I will call the American Legion or VFW.
I found his information in Folds3, a military history database. His father was also named Eugene. He enlisted in the Army in Cleveland on Nov. 22, 1941. Before joining, he was an employee of the post office in Youngstown and lived at 237 Scott St. He was single. He named the person to contact as his aunt, Mayme O'Horno. On Oct. 13, 1944, he and the plane's crew he was with went missing on their plane out of Grottaglie AAB in Italy. They were on a B2 plane "had difficulties" and the crew had to bail. They were on a bombing mission to Vienna. The name of the plane was Old Faithful. His mother was notified. He must have married and had a son, named Robert Eugene Pautot, who was born in 1948 and died in 2009 in Deland, FL.
His father's name was also Eugene Pautot, he was born in 1891 and lived in Youngstown. He served in WWI, but his service was not as illustrious. He served on the USS Alabama and deserted in 1919. He later lived with a nephew and was a bricklayer.
This is amazing, Nancy. Thank you so much for helping to piece together Eugene's life.
What I didn't find was the resolution of the missing plane, but I'll see what I can find on Ancestry.