Robertsdale World War II Service Plaques

Frank Vargo March 2020

Like the people of Whiting, the citizens living in the Robertsdale section of Hammond sought to honor their sons and daughters serving in the Armed Forces of the United States. They did this with a series of neighborhood Service Plaques as well as an Honor Roll in the main hallway at George Rogers Clark High School.

The city of Hammond divided its neighborhoods into various zones. These zones were further divided into numbered blocks. Men and women served as members of neighborhood patrols, air raid and blackout wardens, scrap drive coordinators and War Bond sales people. They also decided where the Service Plaques to honor their sons and daughters would be located.

One of the larger Service Plaques in Robertsdale was dedicated on October 17, 1943, at the corner of Pearl Street and Indianapolis Boulevard. This area was located in Zone B, which was made up of the twenty blocks of the surrounding neighborhood. According to a story in The Whiting Times, approximately 1,500 residents of the area attended the dedication and flag raising ceremony. The names of 232 men and women were listed in recognition of their service. Of these 232, 227 were men and five were women. Violet Balko, Lillian Fedorko and Mary D. Ihnat were all WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). Claire Hynes was serving in the Women’s Army Corps (WAC) and Ann A. Paunicka served as a U.S. Army nurse.

Mary D. Ihnat, WAVE Lt. Ann A. Paunicka, US Army Nurse

Also in October of 1943, the residents of the “Goose Island” section of Robertsdale erected their own Service Plaque honoring the men in service who lived on Birch, White Oak and New York Avenues as well as on Indianapolis Blvd. Mayor McNamara of Whiting and Mayor G. Bertram Smith of Hammond unveiled this plaque with the names of 32 soldiers.

The Russel G. Nelson Memorial was located on the southwest corner of Superior Avenue and 121st Street and lists the names of those men from Blocks 19 and 20 who were in the Armed Forces. A small photo of each soldier appeared on their star. The memorial was named after U.S. Army Sergeant Russel G. Nelson who lived at 2132 Superior Avenue. Sergeant Russel was killed in battle in North Africa in 1943.

The neighbors of Block 39, which included the 1600 blocks of Myrtle and Atchison Avenues, built their Service Plaque attached to a flag pole with small evergreen bushes decorating the landscape. A total of 39 men served their country from this small two block area.

The W/RHS has a program from the August 2, 1943, unveiling of the Service Plaque on the corner of Lincoln Avenue and 121st Street. A total of 35 service members are listed on this plaque.

Another large Service Plaque was located on the Southeast corner of Kelly Place and 121st Street near St. Adalbert’s Church. A little more than 300 names of residents from Lakeview Avenue, 121st Street, Kelly Place and Atchison Avenue as well as members of St. Adalbert’s Church appeared on this plaque which was also dedicated in October 1943.

Other flag and Service Plaque dedications took place in September 1943 for Blocks 15 – 18 of Zone D and in December 1943 for 87 men and women of Zone C from Blocks 7 – 17 and 19 – 25.

The only surviving Honor Roll from the days of World War II is located in the main hallway of George Rogers Clark High School. The Boys Hi-Y Club was instrumental in the creation of this project. They sponsored a magazine subscription drive. Each of the 24 home rooms was given the goal of selling $50 worth of magazine subscriptions totaling $1,200. However, teacher Paul Wilkinson, the Hi-Y sponsor said, “Before the drive was completed, students nearly doubled the goal and had subscribed a total of $2,091. The additional money will be placed in a fund to be used to later enlarge the plaque as the war continues.”

The Service Honor Roll Plaque was dedicated in early June 1943. An assembly for students was held in the school auditorium at 1 p.m. and another at 8 p.m. for parents and residents of Robertsdale and North Hammond. Principal R. B. Miller and Hammond Supt. Lee Caldwell both delivered short speeches. The Rev. John J. Lach of Immaculate Conception Church offered the invocation and Rev. John Paul Jones of the Plymouth Congregational Church the Benediction.

The plaque was constructed of polished walnut and was divided into three sections. It was covered with glass and measured 12 feet long and over 3 feet wide. The names of the service men and women were inscribed on bronze plastic in gold leaf letters. When first erected, only the names of GRC alumni who were serving their country beginning with the first Clark graduating Class of 1935 to those who graduated in June of 1942 were on the plaque. Names of future graduates who served in the Armed Forces were added as the war continued. The names of those men who left Clark early to join the military and never finished high school were added when these soldiers returned to finish their education.

This Honor Roll stands as a lasting tribute to the brave men and women who gave many years of their lives to secure the freedom that Americans enjoy today. Hopefully many sons, daughters and grandchildren of these soldiers will come to one of the open houses scheduled at GRC before the school closes after the 2020-2021 school year.