Fourth Generation

126. Hubert Lee (Bert) ELMER was born on 13 Apr 1883 in Richland Center, Richland County, Wisconsin. In 1904 he was in Laborer. He appeared in a Newspaper Article on 23 Mar 1922 in Richland County, Wisconsin²⁶⁴ He appeared in the census in 1930 in Bear Creek, Sauk County, Wisconsin. He died on 28 Nov 1975 in Beloit, Rock County, Wisconsin.²⁶⁵ He was buried in Valton Cemetery, Sauk County, Wisconsin. He is reference number 193. He had Social Security Number 396-14-8261.

Elsie ELMER (daughter of ? BROWN and Myrtle Oresta MCKINNEY) was born on 25 Feb 1905 in Richland Center, Richland County, Wisconsin.²⁶⁶ She is reference number 4960. Elsie was Myrtle's daughter by a man named Brown. She married Hubert and had more children. When Elsie matured, Hubert molested her and she had twins by him. She later got pregnant again and died during an abortion. Hubert Lee (Bert) ELMER and Elsie ELMER had the following children:

216	i.	Wesley Roy ELMER was born on 3 Dec 1922. He died on 8 Jun 1995. He is reference number 5315. Tec. 5 Wesley R. Elmer and his twin brother were born December 3, 1922, in Keysville, Wisconsin. They were two of the nine children of Hubert and Myrtle Elmer. With his friend, Donald Knipschield, he joined the Wisconsin National Guard's 32nd Tank Company headquartered in Janesville. Since both of them were underage, they each forged the signatures of the other one's parents on the enlistment papers. In the fall of 1940, the 32nd Tank Company was called to federal service as A Company of the 192nd Tank Battalion. For almost a year the battalion trained at Fort Knox, Kentucky. In the late summer of 1941, the battalion took part in maneuvers in Louisiana. Upon completion of the maneuvers, they were informed that their time in the regular army had been extended. Upon hearing this news, Wesley and the other members of the battalion were informed that they were being sent overseas. The battalion traveled by train to Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. There they received the proper inoculations before sailing to the Philippine Islands. With the battalion, Wesley arrived in Manila on Thanksgiving Day, 1941. Two weeks later, he survived the Japanese attack on Clark Field. After four months of constant strafing and bombing by the Japanese, Wesley became a Prisoner of War when the defenders of Bataan were surrendered to the Japanese. From Mariveles, at the southern tip of Bataan, Wesley has become known as "The Bataan Death March." When he started the march, Wesley was already weak from lack of rest and malnutrition. He did not believe that he would survive it. Wesley credited his friend, Donald Kniepschield, with helping him survive the march. What Donald did was set goals for himself and Wesley. Donald picked out a tree and said to Wesley that he was going to make it to that tree. Wesley did not want to be left behind, so he also made it to the tree. When they did, Donald selected something else as the next goal. This helped Wesley to complete the march because he figured that if Donald could make it to the selected goal, so could he. The second motivation Wesley had to complete the march was the treatment given to those prisoners who fell out. Watching a man bayoneted or beaten quickly convinced him to keep going. Wesley did not know how long it took him to complete the march, but he believed it was somewhere around fourteen days. The first camp Wesley was held in was Camp O'Donnell. There about 2,000 American POWs died from disease and malnutrition. The Filipino death rate was somewhere around 10,000 soldiers. In his opinion, the Japanese treated the Filipinos worse than they treated the Americans. The reason was that they could not understand why the Filipinos had fought alongside the Americans. Wesley was next held at Cabanatuan. There fewer prisoners died, but the living conditions were not that much better. There, Wesley's weight dropped to 68 pounds. His normal weight was around 150 pounds. Part of the problem was that Wesley vomited everything he ate. Wesley credits a Sgt. Grover with saving his life. Sgt. Grover, seeing the condition that Wesley was in, picked him up and carried him over to water. There he washed him. He next got Wesley a meal of sugar and rice. He would feed some to Wesley and when he vomited it up, feed him a little more. He continued to do this until Wesley kept the food down. While he did this, Sgt. Grover asked Wesley about his home and family. This got Wesley thinking of them and created in him a desire to see them again. In Wesley's opinion this "will to live" kept him alive. Wesley at this time also had an appendicitis attack. The doctors knew that they had to operate to save his life, but their surgical tools were in poor condition. They finally removed his appendix by sterilizing a razorblade. After the surgery, the Japanese only allowed him 11 days to recover before he returned to work. During his three and a half years as a POW, Wesley suffered from a variety of diseases; such as, dysentery, diphtheria and jaundice. At the end of the war, Wesley was liberated from a Japanese POW camp. Wesley returned to Beloit, Wisconsin. He married and became a father. Wesley Elmer passed away on June 8, 1995.
217	ii.	Leslie Ray ELMER was born on 3 Dec 1922 in Keyesville, Richland County, Wisconsin. In 1955 he was in Machinist at National Lock Co.. He died on 23 Jul 1955 in Beloit, Rock County, Wisconsin.267 He was buried in East Lawn Cemetery, Beloit, Rock County, Wisconsin. He is reference number 5316.

Hubert Lee (Bert) ELMER and Myrtle Oresta MCKINNEY were married on 24 Dec 1904 in Richland County, Wisconsin.²⁶⁸ Myrtle Oresta MCKINNEY (daughter of James MCKINNEY and Charlotte ??) was born about 1890 in Fort Ripley, Minnesota. She is reference number 2137. Hubert Lee (Bert) ELMER and Myrtle Oresta MCKINNEY had the following children:

218	i.	Beulah May ELMER was born on 22 Jun 1906 in Dayton, Richland County, Wisconsin.269 She is reference number 4959.
+219	ii.	Drayton Lee ELMER was born on 20 Jun 1908. He died on 9 Jul 1976. He was buried in Valton Cemetery, Sauk County, Wisconsin. He had Social Security Number. He is reference number 4028.
220	iii.	Frieda ELMER was born about 1911. She is reference number 5374. Republican Observer, March 23, 1922 The hearing in county court to determine what ought to be done with the Bert Elmer children, was heard Monday afternoon. Two of the children will be placed in a hospital at Madison and the youngest child will be cared for by its grandmother for the time being. Further disposition of the matter was held open by the court. On proceedings duly had, Freda and Bertha Elmer were ordered committed to the sate general hospital for medical treatment.
221	iv.	Vivion Hubert ELMER was born on 14 Sep 1915. He is reference number 5309.
222	v.	Bertha Ellen ELMER was born on 20 May 1918. She is reference number 5310.
223	vi.	Kenneth Earl ELMER was born on 13 Aug 1920. He is reference number 5311.
+224	vii.	Arthur Eugene ELMER was born on 11 Oct 1921 in Dayton, Richland County, Wisconsin. He died on 1 Jul 2001 in Beloit, Rock County, Wisconsin. He was buried in Floral Lawn Cemetery, South Beloit, Rock Co., Wisconsin. He is reference number 5312. Obituary BELOIT - Arthur E. Elmer, Sr., age 79, died Sun., July 1, 2001, at Premier Care RehabilitationCeneter, Beloit. He was born on Oct. 11, 1921, in Richland Center, WI, the son of Hubert and Myrtle Elmer. Arthur was a veteran of World War II, serving in the US Navy. Survivors include a sister, Rosealia Tracey of Wisconsin; 3 sons: Arthur (JUane) Elmer, Jr. of Loves Park, IL, Phil (Nancy) Elmber of Freeport, IL, and Steve (Tina) Elmer of Beloit; a daughter, Sandra (Larry) Lawson of Cedarville, IL; 11 grandchildren: Carrie (Gary) Seymour, Aruther Elmer III, both of Chicago, Elizabeth Elmer of Rockford, IL, Sarah and Aaron Gavin, both of Freeport, IL, Christy, Casey and Kendal Elmer, all of Beloit, Brian Lawson of Forreston, Brent (Tina) Lawson of Pearl City, IL, and Beau (Jenny) Lawson of Machesney Park, IL; and 10 great-grandchildren; Amber and Jakob Seymour, Reign and Stephen Elmer, Trent, Blake, Jared, Alexis, Morgan and Dustin Lawson. He was predeceased by his parents; brothers; sisters; 2 grandchildre; and his wife, Esther on Jan. 5, 1998. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. on Thurs., July 5, 2001, at Rosman Uehling, Kinzer Funeral Home, 1125 Cranston Rd., Beloit. Visitation will be from 10 a.m. until the time of service at the funeral home on Thrusday. Burial will take place at Floral Lawn Memorial Gardens, South Beloit,IL.
225	viii.	Bertilla Magdalene ELMER was born on 10 Jan 1923. He is reference number 5313.
226	ix.	Rosalia ELMER was born on 18 Jan 1925. She is reference number 5314.