Surnames: Meinhardt, Sundermeyer, Picard, Dix, Buchholz, Laupan

Marshfield News Herald (Marshfield, Wood County, Wis.) Mon, 10 May 2004

Meinhardt, Clarence Edward (14 April 1919 - 8 May 2004)

w/flag Clarence E. Meinhardt, 85, Marshfield, formerly of Greenwood, died Saturday, May 8, 2004, at House of the Dove Hospice Home, Marshfield.

Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at Immanuel United Church of Christ, Greenwood. The Rev. Kenneth A. Dix and the Rev. Frank Picard will officiate. Burial will follow in the parish cemetery. Clarence's family will receive relatives and friends from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Monday at the church.

Clarence Edward Meinhardt was born April 14, 1919, in Greenwood to Otto and Marie (Sundermeyer) Meinhardt. He attended Rocky Run Grade School and Greenwood High School, graduating in 1936. He attended the former Steven's Point Teacher's College for a year. He served four years and three months in the Army Air Corps, starting in June of 1941. He graduated from the Air Corps Radio School in 1942.  He was a radio operator on a B-52 bomber and was shot down on his third mission in combat over North Africa. He spent 11 weeks in German hospitals, two years and eight months as a prisoner of war and was discharged as a T/Sgt. He was awarded the Purple Heart, Presidential Unit Citation, Air Medal and five others.

He was married to Vera Buchholz on Dec. 5, 1945, at the Loyal United Methodist Church. The next 17 years were dedicated to farming west and then southeast of Greenwood. In 1964, Clarence was appointed postmaster of Greenwood from which he retired in 1980. During his life, Clarence was a member of Greenwood Rotary Club, an active Lion member, served on the boards of Warner Mutual Insurance, Greenwood Co-op Credit Union, Cooperative Services of Clark County, Greenwood Milk Products and also the Greenwood School Board. In previous years, he had served on the Alumni and Scholarship Committees for the Greenwood High School. He was a lifelong member of Immanuel United Church of Christ and later joined St. Paul's United Church of Christ in Marshfield. In 1975, Clarence and Vera joined the American Ex-Prisoners of War Organization and were lifetime members. He served on many committees related to this organization, including representing the Ex-POWS on the Committee for Veterans Affairs in Madison. He was Chaplain of the Clark County Veterans Council and also served as vice president. Clarence was a life member of the American Legion D.A.V, Military Order of the Purple Heart and Veterans of Foreign Wars and AX-POW. Clarence was instrumental in the selection of the site for the Highground Veterans Memorial Park in Neillsville.

He will be sadly missed by his wife, Vera Meinhardt, Marshfield.; his son, Ronald (Patricia), Pleasant Prairie, Wis.; three grandchildren, Heather Meinhardt, Green Bay; Aprille (Scott) Laupan, Madison; and Daniel Meinhardt, Pleasant Prairie, Wis.; brothers Elmer (Helen) Meinhardt, Sheboygan Falls, Wis.; and Harry (Irmgard) Meinhardt, Greenwood.

He was preceded in death by his parents.