Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Kieser, Flynn
----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 7/22/2015
Kieser, Fred (Honored-Military Service - 2015)
American Legion to Honor Fred Kieser for Military Service
Fred Kieser, 88, of Neillsville will be honored for his military service in the U. S. Navy and Wisconsin National Guard during a special recognition program at the American Legion Club Monday, Aug. 3, 2015. (Photo by Todd Schmidt/Clark County Press)
By Todd Schmidt
Fred Kieser, 88, of Neillsville will be honored for his military service during a special recognition program at the American Legion “Club Monday, Aug. 3, 2015. A potluck meal starts at 6 p.m. with the award presentation to follow.
Fred’s father, Gottlieb, was born in Russia. He emigrated to the U. S. at age 10. Gottlieb and his wife, Stella, had nine children. They moved to Athens and later to Abbotsford when Fred was in the third grade. Gottleib had barbershops in Athens and Abbotsford.
In 1944, Fred graduated from Abbotsford High School. He worked for a short time at the Kennedy and Kennedy grocery store.
A friend approached Fred in August 1944 and suggested they go to Wausau and join the U. S. Navy. With his parents’ permission, Fred enlisted at the age of 17.
Fred was off to Milwaukee for testing and examinations. By the end of August, he was placed at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station.
Due to Fred’s poor dental conditions, his basic training period was extended to 10 weeks. He was granted 10 days leave in November 1944 and traveled by train home and then back to the base.
Because Fred was one of the top students in his unit, he was assigned to gunner’s mate school for 16 weeks. He was then sent to Naval Mine Warfare School in Yorktown, VA, for another 16 weeks.
Fred was among eight men in his unit transferred to a base in Hawthorne, NV. Supplies including ammunition and 12-inch guns were stored there for shipment to a shipyard in Alameda, CA.
“It was a hot place, with temperatures up to 100 degrees every day,” Fred said. “We had a lot of questions about what was going to become of us and how long the war was going to last.”
In November 1945, Fred was sent to a receiving station in Santa Rosa, CA. Shortly thereafter, his unit boarded a commercial ship in San Francisco, CA, destined for the Pacific island of Guam.
Many of the seamen got seasick at the start of their venture.
“Our commanding officer told us not to feel too bad, because he knew exactly what we were going through,” Fred said.
Even though WWII was winding down, there were still many Japanese troops on the 30-mile long island of Guam. It was still considered an area of hostility.
“Many young Japanese prisoners were being held there,” Fred said. “In the evening, Marines would chase the Japanese troops and round them up.”
On the ship, Fred worked in the kitchen and the food storage area. On Guam, he worked in the motor pool.
“I actually enjoyed the duty and the nice weather,” Fred said. “The military abandoned a lot of vehicles at the end of the war. Many jeeps and trucks were moved back to Guam. Some vehicles were sold to the front line troops on Guam.”
Fred was sent back to Great Lakes in July 1946 to receive his honorable discharge.
Fred Kieser is shown in this official National Guard photo taken in April 1966. At age 60, Kieser retired from the Neillsville National Guard Admin CEO
He then enlisted in the 32nd Infantry Battalion of the Wisconsin National Guard stationed in Abbotsford.
He also worked at the O&N Lumber Company with facilities in Abbotsford, Colby and Dorchester.
Fred started in the battalion as a 105mm howitzer repairman. He rotated between facilities in Abbotsford, River Falls, La Crosse and Eau Claire.
He advanced as a unit administrator and a regular vehicle mechanic.
It cost $13,000 for Fred and his wife, Lois, to purchase a brand new house in Eau Claire. About a year later, Fred got orders to move to Neillsville.
In the 1960s, they spent $10,000 to buy the home they still occupy on Court Street in Neillsville.
When the National Guard closed the shop in Neillsville, Fred was out of a job for a short time. He switched over to the administrative end, and when Tom Flynn retired, Fred took the job as admin CEO. At that time, over 60 men were assigned to the unit, which was affiliated with the Black River Falls post.
