Contact: Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon
E-mail: dolores@wiclarkcountyhistory.org
Surnames: Genteman, Adamec, Smith, Buchholz, Witt
----Source: Clark County Press (Neillsville, Clark Co., WI) 6/01/2016
Genteman and Smith to be Honored for Military Service (June - 2016)
Genteman and Smith to Be Honored For Military Service
By Todd Schmidt
Neillsville American Legion Post 73 will honor Ed Genteman and Jerry Smith for their military service during a special program Monday, June 6. The event starts with social hour at 4:30 p.m., with a potluck meal at 5:30 p.m.; and the program to follow.
Ed Genteman enlisted in the U. S. Army in 1957 and served one hitch. He will be honored for his military service during a recognition program Monday, June 6, at Neillsville American Legion post 73. (Contributed Photo in service and one today by Todd Schmidt/Clark County Press)
Genteman was born in Chicago, the Family moved to Neillsville when he was age 13.
He attended Meadow View School in the Town of Levis, completing the eighth grade. He went on to Neillsville High School, and later obtained his GED in the U. S. Army.
In 1950, Genteman joined the 32nd Service Company in Neillsville. In 1955, he and his brother, Robert, enlisted in the Army. They went to Basic Training at Ft. Leonard, MO, and for eight more weeks they attended Combat Engineer School.
The brothers then went their separate ways. He received orders to go to Japan, but instead landed in Inchon, Korea, due to an uprising in Pusan, Korea. Robert was sent to England.
Genteman was assigned to the 42nd Engineer Detachment, where he pulled guard duty and did repair work.
In 1953, a cease-fire was set in Korea, but the peace treaty was not signed until July 1956.
Genteman landed in Seattle, WA, in January 1957. He was transferred to Pittsburgh, PA, where he worked at an anti-aircraft unit guarding the steel mills.
After his honorable discharge, Genteman came back to Neillsville in 1958 to help his dad on the family farm. He later worked in McHenry, IL, and in Milwaukee in the sewer and tunnel department.
Genteman decided to move back to Neillsville. He married Marion Adamec in July 1961.
They purchased a dairy farm in 1963. He also worked for Tesmer Construction and later for Nelson Muffler, where he retired after 35 years of service.
They have five children: Gary, Duane, Cherri, Sheila and Kay, and are blessed with two grandchildren.
Genteman spends his retirement building birdhouses in his workshop. He also enjoys deer hunting and fishing.
He and Marion tend to three vegetable gardens and do a lot of canning and freezing of the produce. They also enjoy giving away some of the vegetables. They have a few chickens and a 25-year-old parrot, which likes to talk and sing and basically rule the roost in the house.
Genteman is a 30-year member of Neillsville American Legion Post 73. He serves in the Color Guard and Firing Squad.
Jerry Smith served in the U. S. Navy from 1952 to 1956. He will be honored for his military service during a recognition program Monday, June 6, at Neillsville American Legion Post 73. (Contributed photo in service and one today by Todd Schmidt/Clark County Press)
Smith was born in Neillsville. He attended the South Side Grade School and later grade schools in Georgia and Louisiana, where his father was taking raining and schooling in the Army.
Smith graduated from Neillsville High School in 1951. He joined the 32nd Service Company in Neillsville in 1950 and the U. S. Navy in 1952.
He was stationed at Great Lakes, IL, for Boot Camp and Interior Communication Electric School. He was transferred to Charleston, SC, where his unit boarded the LST 1069 Orleans Parrish Ship. He served on the ship for 18 months during a tour of duty in the Atlantic.
Smith was then assigned to Portsmouth, VA, to work in the Mothball Fleet. He worked in the Cathodic Protective Division, which dealt with hull protection of the ships.
“There were ships that were sealed up and would have to be reactivated to go back in service again,” Smith said.
While stationed there, he married Alice Buchholz in 1954.
After his honorable discharge, Smith came back to Neillsville in March 1956. He returned to a job at Badger State Telephone that he began after graduating from high school.
Smith’s grandfather started the telephone company. He and his father, Herb, worked there until 1965, when it was sold to Midway State out of Medford.
Smith then worked as a truck driver for Hediger Dairy in Christie and later for REA Express out of Marshfield. He then drove semi trucks for Schneider Trucking until his “retirement.” From 1988 to 1998, he owned and operated Smith Earth Moving.
Smith also served three 3-year terms on the Clark Electric Board of Directors. Smith’s father joined the Army in 1919, retiring as a Lt. Col. When his father was age 99, he was honorably promoted to Col.
Smith was able to participate in an Honor Flight that departed out of Wausau April 27, 2016. Joyce Witt attended the flight as his guardian.
The Smiths winter in Salome, AZ, for 6 months. He enjoys golfing and ATV riding.
They have three children: Bridgett, (who served 37 years in the Army and rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel) sons: Kelly and Kris, and two step-grandsons.
Smith volunteers many hours at The Highground. He has moved countless loads of dirt with his end loader.
Smith has been a member of Neillsville American Legion Post 73 for 60 years. He is a member of the Color Guard and the Firing Squad.
