thedrifter
02-02-06, 07:33 AM
99-year-old city man recalls duty during Chinese revolt
By MARK MARONEY-mmaroney@sungazette.com
Not many Lycoming County residents can say they served in the military prior to World War II, but Howard B. Winner, who turns 99 today, can.
Winner has the medals and photographs of his service as a Marine in China from 1927 to 1930.
In an interview with the Sun-Gazette — done at the bequest of his late wife’s niece, Doris Dixson of Harrisburg — Winner, who resides at 1900 C Ravine Road in an apartment at the Williamsport Home, spoke of the experience of a 20-year-old farm boy from Calvert joining the Marines and being sent to protect American business interests in mainland China.
The son of Herman and Ruth Winner of Calvert, Winner was born in Philadelphia while his father worked briefly in that city, he said. His father was a bookkeeper and accountant in a bank. Winner was 10 years old when his father took over a dairy farm operation in Calvert north of Williamsport in 1917.
Life on the dairy farm included tending to a herd of cattle, selling milk and selling apples from the orchard, he said. The other main crop was potatoes.
At 20, he joined the Marines and was attached to its 4th Division, 6th Regiment, which was sent to the Philippines to become acclimated to Asian living, for subsequent response to the conflict in China.
The regiment was sent to China to protect Americans working at companies such as Standard Oil and fur traders and other interests, Winner said. There were battles occurring between warlords and Communists opposed to the rule of Gen. Chiang Kai-shek and his Nationalist Party.
‘‘I got close enough to the battles to hear the gunfire,’’ Winner said from his easy chair, his eyes widening as he searched the recesses of his mind for the details.
It was during the rebellion between the general, who fought Communist forces under Mao Tse-tung, who later became China’s ruler, and it was a tumultuous time in that country’s history and dangerous for foreigners, Winner said.
The 4th Division sent the most Marines to safeguard American business interests in Shanghai, according to historical records available on the Marine and Navy Web sites.
Winner said he was assigned to guard the companies from the enemy armies, but what he remembered most was the conditions, such as muddy and impassable roads and the dependence on the railroad between Shanghai and Peking (Beijing).
The largest detachment of American soldiers was from the 4th Marine Regiment, which had been stationed in Shanghai since 1927. The Marines’ assignment was to safeguard American lives, property and commerce, not only in the city, but also in the Yangtze River valley.
‘‘We didn’t see any battle action,’’ he said. In some places around Standard Oil, the Marines sandbagged the perimeter, but Winner did not recall having to fire a shot.
He recalled fonder moments with Chinese civilians and American missionaries stationed outside these large companies that he and the other Marines protected from sabotage.
It was at these makeshift chapels and camps where he would try the local cuisine of noodles and fish. ‘‘I didn’t like it,’’ he said, preferring to eat from his mess kit.
Most of the contact he had with the Chinese nationals was in the compound close to the Marines where the missionaries were working, he said.
From the missionaries, he learned to communicate in ‘‘broken Chinese,’’ he said. ‘‘We learned not to say the word ‘go’ when using the rickshaws,’’ he said. Apparently, when it is spoken it means ‘‘dog,’’ to some Chinese, because there are various dialects depending on the location.
In 1930, he returned to San Francisco and worked at a naval prison on Goat Island guarding American military prisoners. When he was discharged from the military in 1931, Winner came back to area and worked for Hurr’s Dairy Co. of South Williamsport.
He eventually attended the Williamsport Commercial College, enrolling in bookkeeping and typing classes. It was the Great Depression and finding work required traveling long distances, he said.
His friend worked in the ice cream production near Lancaster and asked him to take over a dairy store in Wilmington, Del., which he operated for a year.
Winner was married to the former Grace Hurr, who died in August after 70 years of marriage. They had two sons, Robert Winner of Coconut Grove, Fla., and Lesligh Winner of Cohoes, N.Y.
Winner worked at a Lancaster ice cream factory and subsequently worked in various dairies in New York, retiring from Sealtest Ice Cream division in 1972.
During the interview, Winner held up his combat medals, including his rifle and pistol and collar and lapel pins.
Despite not seeing action, he took pride in specializing in machine guns and howitzers.
A day before his birthday, Winner replied, ‘‘I’m doing fair.’’
Asked if he would celebrate, he said, ‘‘No, my sons are in Coconut Grove, Fla., and outside Albany.’’
‘‘I get around, though,’’ he said.
His niece, Audrey Cunningham of Balls Mills, will, on occasion, pick him up for a ride.
Ellie
By MARK MARONEY-mmaroney@sungazette.com
Not many Lycoming County residents can say they served in the military prior to World War II, but Howard B. Winner, who turns 99 today, can.
Winner has the medals and photographs of his service as a Marine in China from 1927 to 1930.
In an interview with the Sun-Gazette — done at the bequest of his late wife’s niece, Doris Dixson of Harrisburg — Winner, who resides at 1900 C Ravine Road in an apartment at the Williamsport Home, spoke of the experience of a 20-year-old farm boy from Calvert joining the Marines and being sent to protect American business interests in mainland China.
The son of Herman and Ruth Winner of Calvert, Winner was born in Philadelphia while his father worked briefly in that city, he said. His father was a bookkeeper and accountant in a bank. Winner was 10 years old when his father took over a dairy farm operation in Calvert north of Williamsport in 1917.
Life on the dairy farm included tending to a herd of cattle, selling milk and selling apples from the orchard, he said. The other main crop was potatoes.
At 20, he joined the Marines and was attached to its 4th Division, 6th Regiment, which was sent to the Philippines to become acclimated to Asian living, for subsequent response to the conflict in China.
The regiment was sent to China to protect Americans working at companies such as Standard Oil and fur traders and other interests, Winner said. There were battles occurring between warlords and Communists opposed to the rule of Gen. Chiang Kai-shek and his Nationalist Party.
‘‘I got close enough to the battles to hear the gunfire,’’ Winner said from his easy chair, his eyes widening as he searched the recesses of his mind for the details.
It was during the rebellion between the general, who fought Communist forces under Mao Tse-tung, who later became China’s ruler, and it was a tumultuous time in that country’s history and dangerous for foreigners, Winner said.
The 4th Division sent the most Marines to safeguard American business interests in Shanghai, according to historical records available on the Marine and Navy Web sites.
Winner said he was assigned to guard the companies from the enemy armies, but what he remembered most was the conditions, such as muddy and impassable roads and the dependence on the railroad between Shanghai and Peking (Beijing).
The largest detachment of American soldiers was from the 4th Marine Regiment, which had been stationed in Shanghai since 1927. The Marines’ assignment was to safeguard American lives, property and commerce, not only in the city, but also in the Yangtze River valley.
‘‘We didn’t see any battle action,’’ he said. In some places around Standard Oil, the Marines sandbagged the perimeter, but Winner did not recall having to fire a shot.
He recalled fonder moments with Chinese civilians and American missionaries stationed outside these large companies that he and the other Marines protected from sabotage.
It was at these makeshift chapels and camps where he would try the local cuisine of noodles and fish. ‘‘I didn’t like it,’’ he said, preferring to eat from his mess kit.
Most of the contact he had with the Chinese nationals was in the compound close to the Marines where the missionaries were working, he said.
From the missionaries, he learned to communicate in ‘‘broken Chinese,’’ he said. ‘‘We learned not to say the word ‘go’ when using the rickshaws,’’ he said. Apparently, when it is spoken it means ‘‘dog,’’ to some Chinese, because there are various dialects depending on the location.
In 1930, he returned to San Francisco and worked at a naval prison on Goat Island guarding American military prisoners. When he was discharged from the military in 1931, Winner came back to area and worked for Hurr’s Dairy Co. of South Williamsport.
He eventually attended the Williamsport Commercial College, enrolling in bookkeeping and typing classes. It was the Great Depression and finding work required traveling long distances, he said.
His friend worked in the ice cream production near Lancaster and asked him to take over a dairy store in Wilmington, Del., which he operated for a year.
Winner was married to the former Grace Hurr, who died in August after 70 years of marriage. They had two sons, Robert Winner of Coconut Grove, Fla., and Lesligh Winner of Cohoes, N.Y.
Winner worked at a Lancaster ice cream factory and subsequently worked in various dairies in New York, retiring from Sealtest Ice Cream division in 1972.
During the interview, Winner held up his combat medals, including his rifle and pistol and collar and lapel pins.
Despite not seeing action, he took pride in specializing in machine guns and howitzers.
A day before his birthday, Winner replied, ‘‘I’m doing fair.’’
Asked if he would celebrate, he said, ‘‘No, my sons are in Coconut Grove, Fla., and outside Albany.’’
‘‘I get around, though,’’ he said.
His niece, Audrey Cunningham of Balls Mills, will, on occasion, pick him up for a ride.
Ellie