The Republic News-Miner

Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Slagle are the parents of a son, born in the tonasket hospital August 1. They are from Republic.

A delightful picnic was given Sunday at Curlew Lake, for Sergeant Johnnie Anderson, who was home on furlough. The Mason's also gave a picnic at the lake, so they all together making it one big picnic honoring Richard Slagle and Johnnie Anderson

Miss Joan Welsh of Minnesota, spent last Thursday with her grandmother, Mrs. Mary Moran and aunt, Mrs. John Stack in Republic. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Mike Welsh. Mrs. Welsh is the former Bernadine Moran, daughter of Mrs. Mary Moran and the late Mr. Moran.

The president gave his life for his country as surely as did any soldier on the battlefield, carrying on with his responsibilities despite the fact that he was overtaxing his strength beyond endurance. Any other man would have been content to return to the quiet and seclusion of private life after hectic years of strain and worry, but not Franklin Delano Roosevelt whose indomitable will carried him through the terrible ravages of infantile paralysis to become president of one of the world's greatest nations.

We of the Northwest have special cause to grieve for the president. Our great Grand Coulee Dam stands as a monument, and will, for centuries to come, to a man who took a great interest in that project, as well as the Columbia Basin and the entire Northwest. President Roosevelt made personal observations of the dam and this area by making a trip to it personally to better acquaint himself with the project. He stood above all other presidents in his realization that the west was a great and wonderful new, undeveloped empire, the home of thousands of new settlers.

Yes, we are saddened and our hearts are bowed down, for God has seen fit to take from this life our Moses, who was leading us out of war and chaos. But as our beloved president often told us, during the dark days of depression, "all we have to fear, is fear itself." We must carry on the fight which he has brought so near to victory for us.

Perhaps from a hollowed spot in heaven our great leader will look down on us and his spirit will hover over us for generations to come, as has the influence of such great americans as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
We thank Almighty God we were privileged to have such a man as our leader in the worst crisis our county has ever had to face. May the soul of Franklin Delano Roosevelt find in death the peace that was denied him in life.

People paused on street corners, in war plants and a hundred other places to breathe a prayer. Happy throngs threw confetti, and cried out with joy over our victory.

But on the battlefields of Okinawa and the foxholes of other Pacific war fronts, American boys sighed, staggered with weariness as they moved ahead, sometimes only inches on their knees, and wondered how many months more of fighting still faced them and their comrades . . .

George was born in Republic on August 27, 1920. Here he attended grade and high school and grew to young manhood. After he was graduated in the spring of 1940, he was called into active service where his training for an Air Force's pilot began. On May 23, 1945, he received his "Wings" and commission at La Junta, Colorado. After a short leave at home, he reported to Coffeyville, Kansas, where he received further training before being sent to the Southwest Pacific in September.

George had a successful army career and received his promotions rapidly. He piloted the P-38 in Photo-Reconnaissance work from Biak, Netherlands East Indies to Leyte, thence to Mindoro and Okinawa and more recently Japan. He was given the Air Medal in April "in recognition of courageous service to his combat organization, his fellow airmen, his county, his home."

Major Thomas D. Robertson who was formerly with the 25th Photo Squadron, Hawkeye Unit (George's Unit) wrote to Mr. and Mrs. Dragnich:

"It is little recompense now to be told again and again how everyone out here loved him, and that every place that he stepped into became a better place for it, but it is the case and I want you to hear it from me. . .

"The first time I saw George was the day at Biak, Netherland East Indies, when he and eight other replacement pilots reported to the squadron for duty. I was the Flight Commander of the flight to which he was assigned--It wasn't but three days before George went on his first combat mission. Three of us went out together on a pretty tough one that took us over twelve hours to complete. It was one of the hottest targets that we were flying at the time and he flew like a veteran . . .

"We flew together . . . and many is the time he has led me back when I was in trouble. I knew then, as did everyone else in the squadron, that he was one of the finest pilots that ever climbed into an airplane.

As you know, George took over the Squadron Operation Officer's job and has done a marvelous job--both as a leader of the Squadron in the air but also as their Commander and leader on the ground. He has taken new pilots and given them the things that every man needs when he starts to fly in a war, knowledge, confidence in themselves and confidence in their planes and in their units . . .
George leaves to mourn his untimely death his mother, father, one sister, Yella, four brothers, Louie, Alex (in Cleveland), Stanley just returned from a year in France and Mike, who is stationed on Leyte.
The death of Captain Dragnich came as a shock to this community, who also loved him, and to his bereaved family the heartfelt sympathy of every one is extended in the loss of the fine young officer.

William Moran was called here by the illness of his mother, Mrs. Mary Moran, who is a patient in the Tonasket Hospital. Mrs. Moran is reported to be improving. Mr. Moran's home is on the coast.

Surviving relative include: three sons, M. E. Moran of Portland, Ore; R. B. Moran of Everett. W. C. Moran of Bellingham; three daughters, Mrs. M. J. Welsh of Duluth, Minn.; Mrs. Ted Keaton of Juneau, Alaska; Mrs. Alice Victor of Republic; two brothers, D. F. McDougall of Spokane; Matthew McDougall of Ashland, Wisc.; three sisters, Mrs. Joseph Sauter, Mrs. Katherine Kennedy and Mrs. Bertha Baldo and sixteen grandchildren.