Deeds Not Words: Tribute to a fallen warrior

The American Battle Monuments Commission notes that a Second Lieutenant Edwin J. Bulman, 36th Armored Infantry Regiment, 3rd Armored Division, United States Army lies buried at Plot E, Row 14, Grave 69 in the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery, Henri-Chapelle, Belgium having died on 20 September 1944 and having been awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. It also notes that he entered the service from Montana.

The Helena Independent ran a small piece offering news from a number of families with service personnel on 29 October 1944 on page eleven of their Sunday edition. There was a note there from Fred A. Bulman, Verona's father. His son, Second Lt. Edwin J. Bulman, was reported killed in action on September 20th "over Germany". The news item informed readers that E.J. Bulman had been born in Wibaux County and had later left with his parents for Michigan before moving on to Washington. F. A. Bulman stated that his son had entered the service at Bremerton. Indeed, Edwin J. Bulman is listed on the Washington State Role of Honor, Part 4: World War II, A-F.

The tune to "Red Wing" (see previous post) runs through my head as I remember that Edwin was Verona's little brother born five years after she was in Wibaux (pronounced "wee-bow") County in eastern Montana just across the border from North Dakota. Verona told me that they had lived out on the prairie in a tar-paper shack with a sod roof. Once, their father, a farmer and sometime bounty-hunter (animals) who had fought in the Spanish-American War (1898), was away for a time. During his absence, they tried to straighten the curled tails of the pigs. Upon his return he surmised what had been done and obtain a pledge that it would not happen again.

Sometime between 1920 and 1930, the adventure on the plains, which had begun around 1908 according to Margaret Bulman's obituary in the Waukesha Freeman of 7 February 1940, ended. The couple from Eau Clair, Wisconsin, had moved to the city of Flint in Gensesee County, Michigan. According to the 1930 Census, F.A. Bulman's wife, Lena Bulman nee Kunferman (47), was still there with the eldest son, Euguene V. who was twenty-five, and a single daughter, Luella, who was seventeen. Otis (22) and Verona (18) were living in the household as well. According to the Genesee County Marriage Index, they had been married on 9 September 1929. Otis' older brother, Clarence C. Hayes had married Violet F. Wright in the same county on 19 March 1927. Verona's brother, Percy H. (22) was also living in Flint at another location with his wife Vida M. (20) and their son Robert L. (21 months).

Edwin J. (13) and his younger brother, Archie (11) were living at what was to become the family's final farm in Puyallup, Pierce County, Washington. They were living with their father who was fifty-eight at the time and their grandmother, Margaret Bulman, who had been born in Hep Darmstadt, Germany, around 1847. Fred and Margaret would return to Waukesha, Wisconsin, in August 1939 shortly before Margaret's death at the age of ninety-three. Washington State records reveal that Lena Bulman, Verona's mother, had drowned in the Puyallup River at McMillan, Pierce County, Washington on 22 June 1938. She was fifty-seven.

Just a few days before Pearl Harbor, Edwin joined the Army on 3 December 1941 according to the U.S. World War II Army enlistment records data-base for 1938-1946 which was accessed through Ancestry.com. He had enlisted in Missoula, Montana with 2 years of high school and was categorized as being a semiskilled mechanic of motor vehicles. The records also reveal that he was married and that his 5 feet 11 inch tall frame carried 167 pounds. Interestingly, the branch code lists "Branch immaterial--Warrant Officers, USA".

There is a family memory that he was indeed living in Missoula with Verona and Otis when he enlisted. His wife's name or nick-name was Bonnie and their son was named Dennis. Apparently, they were already divorced or separated at the time. There is a faded memory and a missing (temporarily) photograph of him with a 3rd Infantry Division patch on his uniform before he went to England from Fort Lewis, Washington. However, he had been to Fort Benning in Georgia for basic training and, then, to Officers Candidate School (OCS).

This may explain why F.A. Bulman thought he had enlisted from Bremerton (a naval base) in Washington. It may also been the case that he had been designated to become a warrant officer in a mechanized unit with his mechanical background.

We know from the testimony of Sergeant Robert K. Pacios of second platoon, "A" Company, 36th Armored Infantry Regiment, that an Edwin J. Bulman joined this Company and became second platoon leader just five days after Pacios himself had joined the regiment as a replacement on 17 August 1944. They had their first real combat experience as a new company comprised of 70% replacement troops at Liege shortly thereafter.

By 13 September 1944, they were a part of "Task Force X' which stormed the first row of the cement "dragon's teeth" that formed part of the Siegfried Line. They kept moving through German towns and villages such as Oberforstback, Hifeld, Brand and Freund. Eventually, they came to the industrial suburb of Munster-Busch overlooking Stolberg which was a tactical point of interest in the Stolberg Corridor. By 17 September, pitched battles were being fought for control of the area.

Here is how one historian described the conditions under which Edwin died:

As the fighting continued in the Stolberg Corridor, both German and American units wore themselves out. While the 3d Armored Division's CCA [Combat Command A] tried to take high ground about the industrial suburb of Muensterbusch, less than half a mile west of Stolberg, and CCB [Combat Command B] to occupy the high ground east of Stolberg, the enemy's 12th Division and what was left of the 9th Panzer Division continued their futile efforts to re-establish the Schill Line. The result was a miserable siege of deliberate, close-in fighting which brought few advantages to either side.

Attachment of the remnants of the 9th Panzer Division to the 27th Fusilier Regiment made CCA's task at Muensterbusch considerably more difficult. Not until late on 19 September did troops of CCA gain a foothold in Muensterbusch from which to begin a costly, methodical mop-up lasting over the next two days. (MacDonald, page 89)

Edwin died in the intensive house-to-house, urban warfare that constituted the costly "mop-up". According to Sergeant Pacios, the former platoon sergeant, Raleigh F. (Pete) Colbert, Junior, was given a battlefield commission and made a 2nd Lieutenant. He assumed command of the second platoon of "A" Company, 36th Armored Infantry Regiment, 3rd Armored Division, First Army.

Ironically, Edwin J. Bulman was killed some hundred miles from where his grandmother had been born nearly one hundred years earlier.
A 3rd Armored Division web-site with a great deal of information to sort through can be found here. Alternate access to the American Military Cemetery at Henri-Chapelle in Belgium can be found here and here (great ambience and search capability).

Red Wing: An Indian Fable, or a Life Theme for Verona?

Verona loved to sing and play what has become known as “Old Timey Music” ala "O Brother Where Art Thou?". She would play whenever the family would “get together”. She played in “grange halls” so young people could dance. Such singing, playing and dancing figured prominently throughout most of the years that I knew her.

If there was one song that might have been her theme song, it was "Red Wing". She would play it on the guitar, strum it on the autoharp and hum it to herself as she went about her daily rounds. She would always smile and seem somewhat more gay as she did so. Yet, though it was used by square dancers because of the tune, the lyrics are somewhat poignant. As a result, I have always had a soft spot for the Red Winged Blackbird.

The song was published in 1907, the year before Otis was born. It soon became very popular. The lyrics were by Thurland Chattaway and the music was composed by Kerry Mills. It seems that Mills had been both a violinist and was once the head of the violin department at the University of Michigan. He was known there as Frederick Allen Mills. The copyright for his compositions always used either his full name or the initials F.A. with Mills. Supposedly, the music for “Red Wing” was an adaptation of Richard Schumann’s “Happy Peasant” from his Opus 68. This work was a collection or album of songs for children composed in the middle of the 1800s. This particular tune was still quite popular when I was a child. I can hear echoes of it in the verse of "Red Wing".

I am presenting the cover to the sheet music as I understand that it is in the public domain. If any First Nation community is offended by it, I will remove it. However, I think it is important to notice how cultures, particularly dominant ones, appropriate the cultures of others. What is particularly incongruous is the placing of a war bonnet upon a young woman’s head. It is more visually exciting and is somewhat suggestive of the theme. Still, it was probably not appropriate to have done so.

I am also including a link to more than one style of performance (see the references to Frederick Potter and YouTube at the end). The "Edison Quartette" seems to be faithful to the sheet music . However, the chorus reminds me more of something in the vein of the “Scottish Soldier” as sung by Andrew Stewart. Verona’s rendition was not so boisterous. This song might indicate how cultures also share similar motifs around death and loss. I note particularly the shift from day and play to a new setting of night and plaint.

I am also providing a link to the sheet music rather than including all of the words.

Verse:
There once lived an Indian maid,
A shy little prairie maid,
Who sang a lay,
A love song gay,
As on the plain she’d,
While away the day;
She loved a warrior bold,
This shy little maid of old,
But brave and gay,
He rode one day to battle far away.

Chorus:
Now, the moon shines tonight on pretty Red Wing,
The breeze is sighing,
The night bird’s crying,
For afar ‘neath his star her brave is sleeping,
While Red Wing’s weeping her heart away. 2x

A rendition of "Red Wing" by Frederick H. Potter with the Edison Male Quartette (Edison Gold Moulded 9622, 1907)

You can hear and see YouTube versions that are closer to what I remember here.

An additional source of mystery and intrigue

More than twenty years ago, a copy of an important family document was sent to me here in Australia. It was a typed list of family members’ names with notes. These were transcribed from the handwritten account of Frederick Albert Bulman, or FAB. He was the father of Verona Irene Bulman, the woman to whom this site is dedicated.

There are some obvious transcription errors such as the transposition of numbers within a particular year. There are errors that are probably the result of a faulty memory. This might have been FAB’s or his informant’s. Some of these errors can be discerned in the document. Others have been discovered when comparisons were made to other sources.

The account of the family goes back to the pater familias, John Bulman. John was supposed to have been born in 1756. His marriage was given as occurring in 1782 and his death in 1826. No locations are given. Unfortunately, no spouse is mentioned either. However, I have some ideas about who this might have been. Eventually, I will also share some of the surmises that others have made as to who this John Bulman was. Not everyone agrees.

At the moment, I can only give a bare outline of the facts. It will take a great many posts to list and make brief comments on each person known to us in one way or another. It will take more time to mention something of their lives and times. I will also want to continue to weave the story of the Hayes, Peper and Bates families into my tale. And, there are other lines of interest such as the Robins, Jarvis and Kunferman families.

This will all be accomplished in due time. For now, let’s get back to FAB’s list.

F.A. Bulman’s document states that John Bulman had three sons: Jeremiah, Peter and Henry. This caused me some troubles for a time. I could not find Peter in the data. What I did discover, through the help of others, was that a Patrick Bulman and a Sarah Viele or Vale (both spellings are found in the transcriptions of the church records) were married in Ballston Center near Schenectady, New York in March of 1817.

In FAB’s scheme, Peter Bulman married Sally Vale. Could Patrick be our Peter and Sarah our Sally? What gave me hope was the fact that a Henry Bulman was also married in the same Presbyterian Church in January of 1817.

Now is not the time to detail the sources and sequelae of the search. Let me just say that I am confident that these are two of the three Bulman brothers listed in FAB’s notes. What about Jeremiah Bulman?

There was a Jeremiah Bulman living in Paris near Utica in Oneida County, New York as early as 1820 according to the census data. He was still in Oneida County in 1840 when Patrick was also listed nearby. More accurately, Jeremiah has moved somewhat north along the Deansville-Clinton-Utica road into Kirkland Township by 1840. Patrick seems to have been living among Jeremiah’s old neighbours at that time according to the census information for Marshall Township.

Again, I will refrain from detailing all of what we now know of the Bulman family in Oneida and at Schenectady. We merely need mention that FAB indicates that one of the sons of Peter Bulman was named Jeremiah Delos Bulman. According to the notes, he was born some 18 miles south of Attica [Utica] in Oneida County, New York.

This would have been in what was once known as Brothertown, New York. It became more widely known as Marshall Township as the Brotherton Indian Nation sold their properties and moved to Wisconsin. Interestingly, most of the Patrick Bulman family moved to Wisconsin the same year that members of an important Brotherton family finally moved west. Much more will be written on this later.

J.D. Bulman was F.A. Bulman’s father. He was also Verona’s grandfather. However, Verona never met him. He died eight years before Verona’s birth in 1911.

The photo is of a plane that Verona Irene Bulman's husband (Otis A. Hayes) and brother (Percy H. Bulman) built in 1930. Since both men lived past the year 1930, the plane either flew or the men decided not to fly the plane.

When loss becomes gain

I took up the task of finding out more about our family for many reasons. Two are especially relevant. The first was the death of Otis Arthur Hayes. He was Verona's first husband. The second was the loss of the Peper family Bible. Both losses are related.

Otis died on the last day of January in 1953 at 4:30 in the afternoon. I had always understood that he had died when he was forty-two. That was not quite right. Since he was born on the eighth of February in 1908, he was just shy of his 45th birthday when he died.

He died of a "coronary thrombosis". He lived just one hour from the onset and spent only 10 minutes in St. Patrick's hospital before expiring. He had been digging out the basement of the house which he had built at 634 Marshall Street, Missoula, Montana.

He must not have been travelling well for a time. His doctor, F.H. Lowe, noted on the death certificate that he had been attending to Otis from Boxing Day of 1952 until the date of his death. This was just over a month. Why was he digging in the basement in the middle of winter in Missoula, Montana when he had been ill? He had been a splicer for Bell Telephone. Was he doing his winter indoor work?

I never met Otis. But, I would not be here today without him.

He was born in Buckley, Michigan. Buckley is just on the border with Traverse County in the northwest corner of Wexford County. A certified copy of record of birth obtain on 10 Jun 1942 states that he was the legitimate son of Clarence Milton Hayes and Lucy Amy Pepper of Buckley. Clarence was listed as a farmer.

The plat map of Hanover Township in 1919 shows that his forty acres was just south of the forty acres owned by Ira Peper. On the north side of the road fronting Ira's property lay the eighty acres owned by his father Martin L. Peper. Otis would have been about eleven when the map was published. He no doubt attended the school somewhat to the west of the Peper properties. The school was shown as being on the road the divided the properties of father and son.

Lucy Peper would have also attended school there. However, she may have actually lived in a house on the property owned by Mrs. E.C. Peper just south of the school. Emmeretta C. Peper, the daughter of Ira W. and Isabella Bates, was the mother of Eda (Edith), Ira and Lucy Peper. Her property was just north of the 186 acres owned by John and Lottie C. Hayes in 1919. These were the parents of Clarence Milton, Harry James and Eva Hayes.

It is the Bible of the Peper family of Buckley that went missing.

With the loss of Otis and the Bible, an important link to my family's past disappeared. For as long as I can remember, I have been trying to reconstruct this link. The task of doing so has been both difficult and rewarding. In the end, it has provided the material for these postings. I suspect that they will continue over the next several months.

Construction of the Blog begun under the Patronage of Saints Patrick and Joseph

Well girls, it has begun. I hope to tell something of the story of your family as it made its way across the North American continent. Others might stop by on occasion to listen in on the story. It might be useful for their explorations as well. I hope that you three will drop by regularly. I begin the construction of this blog under the twin patronage of St. Patrick and St. Joseph. I also acknowledge the traditional custodians of this land and I pay my respects to their elders past and present.

Veni Sancte Spiritus
Veni Per Mariam