Robert A. Appelman, World War II CasualtyPorter County Data on World War II Casualties . . . .
Robert A. Appelman
Private First Class, 652nd Battalion
Date of Birth: 1924
Date of Death: March 13, 1944
Burial: Calvary Cemetery (East Gary)
Cause of Death: Land Mine (training exercises at Camp Robinson, Arkansas)
Date of Enlistment: March 12, 1943
Hometown: Portage Township (near Crocker)
Newspaper Notices:
2 North County Men Give Lives In War
Two Porter county men have been added to the casualty lists of World War 2, it
was learned today.
Pfc. Robert Appleman, living north of Crocker in Portage township, was killed
Monday along with eleven other soldiers when a supposedly harmless land mine
exploded at Camp Joseph Robinson, near Little Rock, Ark. Fourteen others were
injured, four seriously.
Reported missing in action on the Italian front is John Poparad, son of Mr. and
Mrs. Nicholas Poparad, living west of Chesterton. Poparad has been missing since
Jan. 22, according to a telegram received Sunday night by his parents. He
entered the service last May from Valparaiso and has been overseas for several
months.
Ten men were killed outright by the blast in which Appleman met death. Two
others died a short time later. The explosion occurred during a demonstration of
mine installations but details were withheld pending an investigation by an army
board of inquiry.
All the material used in the demonstration, which also included instructions in
handling and removing mines and booby traps, was supposed to be relatively
harmless.
The men were members of the 652nd Battalion commanded by Lt. Col. Gerald A.
Albrecht, of Jackson, Tenn., which was transferred from Louisiana last month.
Others among the dead were Sgt. Jack K. Wareham, Denver, Ind.; Corp. Pearl W.
Allen, Jr., Winslow, Ind.; Corp. Lawrence E. Bachman, Monon, Ind.; Pvt. Orgal L.
Collard, Newland, Ind.; and T-5GR Russell E. Volk, Gary, Ind.
Appleman, who is past 18 years of age, is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas
Appleman, of near Crocker. The father is employed in Chicago and was not at home
when neighbors called at the Appleman home. Mrs. Appleman, who was canning meat,
did not know of the tragedy to her son. She said she had not been notified. It
is believed this was due to the fact the family has no telephone and any notice
telegraphed would have to be relayed.
According to Crocker advices the family had resided in that vicinity for the
last two years. Besides Robert the Applemans have two sons, John and William, in
the service. Both are with the Navy overseas. There are also two sons at home
and a married daughter living in Virginia.
The body will be brought back to Crocker for funeral services and burial, it was
said.
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Source: The Vidette-Messenger, Valparaiso, Porter County, Indiana; March 14,
1944; Volume 17, Page 1, Columns 1 and 2
[Note: John Poparad, mentioned in newspaper notice above, served in Company
L, 143rd Infantry, 36th Texas Division of the US Army. He was taken as a prisoner of
war in Germany. He was later liberated/repatriated to military control. John
passed away on June 1, 2009, at the Illiana Veterans Administration Medical
Center in Danville, Illinois.]
Sgt. Volk, Mine Blast Victim, Lived in Garyton
Another Porter county man was a war casualty in a land mine explosion which
occurred Monday at Camp Robinson, Ark., which also claimed the life of Pvt.
Robert A. Appleman, of Crocker, it was learned today.
He was Sgt. Russell E. Volk, of Garyton, son of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Volk. Volk
and Appleman and ten other soldiers of the 652nd Battalion, were killed in the
blast which occurred during a demonstration of a supposedly harmless land mine.
Volk lost his life one year and a day after he was inducted. He was graduated
from Portage township high school in 1942 and was employed in the Gary sheet and
tin mill before entering the army. He was home on furlough two weeks ago.
Volk's twin brother, Richard, is now serving in the southwest Pacific.
Volk is survived by his parents, three sisters, Pauline, Helen and Mary, and a
second brother, Andrew Jr. who lives at home. The body will be brought back to
Garyton for burial.
Pvt. Appleman is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Appleman of Crocker. Two
brothers of the young soldier, John and William, are serving overseas. There are
aslo two sons at home and a married daughter in Virginia. The body will be
brought back for burial.
__________________________________________________________________
Source: The Vidette-Messenger, Valparaiso, Porter County, Indiana; March 16,
1944; Volume 17, Page 1, Column 6
Appleman Rites Set For Tuesday In Chesterton
Memorial services for Pvt. Robert C. Appleman, 18, killed last Monday in a land
mine demonstration at Camp Robinson, Ark., which resulted in the deaths of 12
men and injury to a score of others, will be held at 10 a. m. Tuesday at St.
Patrick's Roman Catholic church Chesterton, with Rev. Francis Fleming
officiating. Burial will be in Calvary cemetery, East Gary.
Survivors of Pvt. Appleman include the parents, Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Appleman;
four brothers William, with the Marines, and John, with the Merchant Marines
both overseas; Neal and Thomas at home, and one sister, Mrs. Catherine Moore, of
Richmond, Va.
________________________________________________________________
Source: The Vidette-Messenger, Valparaiso, Porter County, Indiana; March 18,
1944; Volume 17, Page 2, Column 1
Chesterton News Briefs
Pvt. William Ream was in town Monday. Hew accompanied the body of Pvt.
Robert C. Appelman home from Camp Robinson, Arkansas.
________________________________________________________________
Source: The Vidette-Messenger, Valparaiso, Porter County, Indiana; March 24,
1944; Volume 17, Page 6, Column 5
Return to
List of
Porter County World War II Casualties
Information abstracted and transcribed by Steven R. Shook