Boyceville veteran honored at National WWII Memorial in Washington, D.C.

By Cara L. Dempski

CHIPPEWA FALLS — A Boyceville man who was wounded in the Pacific Theater during World War II was honored in a ceremony at the National World War II Memorial late last week.

Charles E. “Edward” Brehm was honored as part of a wreath-laying ceremony July 29 at the Memorial as part of the second annual Teachers Conference at Georgetown University Hotel and Conference Center.

The honor came courtesy of his great-nephew, Sean Palmer, who is a 1998 graduate of Boyceville High School and currently works with several school districts in Maryland.

“I grew up being excited when there was a visit from ‘Uncle Ed,’” Palmer said. “He always had a smile on his face and a wonderful story to tell. Unlike many veterans, sometimes he did tell about his experiences in the war. I used to listen intently and was inspired by his heroism.”

Edward Brehm was born May 29, 1914 to Carl and Lillian (Lester) Brehm in Boyceville. His younger sister, Betty Pittman, who still resides in Boyceville, said she did not get to know Brehm well as a young child since he was 14 years older than her, but got to know him better after he moved into the home she shared with her husband in 1998.

“He was a very scheduled person. Up on time, only ate one helping of food at meals, and went to bed on time,” Pittman said of her older brother.

Pittman also remembers Brehm as a hard-working and dependable, a good gardener, and a farmer. She said Brehm mostly lived on a farm, raising chickens and selling eggs.

The Boyceville woman also described Brehm as “more of a stay-at-home person” after his retirement. She noted Brehm was married in Illinois after the war, and had one daughter who lives in Missouri.

Barbara Palmer, Brehm’s niece, confirmed he lived in Illinois and was divorced many years ago. His daughter, Annette Peters, still resides in Grandview, Missouri, near Kansas City, but Brehm belonged to an American Legion post in Wauconda, Illinois, which is near Chicago.

“He (Edward) is kind of an enigma to me,” Palmer said of her uncle.

Brehm enlisted in the army November 27, 1941 and served with the 148th Infantry, Company D. Online records indicate the regiment completed training in the deep south with the intent of heading to Europe, but was instead sent to the Fiji Islands to assist in the effort behind keeping the advancing Japanese forces in check.

Records also show the 148th regiment had reached Manila by January 1945.

Palmer knows Brehm was injured in Manila, and the injuries were in his back and his leg. She also knows his mother, Lillian, received a handwritten letter on regular notebook paper from the United States Army Adjutant General, James Ulio.

Palmer recalls one story she was told about Brehm where he was flown to Iowa from Manila.

Brehm was apparently ensconced on a stretcher on a military cargo jet for the ride from the Philippines to a hospital in Iowa. The ride was probably uncomfortable to begin with, but hitting an air pocket that made the stretcher jostle and jump inside the plane likely did not help.

The Boyceville native recuperated in Iowa and was formally discharged from the army on June 26, 1945. The war in the Pacific would end just seven weeks later with the announcement of Japan’s surrender. The formal surrender was signed on the deck of the USS Missouri on September 2, 1945, ending the second world war.

Palmer said Brehm was just 13 years old when he finished grammar school and went to work as a farm laborer. He resided in Illinois for most of his adult life. He married Inez King on August 18, 1945, but the couple divorced several years later. Brehm remained in Illinois, continuing his work as a farm-laborer until 1979, when he started working as a carpenter for a construction company there.

Pittman and her husband, who lived in the house Pittman and Brehm grew up in, convinced Brehm to move back to Boyceville in 1998.

“It was like coming home to where he was born,” Palmer said of the move.

The family even convinced him to move his burial plans from Illinois to Wisconsin, where he was buried after his death in October 1999.

Like many soldiers, Brehm seemed reluctant to discuss the war he fought after his return. Sean and Barbara Palmer both agree he was something of a history buff, and enjoyed watching movies set during the war, but he did not often discuss it.

“He was quite the quiet person about it,” Palmer noted.

Sean Palmer was one of 50 educators selected as an ambassador to the National World War II Memorial and to attend the conference. He explained each attendee is able to select one family member to be honored at the Memorial.

“Growing up, I was always inspired by Edward’s sense of humor, positive attitude, and stories of his service in the Philippines,” Palmer said. “With a number of WWII veterans in the family on both sides, it was hard to choose, but I have fond memories of Edward.”