North High School Wall of Honor
Richard Edmund Onnen
Class of January, 1952
Richard Edmund Onnen
Research done by Claradell Shedd, class of 1953.
Richard Edmund Onnen
Dick graduated from North High in January, 1952. At the time, his next of kin was Mr. John H. Onnen, 3419 Oxford Street, Des Moines, IA. His service number is 55589839.
Richard Edmund Onnen
Year   Rank   Status
January, 1952   Graduated   North Des Moines High School
Sept., 1952-
June, 1956
x Drake University x Drake University; BS, Business Administration. Attended Drake with Jerry Lass, Bill Grother, and Paul Upchurch (all in Sigma Phi Epsilon)
June, 1956,-
Oct.1956
x Employment x Pure Oil Company, Chicago, IL as accountant
June 15, 1956 x Family x Married Nancy Swift in Des Moines, IA at St. Paul's Episcopal
October 22, 1956 x US Army/RCT x Drafted in Des Moines, KRNT-TV Radio Theater
Oct, 1956-
Dec, 1956
x US Army x Basic Training, Camp Chaffee, AR. Adjutant General Corps, 5th Logistical Command, Base Section
Jan.,1957-
May, 1957
  US Army   Training, Fort Benjamin Harrison, IN
May, 1957 x US Army x Fort Dix, NJ to await passage to France
May, 1957 x Enroute x *USNS Geiger (T-AP-197) from New York to Bremerhaven, Germany
June, 1957 x Enroute x Train from Bremerhaven to Paris to Poitiers, France
June,1957-Oct. 8, 1958   US Army/PFC   **Poitiers, France (***4th Logistical Command)
Oct.8,1958 x Enroute x Train Poitiers to Paris. Plane to Shannon, Ireland. Plane to Gander, Newfoundland. Plane to Idlewild (JFK). Idlewild to Fort Hamilton for 4-5 days.
October 13, 1958 x US Army/SP4 x Discharged at Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn, NY
Oct, 1958 x Civilian x Personal car to Des Moines, IA. Then back to former job in Chicago, IL as accountant at Pure Oil Company
Oct., 1958-
Nov, 1966
x Employment x Pure Oil Company, Chicago, IL as accountant
October 21, 1961 x US Army Reserves x Discharged from US Army Reserves, Iowa Military District, SEE #18
Nov., 1966-
March, 1999
x Employment x Universal Oil Products Company, Des Plaines, IL. Company later named to UOP
March, 1999-
present
x Civilian x Arlington Heights, IL
**Poitiers, France
Poitiers is a city on the Clain river in west central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and of the Poitou-Charentes region. Poitiers is a major university centre. The centre of town is picturesque and its streets include predominant historical architecture, especially religious architecture and especially from the Romanesque period. Two major military battles took place near the city: in 732, the Battle of Poitiers (also known as the Battle of Tours), in which the Franks commanded by Charles Martel halted the expansion of the Umayyad Caliphate, and in 1356, the Battle of Poitiers, a key victory for the English forces during the Hundred Years' War.

***4th Logistical Command (1958-1963)
(Source: 4th Logistical Command History; unknown date, but probably 1963; located at the Military History Office, HQ USAREUR)
The following are notes that I took in the early 1980s while reviewing the 4th Logistical Command historical manuscript which was located at the Military History Office in Heidelberg. If memory serves me right, the manuscript was very large, over 350 pages.
The 4th Logistical Command (4th Log Comd) initially served in Europe during the build up of US forces in Europe caused by the outbreak of the Korean War. Headquarters Company, 4th Logistical Command was activated 10 February 1952 at Leghorn, Italy. The command was probably responsible for augmenting the line of communications (including the Port of Embarkation at Leghorn) that served the US Forces in Austria. 4th Log was again inactivated on 20 January 1954 (probably at Leghorn)

The 4th Logistical Command returned to Europe on 15 June 1958. It had to function in these broad logistical categories:
(1) as an Avanced Logistical Command
(2) as a Base Logistical Command
(3) as a Theater Army Logistical Command
Des Moines Examining and Entrance Station (KRNT-TV) Camp Chaffee, AR Fort Benjamin Harrison, IN
Des Moines Armed Forces
Examining and Entrance Station (AFEES at KRNT
)
Camp Chaffee, AR Fort Benjamin Harrison, IN
Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn, NY Pure Oil Company Logo Universal Oil Products Company Logo
Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn, NY Pure Oil Company Logo Universal Oil Products Company
*USNS Geiger (T-AP-197)
USNS Geiger (T-AP-197) USNS Geiger Call Signs
November-Romeo-Xray-Echo
Richard Edmund Onnen, Poitiers, France
Winter, 1957-1958: Richard Edmund Onnen
Poitiers, France

US Army Seal


Adjutant General Corps

SP4 Army Patch
Richard Edmund Onnen
Adjutant General Corps
SP4 (Temporary)
US Army

Fort Chaffe, AR; October, 1956

4th Logistical Command


Army Good Conduct
References
The comprehensive list of names from North High's 1893-2018 graduation classes are from Claradell Shedd's North Des Moines High School website. The names of all North High School graduates can be found online at http://www.ndmhs.com/. Richard Edmund Onnen's 1952 class page can be viewed at
http://www.ndmhs.com/pages/yearclass1952(2017.65).html.
Living in IL.
Music: "Wind Beneath My Wings"
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