Honor Roll Project : West Hazleton, Pennsylvania

My husband and I are traveling -- he for work and I am going for genealogy.

Heather Wilkinson Rojo, author of the Nutfield Genealogy blog, began an Honor Roll Project a few years ago. The objective of the project is to transcribe and photograph military honor rolls. The transcribed names make soldiers available to search engines so that descendants may one day find find them when searching the Internet.

It's hard to drive through a new city now and not look for a war memorial. We found this one in West Hazleton in front of the historic Miners Bank.

The memorial was included in a 1930-1940 era postcard of the bank building.

Miners Bank and War Memorial of West Hazleton, Pennsylvania;
image courtesy of Boston Public Library

The memorial includes the name of every soldier who served in World War I from the greater Hazleton area.

War Memorial in West Hazleton, Pennsylvania

The names of veterans were engraved on all four sides of the memorial as well as the plinth. The top of the granite column says: Lest we forget their sacrifice, their suffering, their service. In this blog post, I am transcribing only the names of those soldiers, sailors and airmen who lost their lives:

Joseph Adams
John J. Banko
Stanley, J. Bator, Jr.
Anthony C. Bien
John W. Burke
Nicholas F. Callen, Sr.
John R. Comshick
Alvin E. Daubert
Edward R. Evans
Alfred E. Ferrari
Carl J. Fey
Walter A. Gaska
Walter L. Hagelgans
Michael Harvilla
Robert A. Hinger
Albert J. Kokitas
Anthony Koloski, Jr.
Henry Kotaneski
John A. Koval
Thomas Ksanznak, Jr.
George Lencalis
Raymond L. Maleski
William J. Martini
George McAndrews
Victor Melkosky
John W. Michaelski
Robert H. Morrow
Michael Patlowski
Raymond R. Pollock
Michael Patlowski
Laur E. Reinmiller
Thomas  Reese, Jr.
Joseph Rockovich
Leo G. Samborowski
Harold E. Smith
Rober R. Snyder
Albert L. Stelmach
Frank Stelmer
Anthony S. Strzeleki
Donald R. White
Alphonso P. Yuknis
Michael J. Yurick
Wallace M. Zellner