Gareld G. Hein

World War II

Gareld Hein (sometimes spelled Gerald but known as Jerry) was born at Dunlap, IA on August 27, 1926, to Clifton and Agnes (Dishrude) Hein. By 1930, the family had moved to Rapid City, SD. The family returned to Harrison County by 1940 and Jerry graduated from Dunlap High School. In June, 1943, Jerry was employed by the Chicago & NW Railroad as a section laborer.

Jerry was inducted into the US Army on February 12, 1945, at Fort Leavenworth, KS. He was assigned serial number 17 197 635. Little is known about Jerry’s movement during his service but it is likely he went through basic training at Fort Leavenworth. After completion, he was assigned to the Army Air Forces. It is also known that he was back in Dunlap on furlough on August 3, 1945, just days before the atomic attacks on Japan.

The bulk of Jerry’s time in the Army appears to have been spent in the Galapagos Islands. These sparsely populated islands are a part of the Republic of Ecuador and are 560 miles west of the mainland. In 1942, these islands became strategically important and Ecuador allowed the US Army Air Force to construct a base on Baltra Island. This base was referred to as “Beta” and formed a triangle with “Alpha” at Nicaragua and “Gamma” at Salinas, Ecuador to monitor Japanese and German submarine movement. The base was also to provide defense of the Panama Canal from the Pacific side to permit unimpeded traffic in the Canal.

Baltra Island did not have sufficient sources of fresh water and the soil was primarily a dark red dust. Duty on this base was not considered a prime assignment. The duration of service on Baltra was often limited to six months for morale purposes. It is not known when Jerry arrived on Baltra but it is likely he joined the 29th Bombardment Squadron. This unit had been assigned to Baltra earlier in the war and was re-deployed there in early 1945 from Panama. It conducted patrol and rescue missions for the remainder of the war. The 29th Bombardment Squadron was deactivated about the time that Jerry returned to the United States and was discharged on October 10, 1946.

After the war, Jerry moved to Omaha, NE and started his career with General Motors. On August 6, 1955, Jerry married Bonnie Mae Irlmeier of Dedham at St. Peter Church in Omaha. Jerry continued his career with GM retiring as a Vice-President in 1977.

He moved back to Carroll after retirement and died in Carroll on July 8, 1995 at age 68. He was buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Templeton.