As you know information about Dave is almost non-existent. We have a handful of photos, most of which have no information as to dates or names. Dave seemed to write plenty about the picture for example, There are a number of pictures from China that he describes in detail and even gives the city in China however, he leaves out the date. I am beginning to think he did this on purpose just to give me a bad time with this research. J

We have a scattered collection of pictures of Dave. We have about four good pictures and the rest are scratched or blurry. It makes it difficult to get a clear picture of a Grandpa you never have seen. Why the lack of pictures? Easy. Along with other helpful documents, like military records etc. they were all destroyed in a fire that burnt Dave and Ethel’s house to the ground in or around December 1936. The story of the fire was in the paper, this is one of many blocks to information that we have experienced in our search for Dave. It seems any important papers that would have helped in finding info about Dave were lost or just never preserved. His service number being one huge missing piece needed for locating any military information. Starting this search began long ago for me I think, maybe I didn’t realize it when it happened but it’s been going on for years…

Pictures on a wall… that is pretty much what Dave was to me. A couple of pictures on a wall. I remember hearing China and the Navy mentioned and some stories that Mom had told me. So, those always stuck in my mind. I remember hearing the big fish story; maybe it was then that my connection started. I am not sure, I just know when I looked at his picture I wondered, what kind of man he was, was I like him, what would have been different if he had lived.

I think it was around Grandma’s 90^th birthday that I was starting to feel more connected to Dave, at least I developed a need to know more about him. I knew that there were only a couple pictures out there of him and maybe it would be nice to give Grandma a nice painting if I could pull it off. I had always been able to draw, never really painted but what the heck I’d give it a try.

I started out with the picture of Dave in China standing on the life boat of one of the ships I assume the Villalobos… It went easily, I was impressed. I remember adding the last brush stroke… It was finished FINALLY. I sat it on the floor next to my desk so it could dry.

I know this sounds strange but I honestly think Dave is having some fun with me. I mean with all the roadblocks and circumstances in searching his life it is comical. Let’s start with the day I finished the painting…. As I said I had just finished the painting, sat it down next to me, and waited for it to dry. I was still siting at my desk when I heard a strange noise. I thought to myself what the hell is that. It was sort of a lapping noise.

I began to look around.

Now, let me first describe the painting to you…I positioned Dave right in the middle of the canvass…the majority of canvass was just space…so basically there was a lot of empty area just background. Now as I looked down what I had heard made sense to me. In a scream of rage I yelled, "NOOOOOOOOOOO!"

Mickey was a big dog. Now if I had chose a smaller dog rodent size like my brother’s Chihuahuas things may not have turned out like they did… but as I said, he was a big dog. Big body, big head big lapping tongue. Everyone loves the smell of fresh paint I guess dog’s do too. Yes he had licked the painting RIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE. I picked up the canvass and saw the background area untouched…beautiful blue gray it was… but Dave was gone, he was just a smeared blurry mess. And Grandma’s birthday was just hours away.

I did what anyone would have done asked my dog what the hell was he thinking, and bopped him on the head. What to do? I had little time. Nevertheless, I attempted to repaint. OVER and OVER and OVER again. I just could not get it right. Looking at the clock, I decided well I cannot paint this picture but maybe I could paint the other picture. The photo of Dave in his whites.

I took several hours, right up to the time of the party. I had finished it but I had to wait for it to dry, which made me late. Finally, I made my way to the park. I remember handing it to Grandma and seeing her smile, "That’s Dave." I remember people gathering around. I think that was the first time I noticed the effect of one man’s life on so many others. I remember Uncle Bill’s eyes welling up with tears as he turned away so no one would see…It was things like that. From that day, I began to pay attention to people, whenever Dave was brought up. It’s true what my good friend Frank Capra said, One man’s life touches so many. There is a look in his children’s eyes when you talk about Dave, one of pride, and love but when you look closely you can just see their eyes well up and they are transformed back to children 12 years old, 10 years old, 15 years old, and they just miss their Dad so very very much.

Maybe it was then that I saw the lack of closure that hovered over the family. My own experiences with my mom triggered this observation. The way she talked of her father.."I lost my was my hero that day"…She is now 73 years old, but when she thinks of him she is still twelve. She is still "Daddy’s little girl". I’m not sure but I am betting that it’s the same for my Uncle Gay and Aunt Shirley. The boys especially I’ve thought about recently. Their quietness and almost gentle reaction when it comes to their father. Unlike my mother who tends to tear up and and not care who sees… the boys seemed different. Maybe it was the old fashion way of thinking about boys being tough. But I think as time went on it was harder to not break.

I remember a story about Uncle Bill on one of his birthdays, how he just stopped, and began to cry and said, "I haven’t seen my Dad in 50 odd years. " That’s a long time to carry that around. That’s a long time to be without your dad. I think Uncle Gaylord handles himself much in the same way, Quietly touched by the mention of his father. I look at him as being a lot like his dad, at least to me and to what I imagine Dave being like.

As I said closure was missing and I realized that it wasn’t just for Dave’s kids but also Dave’s grandchildren. The more I get to know my Grandpa through stories pictures old military records the more I want closure. I began this quest hearing the stories of the tragedy of Dave’s death and the indescribable life that Ethel lived after his death. Working so many years alone, raising her young children alone. Living each day …with out Dave. We have all heard the stories about how Ethel got nothing from the Navy, no one knows why. I can only speculate, I have a theory but it is just a theory.

Why nothing from the Navy… Well, February 1942 just 2 months after Pearl Harbor, we were headfirst in a war. Maybe they fell through the cracks. It is possible. Not fair, but possible. Secondly, I know around this time something happened to one of my mom’s friends… I believe the story goes as follows;

My mom had a friend about the same age as her, This girl’s Stepfather was arrested and being that the woman was then left to raise her kids alone… the state split the children up, basically saying a woman could not raise or fend for all those children.

Now keeping this in mind and taking into consideration the kind of woman Ethel was, it makes sense that Ethel when given the choice of asking the Navy for compensation etc…,would chose to turn away from anything that made her look incapable of raising her children together. No way would she risk losing one of them. It is quite possible Ethel asked for nothing or refused help. She was that type of woman, her children came first above all else.

Now whatever the reason for Ethel receiving nothing not even a flag at Dave’s burial, left a bad taste in my mouth. It hit me as I was watching Pearl Harbor. The scene when the Japanese planes just come swooping in over the horizon more and more planes… I remember saying to myself, "That’s the reason I don’t have a Grandpa" I know that’s isn’t necessarily true but in a sense yes it was. "He was coming back because of this and was killed" I began to think of all those nameless faceless guys who gave their life in the war, and it hit me that my Grandpa was one of them. He was no Ace, or 4 star General. He was just a guy who served his country for many years. And when called upon to do so again, he answered swiftly. It cost him his life, this devotion to his country and to the Navy. And from then on I knew I need something from the Navy and I believed My Mom did too.

Acknowledgement. Validation. Recognition. I didn’t want any monetary compensation, although I think Dave’s family may be due something. I just wanted those 3 things. And I finally decided I could get those things by getting something Dave's family never got…his flag.

That became my goal. That became my quest. And so, the web site was started.

This is a time line on how things fell into place.

In Changsha China, notice the USS Villalobos on uniform after the 500th time looking at it, I realized it said USS. The Photography shop was located in Changsha, China which is located on the Yangtze River. I started my search for the Villalobos it took months, not a very well known ship at all, but staying with my Yangtze Patrol hunch, I continued looking and came upon a site dedicated to the Yangtze Patrol. I dug deeper into it, and as I scrolled down there was the picture of the Villalobos. In tracing the Villalobos’ log, she did serve along the Yangtze. I found out that she was a war prize in the Spanish American war, thus her unusual name. The quest for Dave had had some light in the tunnel.

 

 

Another picture that I had seen a million times also had clues in it. Taken in China most likely on the Villalobos lifeboats (notice V on the boat) and they match the pic of the Villalobos’ boats.

 

In China in front of the Villalobos (I had this confirmed by a guy who has studied the Yangtze Patrol) with Jack the ship’s mascot a dog. To my knowledge only 2 pictures are on the internet of the Villalobos above and the one below. This picture was mixed in with some of Uncle Carl’s stuff. My sister said nope couldn’t find any pics of Dave just Carl. Woops Carl was in the Army. This one almost got by us.

 

1923- I have Dave on the USS Utah

Dave standing next to John Dillinger (last on the right) circa 1923, Dillinger went AWOL in 1923. Ok, we had heard this story several times, by the time it got to us grandchildren we heard it like this: "Dave was in a picture on the USS Utah with John Dillinger what we HEARD was a guy who "looked" like John Dillinger." Well, recently my cousin Craig found out about the site, he said I’ve got a couple pictures of grandpa and I have one of him and Dillinger, or that’s who it’s suppose to be…he sent the pictures over. I picked out Dave right away. My guess was Dillinger was on the right, to be sure I asked my Dad. He said yep that one on the right I still had no proof that was really Dillinger, but at that point it was nice having another picture of Dave.

That night I could not sleep at all. I woke up at about 2am and got online. I thought hmmm let’s see if Mr. Dillinger was even in the Navy. Took a few searches and there it was…John Dillinger was on the Utah in 1923. I thought to myself, the plot thickens..AGAIN. It always does with Dave. I searched on and decided let’s try John Dillinger in the Navy picture for a search. My search turned up a site. I scrolled down and there was a link, I clicked on it and there was the same picture Craig had sent me. I said to myself, "Holy S#&% there he is."

 

 

Married to Ethel Louise Richards

 

1925- Bill is born December 25,1925

 

Probably Easter w/ Billie 1926 Billie was born Dec 1925 he looks around 4 months old, Easter was a guess as to why they were all dressed up.

 

Dave circa 1926

1929-Laura is born March 31,1929

1931-Gaylord is Born January 11^th, 1931

1931- Betty December 10^th 1931

 

Enlisted as F2c date Oct 30, 1931-of the dd214 found by aunt shirley, this was key in our search for Dave, we were able to find his service number, as well as some records.

1931-1935- I have Dave on the USS NEW MEXICO. Through letters we have and a discharge. Also, a pic of Dave in what we think is Hawaii or possibly the Panama Canal (from the ship's history, it places the New Mexico in Pearl Harbor and Panama. Dave somewhere warm possibly Hawaii we think around 1935 He looks older here (notice the palm trees in the background and Mountains). My brother Ed had a couple letters from Dave placing him on the NEW MEXICO, tucked away in an old Bible. He had inherited from the Brooks family, it was another piece to this puzzle found.

Dave in Hawaii

Pic of Dave taken around 1935 at a Fair.

 

Dick is born May 3rd, 1933

Shirley is born –Sept 10^th, 1935

 

1937-Dave is home, December 1, 1937 a fire destroys he and Ethel’s house. Leaving them homeless with their 7 children. The story appeared in the Tribune and Register.

1937 Dave is a WPA worker-from article.

1939 Michael Brooks Aug 26^th, 1939 (died as a baby)

1941 August Reenlisted in USNRS

1941 December 7^th-PEARL HARBOR

1942 February 14^th in Wisconsin at ordnance factory 6 days then called back to report to the NAVY as an INSTRUCTOR. This was discovered in the articles about the accident, we had the historical society in Sauk County find several articles about the accident that were helpful in search for info. Strangely in our visit to Wisconsin we took a drive to Prairie Du Sac. At one point we passed an old building that caught Ed’s and my eye…"Hmm wonder what that was, looks like some sort of Military factory…" After we received the articles, we read how Dave was working at an Ordnance Factory, it seems we drove right by it.

1942 February 20^th Dave is killed in a car wreck near Merrimac / Prairie Du Sac Wisconsin.