Kennard Man Is Killed In Naval Action

George Japp* 20, Formerly Of Kennard, Well-known To Many

Place Of Death Is Not Revealed

Kennard relatives received word late last week that their nephew, Edwin Japp, 20, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Japp of Upton, Wyoming, formerly Kennard, has been killed in action.

The telegram bearing news of Edwin’s death was dated December 3, and was sent to Mr. and Mrs. Japp from Arlington, Virginia, by Rear Admiral Randall Jacobs, Chief of Naval personnel. It read as follows:

The navy department regrets to inform you that your son, Edwin Henry Japp, seaman second class U.S.N.R., was killed in action in the performance of his duty and in the service of his country. Recovery of remains impossible. If further detail are received you will be properly informed.

Edwin was a junior in the Upton High School when he enlisted in the U.S. Navy, last February 24, to fulfill the patriotic duty which had urged him to fight for the splendid things which we Americans cherish and enjoy in our great nation.

With his parents, brothers and sisters, he left Kennard some years ago to live first in Osage and later in Upton Wyoming. Two of his brothers are in the army, Earl having entered service last March and LeRoy in October.

Survivors include the parents and six brothers, Earl and LeRoy in the army, Clarence and James of Upton, Herman of Whitefish, Montana, and Russell of Hooper; four sisters, Mrs. Hazel Wagstaff of Upton, Mrs. Evelyn Ulurely of San Francisco, Mrs. Clara Porter of Vallejo, California, and Mrs. Ann Willebrecht of Worland Wyoming. Among the many relatives residing in and near Kennard are three uncles and three aunts – Ed, August and William Japp; Mrs. Sherman Anderson, Mrs. J. Henry Miller, and Mrs. Buck Rosenbaum.

George Japp, Edwin’s father, lived on a farm near Kennard for many years and was a resident of Kennard, itself, for more than ten years. Mrs. Japp was a native of the Washington vicinity. Both visited Kennard for a time earlier in the year.

*Name should be Edwin.

Pilot Tribune 17 Dec 1942

Edwin Japp Killed in Action

Edwin Japp, 20, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Japp, former Kennard people now living at Upton, Wyoming, was killed in action recently while serving with the U.S. navy it had been learned by his uncle and aunt, Ed Japp and Mrs. Sherman Anderson of Kennard.

Young Japp, native of Kennard, was a junior at Upton high school early this year when he quit to enlist in the navy.

Rear Admiral Randall Jacobs, chief of naval personnel, sent the following telegram to the Japps December 3: “The navy department regrets to inform you that your son, Edwin Henry Japp, seaman second class U.S.N.R., was killed in action in the performance of his duty and in the service of his country. Recovery of remains impossible. If further details are received you will be properly informed.”

Surviving young Japp besides his parents are six brothers, Earl and LeRoy in the army, Clarence and James of Upton, Herman of Whitefish, Montana, and Russell of Hooper; four sisters, Mrs. Hazel Wagstaff of Upton, Mrs. Evelyn Ulurely of San Francisco, Mrs. Clara Porter of Vallejo, California, and Mrs. Ann Willebrecht of Worland Wyoming.

Among the many relatives residing in and near Kennard are his uncles and aunts, Ed, William and August Japp, sr., Mrs. Sherman Anderson, Mrs. J. Henry Miller, and Mrs. Buck Rosenbaum and Mrs. Minnie Schneider. Japp’s mother is the former Miss Anna Christiansen of the Washington vicinity.

~~~ Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair Public Library at Blair, Nebraska.~~~