World War II and Rowena Ross

I recently visited the Holocaust Museum and Memorial in Washington D.C.
If you ever get a chance, please see it. You hear about the concentration camps, the gas chambers and families being torn apart but you don’t actually feel it until you see the films, actual rooms filled with the empty shoes of those that were gassed to death and be placed in the lives of people that were starved to death.

The museum and memorial showed me what started the war and who was involved and why. Of course I was taught these things in school but it didn’t set in until I saw it right in front of me. It made me realize why my veteran grandfather (who was a Falls native) so adamant about quitting school to fight in the war. Then I thought about our Falls residents that didn’t make it home alive because they served for what they believed in.

Adolph Hitler became German chancellor on January 30, 1933 by appointment of President Paul von Hindenburg. By January 1939 he had caused the start of what turned out to be World War II.
American attitudes vacillated with each passing day, with many taking a wait and see attitude while others cried for a show of strength. Everywhere people were divided on what they believed was the correct action. This includes right here in Cuyahoga Falls.
On December 7, 1941 the Japanese pulled a surprise morning aerial attack on our Navy base in Pearl Harbor, Manila, Hawaii. and killed 350 United States servicemen. With modern radio the sad news reached here within a few minutes. World War II had begun.

Locally, all industry started gearing for war production. Goodyear already had its aerospace plant in operation with the prospects of aerology dominating this war. Firestone started building a big plant to fabricate large C-36 airplane wings.
Lots of new materials were developed, among them was bullet proof material to cover jeep gasoline tanks. This was a pretty dangerous material to fabricate in hot presses because the stuff contained formaldehyde which gave off a very poisonous fume and two men died in a local plant before precautions were established.

But one of the real differences in this war was for the first time in our history women were taken into the services.
In Cuyahoga Falls a group of girls enlisted and among them was Rowena Ross who enlisted in the WAC’s and she volunteered for overseas duty. On April 10, 1945 she died in Hollandia, New Guinea and was the first girl from Cuyahoga Falls to ever die in the service. Her body was brought back and buried in the Oakwood Cemetery.
Her memory has been perpetuated in the Rowena Ross Womanhood Trophy Award, awarded to a graduating senior girl in the Falls High each year. Ross Park near Roberts Junior High? Also a tribute to Rowena Ross.
Germany surrendered unconditionally at 8:41 am Cuyahoga Falls time on May 7, 1945.