Submitted by Pat Jernigan

     LTC Martha Schuchart-Sachs, USA-Retired, died Saturday, Jul 31, 2004.  She was 90.  An obituary appeared in the Washington Post on Friday, Aug 6.  The photo (att) may help you place Martha if the name doesn't ring a bell.  She was active in a wide range of veterans, civic, and cultural activities.  She was always interested in what was happening, willing to pitch in, and delighted to get news.

Martha was a Missouri native, the third oldest of nine children.  She began teaching the fall after graduating from high school.  During the summers she attended (and graduated from) Cape Girardeau Teachers' College; during the winters she taught school.  She was often the only teacher in a one room school house where she was also the janitor, and did "other duties as required."

When the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps began recruiting in the summer of 1942, Martha was one of the first women to join.  She completed basic training at Ft Des Moines, IA in the fall of 1942, and was assigned to the training center as an instructor.  In February 1943, she attended OCS at Des Moines, graduating as a third officer, the WAAC equivalent to a second lieutenant.  After another assignment as an instructor, she was assigned to the 2d Signal Service Bn, Arlington Hall Station, VA in 1944.  The 2d Signal Service Bn was later to become part of the Army Security Agency.

In 1945 she was assigned to the intercept station at Two Rock Ranch, CA to close down the WAC Detachment.  Martha spent several assignments overseas, including the Philippines, Japan, Germany and Eritrea.  While most of her assignments were in ASA, she also served at the WAC Center, Ft McClellan, AL.  Martha married Abner Sachs in 1965, and together they traveled throughout the world.  Abner, a retired army colonel, died in 2000.  In the past several years, Martha resumed traveling and had visited friends in both Germany and Japan.

Martha was active in many organizations including AFIO, the National Genealogical Society, the Smithsonian Associates, Zonta International, the ASAPAC veterans association, and the Army Women Veterans of Northern Virginia (NV Ch 33).

Burial with full military honors will follow mass at the Old Chapel, Ft Myer.  The Chapel service will begin at 12:45 PM on Thursday, September 16.  Arrangements are with the Murphy Funeral Home in Arlington.

Martha is survived by two sisters and many loving relatives and friends.

Lawrence E. Huffling  (April 2004)

Submitted by Bill Mielke
idgaf1943@hotmail.com

ALSTEAD, N.H. -- Lawrence E. Huffling, 65, of School House Lane, died Thursday, April 8, 2004, at Springfield Hospital.

He was born May 21, 1938, in Greensboro, N.C., the son of Clyde and Marie Huffling.

He was a graduate of Bessemer High School in Greensboro, N.C., and Northeastern University in Boston.

He served his country in the Army for eight years. He was a member of the Army Security Agency and spent seven years in Germany.

For 30 years he worked as loss control specialist for Mutual Fire Insurance Association and Ranger Insurance Company. For the past five years, he was self-employed as an insurance broker.

Mr. Huffling was a fire commissioner and served on the Alstead safety committee. He was a member and lector at St. Charles Catholic Church in Bellows Falls, Vt.

He was also a member of the American Legion Post 37 in Bellows Falls and the VFW, in Alstead. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Polish American Club in Bellows Falls, and the Propane Gas Association of New England.

For many years he was known throughout Alstead for dressing up in costumes to entertain the local children during the holidays, most memorably as the Easter Bunny and Count Brocula. He had a great sense of humor and always had a joke to tell. He enjoyed making people laugh.

On Jan. 21, 1961, in Methuen, Mass., he married Mary Lou (Gorski) Huffling.

He is survived by his wife of 43 years; two children, Katie of Rockville, Md., and David of Alstead. He has several surviving aunts, uncles and cousins in North and South Carolina.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated Wednesday, April 14, at 11 a.m., by the Rev. Ernest Passero at St. Charles Church in Bellows Falls. Calling hours will be Tuesday from 6-8 p.m. at the Fenton & Hennessey Funeral Home in Bellows Falls. Burial will follow the service in the Pine Grove Cemetery in Alstead.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Fall Mountain Friendly Meals, P.O. Box 191, Alstead, NH 03602 or Casa San Martin in Anduaylas, Peru, c/o St. James Society, 24 Clark St., Boston, MA 02108.
Published in the Brattleboro Reformer on 4/12/2004.

Harry James Ryan  (February 2004)

Submitted by James L. Collins
jcpeleg@aol.com

Harry James Ryan of Fairway Boulevard died Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2004, after a short illness at his home surrounded by his family. He was 56.

Born on April 8, 1947, in Tea Neck, N.J., he was the son of Thelma May (Campbell) Ryan and the late John J. Ryan. A graduate of Newburgh Free Academy in Newburgh, N.Y., Mr. Ryan was a U.S. Army veteran serving in the Army Security Agency in Vietnam from 1966 to 1970. After serving his country, he attended Orange County Community College and then Cornell University, where he graduated with his Bachelor of Science and then his Master of Science degree.

He then went on to teach at the BOCES vocational center, where he was known for his ability to enlighten his students and capture their attention with his knowledge of the outdoors and nature during his conservation and basic agricultural classes. Most recently, he taught the G! ED and Alternative Education programs. He is remembered by his students for opening his class with a joke to put a smile on their faces and a thought in their minds.

He was a member of the Hotel, Motel and Restaurant Employees and Bartenders Union Local 471 and enjoyed summers working as a bartender at Saratoga Race Course. His many hobbies included fishing, golfing, hunting and playing cards. He was a great family man and especially enjoyed being with his grandchildren.

In addition to his mother of Gulf Breeze, Fla., he is survived by his wife of 31 years, Janet (St. George) Ryan of Wilton; his children, Elizabeth A. Carpenter and her husband, Matthew, of Cohoes and Christopher C. Ryan and Pamela L. Ryan, both of Wilton; his grandsons, Caleb and Zachary Carpenter; a sister, Nancy E. Kittel and her husband, James, of Gulf Breeze, Fla.; his nieces and nephews, Kimberly and Andrew Lemister and Shawn and Melody Kittel; and his mother- and father-in-law, Margaret! and Charles St. George of Saratoga Springs.

A Mass of Christia n Burial will be celebrated at 9:30 a.m. Monday, Feb. 23, 2004, at St. Clement's Roman Catholic Church, 231 Lake Ave., Saratoga Springs.

Burial will follow with military honors at the Gerald B.H. Solomon Saratoga National Cemetery in Schuylerville.

Friends may call from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday at the William J. Burke & Sons/Bussing & Cunniff Funeral Homes, 628 North Broadway, Saratoga Springs (584-5373 or burkefuneralhome.com).


James L. Collins
jcpeleg@aol.com