Our Father, Fred J. Wise was born on May 2, 1912 to Jacob and Anna Wise in Chicago, Illinois. He was the eldest of five sons, and brother to Martin, Jack, Arthur and George.

He met our Mother, Florence Schlieben in Chicago and married her on October 29, 1932, Mom's birthday. They eloped to Crown Point, Indiana. Since our maternal Grandparents were such strict Catholics, they insisted our parents remarry in the Catholic Church. Therefore, they had a very formal wedding on September 30, 1933 at Holy Innocents Church in Chicago, Illinois. We have a beautiful picture of Dad and Mom, he in his tuxedo and she in her wedding gown and veil. Her floral bouquet was so big it filled her lap. I have preserved and kept her wedding veil in hopes of a grandchild wishing to wear it sometime in the future.

My brother, Fred and I were both born at home, also in Chicago, Illinois. Fred is a few years older than me, and has always looked after me, treating me like the big protective brother.

I can remember having the measles and being confined to a darken bedroom, since at that time the doctors felt that lights or bright sunlight would cause eye damage. Dad would come home from work and check on me, asked how I was feeling and how I was doing and sit with me for a while. My brother would also keep me company. I think he passed the measles onto me, and therefore felt he should be there to console and play games with me. However, at that tender age, I must not have heeded the doctor's advice, since I have worn glasses longer than I can remember.

Dad enlisted in the Army in December of 1943. Because he was married and the father of two small children, our Mother had to sign and give her consent for him to enlist. This was something she had regretted for a very long time. It may be that since his 4 younger brothers had also gone off to war, he felt obliged to enlist as well, to serve his country.

After Dad left for the war, my Mother, Brother and I moved in with our paternal Grandparents. Times were tough in those days and money scarce, so my brother and I wore a lot of "hand-me-down" clothes. If and when Mom could buy material, she would sew new dresses for me on her Singer peddle sewing machine.

During the war, Mom worked at Douglas Aircraft in Chicago, building planes and such for the war. She would work the night shift so that she would be home for us during the day. In the evening our Grandparents would watch over us and get us to bed on time for school the next day.

I can remember the day the telegram came from the war department to our Mother, stating that our Father was killed in action on April 3, 1945. After a while that day, she had us get dressed and we went out and walked and walked and walked. We finally ended up at her parentŐs house to be comforted by her family.

Our Dad was with Patton's 3rd Army, 4th Armored Division, 51st Armored Infantry Battalion, Co. B. Letters followed the telegram from Headquarters of the 4th Armored Division and the 51st Armored Infantry Battalion stating that Dad was killed in action during their advance near Gotha, Germany. In later years we were to learn that there were a German concentration camps near Gotha, Germany, which the American troops had liberated.

Dad and Mom must have had many favorite songs, which meant a great deal to them. Whenever one would be played on the radio, Mom would sing along or whistle the tune. As a child, I also learned many of these old songs from her and most of them are now amongst my favorites. However, whenever she heard the song "White Christmas" she would have a far away look in her eyes and than immediately turn off the radio. It seems she just could not bear to hear that song.

In November 1944 Dad was awarded the Expert Infantryman Badge for satisfactory performance of duty in action against the enemy. In January 1945 he was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge for exemplary conduct in action against the enemy. On May 28, 1945 he was awarded The Purple Heart posthumously.

He was buried at the United States Military Cemetery in Margraten, Holland.

In January of 1948 Mom received a letter from the Department of the Army advising that Congress had authorized the disinterment and final burial of the heroic dead of World War II. Our Father was laid to his final rest on United States soil in May of 1949 at St. Adalbert Cemetery in Niles, Illinois.

Prior to Dad's enlistment, he worked for Poster Products, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois. He began work there in 1931. In October of 1944 Dad wrote a letter to all his old buddies at Poster. He said:

"He is fine and hopes everyone there is the same. He has been overseas for quite a while and has been moved all over the country from camp to camp, but now has a permanent mailing address and hopes of finally catching up with the mail. He had not received any mail in 2 months. He closes his letter by saying "Tell Frenchie (a fellow employee) I think France is a wonderful place, but I'll take America any old day."

Dad would have been 33 years old when he was taken from us. Our Mother lived to the age of 80, dying unexpectedly. All four of Dad's brothers returned home from the war, safe and sound. In later years they also married.

This is a Tribute to our Dad, who never had the opportunity to see his two children grow into adults, or to meet his Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren.