[kennedy397]

I recently came into possesion of a book presented to the public library of Rochester, WI. in memory of Robert Aspinall. As he past away in 1945, I thought he might be a deceased veteran of WWII. Out of respect to his sacrifice I want to return the book to any living relatives. Is there anyone who is familar with the Aspinalls? Thank You. Mike K.

[quickdraw]

Originally Posted by kennedy397

I recently came into possesion of a book presented to the public library of Rochester, WI. in memory of Robert Aspinall. As he past away in 1945, I thought he might be a deceased veteran of WWII. Out of respect to his sacrifice I want to return the book to any living relatives. Is there anyone who is familar with the Aspinalls? Thank You. Mike K.

Go to yahoo people search and put in aspinall rochester, wi. There are 4 names including one phone number.

[hcgCali]

I'm just curious, if the book was presented to the library in his honor, why isn't it remaining there?

Here's what I found:

Robert J. Aspinall was born in 1920
Parents: Glenn and Edith Aspinall of Rochester, WI.
Siblings: Mary Aspinall, born 1922, and Alice A. Aspinall, born 1927
He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1941
He had 4 years of high school
His civilian occupation was "Semiskilled mechanics and repairmen, motor vehicles"
He was single, without dependents
He achieved the rank of Master Sergeant
He was in combat with the 484th Bomb Squadron, 505th Bomb Group
He died on 20 Jun 1945
Last known status: missing
Monument: Honolulu, Hawaii
U.S. Awards: Purple Heart Medal, Air Medal, Additional Army Awards


Mary E. Aspinall, age 86, is listed on the search sites as still living in Rochester.

M Aspinall
300 E Spring
Rochester, WI 53167
(262) 534-4727http://www.whitepages.com/static/common/trans.gif (broken link)

That same name/phone also comes up as
300 E Spring
Burlington, WI 53105

instead of Rochester, so they may have done some redrawing of boundaries.. just in case you are going to write, you'd want to verify with the post office as to which one is correct.

Aditional information found here http://forum.armyairforces.com/tm.aspx?m=44668&high=aspinall indicates he was a flight engineer, shot down over Japan, taken prisoner and executed.

[kennedy397]

Thank You. I had most of the Army service records and the phone # of Mary. How this book ended up in Ohio, one can only guess. It still has the library call letters on it.

[hcgCali]

It may be that someone checked it out, didn't return it, and consequently moved to Ohio where it went to the garage sale or in a box to a charity. Alternatively, libraries do have sales where they sell off excess books, and it may have been an oversight to sell one that was donated in memorium.
I'd contact the library. Contacting the family may cause undue pain.

Rochester Public Library
(262) 534-3533
208 W Spring St.
Rochester , Wi 53167

[zapantis]

he was beheaded by japanese in 1945 ([url=http://home.comcast.net/~winjerd/Page06.htm]Fukuoka POW Camp #1 - Page 6[/url])