Shared links to the past
Two North Idaho families recently discovered they share a common history of loved ones taken together as prisoners of war on Wake Island in World War II. From left: Ron Mills, holding a photo of his uncle, Charlie Mellor; and Verda Newell with daughter Nikki Warnick, holding pictures of Verda's brothers-in-law Emmett Newell, left, and Glenn Newell.
DEVIN WEEKS/Press
Public historian Sara Jane Ruggles shows Dina Mills-Hourlland where a photo of her great uncle, Charlie Mellor, is found in a 1945 report chronicling the events of the Wake Island takeover by the Japanese military in 1941. Mellor's family connected Tuesday with another local family, the Newells, after Ruggles discovered both families had loved ones taken together as POWs from Wake Island.
DEVIN WEEKS/Press
A letter written by Charles Mellor in 1943 while he was a prisoner of war in Shanghai following the Japanese takeover of Wake Island, where Mellor and two brothers, Emmett and Glenn Newell, all of small towns in Idaho, were taken captive. Their families, of North Idaho, met for the first time Tuesday.
Glenn Newell, No. 40, left center; Emmett Newell, No. 71, bottom right; and Charlie Mellor, No. 79, top right, were civilian employees of the Boise-based Morrison-Knudsen Company when they were taken prisoner by Japanese forces on Wake Island in December 1941. Their families, which live in North Idaho, met for the first time Tuesday to share their stories.
The world is much smaller than many people realize....
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