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War stories: Museum event to feature Norway pilot killed in WWII

A Salute to Our Veterans

By Terri Castelaz 6 min read

NORWAY -- On June 6, 1944 -- D-Day in World War II -- First Lt. Joseph A. DeRidder wrote, "Invasion -- What a cheer went up at briefing when they announced we were to lead the invasion … Biggest day in American history."

DeRidder's wartime story will be featured in the "World War II Memoirs" on Saturday at the Jake Menghini Museum in Norway. The Oral History Project fundraiser, which includes "An Evening with the Artist," will run from 7 to 9 p.m.

Kay Palmcook will share local World War II stories, discuss the importance of the Oral History Project and show one of their first completed productions.

In the 25-minute video, the audience will hear about DeRidder's life and time in the Army Air Corps from his only son, Jeffrey, who was 2 years old when his father died, and Jeff's daughter, Jayna Huotari. The interview was done before Jeff DeRidder's death on Dec. 26, 2020.

A highlight of the segment are readings of DeRidder's entries from his "My Stretch in the Service." The book tells of his enlistment in early 1943 to his last flight on July 29, 1944.

The Norway man was killed in action on July 31, 1944, while co-piloting the B-17 "Devil's Luck" above Munich, Germany. He was 27.

"One of the 10 crewmen made it out. Unfortunately, Joey DeRidder did not," Jake Menghini Museum Director Mark Sertich said.

Palmcook, who conducted the interviews, said although D-Day wasn't discussed on video, she will share his story of that important day in history with the audience.

"DeRidder was part of the group that went ahead of the invaders to bomb the shore to make it safer for battleships," she said, adding his D-Day entry goes into great detail about that mission.

"It's just an intriguing story," Sertich said. "Unbelievable, the history we learned from that little book."

The DeRidder family donated several pieces to the Jake Menghini Museum, including a glass case with his service flag, war medals, his officer's jacket and high-resolution copy of the diary, as the original is in very fragile condition. They were also provided with an enlarged photograph of DeRidder's plane exploding in mid-air.

"A pilot in another plane who was behind in the formation had a camera -- which is a court-martial offense -- and was taking pictures during that exact moment the plane was hit," Sertich said. "He made it back to develop the pictures -- it's just amazing to me."

Palmcook noted that the family had not known about the diary until about 50 years after his death. It was discovered by the son of a veteran who served with DeRidder. Jeff's mother, Lucy, was able to see the diary before her death in 1998.

The book also contained names and addresses of some of DeRidder's service buddies. In the early 2000s, Huotari was able to track down several veterans who shared their memories with the DeRidder family. That research also led them to attend several gatherings of his military unit, the 388th Bomb Group.

Organizers hope Saturday's event will not only raise funds for the Oral History Project but pique interest in the project.

"This project can't just die," event co-organizer Carol Zechlin said. "Many young people don't know much about World War II anymore."

Their goal is to expand the project to include other wars.

"Even if we get volunteers who are willing to interview their own family members, we can help guide them and give them pointers," Palmcook added.

The project began around 2010, while Zechlin was museum director. The museum began to incorporated Norway-Vulcan Area School District students with different projects that later included them reenacting significant figures from the Norway, Vulcan, Loretto and Waucedah area.

"Students were looking for the history of these people they were portraying and wished they had audio and video so they could see how they spoke and what they were really like," Palmcook said.

"This evolved into interviewing local veterans," added Zechlin, who had been working with museum volunteer Carol Sundstrom at the time.

Doing similar projects herself, Palmcook a short time later joined the museum's efforts to preserve the stories of local veterans. Unfamiliar with video editing process, Palmcook took classes at Bay College in Escanaba.

They have recorded about 45 interviews over the past 10-plus years.

"It's kind of amazing to think a small area like ours how local veterans were in every part of the world during the war -- I'm just blown away by that," Zechlin said. "The stories are an important collection of not only Norway's history but for the whole Upper Peninsula, as we are often overlooked."

Five other videos that have been edited to tell "the story" are now complete.

However, they still have a large collection of audio and video that needs to be brought up-to-date. Palmcook hopes to use the funds raised Saturday to consult with Grant Smith of Two Mile Media.

Palmcook credits the Jake Menghini Museum Partners group for assisting the project over the years. "They have been very helpful, as it gives us a good background of information," she said.

In addition to the support of the Partners, they have received funding for the project from the Dickinson County Community Foundation and the Lardenoit family.

Palmcook said they plan to feature other stories at upcoming events.

Saturday's fundraiser will also include a silent auction of Carol Zechlin's watercolor paintings and live auction of an oil painting of a female red-winged blackbird by Gail Stanek.

Zechlin has donated about 25 pieces of views from the Norway area, as well as outings of the Silent Sporters group. The museum will be open from noon to 4 p.m. today so the public can view the artwork.

Bids will open at the time of the event Saturday and close at 9 p.m.

"It may take a day or so to follow up with bids," Zechlin said.

The string trio Datura of the local area will provide musical entertainment throughout the evening.

Hors d'oeuvres, including a charcuterie board, and refreshments will be served.

Admission to the event is free, but donations are welcome. All funds raised during the evening go to the Oral History Project.

The museum is at 105 Odill Drive, just off U.S. 2 in Norway.

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