COL. Charles Edward Bonney (USA Ret.) Dripping Springs, Texas completed his final PCS (Permanent Change of Station) on May 14, 2024. COL. Bonney was born October 2, 1938, in McCamey, Texas to William Franklin Bonney, Sr., and Ora Mildred (Medlen) Bonney. Charles was the youngest of six siblings: William Franklin Bonney, Jr., Marion Richard Bonney, Billy Medlen Bonney, Jimmy Earl Bonney, and Doyle Dean Bonney. Of these, Charles was preceded in death by his parents, his first wife Betty Bonney, and brothers William Frank Jr, Marion Richard, Billy Medlen and Doyle Dean.
He is survived by his wife, Janet Bonney, brother Jimmy Earl, and wife Georgia Bonney, plus numerous nieces, and nephews with their families.
Soon after Charles’ birth, Ranger, TX, a booming oil town, became the family’s hometown. Charles’s mother soon became both mother and father to the brothers. The resulting early lessons learned from his mother, brothers, and neighbors created an inner compass of honor and duty to God, Country and Family that never wavered. Charles was able to retain lifelong friendships with many of his classmates from First Grade through High School.
Sources: A Short History of the 9th Infantry Division and www.homeofheroes.com
Col. Charles Edward Bonney Col. 9th MP Co.
TAPS OBITUARIES
Charles credits his Football Coach, O.C. “Stubby” Warden, who treated him like a son, with imprinting him with this lifelong motto.” A Winner Never Quits and a Quitter never Wins.” Charles was honored to be on the Ranger Bulldog Football Team when they won the Class A State Championship in 1953.
Charles’ pre-college jobs: cattle hand with Domino, his pinto sidekick, lifeguard, dust cropping, peanut processing, airplane maintenance, men’s clothing retail clerk, coon cap trapper supplier, deer processor, and his 6 summers on oil rigs as a roustabout provided the income for his higher education and gave him invaluable life perspectives.
After Graduation from Ranger High School in 1957, Ranger Jr. College in 1959, the University of Texas in 1961 and the University of Texas Law School in 1964 he became a member of the State Bar of Texas and was admitted for practice before the Supreme Court of Texas, the United States Court of Military Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.
Upon graduation from Law School, Charles was chosen to be the Briefing Attorney for Judge W.A. Morrison, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (1964-65). Charles served with the Court of Criminal Appeals until 1965 and then went to Houston and assumed duties as an Assistant District Attorney for Harris County. He served in the briefing section and as a prosecutor in all levels from misdemeanors to capitol felonies.
Charles’ life course changed when he decided to take
a leave of absence for two years from his Assistant DA duties and serve his country. His request to the Army to be assigned to a Division was promptly accepted and he was assigned to the 9th Infantry Division (“Old Reliables”) located in the Mekong Delta of Vietnam. Charles arrived in Vietnam in October 1968 as a Second Lieutenant and was assigned to the 9th Military Police (MP) Company as a Platoon Leader in Tan An, Long An Province, Vietnam. He was promoted to First Lieutenant and during 1968 and 1969, served in many leadership capacities with the 9th MP Company in combat assignments, around Ben Luc, Cai Lay, Tan An, Tan Tru, Dong Tam, Ben Tre, and with the Mobile Riverine elements in waters of the Delta. In early November 1969, Charles returned home to an assignment with the 259th MP Company at Fort Bliss, Texas, and was promoted to Captain.
After returning from Vietnam Charles decided to remain in the Army and was transferred to the Judge Advocate General’s Corps to work as an Army Lawyer retiring as a Colonel with 25 years of military service. Charles assignments after Vietnam, included Italy, Germany, Charlottesville, Pentagon, Fort Hood, Leavenworth, Ft Lewis, Panama Southern Command, Fort Bliss, and Pentagon Desert Storm.
Charles’ awards and decorations from his military service include:
Purple Heart;
Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Gold Star Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Meritorious Unit Citation
Vietnam Campaign Medal
Vietnam Service Medal (4)
Army Service Ribbon
Overseas Service Ribbon (2)
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit (1 Oak Leaf Cluster)
National Defense Service Medal with Bronze Star Bronze Star Medal (2 Oak Leaf Clusters)
Bronze Star Medal with 2 Valor Devices with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters
Meritorious Service Medal with 4 Oak Leaf Clusters Army Commendation Medal with 2 Valor Devices
Army Commendation Medal with 1 Oak Leaf Cluster
Charles and Janet met during his final Washington D.C. Tour, married in 1992, returned to his beloved Texas and built a home in Dripping Springs. Charles resumed employment for 10 years as a lawyer with various Texas state agencies including a Hearing Examiner for the Texas Youth Commission, General Counsel’s Office at the Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission, Assistant General Counsel with the Texas Department of Public Safety, Board Administrator for the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, Director of Enforcement for the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners, and the Texas Commission of Human Rights.
Charles’ non-career activities included being the lead member of his subdivision’s ACC committee for many years. He was a founding member of Austin’s Chapter 1919, Military Order of the Purple Heart, and an active member of the Dripping Springs Veterans of Foreign
Wars, (VFW) Post 2933. He and his wife, Janet, attended many annual reunions with his beloved 9th MP Company, the 9th Infantry Division Association, and the Retired Judge Advocate Association. These groups shared enduring friendships of the highest levels. Charles resolved to also live up to the duties and responsibilities entailed in those three hallowed words— “Duty, Honor and Country.” as a civilian and committed himself to working with local, state, and national elections supporting candidates and causes he believed were based on the American Constitution, The Bill of Rights, and the Founding Fathers, including “In God We Trust.”
After that second retirement, Charles was able to fully dedicate himself to a loving home life with Janet, the cats and dogs and critters on acreage with a home rainwater system. Vegetable Gardens were always planted, hummingbird plants were included with water tanks for all the deer. Purple Martin Colony was established that has thrived for three decades during their annual migrations of the birds to and from South America.
Family Yearly Reunions were joyful. Summertime typically was the time for nieces and nephews and their families to travel from afar for Texas Adventure Vacations. Deer meat hunting trips with family were annual heart- warming events that filled the freezer with deer meat. Charles was the chef of the family.
Charles had a passion for history and art including all of its human lessons that taught him to always strive for creative perfection. His favorite in-house university job was a book illustrator for the Department of Anthropology. He designed his own landscapes on OSB Board with a Dremel and then painted the inset design in colorful acrylics.
His greatest love was his quiet time outdoors in nature when he communed with the Lord in prayer and conversations.
As an Officer, Gentleman and a Scholar, Charles loved to serve others and to keep them close. In his view, he was simply one of God’s Sentinels with a continuing duty to serve and protect. Given that view towards his passing, he hopes that his wife, extended family, comrades, and friends will understand that he has just gone on to God’s next assignment. Now, he has crossed the river and is resting under the shade of the Great Oak Tree.
Military Burial Honors: Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, 1520 Harry Wurzbach RD, San Antonio, Texas 78209. Friday, July 12th, Meet at 1:15 pm., Honors at 2:00pm (15-minute duration). Contact Family if desire coordination.
Church Service of Prayer & Celebration of Life: Saturday, July 13th, 11:00am., Dripping Springs Presbyterian Church, 26650 Ranch Road 12, Dripping Springs, TX 78620. 512-858-1788
Prayer is always a gift, flowers are welcomed or donations could be considered to Austin’s Chapter 1919, Military Order of the Purple Heart, MOPHAustin.org | MOPH Chapter 1919 or Dripping Springs Veterans of Foreign Wars, America Post 2933, (VFW), Contact Us | VFW Post 2933 (vfw2933.com) to assist in their unending support of the veterans who have served our country throughout the years.
Herbert U. Stern, of Austin, TX passed away peacefully at the age of 103 on 
May 4, 2023 after a brief illness. He was surrounded by his loving family and
cared for at Baylor Scott & White Round Rock Hospital.
Herb, born Ulrich Leopold Stern on October 14, 1919 in Berlin, Germany, was
the only son of Jacob Herbert Stern, an insurance broker, and Lucy Abramowski,
a Berlin socialite. He had one sister, Barbara (“Babs”), 3 years younger. Herb
attended the Herder Gymnasium school and enjoyed a privileged life and
considerable exposure to the arts, literature and history. In 1932, as the Nazi
Party came to power, Herb found his life began to change drastically. In 1933 his
mother died, and in 1934, his father was arrested by the Gestapo for trying to
help Jewish friends buy foreign passports, while his sister was sent to live with
family in Czechoslovakia. Herb was forced to wear the Jewish star on his clothes,
could no longer attend school and lived with a grandmother and then with family
friends. In 1936, at the age of 16, he finally received his visa to escape to
America. His father was released from prison 2 days before Herb sailed.
Once in the US, Herb lived with the Steiner family, distant cousins in Cincinnati,
OH who sponsored him. He was also advised to change his first name because it
sounded “too German” and chose his father’s middle name. He finished high
school at The University School preparatory school, where he was valedictorian
of his class. He attended the University of Cincinnati, majoring in economics and
minoring in history. He was drafted into the US Army in 1941, unable to attend
his graduation ceremony and just weeks before receiving his citizenship papers.
He soon joined the elite Ninth Infantry Division and participated in one of the first
amphibious landings of WWII in French Morocco. Herb went on to fight in 8 major
campaigns from 1942-1945, including in the D-Day Invasion of Normandy and
the Battle of the Bulge. He reunited with his father, who had fled to England and
remarried, but was unable to see his sister, who also fled to England. Herb first
served as an Army medic administrator and later was sent to London, England to
receive specialized intelligence training (among the first in the US Army) because
he spoke fluent German and French. His mastery in intelligence interrogation
techniques, map deciphering and work with French resistance fighters led him to
receive a Certificate of Commendation and the Bronze Star. He also received 8
Campaign Stars, 2 Purple Hearts, and Belgian and French Fourrageres. In 2013,
Herb was awarded the French Legion of Honor “Chevalier” from the French
government, and in 2017, he received the Texas Liberator Medal for his
participation in the liberation of the Nordhausen slave labor camp in Germany.
Herb’s biography, with details of his war years, has been published in Tattooed
On My Soul-Texas Veterans Remember World War II (Texas A & M University
Press) and The Texas Liberators-Veteran Narratives From World War II (Texas
Tech University Press). His interviews are archived with Baylor University
Institute for Oral History, The Texas Holocaust and Genocide Commission, the
Admiral Nimitz Museum (Fredericksburg, TX) and Metropolitan Libraries of
Houston.
After the war, Herb married Catherine “Cathy” Crowninshield Easton on
November 30, 1946 in New York City. The couple originally lived in Cincinnati but
were soon transferred to Houston, where Herb became District Manager for the
David J. Joseph Co., a scrap metal brokerage firm based in Cincinnati. He went
on to represent the company in the southwest, western, Pacific northwest and
mountain states, as well as in Mexico and Europe. He served as president of the
Gulf Coast Chapter of the Scrap Metal Recycling Industry, director-at-large for
the national board of the Iron & Steel Institute, and member of the American
Foundry Society. After 38 years with the company, he retired. He soon joined
Valpers Co., a mergers, acquisition and industrial recruiting firm for oil, gas, valve
and industrial plumbing in Houston. He retired fully in 2008 at the age of 88.
Herb and Cathy had three children - Nancy, Peter and Charles. Their marriage
lasted over 76 years and has been admired for its dedication, compassion,
humor and love by all who knew them. Herb was a charter member of the US
Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Holocaust Museum Houston, the World War II
Museum in New Orleans, the Ninth Infantry Division Association, and the original
Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston. He was a longtime member of the
Houston Symphony and the Houston Grand Opera, and an avid supporter of
dance and theater. He loved to play tennis, swim, hike in Rocky Mountain
National Park, landscape his Houston home and country cabin in New Ulm, cook,
read and write many stories. In later life, he and Cathy participated in a book club
and writing groups, and Herb shared stories of his life with veterans groups,
school groups, community organizations, churches and senior living facilities. He
was known for his dedication to family and friends, his integrity, his incredible
memory, and his ability to make everyone laugh with his keen sense of humor
and fun.
Herb was preceded in death by his parents, Jacob and Lucy, his step-mother,
Annie Reimann, his Steiner family members and his sister, Barbara “Babs”
Quinn.
He is survived by his loving wife, Cathy (Austin, TX), daughter Nancy Stern Bain
(Richard Rutner)-Austin, TX, son Peter Stern (Deborah)-Topeka, KS, son Dr.
Charles Stern (Dr. Sharon)-Waco, TX; grandchildren Charles K. Stern-Lenexa,
KS, Dr. Caroline Stern (Rob Kancilia)-Denver, Co & Tokyo, Japan, Ian Rutner
(Sophia Rusu)-Austin, TX & Philadelphia, PA, Dr. Colin Rutner-New Orleans, LA,
Sarah Stern Ochel (Jordan)-Waco, TX, Emily Stern Cox (Dr. Andrew)-Dallas, TX,
Rachel Stern (Nathan Parven)-Leander, TX; great-grandchildren Jacob and Molly
Cox, and Charlotte Ochel, nephew James Quinn (Lynne), niece Sue Quinn
Swenson (Joe-decd.), niece Ann Quinn Todd (Jerry), niece Nancy Quinn Llamo
(Hugo), niece Janet Friedman Pizzo (Cpt.Joseph Lynn), nephew Bruce Friedman
(Amy), great-niece Heather Swenson, great-nephews Woody and Jack Quinn,
numerous cousins, friends, colleagues and honorary family members. The family
wishes to thank Herb’s doctors, medical team and caregivers.
A Family Visit will take place on Saturday, August 19, 2023 from 4:00 to
6:00pm at Cook-Walden/ Capital Parks Funeral Home, 14501 North IH-35,
Pflugerville, TX 78660, and a Celebration of Life Memorial Service will be
held on Sunday, August 20, 2023 from 1:00-3:00pm at the same location.
The service will also be live-streamed. For more information, please email:
nancysternbain@gmail.com
Memorial donations may be sent to:
The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum-Tribute Program:
https://donate.ushmm.org/6hRw6kqugUOvJLNKCIbD1g2
The Holocaust Museum Houston: https://hmh.org/give/
Friends of the National WWII Memorial (D.C.):
https://www.wwiimemorialfriends.org/
The National WWII Museum - New Orleans:
https://www.nationalww2museum.org/give
The Ninth Infantry Division Association, ℅ M. Cooper, 11218 Timberline Rd,
Houston, TX 77043,
OR the charitable organization of your choice.
Clarence F. Ray
3rd Platoon
47th Regiment, L Company
1922-2020
Clarence Fred Ray, 98, of Penn Run, PA died peacefully at his home surrounded by his loving family. Born March 17, 1922 in Penn Run, he was the son of the late Fred Cameron Ray and Theda Sue (Ellenberger) Ray.
Clarence graduated from Indiana High School in 1938 at the age of 16.
He was drafted into the U.S. Army on December 8, 1942 where he became a Tech Sergeant and, later, a Rifle Platoon Sergeant during World War II in the European Theater. Clarence was in the 9thInfantry Division, 47th Regiment, Company L, 3rdPlatoon. He arrived on Utah Beach, June 10, 1944, four days following the D-Day invasion by U.S. and Allied Forces. He received a Purple Heart and Oak Leaf Cluster for injuries sustained in the line of duty. He was honorably discharged September 19, 1945.
Clarence also received the Combat Infantry Badge, Normandy Medal, Good Conduct Medal, and the World War II Victory Medal. Then 69 years later on June 6, 2013 he was awarded the French Legion of Honor Medal, the highest honor given to a non-French citizen. He was awarded this prestigious medal at the French Consulate in Washington D.C.
Following the war, Clarence worked on his farm for several years before taking a job as a pipe fitter, a job he would keep for the rest of his working career. Clarence worked on the construction of the Alaska pipeline and at many other pipe fitting jobs that took him to 37 states. He retired in1988.
He was a former member of Graystone Presbyterian Church and a current member of the Calvary Presbyterian Church, Indiana, Pennsylvania.
Clarence was a Founding Charter Member of the Cherry hill Township Volunteer Fire Company, a life member of the Disabled American Veterans, a life member of American Legion Post 141 of Indiana, a life member of VFW Post 1989 of Indiana, a life member of the Indiana Elks Club 931. He was a member of the Ninth Infantry Division Association, 50-year-plus member of Local 798 of the Welders and Pipefitters Union and a member of the Forty and Eight Club Chapter 798.
Clarence was inducted into the Indiana County Voter Hall of Fame in 2016 for voting in 50 consecutive November elections. He was presented with a citation from Governor Tom Wolf for this accomplishment.
Clarence enjoyed working in his vegetable garden where he loved growing his Rutgers tomatoes and other vegetables that he happily shared with his family and friends. He also liked mowing and caring for his yard. He spent many winters in Dunedin, Florida where he would walk more than 1,000 miles during the winter season. He was an outdoorsman who loved to hunt in his earlier years.
Clarence is survived by his second wife, Marlynn, his daughters, Theda P. Ray (Cindy Melson), Indiana, PA and Jane Mitchell (Fred), Penn Run, PA, his granddaughters, Gretchen Leigh Mitch-ell (Daniel Viderman), Monroeville, PA and Lindsey Robyn Lizik (Josh) of Houston, PA and two great grandchildren, Owen and Quinn Lizik. He is also survived by stepsons Michael R. Olson and James R. Olson, both of Randolph, NY.
In addition to his parents, Clarence was preceded in death by his first wife, Pearl (Leamer) Ray who died January 22, 2001. He was also preceded in death by his siblings, Helen Bradfield, Dorothy Strong, Wayne Ray, infant brother, Max and infant sister, Mildred.
A private family viewing will take place on January 4 and a private funeral service at the Rairigh-Bence Funeral Home of Indiana on January 5 with Reverend Richard Cassel officiating. Burial with U.S. Army Military Honors will be at the Greenwood Cemetery, Indiana, PA with Reverend David Hanna officiating. Face masks and social distancing will be required by the family. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Ninth Infantry Division Association, c/o Mary Cooper, 11218 Timber-line Road, Houston, TX 77043.
Online condolences may be made at www.rbfh.net.
Paul William Joseph Schumacher, age 97, passed from this world, from this battlefield, on March 23,2020.
Have you ever met a great man; a man of his family, a man of his country, a man of his world? He passed at his home in Gravel Hill and will be buried with his life partner and wife Ada Ellen Schumacher, just as he always wanted.
He is survived by his daughter, Joyce, of Columbus Ohio; son, Kirby, of Dayton Ohio; and son, Kevin, and his wife, Linda, of Felton Minnesota, and granddaughter, Kristin Nelson, and her husband Nicholas; great-granddaughter, Alexandra, of Fargo, North Dakota, granddaughter, Lacy, her husband, Greg, of Minneapolis, and grandson, Kevin Philip, and his partner Sarah, of Robinsdale, Minnesota. He is survived by his sister, Doris Brammer, of Oakland City Indiana. He was preceded in death by his wife of 59 years, Ellen, his brother, Jack Schumacher, of St. Charles Missouri, and by his beloved grandson, Robert Paul Schumacher.
A second generation German, he was born in rural Indiana on January 30, 1923, and went to fight the Germans twenty years later. He entered France shortly after D-Day, fought through the hedgerows of France to Belgium and Western Germany, and confronted the Germans at the Huertgen Forest, the longest battle of WWII. Had a German sniper been two inches more accurate, his marriage, his family and his marvelous life would have never been. He crossed the Rhein River, helping to capture the bridge at Remagen before it was destroyed. He remained in Germany as part of the occupation force, and true to his nature, made many friends there, whom he would visit often in the years after the war. He was injured during the war, and was recovering at the Veterans Administration Hospital at Memphis Tennessee, where he met a nurse, Ada Ellen Huggins, fell in love and married.
He graduated from Indiana Tech University with a degree in engineering, and was employed by the Air Force, assisting with flight test operations, as well as the Mercury and Gemini space programs, after additional training in aeronautical engineering at The Ohio State University. He was employed and stationed at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton Ohio until he retired, with many profound congratulations. As a young engineer, he was flying with a test pilot near Dayton when the jet plane malfunctioned and crashed. Once again, he survived, but only with a painful back injury and period of hospitalization. Thank God he survived because organizations such as the Corinth Children’s Theater, the Pleasant Site Volunteer Fire Department, the Ninth Infantry Division Association and many other community programs would have been without his care, skills and donations of time, money and effort.
He loved his wife, his children and his grandchildren, and thanks to his long life, he was able to spend wonderful time with his great granddaughter, who he often drove a thousand miles to see. He always opened his letters to his grandchildren with “Greetings from Tennessee” even though privately, he thought it odd for a Yankee to be buried in the South. He worked in his garden and gave away more than he ate. He loved his Tennessee woods, the creatures there, and he loved his country.
Rest well soldier. Your service to this world is done.
Private services will take place at Shackelford Funeral Home in Selmer Tennessee, with a public memorial service in the future. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to American Legion Post 243, c/o Joel Pipkin, P.O. Box 151, Scott’s Hill TN 38374; Court Avenue Cumberland Presbyterian Church, 234 West Court Ave, Selmer TN 38375; or the Ninth Infantry Division Association, c/o Mary Cooper, 11218 Timberline Rd., Houston TX 77043-4641.
Dr. Jack Rhodes Dauner, 98, of Pinehurst, NC passed away on Friday, December 18, 2022, at FirstHealth Hospice and Palliative Care, West End, NC.
Jack was born on March 22, 1924 to the late Wilson and Pauline Rhodes Dauner.
Jack was a graduate of Dubuque Senior High School. He attended the University of Dubuque for one year before joining the Army to serve in World War II. He received a Purple Heart for a wound received in Hurtgen Forest, Germany. In 2022, Jack was awarded the French Legion of Honor medal for his service to the country during World War II.
After the war, Jack continued to pursue his education. He received a Bachelor of Science in Commerce from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA; Masters of Science in Commerce from St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO; and a Ph.D. in Business Administration from St. Louis University, St. Louis, MO. From 19741975 he was President of Sales Marketing Executives Association. Jack served on the faculty of many institutions of higher learning and was a consultant to many large companies and service organizations. He was a teacher and author in business, management, and marketing. He received many awards for excellence in teaching. He authored more than 150 published articles and three books in marketing and sales. Jack moved to Pinehurst in 1973 and was a Member of CCNC and Pinehurst Country Club.
He was an avid and accomplished golfer into his 90s and stopped playing at the age of 95. He was a patient fisherman. Jack went after muskellunge (muskie), the so-called fish of 1,000 casts. Jack loved to travel. He visited friends around the country, went on many cruises, and often attended the 9th Infantry Division Reunion and The Annual Meet of the Families of German and American Soldiers of WWII in Germany. He loved life and was a people person as evidenced by his many good friends. Recently, Jack spent most of his afternoons watching the airplanes at Moore County Airport and enjoyed the company of the pilots and the staff.
Dr. Dauner was preceded in death by his first wife, Carolyn Wells Dauner, and his second wife, Denise H. Dauner.
Jack is survived by his beloved wife, Dr. Natalie West Dauner and her children Ruth and her husband, Christian Hunter Phillips, Dannle and Dave; his cousins, John T Dauner and Edward Rhodes; his nephews, Thomas G. Wells, David L. Wells, Jonathan J. Wells, R. Douglas Wells, Robert J. Wells and Steven J. Wells; his niece, Suzanne Wells Brooks; and his Goddaughters, Linda Lapp GraveIle and Karen Lapp Schneider. A memorial service will be held on January 22, 2023 at 2:00pm in Community Congregational Church, 141 N. Bennett Street, Southern Pines, NC 28387. It will be followed by a memorial repast. In lieu of flowers, Memorials may be made to FirstHealth Hospice Care Center, 251 Campground Road, West End, NC 27376.