ROGER MONROE

This year’s July 4th celebration was special for many reasons. It was the country’s 250th anniversary and featured spectacular fireworks events locally and nationally. The parades were amazing from West Peoria to Washington D.C. President Trump’s speeches from the White House to Mt. Rushmore praised the founders of the nation on this historic July 4th.

It had to be exciting for Jim Wilhelm. You may know Jim. He came from Arthur to teach Speech and Theater at East Peoria High School after attending Eastern Illinois University. He later went to work at CILCO. Jim spent 31 years helping promote Reddy Kilowatt and all things electric. Wilhelm is known for his theatrical talents performing in Corn Stock and Peoria Players productions. Many readers will remember Jim as long-time host of public television’s “Illinois Adventure.”

Jim Wilhelm

The July 4th celebration was an opportunity to be thankful for the freedoms we enjoy thanks to the men and women who served in the military and that included Jim and 12 of his 13 brothers. You read that right. Jim’s parents, George and Iva Wilhelm, had 14 boys.

Their 15th child was their only girl, Beverly. One son, Gene, died at the age of 3 of an unknown cause. Jim’s father spent years as a farmer in the area of Arthur and Sullivan, Ill. George might have known my father who was born and lived in Sullivan until age 15.

All 13 sons served in the military, seven of them during World War II. After intensive research and interviews with Jim Wilhelm, I believe the Wilhelm family holds the country’s record for the most sons of the same parents to wear uniforms of the United States of America.

Let me tell you about them.

Ray was the oldest and the first to serve when he was drafted July 15, 1941. He became a pilot flying combat missions for the U.S. Army Air Corps in the South Pacific. Ray served the longest time among the brothers — four and a half years.

Next came Marvin Dennis Wilhelm. Drafted by the Marines in 1944, Dennis could not have been very happy. He left behind a wife and two children. Dennis was in the 36-day Battle of Iwo Jima where 6,821 soldiers were killed and 19,217 wounded. He survived and returned home in December, 1945.

The third brother, Carl Wilhelm, enlisted in the Army in 1941. Like Dennis, Carl also saw action, but at Guadalcanal. Carl received training in jungle fighting. He was also selected to attend sniper school which came in handy as he was involved in battle with the Japanese. Carl told of 10 straight days and nights of brutal combat without rest, enduring heat, rain, machine gun bullets and explosives.

Brother Edgar was drafted by the Army on March 30, 1942 and went to Europe following basic training. He saw action in the Battle of the Bulge, the largest land battle of World War II. He was awarded the Purple Heart, Distinguished Service Cross, and Bronze Star, making him the most decorated of the brothers. Edgar reenlisted in the Army in 1955 and served in Vietnam, where he received an Outstanding Achievement Award.

Two months after Edgar left home, so did Arnold Wilhelm, who didn’t see the action Edgar did, but he saw a lot of the world. That was because Arnold became a skilled aircraft mechanic. Interestingly, Arnold was sent for that training to Midwest Automotive Trade School in Bloomington. From there he went to Fort Ord, Calif., Staten Island, N.Y., Algeria, and Naples, Italy, where he remained for 31 months, at one time under the command of General George Patton.

Lloyd was the fifth brother to enter the service, joining the Navy after graduating from high school. He was a Quartermaster. This is the ship’s navigator plotting courses, steering the helm and managing vital navigation. Lloyd was on the USS Cincinnati when it was hit by a German torpedo off the coast of Africa. Thirteen crew members were killed and 80 wounded. The ship survived and so did Lloyd.

Fortunately, the brothers who followed did not see combat. At age 18, Albert entered the Army in 1945 and became a paratrooper attached to the 82nd Airborne Division. George Wilhelm was in the Army for only nine months and Duane managed to become a Marine at age 17. He didn’t like military life and tried to get out, but that didn’t happen. He fully served his two-year enlistment. No one argued with Duane. While stationed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, he was flown to other Marine bases to box. He recorded 34 knockouts, 17 technical knockouts, 10 split decisions, 17 draws and one loss.

Leonard was the 10th brother to enter military service and became a cook for the Army. He spent two years in Seoul, Korea. Elmer joined the Air Force, spending time in Morocco.

Charles enlisted in the Marines in 1958 and most of his time he was stationed at Parris Island, S.C. Jim Wilhelm makes 13 the number of family members to put on the uniform, joining the Army in 1956. Jim says he spent less time on active duty and more time in the reserves than any of his brothers. Jim was discharged May 21, 1964.

Between Carl’s enlistment in 1941 to Charles’ discharge in 1961, there was at least one Wilhelm on active military duty. Amazingly, all of the sons of George and Iva Wilhelm survived combat in the Pacific and Europe during their service years. Only one was wounded. Reasons why this July 4th was special. Jim and Charles are the two remaining brothers. Both men provided information for this column. Charles wrote a 339-page, hard-backed book of his life in the Wilhelm family and Jim was interviewed three times including an appearance on our WAZU morning radio show.

God bless the Wilhelm family for their love of God and country.

QUOTE OF THE MONTH: “Perhaps the greatest social service that can be rendered by anybody to the country and to mankind is to bring up a family.” — George Bernard Shaw