First Posted: 1/25/2015
LIMA — The Lima area produced many heroes during World War II. However, Allen County Historical Society Trustee Lawrence Huffman focused on eight of those who went above and beyond the call of duty.
Eight local men received the Navy Cross or the Distinguished Service Cross. The award is only one step below the highest military service award, the Medal of Honor. They are also considered part of the “Pyramid of Honor” along with the Silver Star, the three highest awards for valor.
“I think the reason we are so successful during military action is because we are volunteers,” Huffman said. “Lima is a microcosm of that. We attract people because industry, agriculture, values and churches. Here people are attracted from all over and we have a pretty hardy stock.”
Thomas Hart Taylor, born in Lima and a 1933 graduate of Lima Central High School; John Arthur Leppla, born in Lima and graduated from Lima South High School in 1934; Oliver Grafton Kirk, a 1925 graduate of Lima Central High School; Henry John Nickerson, a former employee at Lima’s Standard Oil Refinery; Edmund Battelle Taylor Sr., a 1921 graduate of Lima Central High School; Thomas Lamison Sprague, born in Lima and a 1912 graduate of Lima High School; and Edward Emmet Degarmo, a 1935 graduate of Lima Central High School; all were honored with the Navy Cross for their actions in World War II.
James Ira Hunt, born in Lima and a 1932 graduate of Lima Central High School, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his action.
Huffman described each man’s actions that led to receiving the honor, and discussed them on a timeline as the war advanced and how their actions helped maintain key locations during the war. For example, he described Thomas Taylor’s bravery after assuming control of the port anti-aircraft battery on the USS Nevada during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. Taylor continued to shoot during the attack, despite being wounded by shell fragments, being burned and being deafened due to broken eardrums. The other seven had varying stories, but comparable bravery while in actions defending their country.
“Their exploits chronicle the war in the Pacific from pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, to Okinawa in May of 1945,” Huffman said. “They fought in battles that were turning points such as Coral Sea and Midway, and in battles that were so gruesome that the details were not widely reported.”
