BEAMAN Family History, Part V
- Part I - 1st Generation: Francis Beaman (Sr.) (~1725-)
• and 2nd Generation: Francis Beaman (Jr.) (~1752-~1827) - Part II - 3rd Generation: Briant Beaman (~1786-1837)
- Part III - 4th Generation: Ezekiel Beaman (~1828-1865)
- Part IV - 5th Generation: Noah R. Beaman (1851-1924)
- Part V - 6th Generation: Walter D. Beaman (Sr.) (1894-1967)
- Part VI - 7th Generation: Walter Day Beaman, Jr. (1924-2008)
- Outline Descendants Report (PDF)
Doyle Sherman BEAMAN (1923-1991)
1B2GB34. Doyle Sherman Beaman was born on February 8, 1923, in Iowa, probably in Murray, Clarke County. His family moved to Sonoma County, California, around 1940, and three years later he enlisted in the Army and served with the 1st Ranger Brigade in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy before being captured by the Germans. After Doyle returned home he married.
World War II
Doyle enlisted in the Army as a private in San Francisco on January 12, 1943. He was 5' 5" tall and 128 pounds at the time. Doyle trained until June and was deployed to North Africa, perhaps with the 34th Infantry Division, which had recently secured Algeria and Tunisia. It was there that Lieutenant Colonel William Orlando Darby split the 1st Ranger Battalion into three battalions, the 1st, 3rd, and 4th, to form the 6615th Ranger Force (Provisional). He recruited from among the troops in North Africa to fill out the ranks. Doyle volunteered and was selected for the 1st Ranger Battalion.
In July, Doyle and the Ranger Force landed in Sicily. As American and British forces swept German and Italian forces from Sicily, the Italian Grand Council of Fascism resolved to oust Marshal (Il Duce) Benito Mussolini. King Victor Emmanuel III summoned Mussolini, informed him that he was dismissed, and then ordered his arrest. The Allies then set about preparing for the invasion of Italy.
The Italians declared an armistice with the Allies in September as the Ranger Force landed in Salerno, Italy, and engaged heavy German forces. The Naples-Foggia Campaign successfully secured southern Italy in October but the rugged terrain of central Italy was easily defended by the Germans. In the north, Mussolini, having been rescued by the Germans, was reestablished as Duce of the Italian Social Republic, a puppet state of Nazi Germany.
With their eye on Rome, the Allies, including the Ranger Force, made a surprise landing at Anzio, south of Rome but north of the German lines on January 22, 1944. The Germans quickly reacted and a week later most of the entire Ranger Force was killed or captured behind enemy lines at Cisterna. Seven months later the Ranger Force was disbanded.
Doyle was captured at either Anzio or Cisterno and held as a prisoner of war through the rest of the war.
"Darby's Ranger Won't Go to Movies"
"If an East Petaluma housewife has her way, she and her 35-year-old husband will go to the movies tonight and see 'Darby's Rangers,' a film about the U.S. Army's Commando-style shock troops of World War II."
"'I just hope I can get him to the picture,' Mrs. Doyle S. Beaman, 336 McDowell Dr., said last night. 'I tried to get him to on Wednesday night be he just wouldn't budge.'"
"The Argus-Courier tried to get in touch with Beaman last night but he was at night school. That's a long way from where he was 14 years ago."
"At that time he was Sgt. Doyle Beaman, on of Col. William Darby's Rangers. Today he's a hard-working husband and father of four children, three boys and a girl."
"It was back on Jan. 12, 1943, that 18-year-old Doyle Beaman went into Army service, leaving his parents who then lived in Kenwood. Earlier the family lived in the Stony Point Road area."
"Less than six months later, on June 6, 1943, Beaman was sent overseas and he wound up in Africa where he was in an infantry replacement camp."
"One day the legendary Col. Darby, boss of the hard-hitting Ranger troops--the elite of the Army--visited the camp. Col. Darby go up on a platform and asked for Ranger volunteers, promising the troops nothing but hardship and a very good chance of not coming back."
"Beaman volunteered--and later learned that Darby lived up to his promises."
"Beaman became a member of the First Ranger Battalion and over the next two years he earned five battle stars before winding up in a German prison camp."
"In Italy Beaman fought in Sicily, Naples, Foggia, Arno and in the famous action near the Anzio beachhead. It is here that much of the State Theatre movie's action is concentrated, since three Ranger battalions battled a full German division at that bloody place."
"Later Beaman fought his way north to Rome and still later to the Rhineland and the heart of Germany. Here he was finally captured."
"On May 13, 1945, Beaman was flown back to the United States when he was freed just before VE-Day in Europe."
"Later he met the future Mrs. Beaman and married. He now works at Cader Brothers and has lived here nine years. His brother, Sgt. Walter D. Beaman, Jr., is in the Air Force at Hamilton. His sister, Mrs. Glen Karns, lives at 755 Gossage Ave."
"'I do hope I can get him to go see the picture,' Mrs. Beaman concluded. 'But, you know, he laughed when he saw a picture of a girl in the movie advertisement. He said: 'There weren't any girls where I was.''"
Doyle married Ruth Ann Johnson and later Ynez A., who was nearly 15 years his senior.
Ynez A. Beaman died on January 22, 1991, at the age of 82.
Doyle Sherman Beaman died 13 days after Ynez on Feburary 4, 1991, in Sonoma County. He was 4 days short of his 68th birthday. Doyle and Ynez are buried beside one another in Veterans Lawn I at Santa Rosa Memorial Park, in Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California.[Grave]
- Cen 1925: 1925 State Census, Murray, Clarke County, Iowa
- Cen 1930: 6 Apr 1930 Census, 307 South Walnut Street, Creston, Union County, Iowa
- Cen 1940: 24 Apr 1940 Census, 908 West Adair Street, Creston, Union County, Iowa
- Grave: Santa Rosa Memorial Park, Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California, Find A Grave <http://www.findagrave.com>
Walter "Jay" Day BEAMAN, Jr. (1924-2008)
1B2GB35. Walter "Jay" Day Beaman, Jr. was born December 8, 1924, in Murray, Clarke County, Iowa. He moved to California as a young man and joined the United States Army toward the end of World War II and served in the Philippines. After the war, he was discharged and married Beverly Jane Malugani on November 10, 1946, in Santa Rosa, California. A few years later, Walter reenlisted with the newly formed U.S. Air Force, served in the Korean War, and retired after 25 year's service. They had five children:
| 1B2GB351. | Darrel Beaman |
-- | -- | -- |
| 1B2GB352. | Buddy Charles Beaman |
2 Aug 1950 | May 1983 | (32) |
| 1B2GB353. | Mark Beaman |
-- | -- | -- |
| 1B2GB354. | Stephan Beaman | -- | -- | -- |
| 1B2GB355. | Cynthia Beaman | -- | -- | -- |
As a boy, Walter was called "Junior" and this was eventually shortened to "Jay," which family and friends called him throughout his life.
When he was a toddler, his family moved from the area of Murray about 20 miles west to Creston, Union County. Later, about 1940, when Jay was about 16 years old, his family moved west to California and first lived in the Stony Point Road area between Cotati and Santa Rosa, Sonoma County. It was during this time that he likely met Beverly. By 1943 the Beamans moved to Kenwood in the Sonoma Valley.
World War II
Walter's elder brother Doyle enlisted in the Army in January 1943 and fought in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy, where he was captured a year later. A year and a half later, when Walter was 19 years old, he enlisted with the Army on September 18, 1944 and attended basic training at Camp Roberts, north of Paso Robles, San Luis Obispo County, California. After basic training, and leave to visit Beverly in Santa Rosa, he boarded a troop ship out of Fort Mason in San Francisco and deployed to the Philippines. There he served with the infantry and the artillery.
After the war, Walter served out the rest of his enlistment with the 7th Infantry Division in Korea in 1946.
Between Wars
Walter was discharged from the Army on November 7, 1946, and returned to Kenwood and worked as a carpenter for J. A. Bryant. Later that year, Walter and Beverly were married by Rev. Willis J. Loar, a First Baptist minister, on November 10, 1946, at the Church Built from One Tree in Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, California. Walter's yourger brother Dale served as best man and Beverly's younger sister Barbara served as a bridesmaid.
The newlyweds moved south to Freedom, on the north side of Watsonville, Santa Cruz County, where Walter's parents had resettled. Walter worked as a gas station attendant for Standard Oil and their first son, Darrel, was born in nearby Salinas.
Korean War
"S/Sgt. Walter D. Beaman, Jr., whose wife, Beverly Jane lives at 730 Aston Ave., Santa Rosa, is hailed by his in the 8th Fighter Wing, as the organization's top authority on Korea."
"He should be. He served 3 tours of duty there."
"Son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter D. Beaman of Marina, Calif., he first saw Korea in 1946 as a member of the 7th Infantry Division. With outbreak of hostilities last June he returned to Korea to participate in the battle of Pohang."
"Following evacuation to Japan aboard a Korean LST, he immediately volunteered to return to the peninsula as a member of the 8th Fighter Wing, the pioneer jet organization to fight in Korea. Subsequently he served at Pyongyang, Suwon and Kimpo. It as at the latter base that his extensive knowledge of the terrain and conditions, gained during his earlier infantry tour, was of special importance to his organization."
"He was constantly consulted by truck drivers about the local roads. Air installations sought his advice on the possibilities of obtaining timber for fuel and building supplies. No small part of his job was answering questions for amusement--hungry airmen about entertainiment features of nearby Seoul. His knowledge of the local terrain assisted the guard officers in establishing their outposts in the most strategic positions."
About 1949, Walter reenlisted as a staff sergeant with the recently formed U.S. Air Force from Fort Ord and was stationed at Hamilton Field, Marin County. He then deployed to Japan in March 1950, just prior to the Korean War breaking out on June 25. Walter was sent to Pusan, Korea, just as his second son, Buddy, was born back at Hamilton Field.
Walter was assigned to the 6131st Tactical Support Wing, which was formed on August 8 at P'ohang, as a personnel technician. The wing served as the forward headquarters for the 8th Fighter-Bomber Group, which was outfitted with F-80C "Shooting Star" and F-82 "Twin Mustang" fighters to provide close air support to ground forces. At the northeastern end of the Pusan Perimeter, Walter served during the Battle of P'ohang (August 5-20) when "the wing's clerks, K.P.'s and mechanics traded their typewriters, skillets and wrenches for rifles to fight in the trenches with the infantry in order to help block the Red advance on the east coast." They held out until evacuated back to Japan aboard a Korean tank landing ship.
Probably after McArthur's landing at Incheon in September, Walter volunteered to return to Korea with the 8th Fighter-Bomber Group (and likely the 6131st Tactical Support Wing). As McArthur re-secured South Korea, Walter and the wing moved to Suweon Air Base (October 7) and Kimpo Air Base (October 28) near Seoul. As McArthur drove north across the 38th Parallel, captured the North Korean capital of P'yongyang, and pushed toward the Yalu River on the Chinese border, Walter and the wing occupied an airfield in P'yongyang (November 25). The stay in P'yongyang was brief. McArthur's advance was met by 270,000 Chinese who pushed the United Nation's forces back south toward the 38th Parallel. Walter barely escaped the fall of P'yongyang (first week of December) aboard an overloaded C-119 cargo aircraft under fire. After the fall of P'yongyang the 6131st Tactical Support Wing was replaced by the 8th Fighter-Bomber Wing.
After the war, the Beamans were stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado Springs, Colorado. There S/Sgt Beaman reenlisted for the fourth time at Ent Air Force Base in 1954 as a peronnel technician (73270). He was promoted to Technical Sergeant in 1956 and assigned to the 78th Fighter Wing at Hamiton Air Force Base where Walter requested and was granted a discharge on June 24, 1959. He had served 14 years, 9 months, and 7 days, of which 13 years, 4 months, and 14 days were active duty.
Not long after this, Walter reenlisted again and by March 1960 the family had moved to Oxnard Air Force Base, Ventura County, California. They returned to Hamilton Air Force Base by 1962 and finally moved to Hartford County, Connecticut, in May 1965, where Walter retired from the Air Force in the early 1970s after serving 25-1/2 years.
They returned to California and resettled in Petaluma in the spring of 1974 and both took up managing apartment complexes. This profession took them them north to Bellevue, King County, Washington, near Seattle in 1978. Two years later they moved a few miles south to Renton, and then in the mid-1980s, south to Beaverton, Washington County, Oregon, until they retired from apartment managing around 1990.
In May 1983, tragedy struck the family when son Buddy died of smoke inhalation when his residence caught fire. He was laid to rest along side his grandfather, Walter D. Beaman, Sr., at Rose Lawn in Santa Rosa Memorial Park.
Walter and Beverly retired to Ryderwood, Cowlitz County, Washington, by the early 1990s, and finally to Toledo, Lewis County, Washington, where son Steve and his family lived.
Walter "Jay" Day Beaman, Jr., died on February 14, 2008, in Longview, Cowlitz County, Washington, at the age of 83. He is buried at St. Francis Xavier Mission Cemetery, in Toledo, Lewis County, Washington.
"On Valentines' Day, nearly 24 years after the passing of his beloved son, Buddy Charles and many relatives since, Walter Beaman joined his loved ones in eternal life. Walter was born in Murray, IA on Dec. 8, 1924, to Gladys and Walter Beaman, Sr."
"He leaves behind his lifelong love Beverly, his children Darrel (Rose), Mark (Becky), Steve (Nadine), and Cindi (Tom) Cioppa, as well as 20 grandchildren and great grandchildren."
"His second love after his family was his country. Walter served 26 years active duty in the Army and Air Force. He was deployed to the Philippines during WWII, then North Korea during the Korean War."
"Some of his favorite things to do included dancing, spending time with friends and family, and teasing his grandchildren."
"There will be a Vigil Service at Sacred Heart in Winlock at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 21. Funeral Mass will be held at St. Francis Mission in Toledo on Fri., Feb. 22nd at 1:00 p.m."
"Graveside to follow with full military honors at Cowlitz Mission Cemetery. Memorials to Community Hospice in Longview. Services are under the direction of Cattermole Funeral Home in Winlock."
After Walt passed away, Beverly lived with her daughter Cyndi and her family in Lansing, Leavenworth County, Kansas, for two years. She returned to Washington state in 2010.
Beverly Jane (Malugani) Beaman passed away on July 4, 2011, after a series of illnesses. She was 83 years old. Beverly is buried with husband Walter at the St. Francis Xavier Mission Cemetery.
- Cen 1925: 1925 State Census, Murray, Clarke County, Iowa
- Cen 1930: 6 Apr 1930 Census, 307 South Walnut Street, Creston, Union County, Iowa
- Cen 1940: 24 Apr 1940 Census, 908 West Adair Street, Creston, Union County, Iowa