Memorial flag honors female veteran, family

Standing on stage at the Liberty Theatre in December 1942, Dorothy Orser Groose had an induction into the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps that made a lasting memory.

“The induction was between a double feature-movie, ‘The Werewolf’ and ‘The Bride of Frankenstein,’ Groose recalled in a 1996 interview with The Flathead Shadow newspaper.

At that moment, she became the first inductee from Kalispell into what later became the Women’s Army Corps (WAC).

Although she died in March just before her 92nd birthday, her humor and devotion to service live on in many stories like this one she left with her daughters Karen Thiesen, Robin Bain, Rebecca Groose-Jones and Gretchen Harrington.

“She was totally about family, country and God,” Thiesen said.

On Memorial Day, the traditional flag-raising ceremony at Conrad Cemetery memorializes Groose and her extended family of veterans.

As in past years, members of the United Veterans of Flathead County raise the flag over the veterans memorial monument at 1 p.m. today after retiring the casket flag of last year’s honored veteran, Lt. Col. Byron A. Armstrong. The monument flag remains until Memorial Day 2013 honoring Groose as well as several other family members, including:

• Her husband, retired Maj. William R. Groose, an Air Force command pilot who flew 62 missions, received the distinguished Flying Cross and served from 1943 to 1963.

• Her brothers, Robert and John Orser. Robert, a first lieutenant, served in the Navy and Army as a dentist from 1941 to 1952 . John was an acting sergeant in the Army who served from 1943 to 1946 and was wounded in the Battle of Okinawa in 1945.

• Her cousins, Raymond and William Thon. William served in the Navy from 1944 to 1946. Raymond was a first lieutenant who served from 1943 to 1945 in the Army Air Corps and flew 35 missions over Germany.

• Her cousins, Ted and Sydney Houtz. Ted was a T-4 in artillery in the Army who fought at the Battle of the Bulge. Sydney Houtz Pugh, the only surviving veteran, joined the U.S. Women’s Naval Reserve in 1943.

According to Thiesen, her mother loved telling stories her about military service.

“She had a million,” she said.

Groose, a graduate of the University of Washington, decided to join in 1943 after her father, C.M. Orser, a dentist, suggested that she look into a new branch forming for women in the Army.

“Back then, people were extremely responsive to their parents,” Thiesen said.

After basic training in Des Moines, she became a clerk in the intelligence office in Camp Polk, La. Groose was transferred from there to Texas and then to England in May 1944 where she was stationed at Milton Ernest.

“She loved England,” Thiesen said.

Groose served as chief clerk in the Ordinance and Chemical Warfare Office with the Eighth Air Force Service Command. She also sang as a soprano in the Women’s Army Corps Trio at bases and churches across England.

Glenn Miller and his orchestra were staying close to Groose’s station in Bedford. She remembered a famous tragedy during her 1996 interview.

“The plane with Miller and our commanding general aboard went down over the English Channel in December of 1944,” Groose said. The plane went down in bad weather and no trace of the air crew, passengers or plane was ever found.

From England, the Army transferred Groose to Bad Kissingen, Germany. She returned to the United States with the rank of staff sergeant in November 1945 and met William at the recruiting office in Kalispell while she was picking up her medals and pins.

After marrying in 1949, the two had four daughters and were stationed in many locations with the Air Force. After settling again in Kalispell after her husband’s retirement, Groose was active with First Presbyterian Church, its choir and many service clubs including PEO chapter AB, Daughters of the American Revolution and the Order of Eastern Star.

She loved recounting her mother’s Logan family military history, stretching back to Capt. William Logan, who was descended from the famous Bruce of Scotland’s medieval history. Logan, Groose’s great grandfather, died fighting the Sioux at the Big Hole Battle that followed Custer’s defeat.

His son, Groose’s grandfather, was Sidney Martin Logan, a former cowboy and later a prominent attorney who served as Kalispell’s fourth mayor from 1902 to 1904. His many achievements inspired the dedication of Sidney M. Logan Memorial Park located between Kalispell and Libby on Middle Thompson Lake.

Groose, her brothers and cousins carried on the Logan “braveheart” heritage still represented by the family’s crest of a heart pierced by a nail surrounded by the Latin phrase, “Hoc Majorum Virtus,” which means “this is the valor of my ancestors.”

For the next year, the flag flying in the wind over Conrad Cemetery’s Veterans Memorial Monument pays tribute to their service and sacrifices as well as those of all other Flathead veterans. From Thiesen’s description, her mother would be very proud.

She said her mother suffered from short-term memory loss at the end of her life but never forgot the valor of her ancestors.

“She could tell you family history stories until the day she died,” Thiesen said.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.