Happy Centenarial

As I was so kindly reminded, today is the 100th birthday of my late cousin Owen Douglas Huls.

photo by Greta Huls

Born July 9, 1924 in our hometown of Logan, Ohio, Owen's parents moved with Owen and his sister Marianne to Columbus by 1930, where he lived until World War II reared its ugly head. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1942 and attained the rank of Aviation Radioman Second Class.

Owen's plane was shot down on June 4, 1945 by a Japanese ship and made an emergency landing near the island of Celebes, now known as Sulawesi, Indonesia. On June 6, Owen was captured by the Japanese while he was trying to help a crew mate.

Owen was forced to dig his own grave near the shore line, where he was bound and shot to death by his Japanese captors. His body was never recovered, but he was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, the air medal, and the Purple Heart among other combat medals.

Funnily enough, Owen has been on my mind since May. First we had Memorial Day, and then the anniversary of his execution. The week after Memorial Day I received temporary custody of an antique hutch made by my great-great-grandfather and his twin brother, Owen's great-grandfather, Owen Roberts Huls. (We believe it was made for Owen Roberts Huls's marriage to Susan Lucinda Cupp on Nov. 26, 1866.)

The hutch was passed down in the male line and would have been Owen Douglas's at his assumed eventual marriage. After his execution, Owen's parents approached my paternal grandparents and asked if they would like it to pass on to my father upon his marriage. 

They said yes, and Mom and Dad cared for it until my brother's marriage. He has since moved into a house that does not have a single, usable corner so he asked if I would care for it until either one of his daughters marries or moves into a permanent abode.

Sorry ancestors, my brother is the last male Huls, but rest assured the female Huls family shall treasure it. 

-30-