Brother, sister reunited after 62 years

by Frank Shrimplin

John “Jack” Ireland, 82, and his sister Alma Miller, 84, were reunited April 29 after having lost track of each other for 62 years.

John and Alma are the children of Jack and Elizabeth Ireland, born in Birmingham, England. Both parents are buried there.

At the beginning of World War II both joined the military. Alma joined the Arterial Auxiliary Territorial Service and served as a radar operator in the Royal Artillery. John joined the Scottish Black Watch, the Royal Regiment of Scotland, without his father’s consent or knowledge.

John was only 16 years of age. When his father found out, he told the service officer that his son was not 17, the legal age. With his father’s consent he was able to stay as a “Boy Soldier” serving as a drummer boy or similar activity, John explained. He stayed in Scotland after the war.

During the war Alma met Arnold C. Miller of Valley Falls, son of Walter and Edna Miller. The couple traveled many places around the world. They met on a train when she went to visit her parents while he was on leave from Italy. They lived in Philadelphia at one time.

Alma and their 4-year-old daughter, Jackie, lived in Valley Falls for about 15 months in an upstairs apartment at the Charles and Grace Olden residence on Frazier Street. Alma worked for Coleman IGA grocery store. She and her daughter left to join Arnold in Japan in 1963 just a few weeks before the tragic death of the Olden couple by a gas leak March 9, 1963. Alma says she feels fortunate to have left beforehand.

Alma and the children visited her parents and John in 1947, the last time they would see each other until April 29 when they were reunited in Kansas City. They corresponded with each other infrequently then lost track of each other. John’s wife died seven years ago and both Alma and he thought the other had died.

John was a professional entertainer as a comedian and singer for 30 years, played in the Palladium in London three times. Once he was on stage in a show featuring Dale Shannon, well-known in Britain as a legend vocalist.

Just over a year ago John, living in Scone, Perthshire, decided to try to find his sister. He contacted the Salvation Army Family Tracing Service. Within two weeks he was able to contact her in Topeka. Since April 2008 John had phoned Alma every day. It took three months to obtain a passport to come to United States.

Newspapers heard of John’s success in finding his sister and he was featured repeating along with doing TV interviews. In the air terminal he purchased a newspaper with his photo in it and a woman seated nearby noticed the photo and recognized that it was John.

She notified a Kansas City television station from the air and the cameras were waiting when the brother and sister were reunited. John was stepping on American soil for the first time.

Alma wanted to visit the Valley Falls Historical Society and the cemetery on Memorial Day weekend. She made arrangements with Betty Jane Wilson, president of the society, to view the uniform of her husband, Chief Warrant Officer Arnold C. Miller, that she had donated a few years ago.

He was born north of Valley Falls June 1922, graduated from Valley Falls High School in 1940, and served in the Army 20 years including duty during World War II and Korea. He died Dec. 2, 1999.

John, Alma, daughter-in-law Helen Quiett, Meriden, wife of the late Arnold C. Miller Jr., Alma’s son and now married to Gary Quiett, and Helen’s daughter, Jennifer, were in the group visiting the museum.

In researching the story, this writer found five stories on the Internet of John being able to find his sister. The Sun, a Scottish newspaper April 29 reported in the lead remarks, “A Scots war hero is set for a tear-filled reunion with his long-lost sister…more than 60 years after they last met.”

The article shows a photo taken in 1943 with both of them in uniform. John is quoted, “Alma and I were close, but the war broke us up in 1939.”

When the Salvation Army woman contacted Alma she recalled saying, “Well who is it? And she said your brother. I could have just fainted ’cause I thought he was dead.”

Neither John nor his sister wanted to fly. Alma swore off plane rides after her husband’s military career and John had never been on one.

At the end of one interview John says, “It’s marvelous isn’t it? Life is new for us now. Knowing each other”

Alma has a sister-in-law, Lorena Harden, in Topeka. Her husband, Wade, now deceased, used to run a pool hall in Valley Falls. Alma has a son, Frederick Miller, in Liberal, her daughter, Jackie McEntire, lives in Topeka.

Arthur Strawn, personal recollections

Compiled by Betty Jane Wilson, historical society president

The late Arthur Strawn, historian, graduated from Valley Falls High School May 26, 1943. He reached his 18th birthday March 13, 1943, was classified 1A (subject to military draft) and faced the possibility of induction into service prior to completion of his senior high school year. His high school principal and a draft board member obtained deferent from service, since he had only 3 months remaining to graduate with his class. Following graduation, he found work and following are excerpts from his personal history:

“I did go to work for a local farmer, doing as I had for the last three summers, helping with field work, mainly putting up hay and shocking wheat. I went to work for George Tucking for one dollar a day and room and board. I shocked all his wheat and did chores morning and night. I could not have worked for a better person. Mrs. Tucking provided the best food I had ever enjoyed up to that time and I felt very much like I belonged there. Even their two little girls treated me like I was one of the family.

When it was threshing time, I worked in the fields pitching bundles (unloading shocks of wheat on the wagon) I was the only one working in the field except Don Marsh who was working for the Valley Falls Vindicator, our local weekly newspaper. It was our job to load the hay wagon fast enough to keep the threshing machine running. Hot and heavy work, but I was young and strong.”

Arthur learned wages were better in Central Kansas and with help of friends, left his dollar-a-day job, without notice, and worked near Newton, Kan., for $5 for an eight-hour day. In return for his board and room, he baby sat for his employers’ children. He wrote:

“I only worked a short time before I received my draft notice to report for induction on June 28th. I quit my job and they (friends) took me to Newton where I bought some new clothes and more important, a new linoleum for our living room at home. I took the bus to Valley Falls with $35 in my pocket. I was a rich man, I thought. The new linoleum they promised to deliver the next time they came east. . . On June 28th, Wayne Green (friend) and I reported to the draft board at Oskaloosa.”

The Valley Falls Historical Society Museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, May 23, and Sunday, May 24, immediately following the 123rd Valley Falls High School alumni covered dish dinner at noon at the Delaware Township Hall, and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday, May 25. Saturday’s hosts will be Anna Irwin, Lucile Smerchek, and Dalene Senn.