Share this pageStanton O. Berg - (1928 - 20--)
- Details
- Published on Sunday, 02 July 2017 19:08
- Written by Stanton O. Berg
- STANTON -
"Stan"
O. BERG
- A FORENSIC LIFE -
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An Auto-Biography
Stanton O. Berg
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2d Edition
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ISBN 978-1-64471-867-4 (Paperback)
ISBN 978-1-64559-727-8 (Hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-64471-868-1 (Digital)
2019 Stanton Berg
All rights reserved
Second Edition
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced
distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including
photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical
methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For
permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.
Covenant Books, Inc
11661 Hwy 707
Murrells Inlet, SC 29576
www.covenantbooks,com
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(Stan's Photo taken in 1972)
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Table of Contents
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Chapter: 1. ...….. "Stan's Life History in Brief - (1928-2022) 94 Years (9 paragraphs) "
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Chapter: 2. ……. "Stan Berg - 1928 - 1931- Infant Days, Simple Times"
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Chapter: 3. ……. "The Nedland's" - "The Johnsons". Stan's Grandparents.
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Chapter: 4. ……. "Mark Twain, Arthur Conan Doyle, Ernest Hemingway"
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Chapter: 5. ……. "Grade School Days - High School Days"
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Chapter: 6. ……. "Stan's Very Special Mother and His Forensic Life"
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Chapter: 7. ….… "Stan's Remembrances of the World War II Days
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Chapter: 8. ……. "What Should Stan Do With His Life"
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Chapter: 9. ....... "U.S. Army Service - 1948- 1952"
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Chapter: 10. ........ "Best Friends" - "True Friends of a Lifetime"
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Chapter: 11. ....... "Meeting June for the First Time...Then Marriage"
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Chapter: 12. ....... "Stan and June - Children and Grandchildren"
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Chapter: 13. ....... "Stan's Career at State Farm Insurance Companies"
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Chapter: 14. ....... "Stan and June's First Home and others..."
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Chapter: 15. ....... "CPCU and Minnesota Mineral Club"
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Chapter: 16. ....... "Stan and June's Lifetime - The Lutheran Church"
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Chapter: 17. ....... "Stan's Forensic Science Career"
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Chapter: 18. ....... "The Chicago Forensic Connection"
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Chapter: 19. ....... "The Robert Kennedy Assassination"
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Chapter: 20. ....... "The John Kennedy Assassination"
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Chapter: 21. ....... "The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office"
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Chapter: 22. ....... "Stanton O. Berg's Forensic - Office - Laboratory"
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Chapter: 23. ....... "Stan's Lifetime with Sherlock Holmes"
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Chapter: 24. ...... " Most Important People in Stan's Life - 2 Women - Stan's Mother Ellen - Stan's Wife June"
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"Chapter: 1."
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"... STAN'S LIFE HISTORY IN BRIEF - (1928-2022) - (9 Paragraphs - Sections)..."
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1. Stan was born (June 14th, 1928) in the little town of Barron, (2000 people) Wisconsin at the end of the "Roaring Twenties" and just as the world was about to enter the "Great Depression" years...This was also "Flag Day" Stan was also told by his mother Ellen F. Nedland that the flags were being flown for his birthday. (And of course Stan assumed that mothers do not lie - except perhaps for little white lies.) Stan grew up in poverty on a small 20 acre 5 cow dairy farm near/south of Rice Lake, Wisconsin. Stan only completed 1st and 2d grades n Barron before the family moved to the nearby Rice Lake, Wisconsin. Both these towns were in the same County of County of Barron County. (The Barron population was about 2000 persons while Rice Lake was about 5000 persons.)
2. Stan later completed /graduated from Rice Lake High School (May 1946) High School, World War II had just ended the previous year of 1945. World War II was credited with ending the "Great Depression) as every able bodied man was needed in the War effort...
3. Stan was required to register for the Selective Service Draft on his 18th Birthday. June 14th, 1946. Stan was told that his draft status would be 1-A in the draft and he would soon be called up for military service. Stan joked about his birthday present being his draft status if 1-A. The first time that Stan had ever seen a medical doctor or a dentist. This was a luxury not available to "Great Depression" era poor farm kids. Stan remembers his Mother Ellen telling Stan one December that their family income was only 1 dollar for the month of December including Christmas. Times were tough during the "Great Depression" era. There was no electricity, light was from a kerosene lamp, no running water, water was from a hand pumped water well. No gas heated stoves or furnaces. No inside toilets. This was enough to make a "Spartan" sob on a sub-zero winter day.
4. Stan controlled his draft status and branch of service by voluntarily enlisting in the Regular Army (Before being drafted.) for assignment to the CIC. (Counter Intelligence Corp.) at Fort Holabird, in the Baltimore suburb of Dundalk, Maryland. Stan was first required to undergo "Basic Training" in the 3rd Armored Division, at Fort Knox, Kentucky. Stan's total military service was four (4) years.(1948-1952) in June 1948, Stan enlisted in the U.S. Army for assignment to the CounterIIntelligence Corp. Center (CIC) in Baltimore, Maryland. Stan served for 4 years that included his 4th year during the Korean War. Stan was discharged in June of 1952. Stan is now a lifetime member of the Fridley American Legion Post 303 as well as the Counter Intelligence Corps. Veterans Association. While Stan served during the Korean War he did not serve in a war zone and does not claim to be a hero by any stretch of the imagination. Stan received a Korean War service medal/ribbon, A Good Conduct (Efficiency) Medal, and "Expert Rifleman" rating and badge with the ,30 M-1 Automatic Rifle. (Stan's firing on the rifle range was one of the best and Stan scored 2nd out of a company of 200 men with a score of 196 out of a possible 200 points. Stan was also qualified in the use of the .30 M-1 Carbine and the M-3 Sub--machine gun called the "grease" gun. Stan was later also rated a "Sharpshooter" with the .38 Caliber revolver, the official sidearm of the CIC Corps. agents.
5. Stan acquired a Law Degree (LL.B) from the Judge Advocate Generals Dept. of the army before his discharge which proved to be of great value to Stan in obtaining later employment (1952) with the State Farm Insurance Companies as a "Field Claim Investigator and Adjuster with assignments in/to Hibbing, Duluth and later in the Roseville, MN State Farm Offices. Stan was promoted to various supervisory positions and ended his career as a Regional Manager (Minnesota and Wisconsin) of the State Farm Fire and Casualty Co. in 1958 after some 33 years. State Farm was very helpful in allowing Stan time off when needed for his Forensic Science activities and even featured many of Stan's Forensic Science activities in the State Farm Company/Employee publication the "Pine-Aire."
6. Stan met June. K. Rolstad who became the "Love and Light" of Stan's life in 1951, while Stan was home on a 15 day Spring leave from the Army. (Stan's previously had two failed romances (1948-1950) and received the notorious "Dear John" letters from two local Barron girls (Shirley Barton and Lucy Caldwell). Stan and June were later married in 1952. (The had four (4) children (David, Daniel, Susan and Julie).. June died in the year 2008 after a long battle of 12 years with Alzheimer's. June and Stan had a long and happy marriage of 56 years before Satan took June's life by way of Alzheimer's. June served as Stan's "Business Administrator" during is Forensic Science career. Stan is now awaiting his end of life when he can re-join June in a heavenly home. In 2008, Stan created the world's largest web-site dedicated to Alzheimer's research and information named: "June's Journey Through Alzheimer's." Daily this site has from 1,500 to 3,000 visitors from people in 170 countries, Over 3 Million people had visited the site as of last count in 2021.
7. Stan spent a lifetime in his business as an independent "FIREARMS" Consultant who specialized in both Criminal and Civil cases and both with investigations and trials or litigation. Stan handled about 1000 cases and testified in trials and depositions about 356 times in Federal, State, Military and U.S Territorial courts (U,S. Virgin Islands), as well as a Canadian Court (Ontario Supreme Court Saulie Ste Marie) and had testimony used in a Japanese murder trial in Japan.
8. Stan with June at his side as his Administrative Assistant, attended 170 Forensic Science Conferences in the U.S., Austria, Canada, the United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and The Vatican. Stan was a speaker at most conferences and served as a Chairman at at the Firearms Symposiums in Edinburgh, Bergen, Zurich and Dusseldorf conferences. Stan has had about 180 Technical papers published in peer review publications.
Stan has had four(4) Forensic Science Books published about Stan's Life and June's life in the Forensic Sciences. These books are: (1.) "Stanton "Stan" O. Berg - A Forensic Life" (2019), (2.) "Reminiscences of June a Traveling Grandmother and Her Forensic Life. (2020), (3.) "Stanton "Stan" O. Berg - A Forensic Life" (2d Edition) 2020. (4.) "Stan's Condensed Encyclopedia About the World and Our Lives in This World" (15 Subjects ) 2021.
Stan now has Four (4) New Books in the Editing process for Publication by Covenant Books in 2022. The 5th Book will be a New 2d Edition of the "Condensed Encyclopedia with Six (6) Additional Subject making a total of 21 Subjects. The Sixth (6th) Book will be "Stan's Story and History of Alzheimer's as Told in Photos and Pictures", the Seventh (7th) Book will be "Marsha's' Poetic Expressions of June and Stan's Love and Life and Alzheimer's. The Eighth (8th) Book will be: "Ellen Silbaugh - Designer of Her Son Stan's Forensic Life." (A long Overdue Credit to Stan's Wonderful Mother who truly did design Stan's Forensic Life)
9. Stan is a Lutheran Christian and Stan knows that without God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ and their influence in Stan's life and their daily assistance, guidance, and direction in Stan's Life, that none of Stan's Forensic Life, and authorship would have been achieved. Thank you God and Jesus Christ for my wonderful life!
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NOTE: Stan in addition to being a Life Member of the Fridley American Legion Club Post 303 (Paid Up For Life) (PUFL) has a Lifetime Membership in the CIC Corp. Veterans Association. The CIC Veterans Group is holding a meeting/"Get Together" in June (2022) - Stan served in the Army CIC (Counter Intelligence Corps) before and during the Korean War (1948-1952) four (4) years. Stan served in/at the CIC Center at the "Dundalk" suburb of Baltimore, Maryland. Stan helped with the creation and the publishing of the first Classified/"Restricted", "CIC Agent's Manual" to be used by all "CIC Agents".worldwide. The CIC was the Army's Investigative and Intelligence gathering arm or branch and their authority was defined by the term "TESS". Their area of investigation included TREASON, ESPIONAGE, SEDITION and SUBVERSIVE activities among Army/Military persons and/or their civilian employees. "TOP SECRET" clearance was required of Stan and all CIC Members.The official sidearm of the CIC Agent was the ,38 Caliber double action revolver. Stan had a "Sharpshooter" rating with the .38 caliber revolver. Stan also had an Expert rating with the .30 Caliber M-1 Rifle. In addition, Stan was also qualified with the .30 Caliber Carbine and the .45 Caliber Sub-Machine Gun.
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(Badge Carried by all CIC Agents)
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(Stan's Photo - April 8th 2022 - Age 93 - Will Be Age 94 June 14th 2022)
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Stan's birth name was "Candler", the name of his natural father (Royce Neal Candler) who abandoned both Stan and Stan's mother Ellen, a month after Stan's birth...Stan's mother's 2nd marriage was to a Percy Berg, of Barron, Wisconsin. Stan's mother later secured a legal change of Stan's name from Candler to Berg, (Stan's first stepfather's name), in order to match Stan's school records. Stan's later efforts to reconnect with the "Berg" family were unsuccessful. Percy's mother was Etta Berg who lived in Barron, Wisconsin and she was the one who gave the early Rice Lake, Berg's the small 20 acre farm. Percy's Brother Leonard Berg who lived in Bayport, Minnesota and operated a Drug Store there, was a frequent visitor to the small farm and always brought "left over" magazine's from the store. Stan always loved the magazine gifts and it added a bright spot to his life. However when Percy died of cancer, that was the last he saw of Leonard. Stan tried to make a reconnect in later years along with with June. Stan and June visited the Bayport, Minnesota "Berg Drug Store" in an effort to reconnect. Circa the 1960's) While Leonard visited courteously with June and Stan, he gave no indication of wanting to reconnect that part of the past Berg Family nor offered any invitations for later visits. So Stan's efforts to make a "reconnect" were a total failure.
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Stan had a DNA sample tested by "Ancestry" in November 2017. The results of the DNA testing indicates that Stan's "Ethnicity" estimates show 61% Scandinavia, 14% Great Britain, 8% Europe West and 7% Ireland/Scotland/Wales...Indicated Migrations are Western Norway in Europe and the Ohio River Valley, Indiana, Illinois and Iowa Settlements in the USA.
Researching the English - Irish connection further, indicates that there was an English surname Candler first found in Lancashire where they had a family sect from ancient times...with indications of well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 AD. Below is the Candler family "Coat or Arms".
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(Candler "Coat of Arms")
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Stan's mother was the one who molded Stan's forensic science life...during the "Great Depression" days, money was in short supply, but Stan's mother's gifts to Stan at Christmas time and Stan's Birthday. were always intended to influence his curiosity in the sciences and engineering...while other rural family parents would give their children toy tractors and cars, Stan's mother Ellen always gave him gifts of Gilbert Chemistry sets and Gilbert Erector Sets. It was clear that Stan's mother did what she could to increase his interests in the sciences.
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From the time of Stan's graduation from High School in Rice Lake, Wisconsin in 1946, Stan started his studies and his dreams of a "life time" in the Forensic Sciences...Stan's career in the Forensic Sciences started in 1947 did not end until the year 2005. It was in 2005, that Stan closed his Forensic Science Consulting Business in order to devote his full time to June's care as she approached the middle stages of her Alzheimer's disease...Stan had dedicated some 58 years of his life to the Forensic Sciences...Beginning during the years from 1947 and through the years of the 1950's, and up through the year 2004. During this 58 year time period, Stan was involved in every major case involving forensic firearms or Forensic Ballistics.
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There is the thought often expressed that in the nineteen forties and early nineteen fifties that life and accomplishments moved at a slower pace...the facts show otherwise...even without the tools of modern day science such as computers, calculators and iphones, the were the times of the dawning of the atomic age and the space age. Stan's life in a very short time of four (4) years changed dramatically during this time period. Stan's age periods were age 17- 20:
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1. Stan was age 17 when he Graduated from High School in May 1946.
2. Stan became age 18 in June 1946 - under Public Law had to register for Military Draft at local draft board.
3. Stan attended Fingerprint School - Institute of Applied Science, Chicago, September 1947, age 19.
4. Stan Enlisted in the U.S. Army May 1948, age 19 and had his Basic Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
5. Stan was assigned - Army Counter intelligence Corp. CIC , Fort Holabird, Baltimore, MD later 1948 at age 20.
6. Stan started volunteering services at the Baltimore Police Criminal Identification Division also 1948 age 20.
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It was on May 3rd, 1948, Stan enlisted in the United States Army Counter Intelligence Corp. and was stationed at the Army Counter Intelligence Corp. Center, Baltimore, Maryland. Stan was "Honorably" discharged from the Army on May 2nd, 1953. (Stan's Army Serial No was RA-16-284-530) Stan's rank at the time of his discharge was enlisted grade 4. Stan's basic training was with the 3rd Armored Division, Fort Knox, Kentucky, where Stan received an "Expert Rifleman" medal and rating with the .30 caliber, M1 Garand Rifle. Stan was also qualified with the .30 caliber M1 Carbine and the M3 Sub-Machine Gun, as well as the 38 caliber double action revolver. The .38 caliber revolver was the official side arm of the Counter Intelligence Corp. Because of the job requirements of the Counter Intelligence Corp., Stan received a "Top Secret" clearance. (This 4 year period of Army service was immediately prior to and during the Korean War) Stan studied Law while in the CIC, and obtained an LL.B Degree after successfully taking his legal examinations under supervision of the Judge Advocate General's Department. Because Stan qualified for additional educational benefits following his discharge, Stan enrolled in a Radio and Television Technician School (National Schools, Los Angeles 37, CA) on 2-16-54. Stan completed the school on 5-2-59 (138 lessons) with a rating of "Radio and Television Technician". Stan elected however, to pursue and to make his future career in the Forensic Sciences, where Stan's CIC experience was also of benefit.
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Army Medals/Ribbons and Awards...During the four (4) years of Stan's Army enlistment (1948-1952) Stan was awarded three medals/ribbons...(1.) The first medal Stan received was for an Expert rating in the use/firing of the M1 Garand 30-06 rifle...(Stan Scored 196 points out a possible 200)...(2.) The Second Medal/Ribbon Stan received was the "Good Conduct Medal". This Medal is awarded for "Three Years of Exemplary, Behavior, Efficiency and Fidelity in Active Military Service.)...(3.) The Third Medal Stan received was the "Korean War Service Medal"....There were several variations of Korean War Service Medals...Most required service within the Korean War Zone during wartime...(1950-1952) Stan's Korean War Service Medal/Ribbon was simply for service during the Korean War...(1950-1952) Stan did not serve in Korea.
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During the years of 1952 to 1984, some 32 years, Stan was also engaged in a successful parallel career with the State Farm Insurance Companies. During his State Farm Years, Stan first started out as a Field Claim Representative in the Hibbing, Minnesota Claim Service office and later the Duluth Claim Service Office. It was in the year 1957, that Stan was promoted to the position of a Claim Superintended at State Farm's newly opened Regional Office in Roseville, Minnesota. Stan continued to receive other management promotions until he finally retired from State Farm after 32 years to devote the remainder of his working life to his Forensic Science Consulting career. Stan was the Regional Manager (Minnesota and Wisconsin) of the State Farm Fire and Casualty Company when he left State Farm in 1984 to pursue a full time career in the Forensic Sciences. State Farm was always very supportive of Stan's activities in the Forensic Sciences.
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Stan's career in the Forensic Sciences involved both work in the Criminal as well as the Civil sides of the Forensic Sciences...Forensic Science is defined as the "Study and the Application of Science to Law or the Purposes of Law". Since many popular TV Shows now relate to the forensic sciences, everyone wants to cash in on the term "Forensic Science" or just the word "Forensic."...Stan recently watched a TV show on some "archeological" investigations in some early day English ruins. The story termed one of the archeologists as a forensic archeologist...frankly their work was simply "Archeology" and had nothing to do with the forensic sciences.
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Stan handled many cases that involved the accidental discharge of a firearm either due to negligent handling of the firearm or due to the faulty design of the firearm. One of the earliest of such Product Liability cases that Stan handled, was a case in Alaska Federal Court at Fairbanks, Alaska in the late 1970's...this case resulted in Punitive Damages against the Ruger Firearms Company and a multi million dollar verdict. (Day v. Sturm Ruger and Company) It was considered an historic case in the area of Firearms Products Liability...This was probably the earliest products liability case involving firearms. Stan handled many Firearms Product Liability cases following the historic Ruger Case.
(Michael James Day v. Sturm, Ruger and Company. Case alleged the defective design of a Sturm, Ruger and Company manufactured .41 Magnum Caliber Single Action Revolver. The Ruger fired when accidentally dropped while in the loading notch position. The accident took place on 30 July 1972.
Day was sitting in the cab of his small pick-up truck when he decided to unload his Ruger revolver. The gun slipped out of his hands. When he grabbed for it, the revolver fired, with the bullet striking his leg causing severe leg injury.
Action was brought in Alaskan Federal Court. The Jury found against the Sturm, Ruger and Company. Damages were $137,759 compensatory damages and $2,895,000 in Punitive Damages. After various appeals the Supreme Court in Alaska found that the Sturm, Ruger and Company revolver was defective in design and awarded damages to the plaintiff.)
Stan's later work also included Airguns safety design and Products Liability.
In Firearms the key areas that need design safety considerations were/are the magazines in semi-automatic pistols (Magazine Safeties) the the exposed hammer guns and their safety notch positions with "false notch" and impact discharge potentials.
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During Stan's forensic consulting career, he handled approx. 1000 cases and testified in legal proceedings about 356 times. (Federal, Military, State, Territorial and local courts, including The Ontario Supreme Court in Saulte Ste Marie, Canada) Stan's testimony was also introduced in a Murder case in behalf of the Japanese Government. Stan with June as his Administrative Assistant, attended about 170 Forensic Science Conferences, in the U.S, Canada and Europe including Russia...Stan was almost always a Speaker at the conference and on four (4) occasions he served as the Chairman of the Firearms Symposiums at the Conference...
Stan was the Chairman at the Edinburgh Conference in 1972, Chairman of the Zurich Conference in 1975, Chairman of the Bergen Conference in 1981 and Chairman of the Dusseldorf Conference in 1993.
Stan authored over 185 articles in Peer Review Publications and has Chapters in three (3) Books.
As Stan looks back on his career in the Forensic Sciences, he finds that he has had involvement in some way or the other in several prominent shooting cases in what Stan would call the "Wild 60's" and into the 70's.
The President John Kennedy assassination in 1963...the Robert Kennedy Assassination in 1968...The Martin Luther king Assassination in 1968...The Chicago Police Raid on Black Panther Headquarters in 1969 that resulted in the death of 2 Panthers and the wounding of 4 others, 2 police officers were also wounded.
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SLA - Symbionese Liberation Army
(SLA Official Image)
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The 1973, SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army) ambush shooting of Oakland (CA) School Supt. Marcus Foster with cyanide tipped bullets.
The Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA) ws an American Left-Wing Terrorist Organization said to have been active between 1973-1975. The group committed bank robberies, two murders and other acts of violence.The leaders were Donald DeFreeze and William Harris. Their headquarters was San Francisco.
The SLA received national attention when they kidnapped Heiress Patricia Hearst, (Father was noted for his Hearst News Publications) who later joined forces with the SLA and was photographed participating in an armed bank robbery with a sub-machine gun.
Stan later testified in California Superior Court on his examination and findings of his examination of some test fired bullets from a same make and model gun as used in an SLA shooting.
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Stan first met June (Rolstad) in May of 1951, while Stan was home on leave from the Army...for Stan it was love at first sight. It was just six (6) months later in November of 1951, that Stan and June became engaged to be married...their marriage followed in August of 1952...both were then age 25. Stan.and June were married for 56 Years before the terrible disease Alzheimer's took June away...(1952-2008) June and Stan were both Christians and June is now in her Heavenly Home awaiting Stan's arrival...Stan and June have 4 Children (David, Daniel, Susan and Julie) They also have 22 Grandchildren, great grandchildren. and one great, great grandchild. One great Grandchild was named "June" in Honor of his Great Grandmother...Stan was honored by two of his grandchildren having his middle name of "Oneal" as their middle name. (Steven and Erik).
It was on 18 October 2012, that Stan and June lost their oldest son David...he passed away at Fairview Southdale Hospital, Minneapolis, another victim of Lung Cancer due to smoking.
Since June's death from Alzheimer's in 2008, Stan has devoted his remaining years to honoring June's Memory as well as promoting Alzheimer's awareness, research, funding and proper care practices.
During Stan's daily prayers, Stan thanks God for the incredible life that God granted to Stan and June...a life that was far beyond Stan's wildest imaginations, day dreams or the building of "Air Castles"...."Thank You God".
Stan and Poetry. While Stan seldom looks at himself as a Poet, Stan finds himself resorting more and more to poetry in order to better tell the story of June and Stan's life together or to add color or empathize a story or a point in their life. Most of Stan's poetry will however be found on the pages of June's Memorial Website that Stan created (2008) in June's Honor and Memory. ("June's Journey Through Alzheimer's")
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AND NOW FOR A MORE DETAILED LOOK AT STAN'S LIFE:
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"Chapter: 2."
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"Stan Berg - 1928 - 1931 - Infant Days and Simple Times"
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Stan was born on a Thursday, the 14th of June in the year 1928...That day in June was and is also "Flag Day"...Stan's Mother Ellen told Stan that the flags were being flown in honor of his birthday...and so it was/is...after all Stan's mother would not lie!
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(Stan's Home - South Barron 1931-33, Stan's Grandma - Front Steps)
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This time period was the end of the "Roaring Twenties" and the eve of the "Great Depression"...The Great Depression was said to have spanned the period of 1929 (Stock Market Crash) until the year of 1940, the eve of WWII...(11 Years).
Every able bodied man was then needed in the Armed Forces beginning in 1941 when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor signalling the start of WWII...Stan was then 13 years of age...just completed 8th grade and about to enter High School.
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(Grandpa Gabriel Nedland Holding Stan, Age 1, 1929)
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Stan's infant and pre-grade school days were often said to be a "SIMPLER TIME". Stan was and is of the opinion that if there was ever a simpler Time," it was in the peoples minds or simply a fictional time period.
Stan's family had no electricity, refrigeration or running water. Heating the home then was done with a Wood Stove and hand cut firewood...Water was obtained by way of a Hand pump and an outside Underground well...Toilets were "Outhouses"...Light was from a Kerosene Lamp...Medical attention was by way of the family's home remedies...There were no public assistance programs nor welfare programs of any kind...no Food Stamps nor Food Shelves...no Breakfasts or Lunch provided in or by the schools...no School Buses...everyone walked to school...these were far more difficult times and hardly simpler times.
Photo below is Stan at age 1 in a baby carriage in Barron, Wisconsin at his Grandparents home...Photo taken by Stan's mother Ellen.
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(Stan Berg - 1929 - Age 1 Year)
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When Stan was born in 1928, average "Longevity" was very short. It was estimated at 45.1 years...(But Stan's mother's longevity genes have resulted in Stan still being around in 2018 with a current additional average life expectancy said to be 4.3 years or an age potential of of 94.2 years)...something that Stan does not spend time worrying about or even contemplating...whenever God calls Stan Home to Heaven, it will be a joyful reunion with the past family members already there and not a time of sadness.
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"1928 - The Year the U.S. Army Adopted the Thompson Sub Machine Gun"
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One of the major events that Stan is aware of that took place in 1928, the year of Stan's birth, was the adoption by the U.S. Army of the .45 caliber Thompson Sub-machine gun, fully automatic (Chambered for the standard U.S. Colt Pistol Cartridge.) The first Thompson Sub-machine gun was actually invented in 1918 by John T. Thompson and patented in 1920. The Sub-machine gun was often fondly referred to as the "Tommy Gun"...this gun was quickly adopted by the outlaw gangs of those early days and resulted in all fully automatic weapons being outlawed in 1935...the most famous gangster of that time period was "Al Capone" (A Tommy Gun Man) who made the news that year when he bought himself a 14 room mansion in Palm Island, Florida....Capone also tried to gender up some public opinion and support by setting up his own "Soup Kitchen" in Chicago, to feed the many unemployed and starving citizens of the "Windy City"...could any of this 1928 activity (Stan's Year of Birth) have had anything to do with Stan later becoming a firearms expert and devoting his forensic career to "Forensic Firearms" or "Forensic Ballistics?...Probably not...or could it?
On the plus side, the year 1928 was the year that Louis Armstrong became noted for his musical "Blues" in 1928...also in that year Walt Disney introduced his famous "Mickey Mouse" comedy series...Medically, Penicillin the first true antibiotic, made it's debut that year when discovered by Alexander Fleming...so it appears Stan had some very interesting company in 1928.
Below is a black and white photo of Stan in 1931 at the age of 3 years...with his Grandma Annie...see any signs of Stan and guns...no I guess not...Oh well...just a thought..Simpler Times"?...Hardly!
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(Grandma Annie (Johnson) Nedland -1931- Stan age 3)
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Stan's Early Childhood Days
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Stan was born in Barron, Wisconsin on June 14th in 1928 as the only child of his mother Ellen F. (Nedland) Silbaugh. Historically this period of time was known as the "Roaring Twenties". Stan's natural father Royce "Mike" Neal Candler abandoned both Stan and his mother Ellen shortly after Stan was born...Stan never met his natural father. Stan viewed his natural father as a person of low moral caliber for what he did to Stan's mother Ellen on the eve of the Great Depression. Stan's natural father left Stan nothing in material things but did leave him an interesting historical heritage...
The "Candler's" immigrated to the United States in the late 1700's from Callen, Kilkenny Ireland, settling first in Virginia and later in the South East...(Georgia) Stan's distant cousin's founded the Coca Cola Company, were instrumental in the creation of Emory University, one was a Governor of Georgia and another was Mayor of Atlanta...four of Stan's distant "Grand Uncles" and 4 of his distant "Grand Father's" served in the Revolutionary War.
Stan would thus qualify for membership in the "Son's of the American Revolution" as would Stan's Grandsons...in addition Stan's daughters and Stan's Granddaughters would all qualify for membership in the prestigious "Daughters of the American Revolution".
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(Royce Candler as a young Man in the 1920's)
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As a Young man, Royce lived in Iowa in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area. He registered for the draft while living in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. A copy of his World War I, Draft Registration document (September 12th, 1918) reads: These records show that his date of Birth was 23 November 1899 at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Apparently age 18 was the required age to register for the draft.
World War I was just winding down and Royce did not have to serve. World War I covered the time period from 20 July 1914 until Germany Surrendered on 11 November 1918...This was also the timing for the creation and formation of the American Legion (Veteran's Organization) in Paris.
Stan recalls his own draft registration on his 18th Birthday just after WWII ended. Stan however would have been drafted to replace the "battle weary" WWII soldiers with "Occupation Duty Forces". Stan however elected to enlist so as to control his branch of service and training. Stan served for four (4) years in the U.S. Army Counter Intelligence Corps. (1948-1952)
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The below middle aged appearing photo of Stan's father appears to be a professionally posed photo - Stan did know that his father made an unsuccessful run for the office of the "Sheriff of Barron County Wisconsin...Stan suspects that this was one of the photo's used in his unsuccessful campaign for the office of Barron County Sheriff.
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(Royce "Mike" Candler - Stan's Father)
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"Chapter: 3."
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"The Nedland's" - "The Johnsons" - Stan's Grandparents
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Stan's Mother's family Name of "Nedland" came from her father (Stan's grandfather) Gabriel Tollaksen Nedland who immigrated here from Flekkefjord, Norway in circa 1862.
(Nedland was the name of the family farm in Norway...The Family Name was thought to be Tollaksen) Some of the family used the name of the family farm and others the name of Tollaksen after immigrating to the United States.
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(Gabriel and Annie's Wedding Photo Ca. 1880's)
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While Stan's grand parents settled on the family farm north of Barron, some settled in Viroqua, Vernon County, Wisconsin.
Stan's Grandmother (Annie Johnson) immigrated here from Grabbestadt, Sweden also in the 1860's.
The usual immigration procedures called for giving the immigrant a piece of farm land to work...if the immigrant worked and improved the land, it became his/their land. their actual port of entry into the U.S. is not clear...
However it appears that both Gabriel Nedland and Annie Johnson immigrated through the "Castle Gardens," Manhattan, New York, Immigration Center.
Note: On April 1st, 1885 through the year 1890, Castle Gardens on the Southern tip of Manhattan Island, New York, became a new immigration processing point (Said to have processed over 8 Million immigrants)...Castle Gardens is said to have stopped processing immigrants in 1890, and in 1892, the larger Ellis Island, New York Immigration Facilities swung into action. It is thought that (Years and Calendar Wise) both Gabriel Nedland and Annie Johnson immigrated to the U.S. by way of the Castle Gardens, Manhattan Island, New York facilities.
Gabriel and Annie were thought to have married circa 1880's. Annie died in 1932 in Barron, Wisconsin.
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(Grandma Nedland's Funeral - Stan in Front Row with Grandpa Gabriel - 1932)
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Mother Ellen's family (Nedlands) lived on a combination Dairy and Tobacco farm north of Barron on the Yellow River. Stan's Grandfather Gabriel retired in his 60's and he and Grandma Annie moved into Barron.
Gabriel died on March 24th, 1943 at the age of 80, in Rice Lake, Wisconsin where he had moved and been living with his second wife...
When Gabriel and Annie moved to the town of Barron, the family farm was transferred to the older son Edward who lived there, and raised his family there. Edward later sold the farm and also moved into the town of Barron.
Gabriel and Anne were both buried in the family cemetery plot of their Norwegian Lutheran Church Cemetery, in Barron, Wisconsin.
Some of the male Nedland children who were boys, served in WWI. (Edward, George...)
Stan's name "Berg" came from his mother Ellen's second husband Percy Berg...Although Stan's last name was "Candler" his school records were all in the name of "Berg"...Stan's mother Ellen in a court proceedings, arranged to have Stan's last name changed from Candler to Berg in order to match Stan's school records.
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(Wedding picture - Percy Berg and Stan's Mother Ellen - Ca. 1929-1930)
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Stan's mother Ellen was a very beautiful young lady when Stan was born and was in her early twenties when she married Percy Berg...Stan's mother Ellen was just 19.5 years of age when Stan was born.
The Nedland's lived in Barron County, Wisconsin for the remainder of their lives. Gabriel Nedland was living in Rice Lake, Wisconsin when he died.
Stan's natural father Royce Candler died at the age of 55 years and is buried in a St. Paul Cemetery.
The Nedland's (Stan's mother and grandparents) are now all buried in the family plot in a small Lutheran Church Cemetery about 1 mile West of Barron and just off of Highway 8 to the North. The family Church in Barron was the Norwegian Lutheran Church.
Stan's mother Ellen died on 21 October 2007, in the Barron Nursing Home at the age of 98 years just 2 months short of her 99th birthday. Stan's Mother Ellen died from the complications of Alzheimer's and the administration of IMPROPER medications ("Black Box Warnings") while at the Barron Nursing home.
Stan's Mother Ellen was given Seroquel (An Antipsychotic Drug)...this drug was supplied with a warning that it was not to be given to the elderly or to "Dementia" type patients...Stan demanded the drug be stopped...it was not and in a few days, Stan's mother died of the complications of a heart attack...(Stan's mother had the Blood Pressure of a Teen Ager)...Stan enlisted the Aid of the Governor of the State of Wisconsin, with the result that the Barron Nursing Home received a number of citations that were issued against the nursing home...while it did not bring back Stan's mother, it did result in a change in the nursing home's operations and the use of dangerous drugs.
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(Stan with His Irish Bulldog " Rex" - Rice Lake - 1936)
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Stan had two dogs in his lifetime. While living in the small town of Barron in grades 1 and 2, Stan had a small Irish Bull Dog named "Rex"...when Stan's family moved to a small 20 acre farm near Rice Lake, the small Bull Dog was exchanged for a more suitable farm dog, a combination Collie and Shepherd that Stan named "Kazan."
Stan loved his dog "Kazan" and often Stan and "Kazan" roamed the fields and woods together...Kazan loved squirrel hunting and whenever Stan came out of the house with his single shot .22 rim-fire rifle, Kazan became very excited and would run in a circle to express his joy.
Stan and his dog Kazan would act as a team when out squirrel hunting...Kazan would tree a squirrel and bark until Stan arrived...Kazan would bark on one side of the tree and the squirrel would scoot around to the opposite side of the tree...Stan's side and Stan would bag him...The squirrel was often an important addition to the family food table during the hard times of the Great Depression.
People would often think that the name "Kazan" was a strange name, but for Stan it was a very special name...Stan would often listen to a radio series on their old battery operated AM radio called: "Sgt. Renfrew of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and his faithful dog "Kazan"...so Stan's dog naturally was named "Kazan".
Inasmuch as those early days were also the days of the "Great Depression"...no one could afford dog food for their dogs and no one had "Dog Houses" for their dogs...Dogs got along just fine on left over scraps from the family meals and the dogs usually had a place to sleep on the back porch on some rugs in a sheltered porch alcove.
Farm dogs were also free to roam the farm buildings, including the barn if they cared to...in the summer time farm dogs would also be used to herd the cattle in from the pasture for milking in the evening by a simple command from the farmer dog owner of "Go Get Em".
By the time that Stan left his parents home in 1948 to become a solder in the U.S. Army, "Kazan" was getting old in dog years...when Stan's parents later moved to town they gave "Kazan" to a nearby farmer in the Arland Township...Stan never saw "Kazan" again but often thought of him and still does have fond memories of "Kazan"...Stan hopes that Kazan's last days were pleasant days as he left this world!
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(Stan's Dog Kazan - The Farm Rice Lake, WI)
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The "Great Depression" days were tough...the family lived on a small 20 acre farm 2 miles southwest of Rice Lake. Their nearest neighbor was 1 mile away. Stan remembered his mother telling him one Christmas that their family income for the entire month of December was only 1 dollar.
There was no electricity, no refrigeration, no indoor plumbing...light was from a kerosene lamp and heat was from a wood stove...the outdoor toilet on a sub-zero winter day was enough to make a "Spartan" sob.
There were no school buses...the country grade school the "Walt Whitman," was 2 miles away...Stan remembers walking 2 miles to the country Grade school on a sub zero winter days and his feet hurting until mid morning before they had warmed up.
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(Stan with His Pet Dog "Kazan" and holding a pet Rabbit)
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"Chapter: 4."
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"READING "Mark Twain", "Arthur Conan Doyle", and "Ernest Hemingway"
Books were always available at the local free "Carnegie" library on a loan basis...Stan had become an avid Reader of adventure stories. Stan was in Grade School and loved to lose himself in a book and build "Air Castles". Stan found it easy to forget all about the hard times when immersed in a book.
Stan became a fan of MARK TWAIN'S (Samuel Clemen's pen name) "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."
Mark Twain became Stan's favorite fiction story writer...While Stan's later reading would be "Non Fiction", those early reading times during his early childhood, still hold a special place in Stan's heart.
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("MARK TWAIN" - Samuel Clemens Pen name)
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Stan also had early day interest in the Sherlock Holmes stories by Arthur Conan Doyle.
This interest resulted in Stan later writing on the subject and having membership in the University of Minnesota's Sherlock Holmes Club.
Stan also wrote a paper that received world wide notice, entitled: "Sherlock Holmes, Father of Scientific Crime Detection" and the paper was published by Northwestern University Law School, Chicago, Illinois.
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(Arthur Conan Doyle)
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Stan later in life as a young man developed an interest in the Author Ernest Hemingway and his life...his writings were both of travel and historical.
Stan was fascinated with his writing style as well as his early years living in Paris, and his authorship of "A Moveable Feast".
In later years he wrote a story centered around the Spanish Civil War and then his days living in Cuba...
The books Stan was familiar with were: "A Farewell to Arms", "The Sun Also Rises", "For Whom the Bell Tolls", and "The Old Man and The Sea"....
When in later years Hemingway took his own life with a gunshot to the head, while living in Ketchum, Idaho in 1961...left Stan both disappointed and puzzled.
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(Ernest Hemingway)
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"Speaking More than One Language - English - Spanish - Norwegian"
For most of us, a single basic language that we use to make our way in life is all the languages that we know...and for most of us that is English..
Well, believe it or not, Stan has been able to speak two additional languages in addition to English...Stan wishes he had not let the other 2 languages get away from him but he did!
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When Stan was a "little tike" beginning around age 4, his mother told Stan of how he would walk around the the down town streets of his home town of Barron, Wisconsin, hand in hand with his Grandpa Gabriel, and the two would be "jabbering" back and forth to each other in Norwegian "Norske".
Stan's Grandpa died when he was in grade school and with his death, his Norwegian also died...Now Stan does not know a word of it...
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"Chapter: 5."
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"Grade School Days - High School - Playing with Dynamite"
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Most people have heard of the expression: "That's Like Playing With Dynamite"....as a farmer's kid in the 1930's, Stan was guilty of playing with Dynamite...Dynamite had been used in industry's like mining and farming for many years...farmers used it to clear land, plant trees, drainage ditching, etc.
Dynamite came in prepackaged sticks...the sticks were stable forms of high explosive that required the shock of a blasting cap to make it detonate. The blasting cap was attached to the end of a fuse...to detonate the dynamite, a hole was made in the end of the stick of dynamite and the cap with a fuse inserted into the hole...the longer the fuse used, the more time before it detonated the cap which in turn caused the dynamite to detonate...yes, there were farm kids like Stan that liked to play with the fuses and blasting caps...Stan knew enough not to play with the dynamite itself, just the detonating caps...it was like the 4th of July out of season...of course this was something Stan and friends did not let their parents find out about.
Most everyone has heard of the "Time Honored" old expression: "When the Cats Away, the Mice Will Play"...updated one could say: "When The Parents Are Away, The Children Will Play!"
This was during the Great Depression years and not every farmer had the money to pay for Dynamite...Stan's family was the poorest of the poor....Stan's family lived on a small 20 acre farm while his neighbors farms were all 80 and 120 acre's...Stan's closest neighbor and one of Stan's friends could afford and did have Dynamite...it was through that friend that Stan became acquainted with Dynamite...and when the parents were away they would amuse themselves lighting fused caps and have an ear/y 4th of July! The fuses came in coils and the caps in boxes.
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The Dupont company issued handbooks of instructions for farmers on the "safe use of Dynamite" as far back as 1911-1912.
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(A dynamite stick - blasting cap and fuse inserted}
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Note: Dynamite is an explosive made of Nitroglycerin, sorbents like shells or clay and stabilizers. It was invented by the Swedish Chemist Nobel in 1867. It rapidly gained widespread use as a safer alternative then gunpowder or nitroglycerin.
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In Stan's childhood days there were no welfare programs nor public assistance, no school lunches, poverty was not an excuse for crime, no one locked their home at night nor when visiting friends...everyone had a .22 caliber rifle behind the front door...used for shooting game animals for food...no one was out shooting up the schools....Christians acted like Christians!
As an only child, Stan's childhood companion and friend, was a combination Collie and Shepherd Dog that he named "Kazan"...They often roamed the field's and woods together...the name "Kazan" came from Stan's favorite old AM radio show called: "Sgt Renfrew of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and this faithful dog Kazan." As a team, Stan and his dog Kazan hunted small game together for food...Stan last saw his friend Kazan when in 1948, Stan left home to enter the service in the Army just after World War II...Stan often thought of his friend Kazan and hoped that his life ended comfortably.
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(Stan age 10 - Grade 5 - and cousin Bernice - Farm- Rice Lake - 1938)
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It was Stan's generation that ushered in the "Atomic Age" and the "Space Age" and it was done without all of the modern day conveniences...no handy pocket calculators, or computers, cell phones or ipads...everything was done the hard way.
In school everyone was required to memorize the multiplication tables during the grade school years. The schools then taught a broad range of subjects such as Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, letter writing, English, Geography, History, Chemistry and Biology...Stan's favorite subject in High School was Chemistry and he often stayed after school to assist his Chemistry teacher with school projects...even his senior year "Annual" reflected comments by his fellow students referencing Stan as the "Chemistry Whiz".
Stan has always loved to read and in his younger days he loved Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn series...Stan started his love of the Sherlock Holmes stories in those early days. Stan's love of reading often resulted in Stan's building of "Air Castles" as he day dreamed about what his future life might be like! Stan never gave any thought as to how their extreme poverty might affect those dreams.
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School Days - Grade School through High School
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Grades - Ages- Schools - Years
Grade 1, Age 6, "Woodland Elementary School", Barron, Wisconsin. (1934)
Note: When Stan started School in 1934, the Great Depression was in it's 4th year...The Wall Street Stock Market Crash of August 1929, a year after Stan was born, signaled the start of the "Great Depression".
Grade 2, Age 7, "Woodland Elementary School", Barron, Wisconsin. (1935)
Grade 3, Age 8, "Walt Whitman" Rural Route, Elementary School, Rice Lake, Wisconsin. (1936)
Grade 4, Age 9, "Walt Whitman" Rural Route, Elementary School, Rice Lake, Wisconsin. (1937)
Grade 5, Age 10, "Walt Whitman" Rural Route, Elementary School, Rice Lake, Wisconsin. (1938)
Grade 6, Age 11, "Walt Whitman" Rural Route, Elementary School, Rice Lake, Wisconsin. (1939)
Grade 7, Age 12, "Walt Whitman" Rural Route, Elementary School, Rice Lake, Wisconsin. (1940)
Grade 8, Age 13, "Walt Whitman" Rural Route, Elementary School, Rice Lake, Wisconsin. (1941)
Note: A County Examination was given to every Grade School Student to determine if the Student met the minimum standards for admission to High School...Stan passed the test and was advised that He had scored above the county average.
The Japanese Bombed Pearl Harbor, December 7th 1941, which began the entry of the United States into WWII.
Grade 9, Age 14, "Rice Lake High School", Rice Lake, Wisconsin. (1942)
Grade 10, Age 15, "Rice Lake High school", Rice Lake, Wisconsin. (1943)
Grade 11, Age 16, "Rice Lake High School", Rice Lake, Wisconsin. (1944)
Grade 12, Age 17, "Rice Lake High School", Rice Lake, Wisconsin... (1945) Stan received his High School Gradation Diploma in May of 1946..
Note: WWII had just ended the year earlier in 1945....Stan enrolled with the local County Draft Board and was advised he would be drafted in the near future for occupation duty in order that the WWII combat troops could return to their homes...Stan chose to enlist instead so that he could choose his branch of service...(Army, CIC, Counter Intelligence Corp)... little did Stan know that the Korean War was right around the corner...Stan served for 4 years before returning home in May 1952!
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Country - Western Music, "The Grand Ole Opry"
(Grand Ole Opry Live - Photo taken by Stan at an Opry Performance)
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Stan was a longtime fan of "Country and Western Music and the "Grand Ole Opry"...The origin of the Grand Ole Opry dates back to November 28th 1925 as a one hour AM Radio Barn Dance on WSM....It was usual for Stan's family and others to Listen to the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday nights when one had sufficient battery power left to operate their AM radios...that was in the 1930's and into the early 1940's...it was the time of the "Great Depression" and money was not available to buy the necessary A and B batteries to operate the radio..."A" batteries were rechargeable but the "B" batteries had to be replaced with new ones...Stan can remember times that he would hold his ear against the speaker to hear the faint music from the low charge batteries.
Stan had a love of the Classic Country Music all of his life and beginning in his early days as a small grade school child.
June shared that love of Classic Country music. Stan considered Jim Reeves and Patsy Cline to be the King and Queen of Country music...they were both killed in separate small plane crashes while trying to reach a singing engagement during bad weather.
Other Classic Country performers that Stan loved were the group called the "Highwaymen"...this group consisted of Willy Nelson, Kris Kristopherson, Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings...Stan was also a fan of George Jones and Ray Price...on the ladies side of the spectrum was Tammy Wynette, and Connie Smith.
The forensic sciences and the "Grand Ole Opry" fit together like a hand and a glove...June and Stan were able to attend three live performances of the Grand Ole Opry in 1990, 1992 and 1996...each of these years had Forensic Science Conferences scheduled n Nashville...Stan attended the conferences by day and then June and Stan attended the live "Grand Ole Opry" performances in the evening. Those were great days and times.
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(Stan at age 12 - 7th Grade - 1940)
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Stan's mother's second marriage was to Percy Berg, an alcoholic and a heavy smoker. Percy smoked and drank himself to death (cancer of the throat) in the early 1940's just as the United States was entering World War II.
Stan's early life (3rd grade and High School) was spent going to school in Rice Lake, Wisconsin...these were the "Great Depression" days that ended with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th 1941...every able bodied man went into the armed services except certain farmers needed to provide food and meat for the armed services.
Stan went to Grade School first in Barron, Wisconsin (Grades 1 and 2) and later in Rice Lake, Wisconsin where he graduated from High School in 1946, just a year after World War II ended.
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(Stan's Graduation Picture - Rice Lake High School - 1946)
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Because Stan's School records were all in the name of Berg, Stan's Mother Ellen had Stan's name legally changed from Candler to Berg, in order to match the name Berg to his School Records.
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"Chapter: 6."
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"Stan"s Very Special Mother and His Forensic Life"
Who Molded his Forensic Science Life
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(Stan's Mother Ellen (Nedland) Silbaugh)
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Stan's Mother Ellen was age 98 when she passed away on 21 October 2007, from the ravages of Alzheimer'. Stan's Mother died in her Hometown of Barron, Wisconsin where she had lived her entire life. Mother Ellen was born in 1908 on a small dairy farm North of Barron, Wisconsin on the Yellow River. Mother Ellen was a small girl during World War I and a young lady during the "Roaring Twenties" ... and yes she was a "Flapper".
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(Ellen Nedland - Age 7- 1915- Barron, WI)
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Stan's mother Ellen Nedland was one of the many happy, light-hearted young ladies of the time period just before the "Great Depression" years. Those happy times were referred to as the "Roaring Twenties" ... in the time period leading up to the "Stock Market" crash of 1929, which signaled the start of the "Great Depression"
These happy-go-lucky young ladies of that time period were often referred to as "Vamps" or "Flappers" and yes, Stan's mother in her late teen years was probably a "Vamp" or a "Flapper" of that period ... as can be seen in the below photo of Mother Ellen, dressed in the dress for young ladies in that period and strumming her "Ukelele"
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(Mother Ellen - a young "Vamp" - "Roaring Twenties')
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Stan's Mother Ellen struggled through the tough times of the Great Depression Years and they had very little by way of income. Mother Ellen's first husband, Stan's Father, Royce "Mike" Candler, abandoned both Stan and his mother a month after Stan was born.
Her second husband Percy Berg, turned out to be the town drunk and drank up all of the family funds he could get his hands on.
in spite of the "tough times", Mother Ellen was always cheerful with a smile on her face...Stan's Mother Ellen somehow managed to shield Stan from the effects of the "Great Depression" and all Stan ever remembers during those years were happy times and fun times.
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(Gilbert Lead Caster Set)
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During the "Great Depression" days and years, while money was in short supply, Stan's mother somehow manged to provide gifts to Stan at Christmas time and Stan's birthday, that were always intended to influence Stan's curiosity in the sciences and engineering. Stan still does not know how she managed to do it...her average family income was from 1 to 5 dollars a month.
While other rural family parents would give their children toy tractors and cars...Stan's mother Ellen always gave Stan gifts of Gilbert Chemistry Sets and Gilbert Erector Sets. It was clear that Stan's mother did what she could io increase his interests in the sciences.
Even during the early WWII years when other parents gave their children toy soldiers and related toys, Stan's mother gave Stan a "Lead Casting Set" so that he could make his own toy soldiers.
Mother Ellen also gave Stan a balsa wood airplane building kit...andStan made a plane that would actually fly.
In High School, Stan's favorite subjects were Chemistry and Biology. Every spare penny Stan had went into buying chemical supplies and an inexpensive microscope...Stan even took correspondence courses in "Legal Chemistry and Microscopy".
it was in Stan's high school years that mother Ellen met and married her 3rd husband, Tom Silbaugh, who gave her a good life and they lived most of their elderly years on a small lake home near Cameron, Wisconsin.
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(Gilbert Chemistry Set)
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Stan's mother's success in stimulating his interest in the sciences can clearly be seen in his High High School interests and activities. Stan always enrolled in classes that reflected an interest in the sciences.
Stan remember well the comments made by teachers and students in his Senior Class yearbook...references were made to the "Chemistry Whiz".
By the time Stan left home at age 20 in 1948, (Stan enlisted in the Army Counter Intelligence Corp) Stan left behind in his small upstairs bedroom, a complete Chemistry laboratory. Stan wonders to this day what his mother ever did with it all.Stan
Stan also did some very foolish things in his Chemistry experimenting days...Stan tried to make his own "Nitroglycerin"...using Glycerin and Nitric acid...It was probably fortunate that Stan was not successful.
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(Gilbert Erector Set)
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Stan made a lot of his own gunpowder (black) and would fire small projectiles from a home made cannon.
One time Stan accidentally ignited an aluminum bowl full of black powder...the flames shot all the way to the ceiling and the bottom of the bowl was so hot that it burned through the linoleum floor covering. Stan hid it from his mother by setting a chair over it.
Stan's Mother never did learn of it and sold the home shortly after. Stan is sure the new owners wondered about the round black burned hole in the linoleum.
While it was Stan's Uncle Victor, who encouraged Stan in what he was doing during his summer vacation visits to his Uncle Victor's Gunsmith Shop in Ladysmith, Wisconsin (Examination of test fired bullets and cartridge cases and recording their markings), it was Stan's mother Ellen who encouraged Stan's study of the sciences that were basic to the forensic sciences. These two members of Stan's Nedland family, (Mother and Uncle) laid the ground work for what would be Stan's future life long occupation as a Forensic Scientist.
Stan's Mother also looked after his Christian Education and arranged for his attendance at a small Lutheran Church in Rice Lake, Wisconsin where Stan studied (Confirmation Class) and was confirmed in the Spring of 1946.
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"Whatever have been Stan's life's accomplishments, He owes much of it to his Mother Ellen, his failures are his own."
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(Stan's Mother Ellen (Nedland) Silbaugh)
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"Chapter: 7."
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"Stan's Remembrances of the World War II Days"
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(Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Japanese Attack on December 7th, 1941)
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"Preface"
World war two was a war in which the entire country became united in an all out war effort. The resolve, the patriotism and the dedication of the American people is said to be unequaled before or since. Public support for the war effort was reported to be 97 percent and remained undiminished throughout the war. There was no hollow patriotism. Everyone sacrificed. Neither Stan nor June could recall any complaining by citizens during the war. There was no "anti-war" protests. Everyone just cinched up their belts and got the job done. It was an all out and total effort.
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(Stan age 12 - 1940 - Grade 7 -Eve of Pearl Harbor and WWII)
(World War II Years age were Stan's ages 13 - 16 1941 - 1945 - Stan's High School Years)
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On December 7th, 1941, World War II came home to the American People (Stan was age 13 and June was age 14). This was the Sunday when the Japanese without warning, bombed Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. 353 Japanese carrier based dive-bombers and torpedo planes were involved in the early morning raid. Stan remembers listening to the AM Radio report of the attack along with visiting Sunday guests at their farm home...It was afternoon Wisconsin time as the reports came in...Stan remembers comments of satisfaction as reports of a few of the Japanese planes being reported as shot down. June remembers crying as she heard the radio reports of the large numbers of our people who were killed in the raid. (2,390 Americans dead or dying) Approximately 1,178 additional wounded. This single raid destroyed or damaged almost the entire U.S. Pacific fleet of the U.S. Navy (8 Battleships and 13 other Warships ere destroyed or severely damaged. 200 air force planes were also destroyed on the ground.
When President Roosevelt reported to losses to Winston Churchill, Churchill's response was "a holocaust."(A term used many years later to describe Hitler's World War II Genocide of the Jewish Race.)
The Japanese simultaneously launched an invasion of the Philippines. June had a first cousin in the U.S. Army (Herb Rolstad) in the Philippines. He was captured with 36,000 other soldiers on Bataan when it surrendered in early 142. He was in the brutal "Bataan Death March" (marched 65 miles) in which most of the captured men were killed on the march to the prison camps or in the camps. June later learned that he was one of the few to survive. The Japanese soldiers had thrown him onto a pile of dead or dying prisoners A friend pulled him from the pile, helped him along and thus saved his life.
This time per period was some of the United States darkest hours. It seemed like the "bad guys" were winning all over the world. Late in 1942, the tide of the war gradually changed and the end result was no longer in doubt.
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(World War II Posters created to promote the war effort)
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June became a member of a student group in High School in her Junior year called the "Victory Corps." This was a student activity intended to promote the war effort. June had far more direct involvement in home front activities than Stan did during this World War II time period. Stan apparently was content with just living through it all. Stan used to draw pictures of US and German or Japanese fighter planes in "Dog Fights"...the enemy planes of course always lost.
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"World War II Victory Corps."
As Americans became more involved in the escalation of World War II, volunteer organizations began to form. Seeing the need for high school students to become involved, Commissioner of Education, John W. Studebaker, on September 25th, 1942, upon the recommendation of his advisory Wartime Commission, established the "Victory Corps." The purpose of this student organization was to prepare High School students to aid in the war effort on the home front. Both girls and boys from white and African American schools participated. In order to be a member, a student needed to participate in a physical fitness program, enroll in a war effort class, and volunteer for at least one extracurricular wartime activity. Engaging in a physical fitness program was essential because military officials were alarmed by the poor condition of current enlistments. At the advent of the war, high school curriculum's in various states were altered to accommodate war-effort classes. By modifying industrial arts and vocational-industrial classes, student could learn about machinery, fundamentals of electricity, radios, canning of food, aeronautics, first aid and other pertinent topics. As the war drew to a close, the Victory Corps program was phased out beginning in June of 1944.
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Stan noted that June's high school Yearbook for her graduation year of 1946, contained an "Memoriam" section in which eight (8) former class members who had died in World War II were honored. This is a strikingly large number for such a small school.
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June's cousin Clarence "Hank" Delegard is another example of a number of June's relatives who served in the military during the war. Clarence was in the U. S. Navy at the start of the war. He served on the famous USS Ranger Aircraft Carrier during the war years...
Stan's cousin Clyde Nedland, served in the South Pacific on a Destroyer in the "Picket Lines" designed to protect the U.S. Navy's Aircraft Carriers from the Japanese Suicide Planes near the war's end. The Japanese grew desperate near and resorted to suicide mission by their carrier based planes in an attempt to change the course of the war. Stan's cousin, Romie E. McDonald, (Burley McDonald's brother and Grandma Ellen's Nephew) is one of the McDonald's that served in the U.S. Army during WWII
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(Recruiting Poster - World War II)
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"Rationing of Food - Gas - Critical Items"
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Foods and materials critical to the war effort were all rationed. Stan's and June's family had ration books and coupons that permitted a limited purchase of the rationed items. Gasoline and fuel oil was rationed, as was tires, shoes, sugar, coffee, meat, butter and cheese. Some products were frozen from the market for the duration of the war. (Cars, Washing Machine etc.)
Americans were told to "use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without." To further conserve gas, a 35 MPH speed limit was installed and all pleasure driving was banned. The rationing ended with the Japanese surrender in August of 1945. (The Germans had surrendered earlier in May of 1945.)
See below photo of a WWII ration book cover:
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(War Ration Book Cover)
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"Women filled the Gap on the Home Front and served in the Military"
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"BASEBALL AND WORLD WAR II"
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Even the nation's pastime of "Baseball" had to struggle through the war years. Over 1,100 major leaque players served in the armed forces. Many were killed in action. Two (2) won the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Six (6) special women's league Baseball Teams were organized to help fill the gap.
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(A Women's World War II Baseball Team)
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The "All American Girls Professional Baseball League" was formed in 1943 and lasted until 1954 when it was disbanded or discontinued. It was said the about 910,000 fans attended the games of the 10 Team League.
The League was said to have provided a means of forgetting the worries of World War II.
On November 5th, 1988, the "All American Girls Professional League" memories were enshrined in Cooperstown, New York Hall of Fame with over 550 names recorded on a plaque exibited with the name "Women in Baseball"
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Women replaced the men as workers in the World War II defense industries.
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(Women WWII Wartime Workers)
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(Women WWII Wartime Industries)
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President Franklin Roosevelt died less than a month before the victory in Europe. President Roosevelt had endeared himself in the minds and hearts of most Americans by his uplifting AM radio addresses through out the war. He would conduct what he called "fireside chats." it was in one such radio broadcast that he declared:
"This Generation of Americans has a Rendezvous With Destiny.."Both Stan and June were in High School when word of President Roosevelt's death was announced. June told Stan that she and many of the students cried at the news. For most of us students, he was the only president we had ever known..
At that time a president was not restricted to 2 terms as they are now. He had been elected to an unprecedented four terms.
Winston Churchill on hearing of Roosevelt's death stated:
"That Great Man who destiny has marked for the climax of human fortune...He died on the wings of Victory, but he saw them and heard them beating"
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"WOMEN WHO SERVED WITH THE U.S. MILITARY IN WWII and THE KOREAN WAR"
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"Women of The Army - WAC's - "WOMEN's ARMY CORP" - WWII and KOREA"
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(Four WAC's with Duffle Bags and Combat Zone Dress)
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The Women's Army Corps (WACs) were the women's branch of the United States Army. It was considered an Auxiliary Unit . The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAACs) was first created on 15 May 1942 by Public Law 554 and converted to an active duty status in the Army of the United States as the WAC on July 1st 1943.
It's first director was Oveta Culp Hobby, a well known women in the Texas Society. The WAC was disbanded in 1978 and all units were integrated into the male units.
The WACs were a part of the United States Army both in World War II and the Korean War.
It is estimated that approximately 150,000 women served in the U.S. Army during the time periods of WWII and the Korean War.
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"Women's Army Nurse Corp. - WWII and Korean War"
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(U.S. Army Nurses - of the World War II and Korean War Era)
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The United States Army Nurse Corp (AN or ANC) was formerly established by the U.S. Congress in 1901. It is one of the 6 Medical Special Branches (or "Corps") of officers which along with medical enlisted solders made up the Army Medical Department.
The ANC is the Nursing Service for the U.S. Army and provides the nursing staff for support of the Department of Defense medical operations. The ANC is comprised entirely of Registered Nurses (RNs).
It is estimated that more than 59,000 American Nurses served in the Army Nurse Corp in World War II in both the European and the Pacific Theaters of operations. They were said to have worked closer to the front lines than ever before in any American war. Seventeen (17) Nurses were killed in action in WWII.
540 Army Nurses were sent to serve in Korea during the Korean War. None were killed in action. 1 nurse died but not as a result of any military actions.
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"Women also Served in Women's AirForce Service Pilots (WASP)"
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(Four "WASP" Airforce Service Pilots - Planes Just Delivered)
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WASP's of WWII (Women Airforce Service Pilots) This was a civilian women pilot organization, whose members were U.S. Civil Service employees. These members of WASP became trained pilots who tested aircraft, ferried aircraft and trained other pilots. Their purpose was to free male pilots for combat duty during WWII. Despite various members of the Armed forces being involved in the creation of the program, The WASP and their members had no military status.
The Wasp Program with the U.S. Army Air Corps. ended on December 20th, 1944. During their years of service, 39 WASP Members lost their lives. (One was listed as missing in action.)
In 1977, by an Act of Congress, The WASP members were granted Veteran Status. In the year 2000. the WASP members were each awarded "Congressional Gold Medals." Finally they were recognized for their wartime service!
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The United States WWII - Wartime President.
(President Franklin D. Roosevelt)
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"Executive Order 9066"
Unfortunately Franklin Roosevelt also had a dark side that resulted from his management of the war...during the early phases of the war 1942-1945 by Executive order 9066 (he had 117,000 thousand, mostly American Citizens of Japanese Origin living in California arrested and interred in "Relocation Centers" not unlike "Concentration Camps" for the duration of the war...apparently Roosevelt viewed these Japanese citizens as threats to the United States during the war. They lost their homes and much of their belongings...on short notice they were arrested, picked up in bus's and taken to the camps....The U.S. Congress in 1988 recognized this horrible act and not only extended formal apologies to surviving members and their families but also granted them money restitution..$20,000 each to 80,000 Japanese American survivors...and so ended perhaps the most atrocious violation of civil rights in the 20th Century
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The United States had a total of over 16.3 Million Men and Women in the Armed Services at the end of WWII. The U.S. Population then was only about 140 Million. ( 139, 928,165.) Our current Population in 2019 is over 325 Million.
Almost all of the nations young men of post high School age went into the armed forces. They simply put their life on hold for 2-4 years in order to serve their country. World War II ended in 1945, just before Stan Graduated from the Rice Lake High School in 1946. Although WWII was over, the United States was still drafting young men in order to replace our battle weary men in Europe and the Pacific with occupation troops in order to bring the wartime servicemen home...So Stan on his 18th Birthday in 1946 had to register for the draft...and that and the time thereafter is another story...
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(World War II Moral Boosting Type Poster)
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"Draft Registration"
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When Stan graduated from Rice Lake High School in Middle May of 1946, Stan had not yet reached the age of 18. About a month later on June 14th, 1946, Stan reached his 18th birthday and was required to Register for the Draft on that date! World War Two had just ended in 1945, but the country was still drafting young men to replace the former Combat Soldiers with Occupation Troops so the wartime combat troops could return home.
Stan did contact the local Draft Board on his birthday and completed his registration. (What a Birthday Present!) Stan was issued a wallet sized card by the draft board and was told to carry the card with him at all times.
Stan's draft card contained his complete Name and Address as was dated the 14th of June 1946. The card indicated that Stan was registered with local Draft Board No. 1, in Barron, Wisconsin. The card contained a form No...D.S.S Form 2.
The card format contained the following admonition in bold print: "THE LAW REQUIRES YOU TO HAVE THIS CARD IN YOUR PERSONAL POSSESSION AT ALL TIMES."
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Note: Stan did not wait to be drafted. but instead he chose to later enlist in the Regular Army (1948) so that he could select the branch of service and the type of training that he would receive. Stan chose the Army Counter Intelligence Corps with Headquarters at Fort Holabird, Baltimore, Maryland. Stan enlisted for 3 years instead of the normal 2 years in order to eliminate any reserve requirements at the end of his enlistment. Little did Stan know that the Korean War was just around the corner and Congress by Public Law, extended Stan's enlistment from 3 years to 4 years. Stan was "Honorably Discharged" from the military service in 1952.
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German POW Camp in Barron, Wisconsin
(German Prisoner's of War)
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Barron, Wisconsin (Stan's Home Town) hosted hundreds of WWII German POW'S...Stan recall's in his High School years,approx 1943-1944...being intrigued by a German POW camp just a mile east of Barron on Highway 8, on the south side of the highway. By the end of WWII, it was said to have housed hundreds of POW's.
Barron News-Shield: "While Barron County residents were fighting in the fields and forests of Western Europe during the last two years of World War II, hundreds of “the enemy” were living back home, in clusters of tents built by the United States Army on the outskirts of Barron.
A little-known chapter in the area’s military past, the tent camps were part of an Army campaign to set up German prisoner-of-war outposts throughout Wisconsin. In Barron County, and scores of other locations around the state, captured German soldiers were put to work in factories or (as was the case here), harvesting crops and helping to can vegetables at several area locations."
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Stan's comments: Th POW's were in most cases, a dependable work force that responded to a a great need in filling positions that would have been done by men who were then in the armed services. Most camps were fenced with snow fence or something similar, as much to keep the people out as to keep the POW's in,
There were a few attempts to escape, some might get out but would return when they got hungry.
Being that the camp was right next to the highway, it did attract curiosity seekers like myself and other students or nearby residents.
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"Chapter: 8."
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"What Should Stan Do with His Life"
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As a poor farm kid growing up on a small 20 acre farm in Rural Rice Lake, Wisconsin, Stan often built "Air Castles" as his mind imagined, wandered and wondered...what would he do with his future life...farming, try to find a life patterned after Stan's hero "Sherlock Holmes"...he even thought of becoming a "Taxidermist' and mounting and preserving birds and animals...as history shows, Stan did learn Taxidermy, he did equip himself to be a farmer, learned "Fingerprinting" and even attended a school on Fingerprinting at "The Institute of Applied Science" in Chicago in 1946. (Most of the nation's crime lab's with fingerprint specialists were trained by the IAS.
The photo below shows Stan at the Institute of Applied Science in Chicago (1947) learning how to properly take rolled fingerprint impressions on a standard fingerprint card.
Stan also completed a series of subjects on general forensic science from a correspondence institution called the "International School of Criminology" conducted by H. P. Wunderling in Seattle, Washington...Stan Completed ISC courses in "Microscopy" and "Legal Medicine" and received diplomas in both fields of forensic science.
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To be on the safe side in Stan's knowledge and schooling, Stan took a course on "Radio and TV Electronics" in 1954-1955 while living in Duluth...Course was paid for by Stan's GI Bill entitlement...this involved not only servicing of Radio and TV sets but also construction of test equipment like "Volt Meters"...while this served to overall broaden Stan's knowledge in the sciences, this information was never directly used...of course the neighbors always called on Stan to fix their TV's and Radio's when down...This Stan did without charge.
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In those early years, there was no formal college level resident schools offering an education in the forensic sciences...even currently such university courses are general in nature and do not prepare any one to work in a governmental crime lab. All Crime laboratories whether they be Federal or State, train their own people.
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Stan took a course in "Taxidermy" (1944) from the "Northwestern School of Taxidermy", located in Omaha, Nebraska and operated by a J. W. Elwood, who was also the founder.
The School advertised: "Kill Animals, then make them look alive again!" Stan at best was only an average "Taxidermist" and he soon gave up any ambitions to make this his life's work.
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Taxidermy School
(Northwestern School of Taxidermy Catalog - 1944)
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Stan was only age 16 (1944) when He completed his practical Lessons and the course in Taxidermy...Stan Learned to mount Fish, Birds, and Animals in lifelike poses...June's mother took the below photo of Stan in 1944, and wearing his Boy Scout Uniform as a sort of graduation picture from the Northwester School of Taxidermy.
While Stan completed the course in Taxidermy, Stan in all honesty did not feel he would ever be anything more than an average "Taxidermist" and his dreams were more in the field of Forensic Science and such investigations.
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(Stan Displaying his Taxidermists Study Results)
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An interesting time in Stan's life, but another chapter to be closed and time to move on.
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4H Clubs and FFA (Future Farmers' of America)
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4-H Clubs
During Stan's grade school and High School years, Stan participated in the 4H Clubs and would annually raise a young Guernsey Heifer calf. Stan would later take his Heifer Calf to the local County Fair in Rice Lake to display and compete in the "Cattle Judging" contests.
Stan's Guernsey Heifer calf never won any prize in the cattle judging contest - Stan never really expected to win as the few cattle the family owned on the small 20 acre dairy farm were not "purebreds" or top of the line, but only what the family could afford...the family only had 5 milk cows.
Stan loved his time at the Fairgrounds ,,, he slept in the cattle barn on some straw next to his calf...Stan's mother gave Stan an allowance of 25 cents a day to live on while at the fairgrounds...hot dogs only cost about 5 cents a piece, foot longs were 10 cents.
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Rice Lake is located in Barron County....the headquarters for the Barron County 4-H Club is in Barron, Wisconsin...Today the 4-H Clubs serve the youth in both Rural and Suburban areas of both Barron and Rice Lake, Wisconsin...
They tackle the nations top issues from Global Food Supply, Food Safety, Agricultural and Farm Animal Safety...
Stan was ages 12 to 18 at this time in his life.
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Future Farmers of America
Stan also participated the the Rice Lake High Schools FFA or Future Farmers of America...both the 4-H Club and the FFA Future Farmers of America were Student or young people organizations that promoted Farming and Agriculture...
While Stan also had dreams of a career in the Forensic Sciences,
Stan had grown up as a Farm Boy...he naturally participated in the youth programs that promoted such skills. The Rice Lake High School chapter of the FFA was a student led organization where each student has the opportunity to participate and develop as an individual with roots firmly entrenched in Agriculture.
Stan's FFA years were ages 14 through 17.
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Boy Scouts of America
Stan was also a member of the local Rice Lake group of the "Boy Scouts of America" and attended local Boy Scout Camps...Stan had the Rank of "Life Scout" when he graduated from High School and joined the Army...
Stan remained a participant in the Boy Scout movement for most of his life...The Motto of the Boy Scouts of America is "BE PREPARED".
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Stan originally was a Boy Scout in Troop 28, of Rice Lake, Wisconsin and a part of the Chippewa Valley Council...the local Scout Camp was located just north of Rice Lake on the L. E. Phillips Scout Reservation or Scout Camp.
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Stan still recalls vividly the time that Rice Lake Troop 28 went to spend the weekend of the first day of Spring at the Phillips Scout Camp....(Circa 1944 or 1945) when an unexpected cold snap over night dropped the over night temperatures to 10 below zero...not exactly what one would expect on the first day of Spring...the Scout motto was "Be Prepared" but no one was really prepared for such a climate change on the first day of spring. Everyone survived this cold front set back in very good spirits...but it was a Scouting event that Stan never forgot!
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During his Army Service days Stan was a Scout Master for groups of young boys who lived with their parents on the Fort Holabird, CIC Center Army Post...Stan would on occasion, take a group of youngsters to a nearby Scout Camp.
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In later years, Stan served as a Merit Badge counselor. Much of Stan's lifetime involved service in and for the Boy Scouts. Stan has always had a high regard for the Boy Scout Movement.
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Stan's Comments (November 2020) The Scout movement has received some bad press in recent times due to Gay Sexual transgressions...I have never in my lifetime encountered such conduct. The problem is not Gay Scouts, the problem arose when Gay Scout LEADERS were placed in leadership positions...This is the same problem the Catholic Church was been plagued with for many years.
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Stan's Career Crossroads
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(Colonel Calvin Goddard)
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Stan was aware of the commanding position that Colonel Calvin Goddard has always had in the area of "Forensic Ballistics" (Term coined by Goddard) later named "Firearms Identification" as the founder of this forensic science and the establishment of the first ever, "Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory" at Northwestern University...(later moved to the Chicago Police Crime Laboratory)...Following WWII, Goddard who was an Army Officer, was asked to go to Japan and create an Army Scientific Crime Laboratory...after the Army Crime Lab in Japan was running smoothly he returned to the U.S.
Stan decided that Colonel Goddard would be a good person to consult about his future career opportunities in the Area of Forensic Firearms Consulting, as an independent consultant...Stan remembers having a phone discussion with Colonel Goddard and being referred to one of his Goddard's Chicago friends.
So in looking back, Colonel Goddard was a factor in Stan's eventual selection of the Forensic Firearms field as his lifetime career
Note: It is a coincidence that Stan should later become the recipient of all of Goddard's personal forensic files, photos, negatives and other materials from the Association of Firearms and Tool Mark Examiners (AFTE) for safe keeping. (AFTE had been given possession of these historical materials) Stan at that time was a life member, and a "Member In Memoriam" and who also was one of the founding fathers of the AFTE organization in 1969, and who has also written the official history of the AFTE organization. (It is available for reading on the official AFTE Website. The Goddard files and memorabilia are now in safekeeping at the University of Minnesota's Library of Rare Books and Special Collections.
Stan considered his many career possibilities and in the end decided that his military training *CIC) in the forensic sciences and his volunteer time at the Baltimore Police Department, plus his legal degree (LL.B) through the Army Judge Advocate General's Department, his already completed independent studies in the forensic sciences and his personal conversations with Colonel Calvin Goddard, all pointed to a lifetime career as a forensic scientist...this turned out to be the best choice and in looking back, this was clearly Stan's wisest decision.
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"Chapter: 9."
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"Stan's U.S. Army Service - 5 May 1948 - 2 May 1952"
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(Stan - Basic Training - Fort Knox, - July 1948)
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Stan's Comments and Record of His Military Service
Stan graduated from Rice Lake High School in Rice Lake, WI in the late spring 1946...this was just the year after WWII had ended the previous August...men were still being drafted into the Armed Services in order to replace the overseas combat veterans with occupation troops and bring those veterans home that had already served during wartime so they could be discharged.
Stan decided to enlist in the Army instead of waiting to be drafted so that he could choose his own branch of service and specialized training...He enlisted in 1948 for 3 years...the Korean War came along and his time in the service was increased by public law to 4 years.
Stan's enlistment was for training with the Counter Intelligence Corp. Stan received Regular Army serial No. RA 16-284-530.
Stan Received his Basic Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky in the 3rd Armored Division, Company C, 36th Armored Infantry Battalion, Combat Command B.
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"Stan's Basic Training at Fort Knox, Kentucky"
"Stan's Account of His Military Service Days"
"Stan's Basic Training at 3rd Armored Division, Fort Knox"
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The 3rd Armored Division pulled a heavy oar during the World War II years of 1942-1943. The 3rd Armored Division served in Normandy, France, Rhineland, Ardennes and Central Europe. It was in 1946 that the 3rd Armored Division became the Basic training Division for newly inducted soldiers at Fort Know, Kentucky.
Stan's Basic training at the 3rd Armored Division Fort Knox, Kentucky involved training in the use of the 30 caliber M-1 Rifle as well as the .30 caliber M-1 Carbine and the use of hand Grenades. The trainees had to memorize the serial number of their rifle and they also had to learn how to clean them as well as disassemble and reassemble their rifles.
Everyone in order to pass their basic training had to achieve a minimum level of competence in shooting accuracy with their M-1 Garand Rifle. They all needed to achieve a Marksmanship level of at least 140 -159 Points out of a possible 200 points at 100 and 200 yard ranges. Less than 140 points meant that the trainee would have to repeat his basic training with emphasize on improving their competence in shooting the rife.
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(Stan Sitting on an Armored Tank's Gun Barrel)
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The next higher level below Expert is "Sharpshooter" (160-179 Points) Expert rating is the highest rating (180- 200). Stan was rated as an Expert Rifleman. Stan scored a total of 193 points out of a possible 200 Points and was ranked as No. 2 out of a company of 190. The first place ranked soldier scored 196.
On the day that Stan fired for qualification on the range was 21 June 1948. Stan credits his "farm boy" hunting and shooting skills as a big factor in his doing so well in the military. Stan was awarded and "Expert" Rifleman's badge to wear on his uniform attesting to his shooting ability.
The Shooting/firing for Record was done on 21 June 1948...There were 190 Men in Company "C" firing for record that day.
20 of the men including Stan qualified as an "Expert" by scoring between 180 and 200 points. 42 of the Men qualified as "Sharpshooter" by scoring between 160-179 points. 95 of the Men qualified as "Marksman" by scoring between 140-159 points. 33 of the men scored less then 140 points and as a result did not graduate from Basic training and had to repeat their training.
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(Stan in Basic Training - at Attention - Saluting)
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Basic Trainees also received intense physical exercises such as long marches with a rifle and a full field pack. Running and jogging for about 1 mile around a huge field was also included.
Night time exercises such as crossing a simulated battlefield by crawling on one's stomach while machine gun tracer bullets were passing over one's head and body. Before graduation, one had to march about 20 miles at night with a full field pack.
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(Stan in Combat Sitting-Shooting Position)
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Stan completed his Basic Training on 18 July 1948 and was then transferred to the CIC Center at Fort Holabird, Baltimore, Maryland where he resumed his training for his work specialty for the remainder of his enlistment time in the Army Counter Intelligence Corp. Service
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Army Counter Intelligence Corps Center
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(Headquarter's Building - CIC Center)
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Stan spent almost his entire Army career at the Army Counter Intelligence Corps Center in Dundalk a suburb of Baltimore, Maryland...He often spent week ends volunteering at the Baltimore Police Department's Identification Division...Stan was already fully trained in fingerprint identification.
Stan was trained in the use of the .30 caliber M1 Garand Rifle, the .30 caliber M1 Carbine, the .45 caliber M3 Sub-machine Gun (Basic Training at Fort Knox) and the .38 Special Double Action Revolver. Stan had received an Expert rating in the use of Rifle. The use of the M-3 Submachine gun was taught at the CIC Center as was the .38 Caliber double action revolver the official sidearm of the CIC. Stan received a sharpshooter rating in the use of the double action revolver after his first firing of it at the CIC range.
Because of the sensitive nature of the CIC operations, Stan received a "Top Secret" clearance requiring a complete background investigation.
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(The official Badge of the CIC Agents)
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Stan later became and currently is a Life Member of the Army Counter Intelligence Corps. Veterans Association. The above badge was both the emblem of and the badge of all Army Counter Intelligence Corps. agents...
The CIC had the duty of investigation of all cases of suspected (TESS) Treason, Espionage, Sedition and Subversive Activities among both Army Personnel and Civilian employees of the Army.
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During Stan's service at the Counter Intelligence Corps. Center in Baltimore, he studied law (Completed daily lesson plans) and obtained a legal degree of "LL.B" after taking his law exams under the supervision of Army Judge Advocate Generals Department.
Fort Holabird was the Headquarters for the CIC worldwide. Stan was involved with the development of first Counter Intelligence Corps Agent's Manual to be used as a guide by all the Counter Intelligence Corps Agents.
Stan's Military Occupation Specialty was Administrative (4247) enlisted grade 4. (Grade 4 is equivalent to a Sgt in today's Army) During that time Stan also attended the Army Administration School at Fort Lee, Virginia and the CIC School at Fort Holabird, MD. Stan also attended a "Military Justice" course. When Stan received his "Honorable Discharge" his related Civilian occupation was described as "Investigator II."
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Although Stan originally enlisted for 3 years, when the Korean War came along shortly after Stan's enlistment, his time of service was extended by 1 year (Congress enacted a law) in order to ensure that the armed forces had enough personnel to wage the war. Stan's Army service was thereby extended from 3 to 4 Years of service.
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Army Driver's License
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It was even necessary for Stan to have a Army Driver's License...the license was a rather drab folded cardboard identification. It was needed so if by chance in an emergency, Stan needed to personally drive and deliver some classified documents from the CIC Center in Baltimore to the Nation's Capital in Washington D. C. The license specified the vehicles that Stan could drive which included Passenger Cars, Jeeps and quarter ton trucks...That need never arose so while Stan had an Army Driver's License, he never had to use it.
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(Stan - Winter Dress Uniform (1951) - front of Company "G")
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Stan's Army Driver's License folder (Below) was issued on 25 October 1951. The number seen on the cover is Stan's army serial number. It is specified on the inside that it applied to Passenger cars and 1/4 ton trucks...it also contained Stan's name and military rank...the form was DA AGO 9-74 with a form date of 1 August 1948...passenger cars of course included jeeps.
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(Stan's Army Driver's License)
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Military Leave and Transportation
Members of the armed services normally all received 30 day of leave time during each year of service...It was common to split the 30 days of yearly leave into two (2) 15 day periods...Stan would take his first 15 day leave each year in the month of May and his second one in November during Thanksgiving...that timing also permitted Stan to go Deer hunting.
Most service men would opt to come home for Christmas instead of Thanksgiving...All travel was by rail and this required 2 days of travel each way or a total of 4 days of travel time...That would give Stan 11 days of leave time at home...Air travel was not an option.
Stan traveled on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from Baltimore to Chicago and the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad from Chicago to Rice Lake, Wisconsin where Stan's parents would pick Stan up at the Railway Station...Stan would usually arrive in the early evening hours...
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(Stan at the CIC Headquarter's Building Ca. 1951)
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Stan as a Army Parade Guidon Bearer
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While Stan was a member of the Intelligence service of the U.S. Army, he was frequently reminded that he was still in the U.S. Army and a soldier. The Post/Fort Commander at Fort Holabird loved a parade and once a month they had a formal parade and the entire post had to march in review for the Post/Fort Commander...when marching in review,the troops were expected to march around the the entire parade field and i the final sweep they passed in review in front of the reviewing stand where the Post Commander and other high ranking officers stood.
It was by a "Post Review" order dated 15 August 1950, signed by O.A. Nickerson, Lt. Col.,Adjutant General, that Stan was first appointed as a "Guidon Bearer" for Company F, second Battalion, Headquarters, Fort Holabird, Baltimore, Maryland.
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(Photo Shows Typical Guidon Bearer's Position Left)
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Why Stan was selected for this honor, Stan never found out...Stan had never been a "Guidon Bearer" and had no experience with this position...Stan looked at this position as "Nerve Wracking"...Stan's position was on the extreme right flank of the marching battalion and several feet in front of the marching troops...
It was Stan's job to keep the battalion marching in a straight line and past the reviewing stands...at which point Stan and the Battalion did an "Eyes Right" and all heads turned to the right and looked at the reviewing stand as they marched past the reviewing stand...the stand containing all the top brass of Fort Holabird...after passing the reviewing stand the order changed to eyes front...Stan would fix his sight on a point on the horizon and straight ahead in an effort to keep the Battalion marching in a straight direction...Stan's position was about 10 feet to front of the marchers and on the extreme right flank. Stan felt very lonely and was concerned that he was leading the marchers in a straight line...The Commander of the troops marched to the left of Stan and behind him.
Stan carried a "Guide-On" Staff with a small flag at the top and a pointed end at the bottom...carried by Stan's right hand and arm..only the front rank could see Stan...the flag was the orientation for those further back in the ranks...In spite of Stan's concerns, everything always seemed to go "okay" and they had no marching disasters.
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Stan carried a "Guide-on" which was a long staff with a small unit flag on the top...the "Guidon" staff was long enough so that it was at a height above Stan where it could be observed by the rest of the Battalion...Stan's "Guidon" position was a lonely one and Stan always hoped the he was moving the Battalion in a straight line.
While Stan supposed it was an honor to be the "Guide-on" bearer, Stan will never know why He was selected for the job...every Parade was a nervous exercise for Stan.
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(Parade Formation Photo - View from Headquarter's Co.)
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"Drill and Ceremony Instruction Rules for the "Guidon" Bearer...The display of the Unit's "Guidon", is a time honored tradition...The "Guidon" Bearer is the most visible person in the formation.
It is a high intensity position and requires discipline and Knowledge. As a platoon leader, you must know the "Guidon" Bearers job is to make your platoon look good."
WIKIPEDIA DESCRIPTION OF THE "GUIDON" BEARER: "The significance of the Guidon is that it represents the unit and its commanding officer. When the commander is in, his or her Guidon is displayed for everyone to see. When he leaves for the day, the Guidon is taken down. It is an honor, although sometimes a dubious one, to be the Guidon carrier for a unit, known as a"guidon bearer" or "guide". He or she stands in front of the unit alongside of the commander (or the commanders's representative), and is the rallying point for troops to fall into formation when the order is given. In drill and ceremonies, the Guidon and commander are always in front of the formation."
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(Stan's Home Away from Home - CIC Center)
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Stan would take 2 weeks of leave time every November and return to his hometown of Barron, Wi and stay with his parents...Transportation to and from was always by rail. He would usually enjoy a big Thanksgiving Dinner with his mother and step father...but Stan also was a deer hunter and deer season also took place during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
Stan was an Ardent Deer Hunter and almost always got his Buck....Does were protected while Bucks were not...most people think of shooting a deer as a clean kill with little suffering by the deer...far from it!
Stan had his lever action, Winchester Model 1894, 30-30 caliber deer rifle...other hunters may have preferred the bolt action 30-06 caliber rifle...some shots at the deer were clean kills while many were not..
Most of the time the range was around 100 yards and the deer was a moving target traveling through trees and underbrush...many deer were badly wounded and crippled and would escape to later die a slow and painful death...after making their way to a point of concealment in an area of brush and undergrowth.
I cannot remember a single deer season that I did not hear of such a wounded deer, escaping to later die a slow and painful death...I am now sorry that I was ever a part of such cruel events. I even wonder about animals mating and animal families...perhaps they also suffer their own grief and sorrow at the loss of a mate or family member!
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In November of 1951, Stan's normal November - "Thanksgiving" - leave time took a dramatic change...no more deer hunting...Stan had met June the previous May and his entire leave time was spent with June.
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(Stan's Winter Uniform November 1951)
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The Odd Shape of the above photo of Stan is due to June trimming the photo to fit in her purse/wallet...I had proposed to June as soon as I arrived home over the two week period of my leave time in late November 1948 including "Thanksgiving"...June accepted my proposal of marriage and requested a photo of me..the photo was taken in one of the local "photo booths" that were common in that day...June in turn trimmed it to fit in her purse/wallet.
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"DEAR JOHN" LETTERS
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If you were a single young man in the military service for a few years...like Stan was...4 years in the Army...1948 to 1952...you may well have been the victim of a "Dear John" letter from a young lady sweet heart that you thought you had a future with...the local sweetheart decided that you were not a good catch/choice with a questionable future...and she dropped you in favor of a local on scene boy, and she did it by way of a "Dear John" letter.
Many servicemen like Stan received such letters. Stan received his first "Dear John" letter in 1949 from Shirley B. Stan received his second "Dear John" letter in 1950 from Lucy C. While such letters are and were sad times for Stan, a serviceman along way from home, he looked at them however, as "all for the best" in the long run. God had something better in mind for Stan...like June.
In fact they (Shirley B and Lucy C) have remained friends all these years. Lucy has ended up with a stroke after her selected husband died, and Lucy is now living in a nursing home in Prairie Farm, Wisconsin. Shirley B and her husband are living in Florida in a retirement community.
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Korean War Days
Although the last 2 Years of Stan's 4 year Military Service was during the years of the Korean War, Stan was not an active participant in the Korean War. Stan's assignment for the entire 4 years of his service was at the Counter Intelligence Corp. Center at Fort Holabird, Baltimore, Maryland...Stan was however aware of the terrible climate and weather conditions that the U.S. Army and Marines had to fight under in northern Korea.
The Winter Weather was bitterly cold and often in the range of 30-40 Degrees below zero. Stan learned of our armed forces having frozen feet and toes that also often resulted in the feet and toes becoming deformed and with some or all of the toes missing. Stan viewed photos of horribly deformed and mutilated feet. Never in the history of the U.S Armed forces, have they ever been subjected to such climate conditions....This war was often referred to as the "Forgotten War"...the daily loss of lives was far above that of the later Vietnam War...Battle Fatique was not recognized in either World War II or the Korean War but was recognized for the first time in the Vietnam War.
The Korean War lasted from 1950-1953 (3 Years) 36,516 Deaths resulted from this war with 92,134 wounded. There were 1014 Deaths per month or 33 per day. (In Perspective, the later Vietnam War was less daily intensive with 243 Deaths per month or 8 per day.)
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(Frozen feet of a U.S. Army War combat Soldier)
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Battle induced mental disorders that later became known as PTSD was unheard of in WWII and the Korean War. Not that they did not occur with the same frequency, but soldiers were simply told to "Suck It In" and soldier on. It was later in the Vietnam War that it was recognized and diagnosed as "Battle Fatique".
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Stan and June and the "The American Legion"
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(June - Stan - Friday Night Dinner - 303 Legion Post)
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Stan did not seek membership in the American Legion Club/Post until 1985. At that time Stan joined the Fridley Americn Legion Post 303...it was a year later that he applied for and paid for Life Membership...Stan has been a Paid Up For Life (PUFL) Member of the Fridley American Legion Post 303 now for over 32 Years. (2019)
June immediately applied for and received membership in the Ladies Auxiliary of Post 303....June and Stan then started attending the Legion Post's Monthly Meetings...Stan went to the regular Post meetings while June attended the Lady's seprate 303 Post Auxiliary meetings. June and Stan jointly engaged in all of the Legion Post's social activities and social dinners.
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(Official American Legion insignia/Emblem)
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Since June has passed on from Alzheimer's disease, June's name appears on a "In Memoriam" listing of the ladies Auxiliary that members who have passed on.
Inasmuch as Stan is a Paid Up for Life member (PUFL) his name appears on s special Life Members.
Stan was more active in his earlier days with the Post and served on one of the operations Committee's.
The American Legion was first formed in Paris at the end of World War 1. The American Legion is the only veterans organization chartered by the U. S. Government.
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(Stan - American Legion Post 303 - Fridley, MN Uniform - 2019)
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Stan was awarded a Medallion by the American Legion for his Monetary support of the Minnesota American Legion during the Year 2020..Stan is a Paid Up for Life Member of his local Fridley American Legion Post 303.
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(Stan's American Legion Medallion 2020)
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Stan first met June in May of 1951 in Barron, Wisconsin while he was home on a spring "Leave'. their relationship rapidly flourished and June did not send Stan a "Dear John" letter. June apparently saw something in Stan that the other ladies did not. Later that year in November when Stan was home on leave during Thanksgiving time, he proposed to June and she accepted. June and Stan were married the following year in August of 1952.
June and Stan have had a wonderful life together of world wide adventures as they traveled the world together in Stan's Forensic Science career. Stan and June attended 170 Forensic Science Conferences all over the US, Canada, Europe and Russia. June was Stan's Administrative Assistant in his Forensic Science career. It was 56 years before God took June home to Heaven.
Now at every meal time as Stan says his "Grace" to God, he also thanks God for his wonderful life with June. It was a life time greater than all of Stan's wildest imaginations, and greater than the "Air Castles" Stan built as a child trying to look into his future...So Stan is thankful for all of his "Dear John" letters!
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"Chapter: 10."
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"Best Friends - True Friends of a Lifetime"
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We all have current friends that we would classify good friends and a few that we would call our close friends..only a few of our friends during our life time could be classified "Best Friends"..
Their friendship spanned a life time...they occupied our lives during some of the more intense periods of time and continued as friends for much of our life...we all have fond memories of such special "Best Friends".
Stan had five (5) such "Best friends" during his life..they have now all passed on before him, leaving Stan with pleasant memories of those days...Each occupied a special time segment of Stan's life...
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Willard V. Gustafson
In Stan's grade school days while attending a rural grade school at Rice Lake, Wisconsin, Stan had a "Best Friend "WILLARD V. GuSTAFSON Late 1930's). They both attended the "Walt Whitman" Country grade school. They both lived on nearby dairy farms during the "Great Depression" years...they were both members of the 4-H Club and displayed cattle together at the annual Barron County Fair...In grade school, Willard could imitate the rapid chant of an auctioneer...he would often be asked to give his imitation at school student-parent functions. After graduation from Rice Lake High School, Willard attended an auctioneer's school, intending to make auctioneering, his career. However, the early death of Willard's mother resulted in Willard's father asking him to take over the home farm. This, Willard did, and he became a lifelong farmer. Willard married Lorraine Barfknecht in 1967, They eventually retired to a home in the city of Rice Lake. Willard became a collector of local historical items...Stan recalls Willard coming to his Mother Ellen's estate sale following her moving to a nursing home with Alzheimer's. Although Willard was slim and trim and in otherwise good health, he died of a heart condition on Monday, February 6th, 2012 at the age of 83, at Rice Lake, Wisconsin.
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(Willard V. Gustafson)
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Tilden Everett. "Til" Orton
In Stan's High School days at Rice Lake High School, Rice Lake, Wisconsin. (Early 1940's) Stan had a "Best Friend", TILDEN EVERETT "TIL" ORTON. Tilden attended the nearby Chetek High School. Tilden was a natural born artist.
Tilden and Stan often went hunting small game (Rabbits and Squirrels) together...although they never hunted Deer together at the annual deer hunt always staged/timed during the "Thanksgiving Day" Week.
Stan remembers an incident that took place one time when Tilden and Stan were together at Tilden's Home in Chetek, Stan remembers it as an incident of careless gun handling in which a careless handling of one of Tilden's parents deer rifles almost cost Stan his life. Tilden was operating his father's deer rifle, a lever action Winchester 30-30 or 44-40 and pointing it at Stan's chest who was sitting only a few feet from Tilden...Tilden was intending to pull the trigger on the cocked hammer and decided at the last minute to check and see if the gun was loaded (cartridge in the chamber)...it was loaded with a live round in the chamber...had Tilden pulled the trigger, at this point blank range, Stan's life would surely have been "Snuffed Out" in a matter of minute's. In Those days very little emphasis was placed on firearm's safety...it was more or less taken for granted and the current day's admonition of "Never Point a Gun at Anything You Do Not Intend to Shoot!"was not a part of the hunter's vocabulary!
Tilden also loved dressing in western style clothes and riding his favorite pony.
Stan was later the "Best Man" at Tilden's Wedding to his sweetheart "Irene" in the Spring of 1949.
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(Tilden Orton During His High School Years)
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Stan was the "Best Man" at Tilden and Irene's Wedding in late spring of 1949...At the Time, Stan was serving in the Counter Intelligence Corp's of the United States Army in Baltimore, Maryland. Tilden and Irene arranged their wedding to coincide with Stan taking a 15 Day Leave in late Spring of 1949.
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(Tilden and Irene on their Wedding Day - 1949)
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Stan later hosted (MC'd) Tilden's and "Irene's" 25th Wedding Anniversary Celebrations in 1974.
Stan and "Til" often in their high school days went hunting small game together.
Tilden once visited Stan (Circa 1953-54) while Stan was living and working in Duluth for State Farm Insurance Company as a Claims Investigator and Adjuster...Tilden spent the day riding around with Stan as he investigated automobile accidents for State Farm.
Tilden had many health problems and moved and retired with his wife Irene to Hemet, Riverside County, California He later died at the age of 77 on Wednesday 11 October 2006 at Hemet, Riverside County, California. He was buried at Lake View Cemetery, Chetek, Barron County, Wisconsin.
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Richard A, "Dug" Dugstad
(Richard A. "Doug" Dugstad)
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During Stan's Army days in the Counter Intelligence Corps (1948-1952) Stan was stationed at the CIC Center in the Baltimore suburb of Dundalk. Stan had a "Best Friend" RICHARD A."DOUG" DUGSTAD...they both occupied opposite bunks in the dormitory at the CIC Center. Because of their seniority, their bunks were at the end of the building in a bay that housed 20 men...that gave them some measure of privacy with a wall at their backs.
"Doug" as his friends called him, gave Stan one of the biggest compliments of his life...as Doug was watching Stan work on some legal lesson plans for a legal degree (LL.B) through the Judge Advocate General's Department, Doug asked Stan: "Have you ever failed at anything".
They separated when Doug was assigned to one of the CIC Detachments in Germany...here he met and married a German girl...Stan remained at the CIC Center in Baltimore....they continued their friendship after their service days were over...Doug took on a career in the State Department as a Vice Counsel...June and Stan visited Doug later at his home in the Fairfax, Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C....Stan would see Doug from time to time in his forensic travels to Washington, D.C.
Doug's Wife was a German War Bride that Doug met during his service with a CIC Detachment in Germany...Her Name was Liselotte A...they had a boy child who I believe later became a Navy Pilot.
Doug later came down with a form of Cancer that took his life...Stan remembers Doug's special "Good Bye" phone call to him shortly before he died January 21, 2001 at the age of 72 years in Fairfax, Virginia. Doug originally grew up in Spring Valley, Minnesota. Doug was born 30 December 1928.
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James "Jim" E. Campbell
(Jame's E. Campbell, Christmas 1973)
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After leaving the service (1952) Stan started working at his first job with State Farm Insurance Company, in St Paul, later Roseville, Minnesota. (Stan was handling forensic cases on the side until he could later start his own "Forensic Consultant" business full time.) It was at State Farm Roseville, that Stan met his next "Best Friend". (Circa 1960)...This "Best Friend" was "JAMES E.."JIM" CAMPBELL"...
*Records of the St. Paul City Directories for both 1959 and 1960 show the following listing for both years: "Jas (Thelma) adj State Farm Ins. St. Paul, Minn'
They both had supervisory jobs in the claim department at State Farm. Stan had much respect for Jim as an intellectual...Jim's speeches at conferences were filled with inspiring quotes from poets and philosopher's...One such quote that Stan adopted and used himself many times later to impress the investigative staff with the importance of recording the facts of investigations. "Time Dissipates Into Shining Ether, The Solid Angularity of Facts." (Ralph Waldo Emerson) They both enjoyed "Rock Hounding" together or just talking with each other....Stan was always able to make Jim laugh...
Jim had many health problems, which continued to grow more serious. Jim in his early days was an alcoholic who had recovered and was then an officer in "Alcoholics Anonymous". Stan feels that Jim's early alcoholic days had taken a toll on Jim's Life and Health. His series of continued illnesses required that Jim leave his State Farm employment before normal retirement...It was some few years later that his diminishing health finally took his life. Stan saw Jim a day or two before he died. Jim knew Stan was concerned that Jim's relationship was right with their Christian God. Jim assured Stan that his relationship with God was a good one.
Stan was a Pallbearer at Jim's funeral. Jim was probably in his 60's when he died. Jim's wife Thelma was also June's and Stan's friend. Jim also adopted Thelma's daughter from her previous marriage. His death was probably around 2004-2010 in St. Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota.
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(Jim - Thelma and June, having Coffee, 16 March 2004)
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Douglas Eldon Gish
(Senior Class Picture - Douglas Eldon Gish)
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Stan's 5th life time best friend was DOUGLAS "DOUG" E. GISH...(1930-1999) Doug was a neighbor and a very good friend....Dog was a "Circulation Manager" for the Minneapolis Star and Tribune for 27 Years...almost nightly, Doug and Stan would spend an hour or more having coffee, visiting, joking and having good conversations at a nearby Fridley Snyder's Drug store coffee counter...Doug was married to Nancy McDowell, August 1st, 1955. Nancy preceded him in death.
Doug was an avid fisherman who kept June and Stan in a constant supply of freshly caught and flayed Crappies...After the Fridley Tornadoes of 1965 (both their homes destroyed) they both moved to the low hill in the Gardena Avenue area just east of Moore Lake. They built homes on opposite corners across from each other on Gardena Lane. Doug had a fireplace in his home and loved having a fire in the fireplace every night...Doug had three Chimney Fires before he learned to use proper wood.
Doug's wife Nancy inherited large sums money from her mother's and later her Uncle's estates...because of poor family money management, both inheritances were soon gone...In Stan's travels he was able to visit Doug in his northern Minnesota home...Stan noted that the premises were in a poor state of repair... Doug developed many health problems, one of which was Cancer that eventually took his life...earlier in 1978, Doug had moved to Rural Swanville where he owned and operated The Gish Bait and Tackle Shop in Osakis...in was not a successful venture...
Doug died at the age of 68, on Sunday, January 31st, 1999 at the St. Otto's Care Center in Little Falls,Minnesota where he was living in his final cancer days...Funeral Services were held February 3rd at the Shelley Funeral Chapel in Little Falls with Reverend Roland Jennings Officiating. Burial was at the Bear Head Cemetery, Todd County, Minnesota...Dug had one son, Jeffrey Gish who was born 27 April 1954 and died at the age of 62, on 5 March 2017...Doug's wife Nancy E. died early in the year 1989. Doug was the last of Stan's life time special "Best Friends".
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(Doug Gish's Tombstone - "Bear Head" Cemetary)
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Stan's Note: June also came to know many of Stan's Best Friends and they also became friends of June's. June met Stan's best friend Dick Dugstad when Stan and June first visited Washington D. C. to explore the nation's capital during a vacation trip. June also knew Jim Campbell and was good friends with both Jim and his wife Thelma. The Berg's and the Campbell's went "rock hounding" together. Doug Gish and his wife were also Neighbors and friends of Stan and June. Both of their original homes in Fridley were destroyed in the great Frdley Tornadoes of 1965.
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"Chapter: No.: 11."
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"Meeting June for The First Time - And Their Marriage"
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It was in May of 1951 when Stan was home on leave that He first met June...Stan was introduced to June in a little restaurant where June was working called "Gullicksons"...they spent time together every day of Stan's leave...they had their first dinner date at "The Spot", a beautiful little dinner restaurant on Lake Chetek...afterwards they walked and talked by the lake...June did not send Stan a "Dear John" letter and that became the start of their lifetime together
When Stan again returned home in November, He proposed to June and she accepted...Stan went from a "Jack to a King". Stan was discharged from the Army on the 2nd of May 1952 and they were later married on 16 August 1952 in Bloomington, Illinois where Stan was attending a State Farm training school.
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(June and Stan's Wedding Picture - August 1952)
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June and Stan's wedding started out on a hectic note...Stan had been attending a month long school conducted by State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance Company in Bloomington, Illinois. Stan had just been hired by State Farm following his discharge from the Army in June of 1952. Since State Farm intended to assign Stan directly to their new Hibbing, Minnesota Claims Office from Bloomington, Illinois, and since June and Stan were then living in Barron, Wisconsin, it was decided to have June travel to Bloomington, Illinois so they could be married in Bloomington. June and Stan would then both travel together to Hibbing, Minnesota as man and wife. Stan arranged for June to travel to Bloomington, Illinois by overnight train and arrive bright and early on Saturday morning so they could have an early wedding Saturday morning.
The problem with Stan and June's wedding plans was that Stan had overlooked the fact that before they could be married it was necessary to obtain a wedding license at the local county office and that blood tests were also needed....Unfortunately the county office of McLean County, Illinois in Bloomington was closed on Saturday.
Fortunately for June and Stan, 1952 was a different time and place, and society was kind to most everyone including strangers...Stan was able to make a phone contact with a county representative to see what could be done...the result was that the County willingly opened their County office just to issue June and Stan a Wedding license and also rushed the required blood tests through...all ended well.
Below is the Wesley United Methodist Church in which Stan had made arrangements with the Pastor to perform the marriage on the day of June's arrival by overnight train from Barron/Rice Lake, Wisconsin.
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(Wesley United Methodist Church, Bloomington. Illinois)
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The above photo was a color card that shows the overall view of the Wesley United Methodist church from one corner...the bottom two photos were taken by Stan of the main entrance and the interior view...the interior view is the view from the back towards the front and the frontal area that June and Stan knelt for the verbal marriage vows exchange of the ceremony.
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(Outside Church Main Entrance...June Standing in Front.)
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Following the wedding, Stan still had one week of School at State Farm before June and Stan could start wending their way up Wisconsin, and through the "Dells" and into the Barron, Wisconsin area, to pick up clothing and other belonging's before heading North on Highway 53 to Superior - Duluth. From there it was on up Highway 53 to the Iron Range Cities and finally west to Hibbing, Minnesota where State Farm had assigned Stan for his work in the new Hibbing Claim Service office.
The last week in Bloomington was spent relaxing and doing things like visiting the local City Park and the Bloomington City Zoo.
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(June at the Bloomington City Zoo with a Caribou)
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(View of Main Sanctuary from rear to front.)
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The marriage ceremony of June and Stan took place at the alter area, at the front of the Wesley United Methodist Church...Stan took this picture at a later time of the week and not just after June and Stan's wedding ceremony.
Stan made contact with the Wesley United Methodist Church (17 November 2019) and received information that their records indicated that it was was probably Dr. Edgar E. Atherton of the Wesley United Methodist Church who performed the marriage ceremony of Stan and June.
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(Pastor Dr. Edgar E. Atherton)
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Stan had previously made arrangements with the Wesley United Methodist Church pastor in Bloomington, Illinois as there were no Lutheran Churches in Bloomington at that time.
This display of kindness and friendliness so common in that age and time did not end here...Stan had rented a room from a local elderly lady who owned a large mansion type home...this was to be their brief honeymoon home...when this lady, a Mrs. Veach found out that June and Stan had just married, she moved out of her large mansion and left the Mansion entirely to June and Stan...in addition she baked them a wedding cake and took pictures of June and Stan...Stan wished that they had gotten more information from Mrs. Veach, so that later they could have given her a better thank you...unfortunately they did not.
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After Stan completed his Claim School at Bloomington, Stan was given a new 1952 Chevrolet Company car to use at his assignment at the Hibbing Claim Service Office in Hibbing, Minnesota...Stan and June drove north from Bloomington and up into Wisconsin stopping at Wisconsin Dells...trying to make a sort of a "Honeymoon" along the way. Their immediate destination was Barron, Wisconsin where they arranged to have their Wedding Picture taken before packing their belongings and heading north on Highway 53 to Superior and Duluth and on up to the Iron range country of Minnesota.
Stan and June spent a day at the "Dells" as a brief stop in their long journey north...one of the "Dells" attractions was an Indian Village that June and Stan spent a short time at...it was here that June was requested by Stan to wear an Indian Headdress that Stan could snap a photo of...June did so and this photo is the result:
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(June in a Indian Headress - Wisconsin Dells)
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I learned from June later that she really did not want to wear the Indian Headdress but did so only on my request...June was worried about who had worn this headdress before (perhaps many) and how clean was the headdress when June was wearing it...June was right and Stan was wrong in asking her to wear it...Stan was just not thinking right...but all was well and nothing negative resulted from wearing the headdress.
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From the "Dells" June and Stan headed north and into Barron, Wisconsin where they made arrangements to have their wedding photo taken and then pack up their belongings to head on north on U.S. Highway 53.
June and Stan then after many "good byes" were made to their parents and friends and relatives, headed on north by way of "U.S.Highway 53"....first to Superior and then across the bridge to Duluth and then on North on U.S. Highway 53 to the Iron Range. Stan's assignment was to the Hibbing, Minnesota Claims office...After a year at the Hibbing Claims office, Stan was re-assigned to the Duluth Claims office.
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JUNE WAS A SHOOTER
(June firing a Ruger .22 LR Semi-automatic Pistol - Duluth - 1954)
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June was a shooter...June was a good shot with a .22 semi-automatic pistol. In the above photo, June is shown shooting/firing a .22 LR Ruger semi-automatic pistol. The end of the barrel and the front sight of the pistol have been cut off due to photo space limitations on the left side of the photo.
Being able to shoot accurately requires that the shooter understands the "Sight Picture" concept and the proper alignment of the sights on the target...When i first explained this concept to June, I did not expect that June would immediately understand the "Sight Picture" concept...much to my surprise, June understood it immediately and as a result June was able to quickly shoot very accurately.
June also fired shotguns, but shotguns were not guns that June cared to shoot, as the recoil of most shotguns was high enough to be uncomfortable ...June was a little lady of 5 foot 2 inch height and stature.
Stan's Forensic Science business specialty was firearms. June was Stan's Administrative Assistant in this forensic business. The fact that June knew her way around guns was important in June's functioning and focus as an Administrative Assistant.
Stan was very proud of June in every way and often wondered if there was anything that June could not do.
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When the Fridley, Minnesota Police Met an Earthly Angel Named June
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Stan has often joked about marrying an Angel...Stan's wife June had an honesty beyond anything Stan had ever experienced in his life...and what ever she did, she did with a friendly smile and kind eyes..but of course Angels do not marry mortals and Angels do not get Alzheimer's...most everyone likes to think of themselves being honest, but June's honesty was the closest to God's that Stan had ever seen...an explanation will make this clear.
Several Years ago June was driving her car in Fridley when she came upon one of the usually busy intersections...at the time there was a construction project going on and there were barricades up with construction materials all around...in the confusion, June inadvertently went through a red light...there was no traffic around nor any police and there was no accident.
June immediately turned around and drove to the nearby Police Station and turned herself in for going through a red light...I am sure it shocked and surprised everyone there.
I am sure that the Fridley Police, still to this day, tell the story of the lady who turned herself in for going through red light.
All ended well as the police did not give her a ticket but just cautioned her to be more careful in the future and since there was no accident involved, they sent her on her way...The Police had just met an Angel on Earth and her name was "June!"
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"JUNE'S MEMORIAL WEBSITE"
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To Honor June and promote Alzheimer's awareness, a special website was set up that provided complete information on Alzheimer's...The website was/is called: "June's Journey Through Alzheimer's.".
June's website (2016) averages approx. 1600-3000 page visits per day by people from 170 countries...the "Domaine" name of the site is fully owned and registered internationally. The site host is in Minneapolis.
June's website is the largest website of it's kind in the world...The site has approx. 320 articles/pages and stories about June and Alzheimer's...they are all indexed on drop down menus
The site has a search feature. There is also an automatic slide show of "June's Life" that plays continually on the left side of the Home page.
The NIH has a page on June's Website with the latest information on Alzheimer's in "Real Time."
June's website often brings comfort to both Alzheimer's victims as well as caregivers. Such was the case for Sheila Konar on one sad and lonely night in November 1999...Sheila is the wife of William Konar, a former "Holocaust" survivor from Poland. William Konar started his own drug business in Rochester, New York...this business eventually evolved into one of the nation's leading drug chains. (CVS)
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Sheila Konar, The Holocaust, CVS and Alzheimer's
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It was on 30 November 1999, that I received a message from Sheila Konar...it was almost like a "cry in the night".
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"I have never hated any disease as much as I hate Alzheimer's...This demon has robbed me of my husband who was and still is amazing. This is a man who was on the cover of Fortune, who started CVS drug chain...who lived through the Holocaust...He came to this country with nothing and attained incredible success...What good is any of it?
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I responded with the following note: "I am so sorry Sheila...having lost both my Mother and my incredible wife to this terrible disease, I understand some of what you are going through"...Stan
Sheila Konar's message to me posted on June's Website was the beginning of an 18 year long (2017) friendship that is continuing today...it was several years later on 1 June 2014 that Sheila requested prayers for her husband William B. Konar, who was dying from Alzheimer's. (Sheila felt "the end was near") William B. Konar died quietly at his home on 1 June 2015.
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William B. Konar was born in Radom, Poland and emigrated alone to Rochester, New York in 1946 after his liberation from a Nazi Labor Camp. Young William went to the Benjamin Franklin High School in Rochester for 2 years, and then he went into business for himself distributing Health and Beauty Supplies to independent Grocery stores.The drug store chain that he later founded in 'Rochester was itself then merged with Consumer Value Stores to form CVS.
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The Konar's donated i million dollars to the University of Rochester, New York...the city in which they had lived their lives...Sheila served as a Vice President of their local Alzheimer's Association...at the time of my Hip Replacement operation in 2005, Sheila was as concerned about me and my recovery as a "Mother Hen"....I still hear from her on occasion as she is on my regular mailing list and may on occasion respond to an item that I send out...she has been one of my life's blessings and an indication of the value of June's Website.
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POWER POINT PRESENTATION (PPS)
June's website also has a downloadable Power Point Presentation (PPS) that tells the entire story of Alzheimer's....the history of, the progress of the disease and the research that has been done...there are 87 slides in the current 13th Edition 2017. The PPS can be used by individuals or by groups as a teaching or educational tool. It is one the finest, if not the finest and most complete story of Alzheimer's.
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The site also contains Stan's biography of June, ("Reminiscence's of a Traveling Grandmother") 31 Chapters long and now in the 4th Edition, 2008...this is now an online edition.
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"Chapter: 12."
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"Stan and June's Children and Grandchildren"
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(Berg Family Christmas 1994 (L-R) Grandma Ellen, Daniel, Susan, Julie, Stan, June and David)
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Stan and June's Children: June and Stan have four (4 ) children as a result of their marriage...their oldest son David Michael died of Lung Cancer from Smoking...their other 3 children are still with Stan...Their oldest daughter Susan Ellen lives in Cary, North Carolina..Their son Daniel Lee lives in a nearby suburb of Plymouth...Their youngest daughter Julie Lynn lives in the nearby suburb of Columbia Heights.
Three of Stan and June's Children have birthdays on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of September. (David is on the 1st, Susan is on the 2nd and Julie is on the 3rd of September. Only Daniel is out of order on the 31st of March.
June and Stan have Total of twenty three (23) Grandchildren...(ten (10) grandchildren, twelve (12) great grandchildren and one (1) great, great Grandchild)... (2018)
One of Stan and Junes grandchildren, Erik, named a daughter "June", a grandchild in honor of his Grandma June.
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TEN (10) GRANDCHILDREN
David's Children: Kristen "Kris" Marie (1967), Gretchen "Gretch" Kaye (1971), Steven "Steve" Oneal (1974), and Jordon "Jordo" MacKenzie (1984).
Daniel's Children: Allison Leigh (1980), Michael "Mike" Curtis (1981), and Amanda Marie (1982).
Julie's Children: Erik Oneal (1978) and Emily "Em" Rose (1985).
Susan's Children: Daniel "Spike" Morgan (1988).
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TWELVE (12) GREAT GRANDCHILDREN
Kristen's (Husband Todd) Children: Andre "Andi" Jean (1988) and Brianna Holly (1992).
Erik's Children: Marijane Antionette (1999), Owen Oneal (2006). Katrina Ann (2008), and June Marie (2012).
Jordon's (Wife Tara) Children: Adeline (2013) and Luke (2015).
Steven's Children: Ileana Charlotte and Sophie Olivia (Twins) 2010.
Allison's Children: Devin Jessie and Brandon Lee (Twins) 2011.
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ONE (1) GREAT GREAT GRANDSON
Briana Holly's Child: Gage Todd Robert (2014)
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(An Early Composite Group Photo of several Children and Grandchildren)
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Note: One unusual feature of the birth of Stan and June's children is that three of them were born on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd of September and all are in proper order by age. (David, Susan and Julie) Stan has often wondered what the odds are against such a thing happening....their other Son Daniel, was born on the 31st of March.
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"STAN as "SUPERMAN"
Over the years June and Stan would make frequent trips to Cary, North Carolina to visit their daughter Susan and Susan's Son Daniel, (their grandson). Susan lived alone in Cary with her son Daniel following her divorce from Speicher.
Daniel was born "Daniel Morgan Speicher" on July 27th, 1988 ... Daniel later acquired the nickname of "Spike".
Often times as June and Susan would go shopping in the nearby mall's, Stan and Daniel would be left together. Sometimes they would go for walks together and other times they would end up in a Barnes and Noble Book Store while June and Sue would be shopping in the attached nearby mall. Stan and Daniel thereby established a rather close relationship as a result. Because of Stan's interest in science he was able to discuss some things with Daniel that was of special interest to him, like the Planets and the Stars and terms of "light years"... Stan remembers one time then they returned from a walk and Daniel ran to his mother Susan to excitedly tell her about their conversations about the "Planets and the Stars."
Daniel Sent his Grandpa Stan a Christmas Gift in 1997. (Daniel was then 8 Years of Age) Daniel with the help of his Mother Susan, had taken a Superman Comic Book Cover and replaced Superman's head and face with "Stan's Head ad Face" they had cut from a photo of Stan...in an instant Stan had become "Superman." Needless to say, this gift to Grandfather Stan has been a delightful gift and remembrance ever since.
(Below is a photo of the Comic Book cover with Stan as "Superman."
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(Stan as "Superman")
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"OCTOBER IS GOING HOME TO HEAVEN MONTH FOR THE BERG FAMILY!"
(18th To the 23rd)
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Three(3) Berg Family Members have gone Home to Heaven in late October...while in different years...all were called home within a six (6) day span of time..(18th to the 23rd).
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David Died on the 18th, of October.
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Mother/Grandma Ellen Died on the 21st, of October.
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Stan's Wife June Died on the 23rd of October.
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At the time of June's Death in October of 2008, June and Stan had been married for 56 Years...They had celebrated their 50th anniversary on August 16th, 2002. June and Stan's anniversary party was held at Julie's Home in Fridley...On their 10th Anniversary, 1962, they received a large wall painting of a lake scene, done by June's Uncle Jake Varnes...This beautiful large wall painting is still hanging in the living room of their home at 6025 Gardena Lane.
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(Jake Varnes's Painting - June - Stan's 10th Wedding Anniversary)
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David was age 65 (Lung Cancer), Mother/Grandma Ellen was age 98, and June was age 80. Both Mother/Grandma Ellen and June died of Alzheimer's.
Who will be next?...Stan because of his age of 90, is the most logical candidate...what a reunion that would be!
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"Chapter: 13."
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"Stan's Career at State Farm Insurance Companies -1952-1984"
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"How it All Began"
It was the suggestion of Stan's Stepfather Tom, that started Stan on a Career as an insurance claim investigator and adjuster for an insurance company. In the last few months of Stan's military service, Stan selected 20 large insurance company's out of a listing of Stock companies...at that time Stan did not realized that there were two basic insurance companies, Stock and Mutual. Stan wrote letters requesting a job interview as an insurance adjuster, to 20 of the largest Stock Companies. The job interviews were to be done in Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. He received invitations for Job Interviews with 10 of the stock companies. Following his discharge from the Army in June, Stan started his series of Job interviews. Stan received a Job offer from the Hartford Insurance Co., completed a medical exam. and was all set to start work there at a salary of $225. Before he reported for work someone advised Stan the State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance Company was hiring attorney's or people with a law degree, as Claim Investigator-Adjusters with draft book settlement authority, assigned to geographical areas to call on State Farm Agents and handle all Bodily Injury Liability Claims. This was a first for State Farm Mutual Auto Ins. Company whose agents handled all automobile claims initially by mail. The new system was based on research they had done on a "Indiana Pilot Plan"...because they were relying on their new style adjusters to use their legal knowledge to make legal decisions and write checks on the spot they were also paying this new type of an adjuster or claim man $325. a month salary. (Previously unheard of in the industry)
Stan immediately contacted State Farm Mutual in Minneapolis for a job interview. Stan was hired on the spot and was given a job offer of their new type of Claims man at the salary of $325. a month plus an expense account and a brand new company car. Stan quickly accepted the offer. Stan then had to contact Hartford and decline his job offer with them plus apologize for the inconvenience caused them. Hartford was very understanding in view of Stan being paid 50 percent more with State Farm.
State Farm then sent Stan to Bloomington, Illinois, to attend a month long "Claims School" before starting work In/on his new job. Because Stan was being assigned directly to the Hibbing Minnesota Claim service office, June had to take an overnight train to Bloomington, Illinois to meet Stan and be married in Bloomington, Illinois. June and Stan then drove directly to Hibbing Minnesota as man and wife.
June and Stan's wedding had a honeymoon trip of sorts with a stop at Wisconsin Dells...it was then on to Hibbing, Minnesota. Stan's Job title was that of "Field Claim Representative" State Farm had assigned Stan to their newly opened Field Claim Service Office...At the new office Stan handled insurance claim investigations, settled and paid policy holder claims and helped make decisions on payments or denials of liability claims...Stan also worked with the State Farm Company attorney's in possible litigation of liability claims.
During that time, June and Stan lived in a new apartment in nearby Chisholm, MN. Stan's geographical area of responsibility included the iron range towns of Hibbing, Chishom, Mountain Iron, Virginia and Eveleth and nearby territory. Stan's work title was "Claim Investigator Adjuster."
After a year in the Hibbing office, Stan was transferred to the Duluth State Farm Claim service office where June and Stan lived from 1953 until 1957.
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Stan's Promotion to a Management Position
In 1957 Stan was promoted to an Administrative and supervisory position in the new State Farm Regional Office at 1500 West Highway 36, Roseville, Minnesota...Stan's job title then changed to "Assistant Claim Superintendent"... (Claim Unit Responsibility) other promotions followed: "Claim Superintendent" (Claim Unit Responsibility, Supervision of 7-9 Claim Adjusters -investigators) , "Divisional Claim Superintendent", (A Division of 4-6 Claim Units} and finally "Regional Manager of he State Farm Fire and Casualty Company". (Administrative Responsibility of the SFFC Company, including Claims, Accounting, Underwriting and Service Operations for Minnesota and Wisconsin.) "
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(Sate Farm's Regional Office, Roseville, Minnesota)
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(Stan's Office with State Farm while in management 1955-1985)
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Stan's supervisory and management career at State Farm was always one of "Trouble Shooting" or 'Corrective Rehabilitation Management".
Stan's first promotion was as a "Claim Unit Superintendent" of 7 Field Claim Representatives...the previous Claim Superintended had been fired for poor quality claim investigations and Claim handling. Stan had always maintained very high standards in his own investigation and claim handling. Stan was expected to apply his high standards to the Claim Unit to which he had been placed in charge of...and which he did!
Stan was next asked to take over the supervision of the "St. Paul Claim Unit"... then considered to be an inefficient and low quality claim operation...This Stan did and within a year Stan had the St. Paul Claim Unit operating at a high degree of efficiency.
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In 1957 Stan was promoted to an Administrative and supervisory position in the new State Farm Regional Office in Roseville, Minnesota...Stan's job title then changed to "Assistant Claim Superintendent"... (Claim Unit Responsibility) other promotions followed: "Claim Superintendent" (Claim Unit Responsibility, Supervision of 7-9 Claim Adjusters -investigators) , "Divisional Claim Superintendent", (A Division of 4-6 Claim Units} and finally "Regional Manager of he State Farm Fire and Casualty Company". (Administrative Responsibility of the SFFC Company, including Claims, Accounting, Underwriting and Service Operations for Minnesota and Wisconsin.) .
Stan was promoted to "Divisional Claim Superintendent" of the Rural Minnesota Division when the former Divisional Claim Superintendent was promoted to a position as a Vice President of Claims at the Company's Home Office in Bloomington, Illinois.
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Stan Becomes Regional Manager of the State Farm Fire and Casualty Company
Stan's last promotion prior to his retirement from State Farm was to that of "Regional Manager, State Farm Fire and Casualty Company." This promotion was by far the most challenging of all of Stan's promotions...this promotion required that Stan assume control of all administrative functions of the State Farm Fire and Casualty Company. The inefficient and failing operation of this company resulted in the removal of the existing Manager of the SFFC. Co. Stan's previous experience was all in the claims operations of the State Farm Companies. Stan's CPCU studies were of help to him in accepting this challenge. In his new position as Manager of the SFFC Co. Stan would not only be responsible for he Claims Operations but also the Service, Underwriting and Accounting operations and functions of this Company. The SFFC Co. was a regional operation of which there were 16 such regions in the entire Company. This was the North Central Region made up of two states, Wisconsin and Minnesota.
The North Central Office of the SFFC Co. was rated the lowest in performance and efficiency of all 16 Regions in the Company/nation...Agency Managers hated holding meetings of their agents as all such meetings tuned into a complaint or gripe sessions about the SFFC Co.
At the first meeting that Stan had with his Staff of the SFFC Co.,after his promotion, Stan jokingly advised his staff that we/they had no where else to go except up....I advised them that it was my goal to move from the lowest ranking of the 16 Regional Offices to near the top in rankings...Stan had to admit that he saw many unbelieving looks but Stan always had confidence in what he was doing.
Stan missed his prediction on rankings...they were not near the top but rather they were the TOP ranked region of the State Farm Fire and Casualty Company.
Needless to say, the Management of the Agency force was more then delighted with this dramatic change in how the many State Farm Agents viewed the State Farm Fire and Casualty Company.
Years later when Stan retired, he received a very nice letter from Kirk E. Erlinger, the Agency Manager at Appleton, Wisconsin dated May 25th 1984. Kirk's letter reads:
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"It was a delight to have worked with you...I will never forget the extra ordinary job you did when taking over as Regional Fire Manager. You made a really Bad Situation Good. I used to hate to attend Agents Meetings because of the many complaints with the Fire Division. You turned it around friend. I Thank You...You are a great man Stan - I wish You Well,
Best Always, Kirk."
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Kirk's letter really made Stan's day...it was a very special letter that Stan has much prized and never forgotten! It gave Stan a very good feeling and a special retirement remembrance.
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(Stan's State Farm Retirement - 1984 - Stan and June)
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State Farm and Stan's Forensic Career
It was in 1984, that Stan requested an early retirement from State Farm in order to begin a FULL time career as a Forensic Scientist and Consultant, operating his own Forensic Business with June as his Administrative Assistant.
Without State Farm's, cooperation and assistance, Stan would never have been able to pursue his first love of Forensic Science...Stan used his vacation time and weekends to handle forensic work on a part time basis...when Stan was appointed to a national panel (7 Forensic Experts Nationwide) to represent the County of Los Angeles in a review the evidence in the Robert Kennedy Assassination, State Farm not only gave Stan the time off (two weeks) with pay, but State Farm also put Stan on a travel expense account and joined with Stan in making this a "State Farm Project "...State Farm was reimbursed the travel expenses after Los Angeles County reimbursed Stan for his travel expenses to Los Angles and return.
It was in 1969 that Stan used vacation time so that Stan and June could attend the first ever "Soviet - American Forensic Science Symposium" in the Soviet Union at the height of the "Cold War"...one week was spent in Moscow and one week in Leningrad...State was at that time a part of the management team at the new State Farm office in Roseville, Minnesota.
Many of Stan's and June's forensic adventures were written up in the State Farm employee publication called the "Pine-Aire"....the November 1973 issue of the "Pine-Aire" covered Stan and June's visit to Rome and their participation in an Italian Forensic Medicine Conference, where Stan was presenting a slide talk on "Super-Sonic Gunshot Wounds"...during this conference Stan and June had an Audience with the Vatican's Pope Paul. The" Pine-Aire" featured the story with a photo of June shaking hands with the Pope.
State Farm had an employee publication called the "Pine-Aire"...the "Pine-Aire" was an Employee Benefits item and used to promote employee activities as well as morale and a part of a promotion of a family like atmosphere among employees and management. Stan and June's activities in the forensic sciences was often a feature item that appeared in the "Pine-Aire".
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(Cover of the "Pine-Aire")
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Here is a typical feature item that appeared in the "Pine-Aire" "Christmas Edition", November 1973, telling the story of June and Stan's Forensic trip to Rome, their meeting the Pope Paul VI and June shaking hands with the Pope Paul VI.
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(November 1973 issue of "Pine-Aire" and Story of June and Stan in Rome)
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Stan's career with State Farm was a long one of 33 years, until Stan requested an early retirement in 1985 in order to pursue his career in the forensic Sciences on a full time basis...and which he did until forced to close his business at the end of 2004 (20 Years) as June's Alzheimer's was entering middle stages and required Stan's full time care.
Stan thinks that God had a hand in Stan's selection of State Farm Insurance Company as his first job after being discharged from the Army in June of 1952...and rejecting an earlier offer of employment with the Hartford Insurance Company...without State Farm, Stan would never have been able to pursue his career in the Forensic Sciences. Considering Stan's part time Forensic Career while with State Farm and his Full time career after taking and early retirement, Stan was a part of the Forensic Sciences, in the Forensic Ballistics or Firearms specialty of the sciences for some 54 Years.
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"Chapter: 14."
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"Stan and June's First Home and Others"
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It was during Stan's years in Duluth that Stan and June purchased their first Home, using the "GI Bill" Federal Home loan guarantee to secure their loan...The cost of their first Home was $13, 250...even with the GI Bill home loan guarantee Stan and June were required to provide a $2000 down payment. It was only with personal loans of Stan and June's friends, that they were able to secure the loan...that arrangement also required that in addition to their monthly loan payments, monthly payments were also needed to repay the loans of their friends...those were very tough economic times.
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(Stan and June's first Home at 4316 Oneida Street, Duluth)
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Stan and June's first home was a small one story building with no garage attached nor any other extra's.
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June and Stan have lived in the Twin Cities area of Fridley, Minnesota continuously since 1957...first they lived on Washington Street until 1965 when their home was badly damaged in the 1965 Fridley tornadoes...Photo below is Washington Street home when new in 1957 prior to Tornado damage in 1965. Home costs in Duluth at the time were so high that the funds from the sale of their Duluth home was sufficient to buy a much larger and more elaborate home in Fridley then their home in Duluth. (The Fridley also had an attached garage that their home in Duluth did not have.)
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Stan and June rebuilt their last home in 1966, at the present location of 6025 Gardena Lane in Fridley, Minnesota. This home is a split level home in which the lower level housed Stan's Forensic Firearms operations and business.
Stan's business office with his Forensic Library was on the west side. Stan's Forensic Reference collections and Forensic Science Laboratory was on the other side. Also on this level in another room was Stan's test firing, bullet recovery and gunpowder residue collection facilities.
Stan's forensic operations required that Stan have a number of Licenses such as a license from the city of Fridley to discharge a firearm within the city limits, Federal license to ship or receive firearms interstate and even a license to carry a firearm in the city and state.
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(Stan and June's last Home at 6025 Gardena Lane NE, Fridley)
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A few Years later Stan and June upgraded their home by installing steel siding that would withstand hail impact without damage, installed additional insulation in the attic and replaced the windows with larger better quality windows...Stan's office was in the northern half of the building's split level design...Stan used the entire north half of the split level basement of their home for his forensic business offices, library, laboratory and firing room. There was a fireplace both on the upper story living room and in Stan's lower level office.
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(Improved and upgraded premises)
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Stan's forensic career took off after Stan and June moved to the new home and premises at 6025 Gardena lane...Stan at this time was retired from State Farm and his full time was devoted to his forensic career
Stan spent all of his free time while at State Farm in the earlier days of his forensic life. He was then working at his part time forensic career...this involved evenings, weekends and annual company sponsored vacation times.
Stan was able to attend forensic science conferences and handle limited case work during these times...this included attending the first ever forensic science conference in the Soviet Union in 1969...This conference took place at the height of the cold war.
Stan's forensic work was of sufficient quality that he earned a reputation that resulted in his being appointed to a National Review of the Robert Kennedy Case by a Los Angeles Superior Court Judge...later Stan's in court presentation of findings, resulted in his video appearance on the "Today Show". It was State Farms cooperation that made this possible.
State Farm was very supportive of Stan's forensic work and in fact declared his work on the Robert Kennedy case would be a "State Farm Project"...they placed Stan on a paid leave and on an expense account for his travel expenses...Stan was later reimbursed for travel expenses by Los Angeles County and this money was in turn used to repay State Farm for his advanced travel expenses.
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"Chapter: 15."
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"CPCU and The Minnesota Mineral Club"
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"CPCU" study program...(Certified Property and Casualty Underwriter) State Farm was also a sponsor of an Insurance academic program called the "CPCU" study program...it was a 5 part 5 year study program that could be achieved by either self study or take a series of classes being held at the University of Minnesota...it was considered the highest academic achievement in the insurance industry...it also required the successful completion of nationally held tests or examinations...upon successful completion of the 5 year study, the individual received the "CPCU" designation at an annual "CPCU" conference...Stan received that award in 1967...State Farm paid all expenses for both June and Stan to go to San Francisco to receive his "CPCU" designation...the designation city changes yearly...most of the week is spent at the conference....Stan and June took advantage of the trip to also travel south at their expense for a visit to Disneyland.
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Stan's Rock Hounding and the Minnesota Mineral Club Days
It was during the 1960's through about the 1980's that Stan was an enthusiastic Rock Hound and Agate Collector....Stan and June frequently on week ends, spent their free time in the nearby gravel pits in search of "Lake Superior" Agates...The "Lake Superior" Agate's with their colorful bright banding was considered among the most beautiful in the world... they often did their searching and collecting in the company of Stan and June's good friends Jim and Thelma Campbell...frequently June and Stan's children would be a part of the outing.
Stan was a member of the "Minnesota Mineral Club" and would often display his agate collection at the annual shows....One year David won first prized as the "Find of the Year", a very large and very beautifully banded Lake Superior Agate...When David first found it, he come running while holding his find above his head and shouting; "Jackpot"...and Jackpot it was...David's widow Khim now has the agate along with the "Blue Ribbon" that David was awarded at the Minnesota Mineral Show. This 1st prize Agate came from a gravel pit in Forest Lake.
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"Chapter: 16."
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"Stan and June's Life in the Lutheran Church"
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When June and Stan were first married (1952) Stan's faith in God had slipped. Although Stan was confirmed in a small Swedish Lutheran Church in Rice Lake, WI during his high school years, Stan had slipped away from the church during his early years following high school. Stan recalled telling June shortly after they were married that he considered himself to be an "Agnostic". Stan did not say there was no God, Stan only said that God had not been proven to exist. June did not argue with Stan's position. All that June said was that she disliked the sound of the word "Agnostic" Thereafter it was June's constant example, her prayers and her inspiration, that resulted in the Christian change in Stan's life. June served as God's way of changing Stan's life and causing him to accept God and Jesus as the ruler of his life and his salvation!
Stan did not realize it at the time, but June was using very subtle and effective psychology on him. June knew that Stan spent much of his time in his downstairs office. June also knew that Stan frequently used the little bathroom next to his office. June arranged to place a mounted and attractive plaque with the quotation from John 3:16 on the bathroom wall. It was so located that every time Stan used the bathroom, he was looking directly at the quotation. Stan may not have known much about the Bible but he really knew John 3:16. (KJV):
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"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life."
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(June's Bathroom Plaque on John 3:16)
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Stan was not a regular church attendee in the early years. Stan would attend church on the various church holidays but had many excuses (none of merit) as to why He could not go to church on a normal Sunday. June set a good example and through her many prayers for Stan, His life was changed.
On one special Sunday morning after June had left for church and as Stan was sitting in his office - he thought about June and one of his work slogans - "first things first" and that Stan was really not doing that in his life. Stan had a sudden deep feeling of shame in that he had for years let June go to church alone with the children. Stan arose and went to church that day and has done so regularly ever since. This change in Stan made June very happy. Later when she told others about this change in Stan's life, June would throw up her arms and exclaim: "and suddenly there he was." Thanks to June, Stan not only enjoyed going to church, he enjoyed the new friends he made at church and found himself looking forward to the next Sunday. Stan also started to regularly attend the Tuesday morning Bible Study Class at Redeemer Lutheran.
Billy Graham once described his wife Ruth as "The Greatest Christian I have ever known"...While Stan's Christian world does not match Billy Grahams's Christian world, Stan finds it easy to describe June as "The Greatest Christian I have ever known!"...When's Junes Christian Church credentials are listed they occupy and entire page!
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*June gave Stan the most important verse in the Bible. Reverend Falwell in his last sermon before he died said: "if the Bible was a financial statement, John 3:16 would be the Bottom Line." He also said that when looking for a synopsis or summary of the Bible, "John 3:16 is the Bible's super summary" and if you understand and believe this passage you have got it all.
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"Chapter: 17.
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"Stan's Forensic Science Career"
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One does not just hang out a shingle announcing one's business as a forensic scientist specializing in firearms and expect business to come rolling in...hence it was a part time business until Stan was able to prove himself.
Stan became acquainted with Calvin H. Goddard (1891-1955) who is credited with creating the science of firearms Identification or "Forensic Ballistics" and established the first Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory at Northwester University, in Illinois. (Later moved to the Chicago Police Department. Stan Consulted with Goddard about a career in the Forensic Sciences and particularly Forensic Firearms...1950's...Goddard had a long career in the Army Reserve and following World War II, he was a Colonel in the Army and placed in charge of the Army Crime Laboratory in Japan...Goddard...Goddard was encouraging and referred Stan to one of his Chicago Contacts. He became famous for his early work on two notorious 1920's cases. (Sacco and Vanzetti Case and the St. Valentines Day Massacre)
Stan eventually came in possession and in charge of all of the early day forensic files, photographs, negatives and other documents of Goddard in his pioneering days in Forensic Ballistics...Stan later turned these documents over to the University of Minnesota's Library and rare books collections. They are now preserved for posterity.
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(Calvin H. Goddard 1891-1955)
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Stan's forensic science career covered the Years from approx. the mid 1960's until he closed his Forensic Science Consulting Business at the end of the year 2004 so that he could devote full time care to June. June's Alzheimer's was entering the middle stages of the disease and June needed Stan's full time care and attention.
Stan's first interests in the area of Forensic Firearms dates back to his High School years when He would spend some time each summer vacation visiting with his uncle Victor Nedland in Ladysmith, Wisconsin...Stan's uncle Victor operated a combination Jewelry repair and Gunsmith shop in Ladysmith next to the Flambough River.
Stan's Uncle Victor noted that Stan had a special interest in test firing guns in his basement area and examining the fired bullets and cartridge cases...Stan would record the bullet rifling direction, number of rifling grooves and the width of such rifling grooves...Stan would also note the firing pin impressions, configurations, extractor and ejector markings on fired cartridge cases and also to record such markings.
Stan's Uncle Victor encouraged Stan in what he was doing by telling Stan that perhaps this could some day be his future life's work or occupation in the forensic sciences. While Stan's uncle Victor encouraged Stan's curiosity in the examination of firearms and their fired bullet and cartridge case markings, Stan's mother Ellen encouraged Stan's study of the sciences that were basic to the forensic sciences. These two members of Stan's Nedland Family, (Mother and Uncle) laid the ground work for what would be Stan's future life long occupation as a Forensic Scientist.
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(Stan's Uncle Victor "Vick" Nedland)
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Stan's Uncle's gunsmith shop was also located in the path of the famous "Roaring Twenties" gangster Al Capone who would travel to his summer home north of Ladysmith on Stone Lake.
One day Al Capone stopped in Vic's Gun Shop to see about trading in a .25 caliber automatic pistol that he did not like, for a new pistol. Stan's uncle Vick was able to make a deal with Al Capone and took Capone's gun in on a trade for a new and better gun...eventually the gun became Stan's property. This gun was kept in Stan's laboratory as a curio or display item and conversation piece...
When Stan closed his forensic consulting business in 2005 in order to spend full time with June's Alzheimer's care, all of his approx. 170 reference collection of firearms and airgun's including the Capone pistol, were donated to the NRA in return for an IRA.
Stan's reference collection of guns was later sold at a public auction in San Francisco. Stan provided an affidavit attesting to the pistol's history that went with this gun.
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Stan's forensic career fist started with his Forensic Science activities at the Counter Intelligence Corps Center and the Baltimore Police Department in the early 1950's...This resulted in an overall career in the forensic sciences of some 50 years including and after leaving State Farm in 1984...Stan then devoted his full time to the Forensic Science business...Stan's forensic science business was then closed at the end of 2004, when Junes care required Stan's full time attention.
The launching pad for Stan's career in the Forensic Sciences clearly took place in 1969, when Stan and June participated in the first ever forensic science conference in the Soviet Union...This conference was officially designated the "Soviet - American Symposium in Forensic Medicine and the Sciences."
Stan's connections with the Chicago Police Crime Laboratory and his Chicago friends were also a very clear factor in promoting Stan's career in the Forensic Sciences..
It was in the 1960's that Stan launched his career as a forensic consultant...June became Stan's administrative assistant in their new life which would quickly became a life of adventure...as the forensic business rapidly prospered, it required travel through out the United States, Canada and Europe...
Stan was also fortunate to be a part of a number of high profile cases including the Robert Kennedy Assassination 1975), the SLA assassination of the Oakland School Supt. Marcus Foster (1975).
The Chicago Riots following the Martin Luther King assassination (1968), and the Chicago Police and Black Panther shootout (1977)...also received Stan's attention a professional involvement.
Eventually Stan would be retained to assist in all litigation against the City of Chicago that involved firearms...Stan enjoyed a special relationship with the Members of the Chicago Crime Laboratory, firearms section. See the special discussion below on Stan and the Chicago connection.
Stan's friendship with the remaining members of the "Original 26" has continued over the years...Stan was recently advised (2/3/2018) that not many members of the "Original 26" remained and one had just come down with Alzheimer's.
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The Soviet - American Symposium in Forensic Medicine and the Sciences
(Official Soviet "Intourist" Folder issued at the Conference)
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In October of 1969, June and Stan visited some of the "Iron Curtain" countries at the height of the "Cold War". Stan and June were part of an American Forensic Science group that visited Russia, Hungary and Austria as a cultural exchange. June and Stan were participants in what was designated as the "Soviet American Symposium in Forensic Medicine and the Sciences."..
Stan and June's attendance at this conference and the forensic friends and contacts that developed as a result of this conference, was literally the launching pad for a highly successful lifetime forensic ballistics/firearms consulting career with June as Stan's Administrative Assistant...
This was an historical event in that it was the "first ever" such an exchange in the Forensic Sciences. Such a unique meeting of American and Russian Forensic Scientists to exchange information, had never before taken place in either country. Because this also was a cultural exchange at a critical time in U.S. and Soviet relations, the group was instructed on behavior. The emphasis was that in effect we were all "Good Will Ambassadors" for America.
The American group was headed up by three noted Forensic Pathologists. Dr. Cyril Wecht, (Pittsburgh) Dr. William Eckert (Wichita) and Dr. Thomas Noguchi. (Los Angeles) Dr. Noguchi was the most prominent member of the three. He at times was referred to as the "Coroner to the Stars" in that he had performed the autopsies on a number of Hollywood Stars who had died under questionable circumstances.
Dr. Noguchi's notable celebrity cases included William Holden, Natalie Wood, Marilyn Monroe, Sharon Tate, Janis Joplin, John Belushi and others. He had also performed the autopsy on Robert Kennedy.
Dr. Noguchi proved to be an interesting travel companion with a great sense of humor. He became a friend of Stan and June as did Dr. Eckert and Mrs. Eckert. (Haroldine) Dr. Noguchi was accompanied by his wife Hisato. Dr. Wecht was accompanied by his wife Sigrid. Unfortunately Hisato and Sigrid became casualties of divorce in later years.
Stan and June would renew these acquaintances at the many other future forensic conferences that they would attend over the next several years. This Forensic Science Conference was the first of what would be 170 such International Conferences during Stan's lifetime career in the Forensic Sciences.
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Stan and June loved their extensive travels to forensic science conferences, around the U.S., Canada and Europe and the UK...London was their favorite city and they managed to arrange forensic conferences so as to visit London nine (9) times before June's Alzheimer's shut down their travels.
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(GPO Tower - London)
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It was during one of such visits in 1974, that June and Stan visited the GPO Tower, on Maple Street in London and had their lunch in a revolving restaurant near the top of the tower. This was said to be the tallest building in England, standing at 620 feet tall. They received a "Certificate of Orbit" as a result of this visit. The certificate is dated "Thursday 19 September 1974,
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(June and Stan's Certificate of Orbit)
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"Chapter: 18"
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"The Chicago Forensic Science Connection"
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(Chicago Crime Laboratory Emblem)
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It was in the approximate year of 1960, that Stan's Forensic interest and avocation was changed into a full time income producing business. That business would continue for approximately 45 years, until 2004, when Stan closed his business in order to devote full time care and effort to June who was then in the 8th year of June's 12 year journey into the darkness of Alzheimer's.
During those 45 years, Stan (With June as his Administrative Assistant) would handle approximately 1000 Forensic Firearms cases. Stan would Testify (356 times) in one of the Judicial Courts of Law including Federal, State, Local, Military and Territorial Courts including Canadian Courts and a Murder Case in Japan...Stan published approximately 175 technical articles and papers, in Peer review publications, has chapters in 3 Books, was a speaker at most Forensic Science Conferences and often served as Chairman of the Forensic Firearms symposiums at the the conferences.
Stan however fell in love with the City of Chicago, the Chicago Police Crime Laboratory, many of the persons who worked there became Stan's friends...the History of the City going back to the likes of "Al Capone and John Dillinger...historic shootings like "The St. Valentines Day Massacre"...The First ever, Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory was set up in Chicago by Goddard who is considered to be the Father of Scientific Crime Detection as we know it, and designed the first ever "Comparison Microscope...Stan was acquainted with Goddard and had consulted with him about a career in the forensic sciences.
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(Institute of Applied Science, Chicago)
(Practicing "Mugg" Shot Photography - Stan's "Mugg" Shot)
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While there were many factors, conferences, laboratories and friends who impacted and promoted or fostered Stan's career in the forensic Sciences...such as The Attorney General's Laboratory in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and Stan and June's attendance at the first ever, Forensic Science Conference in the Soviet Union in 1969. Chicago however, played a key role like no others.
The City of Chicago, beginning with Stan's attendance at the Institute of Applied Science's Fingerprinting and Criminal Identification courses in September 1947 and later his association with the Chicago Police Crime Laboratory, was a significant factor in Stan's career in the Forensic Sciences...The Institute of Applied Science is credited with training most of the nation's Fingerprint and Identification Experts during the early days of the Forensic Sciences. The Owner/Director was a Mr Cooke.
Stan's Notes: Stan was just age 19 years and a farm kid at the time of his training at the IAS offices/laboratory. Stan had just graduated from Rice Lake High School at Rice Lake, Wisconsin in the year of his 18th Birthday. (Turned 18 just one month after graduation...Money was in short supply in 1946 and the suit Stan was wearing in Chicago was his graduation suit...the first suit Stan had ever owned...Stan's mother Ellen had bought the most economically priced suit she could find in the Montgomery Ward Mail order catalog...it was a wool suit and the pant's wool fibers were so itchy on Stan's legs that his mother Ellen had to sew some cotton liners into the pants legs on the inside to make them more comfortable...compared to the other student in the pictures, I am sure that Stan looked and dressed like a poor farm boy compared to the smartly dressed other young man in the photo...Stan is sure that this is the reason Stan does not appear to be an active participant in the photos...Stan is sure that this is why Stan does not appear more active in the photos and more like a bystander...Mr. Cooke probably had in mind using the photos in a business advertisement...most of the students are working and studying by mail...Stan never again in his lifetime ever came across his partner/student....ironically in later years as Stan became prominent in the Forensic Sciences, Mr Cooke asked Stan to serve on his board of Directors in an advisory position.
Stan has noted that he was wearing a small pin on his suit jacket lapel...This little pin was a membership pin in the International Association for Identification, the oldest and largest Forensic Science professional Association or organization...in later years as Stan was active in the the Forensic Firearms field of expertise, he had a monthly corner or column in monthly magazine called the "Identification News". Stan's monthly contribution was called the "Berg File Card"... Stan still receives the monthly magazine as a member (Life) but of course Stan is no longer active.
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(Institute of Applied Science, Chicago)
(Institute of Applied Science - Chicago - Stan on the left)
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Stan has had a special fondness for the Chicago Police Crime Laboratory. Stan's fondness was both an admiration of their History as well as a respect for their Staff and their work product. The Department is steeped both in a Historical Romance and Drama. The "Roaring Twenties" and Al Capone...The St. Valentines Day Massacre...Stan enjoyed a good relationship with the Crime Laboratory over the many years of his association with them. It is this relationship that was probably responsible for Stan being selected by the Corporation Counsel's Office of the City of Chicago as the "Outside Expert" and examiner in certain Lawsuits brought against the City of Chicago involved Firearms.
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(Institute of Applied Science, Chicago)
(Searching Fingerprint files for a matching print )
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It was at Chicago in 1969, that the founding of the "Association of Firearms and Tool Mark Examiners" (AFTE) took place.
Stan was one of the original 36 "Founding Fathers". Stan's later historical history of the AFTE organization in 2004, resulted in Stan being awarded "Man of the Year" designation and given membership in "Memoriam". The history now is a permanent record at the AFTE official web site and can be viewed both by members and non members. Stan's AFTE awards are detailed below.
Note: It was in the year 1947 while Stan was attending the IAS School in Chicago that he saw one of the first prototypes of an early black and white Television set...it was not for sale, just on display...Stan was out walking down a sleepy little street one day when he saw a small crowd of people in front of a small store front...Stan of course had to see what was up...it turned out that they were all looking at an early prototype version of a black and white TV set...it had a small round screen...it was not until in the year 1953 that the commercial TV Sets were available in the Midwest and that is the year that June and Stan purchased their first TV set while living in Duluth.
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"AFTE"
(Emblem of the Association of Firearm and Tool Mark Examiners)
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AFTE was founded in 1969 at a meeting held in Chicago on 26 February 1969...Stan had the distinction of being designated as one of the 36 Original "Founding Fathers" who met that day in Chicago...on that same date Stan was appointed to be a part of a 3 man "Executive Committee."
In 1978, Stan was appointed to a "Examinations Standards Committee", later designated the "National Peer Group on Certification."
Stan was appointed to be the Chairman of the first "Public Relations Committee" in July 1979.
In April of 1973, Stan was designated as one of the first "Distinguished Members" of which 29 were so designated on that date.
In 1976, Stan received an AFTE "Special Honors Award" for the work that he did on a special national panel that reviewed/re-evaluated the evidence in the Robert Kennedy Assassination.
In 1982, Stan was one of the first group of members designated at "Life Members"...(22 Members were so designated at that time.)
In 1996, Stan was the first member to receive the "Key Man of the Year" award...the award was based on Stan's many published articles in the AFTE Journal.
In the year 2004, at the annual meeting, Stan was once again designated as "Key Man of the Year" for the work that he did in preparing a "History of AFTE and the Pre- AFTE Days'"...at the same meeting, Stan was designated as a member "IN MEMORIAM"...such membership differed from Life Membership in that it continued after the death of the individual so named...or membership forever.
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Two of the more notable cases that involved Stan's retention in behalf of the City of Chicago were:
Iberia Hampton et. al. v. City of Chicago et. al....This was Litigation against the Chicago Police Crime Laboratory following their investigation and examination of firearms exhibits...(A Police Raid against Panther Headquarters resulted in the death of some Black Panthers)...the lawsuit alleged improper examination and falsification of the evidence by the Crime Laboratory...The presiding Judge, examined Stan's report on his examination of the evidence and dismissed the litigation against the Chicago Police Crime Laboratory.
The other case resulted from the death of a small boy struck by a stray bullet during some civil riots following the Martin Luther King Jr. assassination.
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"THE DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING JR. ASSASSINATION"
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(The Newspaper Headlines on the event)
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The Assassin was James Earl Ray. Dr. Martin Luther King had been standing on a second floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee when he was shot by Ray. Dr. King had gone out onto the balcony of the room where he was staying. The single bullet struck Dr. King in the face entering his right cheek. He died shortly after in a local hospital.
The Motive for the shooting is not clear. It may have been racial discrimination or it may have been the desire of James Earl Ray to make a name for himself. He was a high school drop out and a small time criminal with a police record.
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(James Earl Ray - Previous arrest photo)
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The Rifle used by James Earl Ray was a Remington Model 760 Game Master, caliber .30-06, Slide Action rifle ...the range was rather short, just the distance across the motel courtyard to an adjacent rooming house across the street where Ray was staying. Witnesses saw Ray fleeing from the rooming house. Police found a package nearby with the rifle and Ray's fingerprints.
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(Remington Rifle used in the Assassination)
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James Earl Ray, fled the country in his attempt to escape. He was arrested on June 8th, 1968 in London at the Heathrow Airport. He was extradited to the United States and charged with Dr. King's murder. He plead guilty and was sentenced to 99 Years in the Tennessee State Penitentiary. He died in prison in 1998.
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Stan's involvement in the Dr. Martin Luther King Case came about as the result of riots that took place in a predominantly black residential area of the city of Chicago, following the assassination. A rioting crowd near a tall residential building/tower fired some shots in the air...one of the carelessly fired shots (bullet) struck and killed a small black child standing at the edge of a railing of the residential tower/building overlooking the crowd. An action in court sought damages from the City of Chicago for the death of the small child.
This case was titled, "Curtis Jefro et. al. vs. The City of Chicago"...This case involved the small boy who was killed by a stray bullet resulting from the riots in the city of Chicago (described above) following the Martin Luther King assassination on 4 April of 1968. The law suite alleged that the stray bullet came from a police firearm/revolver...Stan's examination of the fatal bullet and his inspection of the scene of the shooting, indicated that the bullet probably came from a cheap Japanese imported revolver and clearly not from a Police revolver...Stan's favorable testimony in behalf of Chicago in a jury trial that followed, resulted in a verdict in behalf of the City of Chicago.
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"CHICAGO AND THE BLACK PANTHERS"
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(Black Panther Emblem)
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The Black Panther Party was first formed in about 1966 by Huey Newton as a Black Anti-Racism and a Black Nationalist Political Party. The Party gradually faded away and failed to any longer exist after about 1982. During their most active days they were often at odds with law enforcement agencies and created events that received national attention.
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Police Raid of Black Panther Headquarters
In Chicago on 4 December 1969, a Black Panther was killed when the Chicago Police raided the home of Panther Leader Fred Hampton. The raid had been planned by the police in conjunction with the FBI. Hampton was shot and killed as was Panther guard Mark Clark, and injuries to four other Panthers.
Fourteen (14) Chicago Police Officers were executing a search warrant for illegal weapons...they did seize 1 illegal sawed off shotgun, 1 stolen police weapon, and 17 other unregistered weapons.
A Federal investigation reported that only one shot was fired by the Panthers, while the police fired about 60 plus rounds. The one shot fired was from/by Mark Clark. Seven (7) other Panthers were sleeping at the house at the time of the raid and were arrested and charged with aggravated assault and attempted murder of the officers involved in the raid. These charges were later dropped.
In a later civil action by Hampton's Family (1979) 1.85 million was awarded to the family in a Wrongful Death settlement of the lawsuit. (Iberia Hampton et. al. v. City of Chicago et. al.)
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Chicago Crime Laboratory Firearms Section
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Following the December 4th Raid, the Firearms Section of the laboratory received a large number items of firearms evidence to examine and analyze...(46 Firearms, 230 bullets, fired cases, shotshell wads, and pellets).
A hurry up report on the evidence examination was requested. Laboratory examiner John Sadunas was assigned the job of examining all of the evidence and providing a written report...to say that John was under a lot of pressure would be an understatement.
John was unaware that both the Black Panther's and the raiding police officers had a 12 Gauge shotgun of the same make and model...normally two guns of the same make and model leave similar class characteristics on the fired shells/casing and careful examination of the shotshell fired casings individual characteristics is needed to differentiate and tell them apart.
Unfortunately John Sadunas was unaware of the two different guns of the same make, model and caliber were involved...and in his pressure to get a report out, he reported that the shotshell was fired in a Panther shotgun when in fact it was fired in a police shotgun of the same make and model.
The error was discovered later by an examination of the same evidence by the FBI Laboratory...When the FBI findings came to the attention of the Black Panthers, a Law suite was started and directed at the Chicago Police Crime Laboratory and among other things, the litigation alleged that the Laboratory Report was not only wrong but that it was an intentional error and a deprivation of the Black Panthers Civil Rights.
Stan was retained in behalf of the Crime Laboratory and the City of Chicago to help in the defense of the lawsuit. Stan did his examinations of evidence and any other laboratory work necessary, in the Chicago Police Crime Laboratory. Stan also received assistance from some of the laboratory personnel when needed. Dick Chenow assisted Stan when needed with his photography skills. Don Smith assisted Stan by disassembling some of the reference collection firearms.
Stan's report stressed that the error by John Sadunas in his examination was an error due to the pressure that the examiner Sadunas was under to produce a fast report, that he was unaware of 2 shotguns being involved of the same make and model and the need to use extreme care in his examination.
When the Judge assigned to the case (Sam Perry) examined Stan's report and explanation of his opinion of what took place, the Judge dismissed the case against the Crime Laboratory and they proceeded with the the case as a case against the City of Chicago only...(Iberia Hampton et. al. v, City of Chicago et. al.)
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(Black Panther Leaders - (Bobby Seale, Left and Huey Newton)
Historical Note: in the photo above, the then National Black Panther Leaders are shown...Bobby Seale on the left was called the National Chairman. Huey Newton on the right was the Defense Minister. Date of photo is unknown.
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CHICAGO IS THE SITE OF MANY/FREQUENT FORENSIC CONFERENCES
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Chicago has been the site of many Forensic Science Conferences over the years, such as
The Association of Firearms and Tool Mark Examiners (AFTE),
The American Academy of Forensic Science (AAFS) and....
The International Association for Identification. (IAI)...
June, as Stan's Administrative Assistant in his Forensic Firearms Consulting business, has attended most of the conferences.
Stan's 14 friends in the Chicago Crime Laboratory that Stan has a record of, include the following:
(Bob Boese, Joe Celovsky, Richard Chenow, Jim Gainer, Don Gunnell, Vince Lomaro, Burt Nielson, Art Paholke, John Sadunas, John Sojat, Don Smith, John Stauffer, Reg Templin, and Ernie Warner.)
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"Chapter 19"
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"The Robert Kennedy Assassination"
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( Robert Kennedy Assassination Review Panel - Stan 3rd from left)
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(Photo ID...in the above Photo L-R: Ralph Turner, (U of MI), Chuck Morton, (Oakland, CA) Stan Berg, (Minneapolis), Patrick Garland, (State of Virginia), Cortland Cunningham, (FBI Crime Lab) Lowell Bradford, (Professor of Criminalistics, CA) Al Biasotti , (California Dept of Justice, Crime Lab, Sacramento).
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On June 5th 1968, Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy was fatally shot (Age 42) at the Ambassadore Hotel in Los Angeles and died the next while hospitalized...the shooter was identified as Sirhan Bishara Sirhan...On April 17th 1969, a jury found Sirhan guilty. The Los Angeles Police forensic laboratory had examined and found that the recovered fired bullets could be matched to Sirhan's gun...also injured in addition to Robert Kennedy, was ABC Television Network Production Assistant William Weisel who was struck in the abdomen by a stray bullet.
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(Sirhan Bishara Sirhan)
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The Shooter Sirhan Bishara Sirhan was a Palestinian with Jordanian Citizenship...His motive for assassinating Robert Kennedy was Kennedy's support for the Jewish Nation,
As is always the case, assassination conspiracy theorists started coming out of the woodwork...The Los Angeles Police Department was permitting persons having an interest in the case, to independently examine the firearms evidence...this is very unusual...normally evidence is kept under lock and key and outside parties are not permitted access to such evidence...as one might expect, such examinations by persons of questionable forensic knowledge and ability resulted in claims that the evidence did not support Sirhan's conviction
In an effort to settle the matter and examine such claims, Superior Court Judge Robert A. Wenke appointed a special panel of forensic experts to review the firearms evidence...their purpose was to independently determine if there was any thing in the evidence to suggest such claims of 2 or more shooters.
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(Superior Court Judge Robert A, Wenke)
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The functions of Judge Wenke's Panel of Forensic Firearms Experts was to test fire Sirhan's Gun and compare the test fired specimens with the Crime Scene Bullets...The evidence bullets were also to be carefully examined and documented and photographed...each of the appointed experts were required to carefully document and record their individual work product. They were later expected to discuss and testify as to their findings in open court.
One group of conspiracy theorists had photographed the circumference of the evidence bullets and claimed the rifling angles and markings on the bullets were different and thus indicated more then one gun was involved. They had used a camera of unknown quality that they called a "Hycon-Balliscan" Camera used to record their claims..Judge Wenke's appointed experts obviously needed to test and examine such claims.
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(Sirhan's .22 Caliber Iver Johnson Cadet DA Revolver)
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Normally Police Crime laboratories using a comparison microscope and test fired bullets, tryto determine if the evidence recovered bullet or bullets were fired in the evidence gun. Police examiners normally do not measure rifling marks or angles of rifling nor do they have the equipment to do so.
I was the only one of the appointed forensic experts who had much experience in measuring rifling marks and I was the only one that had a microscope with an ocular that would measure rifling angles...It was a specially designed eye piece made for me in Germany...it would measure rifling angles. I also had a monthly published feature in a forensic magazine called "Berg's File Card"...each month a different make and model bullet and cartridge case was featured. Because of my experience in this area, I was appointed by the group to investigate the rifling angle claims...I had brought this special microscope with me to Los Angeles...it had occupied the seat next to me on my plane to Los Angeles..the microscope was strapped in the seat much like a person. One of the appointed members of the panel (Ralph Turner, University of Michigan) volunteered to assist me in the rifling angle examinations...Also at my suggestion, the two of us with the most experience in measuring bullet rifling would line up the evidence bullets under the microscope with a micrometer eye piece to assure a standard for accurate measurements.
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(LA Times Newspaper Story - Day of Shooting)
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When measuring in thousands of an inch on a curved bullet surface proper orientation under the microscope is vital...after proper alignment. the other experts in the group could view the measurement read off and if they agreed to the reading they could enter it in their record of examination...This would avoid any confusion by the other individual experts in the use of the microscope and bullet alignment...precision and uniformity in the measurements are very important when measuring in thousandths of an inch...Al Biasotti of the California State Crime Lab and I were appointed to handle the bullet set up and orientations under the microscope for the rifling measurements... the other Panel members could then by taking their turn, observe through the microscope ocular and verify our measurements...this resulted in a rapid and uniform method of rifling width measurements...the result was that the panel all had uniform measurement data.
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It became obvious very early on, that the "Hycon-Balliscan" camera was not a precision device and pictures made by the camera on the same areas of a bullet but on different times or days displayed differences in rifling angle...so much for the "Hycon-Balliscan" Camera claims! My own microscopic angle measurements made with my microscope and the angle measuring eyepiece, found NO differences in rifling angles on the various evidence bullets.
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Wounds: Robert Kennedy was shot three (3) times with a .22 caliber Iver Johnson "Cadet" double action revolver. One bullet entered behind his right ear. The other 2 bullets entered at he rear of his right arm pit...one of these bullets exited his chest and the other lodged in the back of his neck.
ABC Television Network Production Assistant William Weisel was struck in the Abdomen by a Stray Bullet.
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Following their examinations of the evidence bullets and the test fired bullets, the experts were then to appear in open court and testify as to their findings...and be subjected to cross examination...by luck or chance Stan was the first of the forensic experts to appear in open court and testify as to his findings...Stan spent the entire day on the witness stand testifying as to his findings...when Stan left the courtroom that day, he was surprised to find a crowd of newsman and their cameras waiting for him to leave the courtroom...some of the video's of Stan's comments appeared the next morning on the "Today Show"...when Stan returned home the next day, June had seen the Today Show and told Stan that his head filled the entire screen!
Note: Stan was officially associated with the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors and asked to Represent the Board's interests in the Sirhan Case, by a phone conversation on Thursday 27 August 1975 with Robert W. Pratt, Administrative Deputy. This was followed up the next day Friday the 28th by a personal visit and conversations with Los Angeles County Board Representatives...I opened a forensic file in the matter and assigned file No. 75-164, "People v. Sirhan" to the case.
Panel Findings: The special Panel of seven (7) forensic Experts, assembled as Per Judge Wenke's orders, found no evidence whatever to suggest a 2nd shooter or that anyone else caused the death of Robert Kennedy other then Sirhan. There was uniform agreement by all of the panel members.
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Stan's Testimony in Court as to His Findings
(Attorney Vincent Bugliosi and former DA Los Angeles, CA)
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Stan was the first of the experts to testify in Open Court as to the findings of the panel of Experts...Stan's testimony took an entire day and he was cross examined by the various attorneys that represented the parties at interest in the re-examination of the evidence.
The attorney who spent the most time examining and questioning Stan was attorney Vincent Bugliosi, formerly with the District Attorney's Office!
As Bugliosi was discussing his line of questioning during a recess period, Stan told Bugliosi that in Stan's opinion, Bugliosi's only interest was in prolonging the case.
This apparently bothered Bugliosi as he later told Stan: "You have characterized me, well I will characterize you Stan, you are only interested in buttoning up this case!"
Stan later (7/76) received an autographed copy of Bugliosi's Book "Helter Skelter,"as a gift from Bugliosi...the book was the story of Bugliosi's handling of the Notorious Manson murder case...The following autographed note appeared inside the cover of the book:
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"To Stanton Berg
It was a pleasure working with you on the RFK case.
Hope you approve of the way I handled the Manson case for the prosecution.
My Best Personal Wishes Always,
Vince Bugliosi"
7/76
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Professional Forensic Science Organizations and Associations
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Stan held lifetime memberships in all of the leading professional Forensic Science organizations such as "The American Academy of Forensic Science", the "Association of Firearms and Tool Mark Examiners". The Forensic Science Society (UK), the "International Association of Blood Stain Analysts" "The International Association of Forensic Sciences", "The International Wound Ballistics Association" and many others.
Stan has published papers in their professional journals and lectured at their annual conferences. Stan has had over 180 publications published in "Peer Reviewed" publications and has chapters in three (3) textbooks.
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"Chapter: 20."
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"The Assassination of President John Kennedy"
(President Kennedy shortly before his Assassination)
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Stan made a special study of the President John F. Kennedy Assassination in Dallas, Texas...he talked with the FBI Laboratory people who investigated the case...saw and received copies of some of the original documentation and photographs...Stan was given copies of the photographs of the bullet matches to Lee Harvey Oswald's 6.5mm Italian Carcano bolt action rifle...Oswald had purchased his assassination rifle "Mail Order"...
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(Oswald's 6.5mm Italian Carcano Rifle)
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The fatal bullet match to Oswald's rifle was so good that one could have used it as a textbook or teaching aid...Stan both wrote papers on the subject as well as lecturing on the subject.
All shots were fired at distances of less then 100 yards at a slowly moving car...Oswald's rifle was equipped with a scope sight...Oswald previously served in the US Marine Corp. where he had received a "Sharpshooter" Medal and rating.
All recovered fired bullets (2) and the three fired cartridge Cases that were found with the rifle on the 6th floor of the School Book Depository building's window were forensically matched to Oswald's rifle...one bullet missed the vehicle and struck the street surface where it was deflected and not recovered...2 bullets struck the President from behind...one struck his skull and the other passed through the President's right neck/shoulder area and then struck Texas Governor Connally sitting in the front seat...(Connally had wounds to his right arm pit that exited his right chest, further injuring his wrist and thigh).
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(The 2 Bullets that Struck President John Kennedy)
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The above FBI Photo's with FBI evidence numbers show the two bullets that struck President Kennedy. The Bullet on the left is the bullet that struck the Presidents head from the rear. The impact to the presidents skull caused the bullet to have a mushroomed appearance. The Bullet on the right is the bullet that struck the soft tissue area of the president's neck/Shoulder area and then continued on striking Texas Governor Connally in the front seat of the car. While the side view of bullet CE 399 appears to be undamaged that is not so...looking at the bullet from the base end shows that the bullet base is distorted and has a mild/moderate oblong appearance.
The fact that Oswald missed the vehicle with one shot could probably be attributed his nervousness at the time and his haste in firing the shots...There was no physical evidence of any other shooter such as fired bullets or cartridge cases.
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(Lee Harvey Oswald - Dallas Police Photo)
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While as is always the case in high profile assassinations, the "Conspiracy Theorists" were all about...none of their theories ever stood close scrutiny! One of their favorite allegations was that Oswald could not have operated his bolt action rifle three (3) times in the measured time of the three shots...what they always forget is that the first shot is free and that the clock actually starts running for the next two shots...actual experiments found that this could easily be replicated!...The claims of seeing a puff of smoke from a shot fired from a nearby grassy knoll had apparently been watching too many old Cowboy movies as modern day firearms all fire smokeless ammunition and do not produce "puffs of smoke".
**Stan's Studies and Findings on the Kennedy Assassination were published in/for these Forensic Groups and Publications: "Firearms Evidence and the Kennedy Assassination", Fingerprint and Identification Magazine, July 1969, "Newsletter", California Division of the IAI, Sept. 1969, "The AFTE Journal", February 1970 and "Kriminalistik" October 1969. (Germany) AFTE is the Association of Firearms Examiners, IAI is the International Association for Identification.
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"Chapter: 21."
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"Stan and the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office"
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For a period of time in circa 1970's the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office had a falling out with the Crime Laboratory at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and refused to send them any evidence for examination....to cover their firearm's evidence needs during this time, they retained Stan's services...Stan recalls one high level case that he handled for the county during this time...it involved a body of a man who had been executed by a firearm and left in his car on a top parking ramp at Minneapolis - St. Paul International airport...a later arrest developed information that the killer had disposed of the handgun used in the crime by throwing it into one of the smaller county lakes....it was during the winter months that the search for the gun was being made. The Sheriff's Office drilled many holes in the ice with a large ice auger and eventually located the gun...Stan was able to successfully match the fatal bullet to the gun...
Stan's retention by the Hennepin County Sheriff's office was for a period of 1 year or less...The Sheriff's Office was able to come to a mutual agreement with the State Crime Laboratory and resumed using their services...
Stan's retention would have been/was a large cost factor to the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office....the services of the State Crime Laboratory would have been and is available to the County at no cost.
Currently the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office has their own accredited Crime Laboratory.
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"Chapter: 22."
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"Stanton O. Berg - Forensic Office/Firearms Laboratory"
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It was in 1984 that Stan officially set up a formal forensic business under the name of "STANTON O. BERG, FIREARMS CONSULTANT and issued business cards and had his own letterhead stationary with his own designed trade mark or symbol on it...
Stan's tax returns were filed in his business name and he paid quarterly tax payments...June was Stan's Administrative Assistant in his business and she was paid a modest salary and in addition received an IRA from the business. Stan's forensic career as a formal business enterprise covered approx. 20 additional years.
During Stan's formal forensic business he handled approx. 1000 cases and testified in Judicial proceedings over 350 times...He testified in (1.) Federal, (2.) State, (3.) Military and (4.) Territorial Courts. He also testified in (5.) Canada and his testimony was also used in a (6.) Japanese Murder Case.
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(Stan at his microscope in his forensic Laboratory)
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Stan's Laboratory was located in the lower level of his split level home...This lower level was devoted to Stan's forensic business operations. Stan's business office and forensic library was on the west side. On the East side was the forensic firearms reference collections and the laboratory facilities. In a separate room on this level was Stan's forensic test firing facilities and bullet test fired recover facilities as well as means for collection of gun powder residues.
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(Overall view of Laboratory work area and Equipment)
(View of Laboratory work area with comparison Microscope on left)
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This is a view of Stan's Laboratory Work Bench showing most of the laboratory instruments used by Stan in his examinations of firearms evidence in his Forensic Case work. The microscope locate at the top left of the work bench is a comparison microscope. This is a "Unitron" brand microscope. The "Unitron" brand "Comparison Microscope" using a binocular eyepiece was the "State of the Art" at the time that Stan was handling case work. In the background, in a wood case, is a scale used to weigh bullets in grains of weight. To the right of it is a photographic set up with lights to photograph evidence. To the right of the photographic set up is my Binocular microscope used to make all initial examinations of evidence. A Camera is mounted on the top of the Binocular microscope to photograph evidence as required...a connection is made to the Television screen to the right of the microscope so that if Stan wanted to demonstrate to another person what he was seeing, he could do so.
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(Stan With an Old Comparison Microscope)
(Two Monocular Microscopes joined with a Comparison Bridge)
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This Comparison Microscope was located at the south end of the instrument bench and was reserved for shot shells comparison...it uses the old style "monocular comparison eyepiece" rather then the new Binocular Scopes. The "Unitron" modern Binocular Comparison Microscope at the other end of the laboratory bench was reserved for bullet and cartridge case comparisons....The one that Stan is pointing to, has two separate old monocular microscopes mounted on a single wooden base, each with their own separate microscope light....This set up is simply a matter of convenience in making comparisons with the large shot shells and thus reserve the newer "Unitron" binocular for the more difficult bullet comparisons...actually the old Monocular Comparison Microscope is now a collector's item going back to the earliest days in bullet and cartridge comparisons...and the equipment used by Calvin H. Goddard, the pioneer and creator of what has become the science of Forensic Ballistics or Firearms Identification.
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Yes, this old Comparison Microscope set up of Stan's actually dated back to the early day comparison microscopes and the days of Calvin Goddard...contrast that to the opposite end of Stan's work bench where his "Unitron" brand Binocular comparison microscope represented the "State of the Art" in such microscopes in that time period.
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Stan also has a reference collection of firearms and air rifles (with the preferred safety mechanism designs) mounted on a wall of the laboratory room.
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(Reference Collection on West Laboratory Wall)
(Stan is pointing to one of the reference collection rifles}
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Stan also had a large reference collection of books on firearms of all kinds as well as the forensic sciences...the main library is in Stan's office but an overflow of books can be found in the Laboratory itself in a corner set of shelves...When Stan closed his business to care for his wife June, he donated his firearms reference library to the NRA...he was later told that the NRA staff found his library to be one of the best they had ever seen
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(Office Reference Library)
(Stan's Reference books on Firearms - Forensic sciences)
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Because of the many books on firearms in Stan's overall library, Stan's books related to the Forensic Sciences only, were kept in the Forensic Laboratory portion of the overall Forensic Office and Laboratory layout...an open door connected the office to the laboratory.
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(Stan shown standing in the Laboratory corner Library)
(Stan in the Laboratory's own library of specialized books)
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The books that are in the laboratory itself are those books more directly related to the Forensic Science of bullet and cartridge identification to a firearms itself.
There have been three text books that have been solely dedicated to the Forensic Sciences of Forensic Ballistics or Forensic Bullet and Cartridge Identification.
While Goddard is the Father of Forensic Ballistics and Forensic Firearms Identification, and authored many papers on the subject, he never did author a textbook on the subject.
There have been two early day Textbooks authored on the subject and Stan was fortunate to have added these original books to the laboratories Library. Both Books were written and available on the forensic science market in the year 1935. They are, the Identification of Firearms by Jack Disbrow Gunther and Charles O. Gunther. The second 1935 Book was authored by an Army Officer Hatcher.
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(The Identification of Firearms by Gunther and Gunther - 1935)
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(Julian S. Hatcher's Textbook of 1935)
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"Dr. J. Howard Mathews, 1881 - 1970"
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(Dr. Mathews died on April 15th, 1970 at the age of 89 Years)
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The only more current day textbook on the subject of Forensic Firearms Identification is a Book Authored by a friend, Dr. J. Howard Mathews, of Madison, Wisconsin. Dr. Mathews was also an Army officer in WWI...Dr. Mathews was on the staff of the University of Wisconsin at Madison. When he retired, the University gave him office and laboratory space so that he could continue his work and research on Forensic Firearms Identification.
This research resulted in Dr. Mathews publishing a modern day textbook on Forensic Firearms Identification.The book was first published in circa 1970. During the time that Dr. Mathews was working on the book (roughly from 1952 to 1969), Stan was in contact with Dr. Mathews and provided him with many fired specimens from his own large reference collection of fired bullets and cartridge cases. Dr. Mathews was recording and photographing the appearance of the firing pin impressions which were usually circular, semi-circular and rectangular in shape and appearance. These photographs then became a part of Dr. Mathews later published book. Dr. Mathews gave Stan credit in his book as a source for many of his photographs. During the same period of time Stan was publishing a monthly item in The International Association for Identification's (IAI) monthly news letter called "Stan's File Card" that contained Stan's drawings of various shapes of rim-fire, firing pin impressions.
Dr. Mathews sent Stan an autographed photo of himself...(similar to the above photo. It was sort of a thank you gift for Stan's help in providing exhibits of fired .22 cartridge cases, (described above) that Dr. Mathews would photograph and use in his book.
June and Stan visited Dr. Mathews in his office/laboratory at the University of Wisconsin in Madison during this time period. Stan subsequently collected/acquired a large acco-press binder of his correspondence with Dr. Mathews during this time period.
Dr. Mathews was married to Ella and had two children both girls (Marian and Jean) during his lifetime...The J. in the above initial of his name stood for "Joseph".
When Dr, Mathews passed away, (1970) all of his documentation and correspondence and papers strangely became a part of the University of Michigan's State University Archives and Historical Collections. I am puzzled why this material ended up with the University of Michigan when his many years were spent at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. I recently looked a a listing of the University of Michigan's Collections and noted that they had a collection of correspondence between Dr. Mathews and myself in a folder labeled: "1952-1969 Berg, Stanton O."
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"Besides his duties as director of the Chemistry Schools, Dr. J.Howard Mathews acts as President of the Police and Fire Commission. He frequently works with the District Attorney and Sheriff, helping them to apprehend criminals with his knowledge of criminal investigation by scientific methods." (Comment that appeared on a page about Dr. Mathews, by Ancestry)
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(Mathew's Book on Firearms Identification - now 3 volumes)
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"Stan's Business Operations in His Home's Office"
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Stan's business office was where Stan did all of his paper work in connection with his business as a "Forensic Firearms Consultant.
Stan used a computer and attached printer for report writing or other normal business operations. He normally used a HP Computer, with Microsoft Windows operating system and AOL internet communications or operations.
LICENSES: To operate his business Stan needed a number of legal licenses...Stan needed (1.) a Federal Firearms License (FFL) that he had to apply for through the Federal Office of the Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms branch of the government. (ATF) This was needed to ship or receive firearms interstate and required detailed written records on all such transaction on a prescribed format. (When Stan closed his business these records had to be sent to the ATF for safe keeping...(2.) Stan also needed a Minnesota State Permit to Carry a handgun...when transporting from his office to a local court room..(3.) Stan also needed a Permit from the City of Fridley to discharge a firearms within the city limits. (Most often used by or for Gunsmiths)...Stan needed it for test firing guns coming into his possession.
Every new case set up required a number of business office operations...Stan always secured a (1.) "Retainer Agreement" along with a (2.) "Hold Harmless Agreement"...a (3.) "Retainer Advance Payment" was also required on each new case...The New Case was then assigned a file number and a Letter sized new File folder set up on the new case. The case folder was labeled with the case name and the newly assigned number. Every new case had a number assigned (In numerical order) along with the name of the case. The number had the prefix of the year on it so, that at a glance, one could tell in what year the case was received.
TAX CONSIDERATIONS: Stan also had special Income Tax considerations to keep in mind...Both the Federal Government and the State Government requires that a business must file estimated Quarterly Tax Returns, every Quarter thru the end of the tax year...Stan used the "Business Edition" of the Turbo Tax computer program to assist him in handling his Tax Requirements.
The Computer is also used to handle all Business Correspondence and Report Writing. Stan used a word processing program to assist him with this important function. Stan used the Microsoft Office and Word Programs.
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(Stan's Desk and computer , printer, and handy references)
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Stan was an early day computer user. Stan started using computer's in 1980 when the only computers on the market were Apple and Radio Shack...that was in the days before hard drives and when computers were designed with two drives and each held a 140K disc. One drive's disc held the operating system and the other drive was for storage. There were no hard drives In those days...Stan's first computer was a Radio Shack that was at that time produced in Texas. Those were in the days before anyone heard of Bill Gates and before Microsoft operating systems existed....the internet was in it's infancy...Stan has personally owned and used every version of the "Microsoft" operating systems made....Stan's online internet system has always been AOL...(America Online) Stan remembers when the first hard drive was only 4 Megabytes large...Stan's computer normally was/became the HP (Hewlet Packard) when they came onto the market. Stan would purchase a new HP computer every three (3) years and use the older one as a backup computer...eventually the older computer became truly "extra" and was given to one of the children.
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Paper Work Requirements for an Independent Business
Every new case that Stan was retained on, was set up in a standard and routine manner...A letter size file folder was used and cases were numbered chronologically but with the year shown as a prefix, such as 75-685 for the year of 1975...The case files were filed chronologically in a steel file cabinet. Every new case required a retainer agreement be signed, a "hold harmless agreement" be signed and the retainer check received...any travel expense funds were required in advance...a 3x5 reference/file card was made out and filed on every case that Stan was retained on. The 3x5 card had the name of the client and the card was filed for later reference. Turbo Tax Business program was used to comply with the quarterly tax filings required by the U.S. Government and by the State of Minnesota. A Business Bank account was set up in a local bank.
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While Apple takes credit for their computer design and operating system, Apple did not design it. The Apple operating system was designed by Xerox who designed the system when they were investigating computers as a future possible business enterprise. The Xerox upper management incredibly decided that the public would never purchase such computer systems and abandoned their efforts...Apple bought up the rights to the Xerox design and never told the world that their product was really a Xerox.
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TRIAL TESTIMONY: Stan enjoyed testifying in court and tried to always be well organized...He had an indexed trial notebook or 3 ring binder in order to keep everything orderly and easy to find...He always had a slide show for the jury to help tell the story of his evidence analysis...He would usually request the Judge's permission to approach the jury...He would then walk up and down in front of the jury box with hand held exhibits to better help the jury to understand the case...Stan had one case in which he had left the court in another state to return home after the judge released him only to have the jury request further information from him...Stan had to travel back to the courtroom in order to do so...Stan never feared cross examination and in fact in some cases he rather enjoyed it... one case Stan was on the witness stand for 3 days..
Stan wrote/published over 185 peer review publications and has chapters in three (3) books...
Stan was the Chairman at 4 international conferences in the Forensic Sciences. (Edinburgh, Bergen, Zurich and Dusseldorf)...June and Stan attended approx 170 Forensic Science conferences world wide and Stan presented formal papers at most of them with projected slides as exhibits and to permit a better understanding by the audience.
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(Stan's Letterhead for his business stationary)
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Stan's Note: June and Stan had a great life together in the forensic sciences...they traveled the world together... and June as Stan's Administrative Assistant was his biggest asset...everyone loved June...
Stan gives special thanks at every meal time in addition for thanking God for his food, Stan also thanks God for the incredible life that he gave Stan and June together...while as a young person growing up in the Great Depression days, Stan would often build "Air Castles" and tried to imagine what his life would be like with God's blessings...Stan did not even come close...God blessed June and Stan far beyond his wildest dreams!
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(Stan's Business cards - Front and Rear)
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In Stan's effort to thank God and also Honor June and do something about Alzheimer's awareness, funding and research, he has provisions in his will to continue his Alzheimer's focused Website for 10 years after his death as well as funding other charitable programs with a June and an Alzheimer's connection...The website has June's own internationally registered domaine name and it's own site host in Minneapolis...the site averages 1600 page visits per day (sometimes 3000) from people in 170 countries...even the NIH has an Alzheimer's focused page on June's Website...some days the daily visits exceed 3 thousand...over 2.5 million people have visited this site since it was first created in 2008.
Other programs include quarterly "Music for the Residents" as a gift from June. June's "Benedictine Blue Grass Five" play a concert for the residents of the Benedictine Nursing Home for one full hour quarterly or 4 times a year...a Special fund at June and Stan's church, the Redeemer Lutheran Church is in her name and is called "June's Old Chapel Repair Fund"....the fund has restored the "Old Original 1916 Chapel" with new electrical wiring, new carpet, new Furnace and Air Conditioning for the first time...it has also has replaced the front door and the front steps and created basement study quarters.
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"Chapter: 23."
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"Stan and a Lifetime of Sherlock Holmes"
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Stan has been a life long fan of Sherlock Holmes and the Sherlock Holmes stories...Stan grew u p in the "Great Depression" Days when the family sometimes had only $1 month and normally accepted pleasures of life were simply not affordable...reading was affordable at the local library...it was here that Sherlock Holmes became a part of Stan's life...Stan would often day dream about what his future life would be like and Sherlock Holmes became a part of the "Air Castles" Stan would create..
Stan has lived a life time enjoying the Sherlock Holmes stories and adventures..and he still does.
It was in 1971 that Stan wrote an essay that was published by Northwestern University Law School in their "Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology."...it became a widely accepted and quoted article! The first time Stan visited the New Scotland Yard Crime Laboratory in London, they already knew of Stan through the publication of his article.
"Sherlock Holmes: Father of Scientific Crime Detection", Stanton O. Berg, (61 J. Criminal Law and Criminology, 446, 1971).
Stan has been a life long member of the University of Minnesota's Sherlock Holmes Club called the "Norwegian Explorers"....the University of Minnesota also has the world's largest collection of Sherlock Holme's publications, memorabilia and artifacts. They also host periodic world conferences on Sherlock Holmes.
During Stan's forensic travels he frequently visited London...London was Stan's and June's favorite city and the Home of Sherlock Holmes...Stan and June visited London 9 times including their last goodbye visit in 1999...a visit which was also timed to coincide with the "Sherlock Holmes Festival' in London As a part of the festival, a statute of Sherlock Holmes was erected at the entrance of the Baker Street underground station...special dedication ceremonies were held.
The "Sherlock Holmes Festival" also had special events scheduled...a dedication ceremony next to the new "Sherlock Holmes" statue in front of the Baker Street Station, special Sherlock Holmes Receptions in the high walk way of the Tower Bridge and a final reception at the House of Lords on the River Thames. A great week and a fun week and although June was in the 2nd year of her early stages of Alzheimer's, she appeared to be having a good time...
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(Lord Cotteslo with June at Baker Street Dedication)
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Stan and June would always dine at the Sherlock Holmes Pub whenever they were in London...on 2 occasions they also resided at the "Sherlock Holmes" Hotel on Baker Street for their week long stay in London.
Stan and June were also collectors of souvenirs of Sherlock Holmes and frequently purchased Sherlock Holmes chinaware, books and other artifacts...
While June was not a student of Sherlock Holmes like Stan, she certainly knew more than the average person about Sherlock Holmes. She had been to visit the Sherlock's legendary home at 221b Baker Street...she had roamed about Baker Street many times. She was very familiar with Sherlock Holmes home town of London and navigated about it at will. She had stayed at the Sherlock Holmes Hotel on Baker street on two occasions. June was always first in line for a new Sherlock Holmes adventure...Her final contact with Sherlock Holmes was the Sherlock Holmes Festival and her meeting of "a" Sherlock Holmes in person!
While Sherlock Holmes is not known to have ever had a romantic attachment to any women, he did display a great respect and admiration for Irene Adler who he referred to as "The Woman". Probably because she outwitted him in one of the stories. (A Scandal in Bohemia) June is Stan's Irene Adler or "The Woman" but of course with a romantic connection! Perhaps it would be more correct to say that June was Stan's lady version of a Doctor Watson for and of a lifetime...and what a lifetime that was!
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Stan's Forensic Science and Sherlokian Memorabilia and Records
On 24 November 2015, Ms Cheryll Fong, the Assistant Curator of the University of Minnesota’s Special Collections and Rare Books came to Stan's home to pack up all of his forensic science documents from his 50 some years work in the forensic sciences…the University will be adding them to their collections where they will be available to others for research purposes…
It was that February that the University first took possession of Stan and June's Sherlock Holmes collections… at that time they also took possession of some of Stan's key forensic cases that had a national prominence…
Later in the year Stan asked Ms Fong if they would have interest in his other personal forensic records that reflected the course and development of the forensic sciences from 1950 until early 2004…the year that Stan retired to care for June who then was in the middle stages of Alzheimer’s…these records included documents, programs and papers from the 170 forensic conferences that Stan had attended over the years…copies of the papers I had presented at many of the conferences and the records of the four international conferences in which Stan had served as a chairman of the conference…many of these same conferences June had also attended with Stan as his Administrative Assistant…
When the University indicated an interest in having all of his records, Stan considered this a high honor and felt humbled that they would consider them of value to the University collections…many of the records of conferences are also records of June’s participation with Stan in the forensic sciences…many have her conference name tags and other related documents…
Ms. Fong took a few boxes of the records with her and left 11 other boxes of records that she had packed… for later pick up by the University staff…Ms Fong as usual was most gracious and considerate...in addition, there were 12 drawers of 3 x 5 record reference cards that Stan created during his forensic years that were also be picked up by the University staff on 2 December 2015.
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(Ms. Cheryl Fong Asst. Curator - Timothy Johnson Curator - University's Special Collections - Rare Books)
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Included were all of Col. Calvin Goddard's personal files...Col Goddard was the father of the forensic sciences in the United States. He established the first ever scientific crime detection laboratory at Northwestern University in Illinois...he also investigated the famous St. Valentine's Day massacre in 1929 at the request of the city of Chicago.
Stan could not help but breath a sigh of relief in that to him it was a “mission accomplished”…Stan did not make any assumptions about his life now that he is 90 years old…(2018) Stan wanted the world to be able to see the documents that also prove that June really was Stan's "Doctor Watson" for a life time in all avenues of his life…and during the key development years of the forensic sciences…
As a possible note of interest, Stan was also personally acquainted with Col. Calvin Goddard, and early in his life Stan had consulted with him about his future in the forensic science profession.
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... "STAN'S LIFE HISTORY IN BRIEF - (1928-2022) - 94 YEARS - (9 Paragraphs) ...
1. Stan was born in the little town (2000 people) of Barron, Wisconsin on June 14th, 1928. (This was/is also "Flag Day") Stan was told by his mother Ellen F. Nedland that the flags were being flown for his birthday. (And Stan of course assumed that mothers don't lie - except perhaps for little "White" lies.) Stan only completed 1st and 2nd grades in Barron before the family moved to the nearby Rice Lake. Wisconsin. Both these small towns were in the same county of Barron County. (Barron population was about 2000 persons while Rice Lake was about 5000 persons.)
2. Stan later graduated from Rice Lake High School, (May 1946) where Stan lived with his Mother Ellen on a small 20 acre five (5) Guernsey Cow Dairy Farm, 2 miles South of town. Stan was 17 years old on graduation from Rice Lake High School. (Just a little more than 1 month later on his birthday he became 18 and of Selective Service or Draft age.
3. Stan was required to register for the Selective Service Draft on his 18th Birthday, June 14th, 1946. Stan was told that his draft status would be 1-A in the draft and he would soon be called up for military service. Stan joked about his birthday present being his draft status of 1-A. The first time Stan had ever seen a doctor or a dentist was when he was called up for service in the army. A luxury not available to "Great Depression" Era poor farm kids. Stan remembers his Mother Ellen telling Stan one December that their family income was only 1 dollar for the month of December and Christmas.Times were tough during the "Great Depression" Era. There was no electricity, light was from a kerosene lamp, no running water, water was from a hand pumped water well. No gas heated stoves or furnaces, heat was from a wood stove or wood furnace. No inside toilets. Just outside toilets - enough to make a "Spartan" sob on a sub-zero day!
4. Stan controlled his draft status and branch of service choice by voluntarily enlisting in the Regular Army (Before being Drafted) for assignment to the CIC (Counter Intelligence Corp.) at Fort Holabird, in the Baltimore suburb of Dundalk, Maryland. Stan was first required to undergo Basic Training in the 3rd Armored Division, Fort Knox, Kentucky. Stan's total Military service was four (4) years (1948-1952) Stan is now a lifetime member of Fridley, Minnesota American Legion post 303 as well as the Counter Intelligence Corp. Veterans. Stan Served during the Korean War but did not serve in a war zone and does not claim to be a hero by any stretch of imagination. Stan received certain Army service decorations and medals. One medal was for service during the Korean War. Another Medal was a "Good Conduct" (Efficiency) Medal. Stan also had an Expert Rifleman Rating and Badge/Medal with the .30 caliber, M-1 automatic rifle. (His firing on the Rifle Range at 100 Yards was one of the best and Stan scored 2nd out of a Company of 190 men with 193 points out of a possible 200 points. Stan was also qualified in the use of the M-1 .30 Caliber Carbine, and the M-3 Sub-Machine Gun called the "Grease Gun. Later Stan was also rated a "Sharpshooter" with the .38 Caliber revolver, the official side-arm of the Counter Intelligence Corp. agents.
5. Stan acquired a Law Degree (LL.B) from the Judge Advocate Generals Dept. of the Army before his discharge which proved to be of great value to Stan in later obtaining employment (1952) with the State Farm Insurance Companies as a Field Claim Investigator and Adjuster with assignments in/to Hibbing, Duluth and later the Roseville, MN State Farm Offices. Stan was promoted to various Supervisory positions and ended his State Farm career as a Regional Manager (Minnesota-Wisconsin) of the State Farm Fire and Casualty Company in 1958 after some 33 years. State Farm was very helpful in allowing Stan time off when needed for his Forensic Science activities and even featured many of his Forensic Science activities in the State Farm company/employee publication the "Pine-Aire".
6. Stan met June K. Rolstad who became the "love and Light" of Stan's life in 1951, while Stan was home on a 15 day day Spring Leave from the Army. (Stan previously had two failed romances (1948-1950) and received the notorious "Dear John" letters from two local Barron girls (Shirley and Lucy) Stan and June were later married in 1952. They had four (4) children (David, Daniel, Susan and Julie). June died in the year 2008 after a long battle of 12 years with Alzheimer's. Stan and June had a long and happy marriage of 56 years before Satan took June's by way of Alzheimer's after a sickness of 12 Years. June served as Stan's "Business Administrator" during his Forensic Science career. Stan is now awaiting his end of life when he can re-join June in a "heavenly" home. In 2008, Stan created the world's largest web-site dedicated to Alzheimer's research and information named "June's Journey Through Alzheimer's." Daily the site has from 1500-3000 visitors from people in 170 countries. Over 3,000,000 million people have visited this site at last count a year ago.
7. Stan spent a lifetime in his business as an Independent Forensic Scientist who specialized in both Criminal and Civil Cases both investigations and Trial and their Litigation. Stan handled about 1000 cases and testified in trials and depositions about 358 times in Federal, State, Military and Territorial Courts (U.S. Virgin Islands), as well as a Canadian Court (Ontario Supreme Court Saulte Ste Marie) and had testimony used in a Japanese Murder Trial in Japan.
8. Stan with June at his side as his Administrative Assistant, attended 170 Forensic Science Conferences in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, Russia, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, The Vatican, and Austria. Stan was a speaker at most conferences and served as a Chairman of the Firearms Symposiums in Edinburgh, Bergen, Zurich and Dusseldorf conferences. Stan has had about 180 Technical papers published in peer review publications. Stan has had four (4) Forensic Science Books (Covenant Books) about his life and his wife June's life in the Forensic Sciences these books are:
... - ...1."Stanton "Stan" O. Berg - A. Forensic Life (2019), 2. "Reminiscences of June a Traveling Grandmother and Her Forensic Life" (2020), 3. "Stanton "Stan" O. Berg - A Forensic Life" (2d Edition) 2020. 4. "Stan's Condensed Encyclopedia About the Basics of The World and Our Lives in This World" (15 Subjects) (2021)
... -...Stan has Four (4) New Books now in the Editing Stages for publication in 2022:
As the 5th book is New 2d Edition of the "Condensed Encyclopedia" with 6 Additional Subjects - 21 Total Subjects. The 6th book is:. "Stan's Story and History of Alzheimer's as Told in Photos and Pictures". The 7th book will be "Marsha's Poetic Expressions of June and Stan's Love and Life and Alzheimer's" And the 8th is/will be, "Ellen Silbaugh - Designer of Her Son Stan's Forensic Life."
9. Stan is a Lutheran Christian and Stan knows that without God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ and their influence and their daily assistance, guidance and direction in his/Stan's life, that none of his life's Forensic or other achievements could have been attained. Thank you God and Jesus!
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Chapter: 24
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"TWO WOMEN were/are the Important People in Stan's Life - STAN'S MOTHER ELLEN - STAN'S WIFE JUNE"
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That does not mean that other members of Stan's family were/are not also important, it simply means that without Stan's MOTHER ELLEN and Stan's WIFE JUNE there would not have been a BERG FAMILY!
Stan remembers the old Television series called "FATHER KNOWS BEST." That was not the case in Stan's life.
Stan's father "ROYCE (MIKE) CANDLER" abandoned both STAN and his mother ELLEN a month after Stan was born and he Stan never knew or met his father. Stan's first step-father, PERCY BERG, turned out to be the "Town Drunk" and drank and smoked himself to death, dying in his middle ages of cancer. (Died in/at the Wisconsin General Hospital at Madison, Wisconsin.) Stan was then in his highschool years.
Stan's mother ELLEN was responsible for Stan becoming an early avid reader of books. There was a "Carnegie" library in Barron. Stan was then in first and second grades of the Barron elementary grade schools. Stan completed grade school, 3rd grade through 8th grades in a Rice Lake rural grade school. (Walt Whitman Grade School). Stan later completed his reading at the Rice Lake Carnegia Library, in Rice Lake, Wisconsin where he attended and completed High School in 1947 at age 17. (World War II had just ended a year earlier.)
Stan's reading had started out with the "Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn", by Mark Twain and then moved to "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes" by Arthur Conan Doyle. (The Sherlock Holmes stories sparked an inerest by Stan in what later became or was called or known as "Crime Detection" and "Forensic Science".) Stan also found an interest in reading the works of Ernest Hemingway. ("A Farewell to Arms", "The Sun Also Rises", "For Whom The Bell Tolls" and "The Old Man and the Sea".
Mother Ellen started out encouraging Stan to read by cutting out small clored strips of paper and mounting them on a chart representing Stan's reading accomplishments. Each little strip represented a "read" book end. This was soon discontinued as Stan's reading accelerated.
Although in the early days of Stan's life during the "Great Depression" years, Stan's Mother Ellen had very little in money. Stan remembers the time that Mother Ellen told Stan that they had only one (1$) dollar of income for the month of December including Christmas. Tmes were hard but Mother Ellen always had a smile on her face. Stan remembers the time someone asker mother Ellen how she could smile when "times were so tough". Mother Ellen's response was "NO one likes a SOUR PUSS!"
Mother ELLEN stll however managed to buy her son Stan "Gilbert Chemistry Sets" and "Erector" sets to stimulate Stan's interest in the sciences.
On GRADUATION DAY from the Rice Lake High School, (May 1947) Mother Ellen managed to scrape together enough money to buy Stan a new wool double breasted Blue suit by mail order from the Montgomery Ward and Co. catalog. Stan was age 17 on graduation day. Unfortunately the best suit that Mother Ellen could afford was so prickly on Stan's legs that mother Ellen had to sow cotton liners inside the legs so that Stan could wear the pants in comfort.
A few months later on June 14th, 1948, on Stan's 18th Birthday Stan according to the law, had to register with the County Military Draft Board. Stan was classified by the Draft Board as 1-A and subject to immediate when needed drafting into the United States Armed Forces. Although World War II ended in 1945 the armed forces were continuing to draft eligible young men in order to bring home the World War II Battle Weary soldiers by repacing them with the newly drafted/inducted draftees. Stan joked about his 18th birthday present was being given a draft status of 1A.
Stan elected to enlist before being drafted in order to be able to select his own branch of service and training. Stan selected the Army Counter Intelligence Corp. (CIC) with headquarters at the CIC Center in the suburb of Dundalk in Baltimore, Maryland.
Stan's Army serial number was RA-16-284-530. (The RA indicated "Regular Army" as oppossed to the US prefix of all draftees.) Stan's basic training was done with the 3rd Armored Division, at Fort Knox, Kentucky, "C" Company, Combat command "B". Stan received a "Expert Rifleman " rating with the M-1 .30 Caliber rifle . When firing for score at the 100 yard range, Stan score 196 points out of a possible 200 points. (Stan's score was the 2nd best in a company of about 200 men.- The highest score achieved was 198.) Stan also was trained and became proficient in the use of the m-1 Carbine, and the M-2, 45 caliber submachine gun. Later Stan became a "Sharpshooter" with the .38 caliber, double action revolver, the official sidearm of the CIC Agents.
After Stan's enlistment, the United States was plunged into the Korean War, a "United Nations" operation. This War resulted in Stan serving in the Army for four (4) Years before being Honorably Discharged in 1952. Stan received a Korean War Service ribbon and medal.
Currently one of Stan's favorite TV programs is "MASH" (MOBILE ARMY SURGICAL HOSPITAL) aired every night from 6-7 PM (CDT) on ME/TV. One of the actors, directors, writers of "MASH" is Alan ALDA. Stan wrote to Alan to tell him how much he enjoyed his/their program as the Korean War was Stan's war. Alan called Stan on the phone to thank Stan for his service and even sent Stan a book on "MASH". MASH was originally aired in 1972-1973. (Currently it is re-runs on ME/TV.)
While Stan served at the CIC Center, he also took/completed daily lesson plans in "Common Law" and US Constitutional Law and was able to secure an LL.B Degree (Bachelor of Laws) after taking and passing his Final Law Exams administered by the Army Judge Advocate Generals Department.
The job of the CIC was outlined by the term "TESS" This called for the CIC investigation of all cases of Treason, Espionage, Sabotage, Sedition and Subversive activities by Military personel and/or their civilian employees.
Stan recalls being involved in the writing and issuance of the first "Agents Manual" classified "Restricted" to be used by all operational CIC Agents world-wide.
All members of the CIC had to have "TOP-SECRET" clearance. Stan remembers hearing of FBI Agents investigating Stan in his Home Towns of Barron and Rice Lake, Wisconsin. When Stan was later Honorably Discharged from the Army CIC, his discharge papers indicate a comparable Civilian occupation would be "Investigator II."
Stans four (4) year service resulted in his receiving two (2) of the notorious letters called "Dear John Letters." Stan's home town sweethearts who sent him the "Dear John" letters were Shirley B, and Lucy C. (1949 and 1950) Stan and Shirley and Lucy remained friends. While Stan was initially emotionally hurt on receiving the "Dear John" letters, Stan felt that perhaps God had someone better in mind for him. In 1951, Stan met June and June did not send Stan a "Dear John" letter. Stan and June were married in 1952, and they had a 56 year marriage before Satan brought June's life to an end with the horrible disease of Alzheimer's (1958)
June and Stan had four (4) children, two boys (David and Daniel) and two girls (Susan and Julie) June and Stan have (24) Grandchildren, of which some are great grandchildren and one is a boy (Gage) who is a great, great grandson.
Stan's first job after being discharged from the United States Army in 1952 was a Job with State Farm Mutual Auto Insurance company, of Bloomington, Illinois as a "Field Claim Investigator and Adjuster" in the Hibbing, Minnesota. Claim Service Office. Stan eventually ended his career with State Farm after some 30 plus years and was in upper management with the title of "Regional Manager of the State Farm Fire and Casualty Company" (Minnesota and Wisconsin). Stan was working out of the Duluth service office when he was first promoted to Claim Superintendent in the Automobile Company (1957) and assigned to the Roseville, Minnesota State Farm Regional Office. Stan was later promoted to Divisional Claim Superintendent with jurisdiction over all Minnesota Auto Company Claims in rural Minnesota.State Farm also provided time for Stan's part time occupation as a "Forensic Scientist." State Farm joined with Stan when Stan examined the firearms evidence as a part of a "National Panel" in the Robert Kenney Assassination evidence review Stan als had involvement in the John Kennedy assassination and the Martin Luther King assassintions. Stan also testified in the 1973 SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army) assassination shooting of Oakland, California School Superintendant Marcus Foster with cyanide tipped bullets.. Stan took an early retirement from the State Farm Insurance Companies so that he could devote his full time to his business as an independant "Forensic Science Firearms Consultant".
Stan eventually spent 20 years doing nothing but "Forensic Science work out of his combination home and office-laboratory in/on 6025 Gardena Lane, Fridley, Mnnesota 55432.
Stan retired from his business only when June's Alzheimer's disease had reached the late stages and her care required Stan's full time attention. His mother Ellen was also slowly dying of Alzheimer's in the Barron Nursing Home. Stan would be with June during the week and his mother Ellen on weekends. These were sad times.
Stan handled about one thousand (1000) forensic firearms cases both criminal and civil, testified in court proceedings 350 plus times in federal, state, local, military, territorial courts as well as a Canadian Court and a Japanese murder trial.
Stan was a program speaker at about 170 world wide forensic science conferences (United States, Canada, England, Scotland, Germany, Switzerland, and Norway) and served as a chairman of the firearms symposiums at four (4) of the conferences. (Edinburgh-Scotland, Bergin, Norway, Dusseldorf, Germany and Zurich, Switzerland.)
June was Stan's Administrative Assistant in his Forensic Science business. (1000 cases civil and criminal) 350 plus trials and legal proceedings in federal, state, local, miitary, and territorial courts.
Satan however brought both Mother Ellen's and June's lives to an end by the terrible disease of Alzheimer's. Stan is awaiting the day when he will Join his mother Ellen and June (And many other friens and relatives in Heaven with God the Father and His Son Jesus.
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STAN HAS BEEN INVOLVED IN EVERY SIGNIFICANT FORENSIC CASE involving FIREARMS and in the news during the WILD 1970's ... these cases are:
1. JOHN KENNEDY Assassination in Dallas, Texas in 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald. Stan analyzed the evidence, wrote and lectured on the assassination.
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2. Presidential Candidate ROBERT F. KENNEDY was fatally shot at the Ambassadore Hotel on June 5th, at the Ambassadore Hotel in Los Angeles and died the next day while hospitalized. The shooter was Sirhan Bishara Sirhan. Stan was appointed to a national panel to review the evidence by Superior Court Judge Robert A. Wenke.
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3. Iberia Hampton et. al. (BLACK PANTHERS) v. the City of Chicago and the Chicago City Crime Laboratory. (Stan was retained in behalf of the Crime Laboratory.) Police shooting at Black Panther Headquarters resulting in death and wounding of some Black Panthers. Based on Stan's findings, the Crime Laboratory was dismissed from the case by the presiding Judge.
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4. Dr MARTIN LUTHER KING Jr, asssassination by James Earl Ray and subsequent riots in the city of Chiago resulted in the death of a small boy standing on the balcony of a black apartment building. Lawsuit against the City of Chicago alleged that the small boy died from a bullet fired by a Chicago police officer. Stan was retained by the City of Chicago to examine the recovered bullet. Stan's findings indicated that the lethal stray bullet could not have come from a polic gun but came from a cheap imported firearm and likely fired by a rioter. Local Chicago Court jury agreed with Stan's findings and NO DAMAGES were awarded the lawsuit.
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5. SYMBIONESE LIBERATION ARMY (SLA) Ambush shooting of Oakland, California School Superintendent Marcus Foster with cyanide-tipped bullets. (Stan testified in California Superior Court on his findings of fired bullets fired in similar guns.) The SLA was an American left wing terrorist organization. The SLA received national attention when they kidnapped Heiress Patricia Hearst. Her father owned HEARST NEWS Papers. (SLA was Active 1973-1975)
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Stan is now thanking GOD for the wonderful life that GOD the FATHER and his SON JESUS gave to Stan, and is writing books to make a record of Stan's Life, and June's life and his/their families life and their involvement in the forensic sciences.
Stan, in a effort to strike back at the horrible disease of Alzheimer's and honor June and the family members who died of or from Alzheimer's disease, Stan created (2008) the world's largest source of information on Alzheimer's. This source of information is a website called "June's Journey through Alzheimer's" The site has over 285 pages and subjects relating to Alzheimer's. On the last count in 2020, about 3,000,000 people had visited the site from 170 countries. The daily visitation rate is from1500 to 3000 visits per day. Stan owns the domain name to the site. Even the NIH has a page on the site because they know it is the largest and the best.
Stan has written a series of Books about his forensic life with June and his mother Ellen and Alzheimer's. Stan has four (4) books currently on the market, four (4) more books are in various stages of preparation and two (2) more being considered but not yet approved for production by COVENANT BOOKS, a Christian book publisher from South Carolina, The books are marketed by, AMAZON, BARNES and NOBLE, APPLE, WALMART and others.
The Four (4) Books currently on the market are:
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1. "STANTON "STAN" O, BERG, A FORENSIC LIFE". (1st Edition) 2019.
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2. "STANTON "STAN" O. BERG, A FORENSIC LIFE" (2d Edition) 2020.
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3. "REMINISCENCES of JUNE A TRAVELING GRANDMOTHER and HER FORENSIC LIFE" (2020).
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4. "Stan's Condensed Encyclopedia About the Basics of the World We Live in and Our Lives in This World" (15 Subjects) 2021.
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The Four (4) Books now/currently in the EDITING Stages are:
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5. "Condensed Encyclopedia About the Basics of The World We Live In - 2nd Edition" (Has additional detail added to original 15 Subjects plus the addition of six (6) New Subjects for a total of 21 Subjects.
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6. "ELLEN SILBAUGH - Designer of Her SON STAN'S FORENSIC LIFE"
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7. "ABOUT ALZHEIMER'S"
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8. "MARSHA'S POETIC EXPRESSIONS of JUNE'S and STAN.S LOVE and LIFE and ALZHEIMER'S" - (38 Poems) -
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Stan has 3 more Potential Books under Consideration for Possible Publication by.Covenant Books!
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These three potential books are:
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9. "BEST FRIENDS"
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10. "CHRISTIANITY"
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11. "MINNESOTA - "FIRST - IN"
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(1.) LAND of THE 10,000 LAKES:
a. The Minnesota DNR list 14,380 Lakes not counting water bodies under 10 acres. The largest lake is Lake Superior. The smallest lake bigger than 10 acres is Echo Lake in Cass County.
b. The Total surface areas of lakes in Minnesota is 2,912,542 acres or about 4,600 square miles. Just smaller than the state of Connecticut and bigger than the big Island in Hawaii.
c. Thee top 20 Largest Lakes not counting Lake Superior that overlaps Canada and Wisconsin are:
1. Lake of the Woods.
2. Red Lake Lower.
3. Mille Lacs
4. Red Lake (Upper)
5. Leach Lake
6. Winibigoshish
7. Rainy
8. Vermillion (East)
9. Kabetogama
10. Saganaga
11. Cass
12. Otter Tail
13. Basswood
14. Lac La Croix
15. Namakagan
16. Pelican
17. Vermillion
18. Gull
19. Bow String
20. Swan
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The City of Minneapolis has some 13 Lakes in the city Limits and one is connected to the famous "Minnehaha Falls" and the Poet Longfellow's famous poem "Song of Hiawatha"dating back to November 10th 1855.
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(THANK YOU GOD and JESUS for the many Blessing's You have bestowed on Me/Stan and my Life and for the Gifts You have given me of my Wife June and my Mother Ellen and our families. I can hardly believe it all happened to me. I just had my 94th Birthday June 14th, 2022.)
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(Stanton "Stan" O. Berg - Age 94 - 2022)
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