My name is Wilfred L. Bergman, and I lived about two blocks from his [Joe's] home. He worked in a grocery store on one corner, and I worked in another one across the street. We were very good friends, played scrub baseball on the Queen Anne Grade School grounds, joined the National Guard together along with about 35 other Queen Anne High School students in November 1939.
It was a newly activated Ambulance Company so you can see the attraction for High School aged young men. It was part of the 41st Division and was inducted into the Army on September 15th 1940. From that group all survived the war, except Joe. One man was in a wheel chair and the rest were OK although some had been wounded. About 16 achieved Commissioned Officer rank in many branches of the service.
Joe had a girlfriend namd Donna. I was going with my present wife Barbara, and we double dated until he left for flight school. In January of 1942 he signed up for flight school but I did not as I had decided to get married first.
He was to be my best man, but got called to report for training a week before the wedding on April 11, 1942.I found a memorial for Wilfred L. Bergman online earlier. It says that he was born November 22, 1921, and passed away on December 21, 2004. He was a Master Mason and belonged to the Seattle Masons.
Joe had a younger brother named Bob or Robert. He also had a cousin from Beach, ND, Russell Noyes, who also joined the National Guard with us. The last I had anything on his present location was that after the war he owned a motel in Beach, but had sold it and was living in Daly City, California. That was probably 20 years or more ago.
I am disappointed that I was not able to meet him before his time came, but I am also thankful that he reached out to me in 2003, and contributed to Joe's story in this way.
May you rest in peace dear Mr. Bergman.
