Sue Rizvi contributed these photos of United States Army Company B, 18th Armored Replacement Battalion, taken 1/1941 at Fort Knox, Kentucky.  My great grand uncle, Charles Richard “Dick” Waits is on the far right, third row from the top.

Rolled-up, with creases and many signs of wear, the original photo was found in the home of Paul and Bette Hang in Circleville, Ohio. Bette was Dick’s sister-in-law until he was KIA on 4/6/45 in Germany. Sue, Bette’s daughter, was kind enough to scan the original photo into four separate files (the photo is too large to fit on a standard flatbed scanner) and email them to me. I decided to have the photos retouched and put back together.  I contacted Miles Abernathy at 399Retouch for the picture retouch.  For an affordable price and fast turnaround time, I thought they did an outstanding job.

Dick Waits 18th Armored Replacement Battalion Retouched Picture

Brian Davis – Christine (Williams) Davis – Ralph Scott Williams Jr. – Nellie Ruth (Waits/sister of Charles Richard Waits) Williams

Paul's Dairy Store Article

During World War II, my great grand uncle, Charles Richard “Dick” Waits, and his brother-in-law, Paul Hang, were in Europe fighting the Nazis, while their families remained in the States. Paul’s wife, Bette, was in Circleville, Ohio with two small children and a business to run. Dick’s wife, Peggy, was in Lancaster, Ohio.

The following are excerpts from an article about Paul’s Dairy Store that appeared in the Circleville (OH) Herald in 2002:

Hang recalls ‘simpler times’ at helm of Isaly’s Dairy

5 cent cones, busy Saturday nights offer reminders of days gone by

By Mike Pratt – The Herald

Many fond memories are rooted in the Isaly’s Dairy Store that was once part of Circleville’s business district on West Main Street. It was located in the western side of the building that Block’s Shoes occupies today…

Paul Hang, half the operating muscle behind the store, is gone now. He died in February 1995, but his widow, Bette, remembers it all – from the day she and her husband moved in to the day it closed as Paul’s Dairy Store…

Having moved here in February 1943, it took only a year for the inevitable to happen.

Paul was drafted into the Army.

“I prayed a lot for him to come back while he was gone and I was on my own,” Hang said. “I never worked in the store and we’d only had it about a year. But it was an opportunity for Paul, and I wanted to keep it for him so he would have something to come back to after the war…”

Fortunately, during the war, Hang’s sister, Peg [Waits] Henderson, came from Lancaster to help.

Because Paul was wounded in Europe and his feet were frozen, Hang said it took him longer to recuperate…

Isaly’s eventually closed its Columbus plant sometime in the 1950s. That’s when the Circleville store was renamed Paul’s Dairy Store…

Paul’s Dairy Store closed in 1973 but the memories it created will be a long time dying.

The article, along with the pictures and descriptions below, were sent to me by Paul and Bette’s daughter, Sue Rizvi. I cannot thank her enough for the contributions.

Paul Hang Picture

The Kitchen at Paul’s Dairy Store –

Walk-in cooler/refrigerator behind Paul and large saw was used for bones in roast beef that he roasted and sliced for sandwiches, hot or cold.

Bette Hang January 1967 Picture

Bette in the Kitchen –

Behind, but in front, of her is a potato cutter for French fries and behind is an orange juicer.
Dad made all of the foods he sold – potato salad, baked beans, roast beef, pimento cheese for the Deli section. At the lunch counter in the rear of the store, where all the local businessmen (and women) ate lunch and had coffee breaks, he made chili, vegetable soup, bean soup, fries, oyster stew, and pork tenderloin on occasion. Hamburgers from good, ground beef, and, of course, the soda fountain and ice cream dishes.

Modern Day Site of Paul's Dairy Store

Brian Davis – Christine Davis (Williams) – Ralph Scott Williams Jr. – Nellie Ruth Williams (Waits/sister of Charles Richard Waits)

This obituary is of my great grand uncle, Charles Richard “Dick” Waits. At the time, he was the 90th Fairfield County, Ohio serviceman killed in action, and the 109th war death from that county since Pearl Harbor. The article was featured in the 4/20/1945 edition of the Lancaster Eagle Gazette:

Three Lancastrians Lose Lives At War

… T-5 Corporal Charles Richard (Dick) Waits, 25, husband of Mrs. Margaret Ann Waits, 111 North Pearl-av, and only son of Mr. and Mrs. Harmon C. Waits, 702 Eastwood-av. A tank gunner in an armored division of the Seventh Army, Cpl. Waits was reported by the War Department as killed in action April 6 in Germany.

T-5 Corporal Waits, who would have been 26 years old on April 27, has been reported by the War Department as killed in action April 6, somewhere in Germany. His wife is the former Margaret Ann Phillips, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ross Phillips of the Pearl-av address. For the past year, Mrs. Waits has been helping her sister, Mrs. Paul Hang (Betty Phillips) operate the Isaly Company store in Circleville during the absence of Paul Hang, formerly of Lancaster, who has been serving overseas. Twice wounded, Pvt. Hang has been returned to the States and is now visiting his family in Circleville.

Cpl. Waits entered the Army here December 9, 1941, received training at Fort Knox, Ky. and Camp Polk, La., in the Armored Force, then was at Temple, Texas, Camp Hood, Texas, receiving further instruction in tank and tank destroyer operation and maintenance, and also at Camp Pickett, Va. He sailed overseas in April, 1943, two years ago; arriving in North Africa where he served in the North African campaign.

Waits took part in the invasion of Sicily in July, 1943 and also in the invasion of Italy at Salerno in September, 1943, attached to a unit of the 45th Division, then a part of the U.S. 5th Army.

He also saw service at Cassino, Gela, Palermo and during the drive on Rome with the armored force. Last August Waits participated in the invasion of Southern France. He was in maintenance, then a half-track crew member, then a tank driver, and at the time of his death was a tank gunner attached to the 753rd Tank battalion of an armored division in the 7th Army, possibly in the Nuermberg (sic) sector of Germany.

Battalion Honored

Cpl. Waits and other members of the battalion had received the French Croix de Guerre, and the Vermillion Star recently for their outstanding operations with French units during a phase of the Italian campaign last year.

Prior to his induction T/5 Cpl. Waits was employed at the Sohio filling station, corner Broad and Chestnut-sts. He was a graduate of Lancaster High School, where he played football.

In addition to his wife and parents, Cpl. Waits leaves three sisters, Miss May Waits, chief telephone operator here, Mrs. Ernest Miller, Muskegon, Mich., and Mrs. Ralph Williams, Columbus.

The last letter Mrs. Waits received from her husband was dated March 30, from somewhere inside Germany.

I’d also like to mention the other two servicemen mentioned in the article:

First Lieutenant William S. Massey (5/9/1917 – 3/26/1945), 187th Glider Infantry, 11th Airborne, United States Army, died of battle wounds in the Philippines. He is buried in the Manila American Cemetery.

Corporal Kenneth Kinney Metcalf (8/15/1922 – 4/5/1945), 6th Division, United States Marine Corps, was KIA at Okinawa in the Ryukyu Islands, 350 miles from Japan. He is buried in Forest Rose Cemetery in Lancaster, Ohio.

Through my many internet wanderings and various Ohio contacts, I had never been able to locate this newspaper article. Many, many thanks to Jane Mason (Miller) for locating and mailing a copy!

Brian Davis – Christine Davis (Williams) – Ralph Scott Williams Jr. – Nellie Ruth Williams (Waits/sister of Charles Richard Waits)