Central Ohio Military Museum

08/22/2026

Today Will Canaday has started work on the museum’s exterior. Today he is power washing the front porch railing, the porch and the awning. He is also going to paint the railing.

Will has volunteered to help repair the building exterior. We will be making a list of wood, paint and supplies needed to make the repairs. I can’t thank Will enough for taking the lead on this project.

08/20/2026

We met Huy Whidden many times over the years. Great man.

08/19/2026

08/19/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CbeUbjSuP/

Honoring Army Sgt. Edward J. Frank II, who died 15 years ago today (August 11, 2011) while serving during Operation Enduring Freedom. He died of injuries sustained when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle in Nalgham, Afghanistan. Please share this post to honor him so that he is not forgotten.

26, of Yonkers, N.Y.

08/14/2026

Marine CPL William Bainbridge Jr was Killed in Action on August 13, 1942 fighting the Japanese on Guadalcanal, he was 20 years old…

Born in Newark, New Jersey to William & Emma Bainbridge on December 22, 1921, William Bainbridge Jr had a younger brother.
He enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in February 1939 and in October 1941 was transferred to the Intelligence Section of the HQ and Service Company of the 5th Marine Regiment.

William was serving with the regimental intelligence section of the 5th Marines, 1st Marine Division during the landings on Guadalcanal on August 7, 1942.
Five days after the landings, he was chosen to be part of a patrol commanded by intelligence officer Colonel Frank Goettge.

A Marine patrol had captured a Japanese soldier who reported that a group of Japanese west of the Matanikau River were disorganized, short on food and in bad health.
Goettge’s idea was to send a patrol consisting of 25 Marines plus the prisoner to convince these Japanese soldiers to surrender.

On the night of August 12, the patrol was dropped off by landing craft 200 yards from their planned dropoff point, as Colonel Goettge approached the treeline, shots rang out and he dropped dead.
The rest of the Marines were trapped on the beach and were being picked off one by one.

Captain Wilfred Ringer Jr, who took command after Goettge’s death, asked for volunteers to go for help, CPL Bainbridge and one other volunteered and took off along the beach.
All of the Marines were eventually killed except for three who managed to escape.

The bullet riddled remains of CPL Bainbridge were found on the beach a week later by another Marine patrol, they buried his body, but his remains were never recovered post-war and he is listed as Missing in Action.

CPL William Bainbridge Jr is memorialized with the USMC Missing at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in the Philippines.

Missing Marines

08/14/2026

🇺🇲 WWII uncovered: Honoring Mario “Motts” Tonelli: The Ultimate Survivor of Bataan and the NFL

Former Chicago Cardinals fullback and Notre Dame standout Mario “Motts” Tonelli left his professional football career after the 1940 season to serve his country. Motts reported for duty at Camp Wallace Texas in March of 1941. By July, Tonelli was stationed at Fort Bliss Texas and assigned to the 200th Coast Artillery, and anti-aircraft artillery unit of the New Mexico National Guard.

"Sergeant Tonelli was stationed at Clark Field on Luzon, Philippines during the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Immediately following the initial attack of Luzon, Tonelli joined the rest of the American and Filipino forces in their withdrawal into the Bataan Peninsula. For five months, Motts and his fellow soldiers fought dauntlessly against the Japanese while their supply of food, medicine and ammunition became depleted. On April 9, 1942 American forces surrendered to the Japanese. On this day, Tonelli began his 1,236 day ordeal as a Prisoner of War. A survivor of the Bataan Death March. Tonelli was later transported from Manila to Japan and survived almost three and a half years as a POW." - The Army Historical Foundation

"In the summer of 1944, the Japanese imprisoned Tonelli and his fellow POWs in the ship Mari Mari Maru where he spent sixty-two days in the crowded darkness of the ship’s hull while en route to a work camp near Yokkaichi. Motts would spend another 10 months of hard labor at this camp. Once again transferred to a scrap metal plant in June of 1945, Tonelli received the number 58 to sew onto his prison uniform as he registered at his new camp. Number 58 was his football jersey number at DePaul Academy, Notre Dame, and while he played for the Chicago Cardinals. Excited, he exclaimed to himself, “Boy, this is it. I know I’m going to make it now!” - US Army and The Army Historical Association

Sergeant Tonelli weighed a mere 90 pounds when he was liberated from the camp. That was a long way from the 210 pound fullback that once graced the field with the Chicago Cardinals. A position that he would once more acquire as a member of the 1945 Chicago Cardinal team. On October 28, 1945, Motts would go on to play one game against the Green Bay Packers that season. The Chicago Cardinals were recognized in the NFL from 1920 to 1959.

Mario Tonelli would leave the football field after the Green Bay matchup and the next year go on to initiate a 42 year career in public service in Cook County Illinois.

Sergeant Mario “Motts” Tonelli passed away on January 7, 2003 at the age of 86 years old. He lies in rest at Memorial Park Cemetery in Skokie Illinois. Lest We Forget.





WWII uncovered©️ description and photos sourced by The US Army Historical Association, The US Army, Find a Grave Database and Ancestry Database.