LEROYPENNYSAVER&NEWS -MAY 22, 2016
FlagsToRecognizeVeterans
byLynneBelluscio
Last year, Janine Werner Tor-
cello stopped by the Historical
Society and asked if a flag could
beputonhergrandfather’sgrave.
I went to theMachpelah Ceme-
tery files and Charles Lupperg-
er’s name wasn’t included in
the military records. So I went
to our clipping file and there
was nothing. So I asked Janine
if she knew anything about her
grandfather or if shemight have
anobituary, and she reallydidn’t
know.Aweekagoshestoppedby
again,andsaid that shehad found
anobituaryandshehadcontacted
TerryKrautwurstandhewasable
tofindhismilitary records.
Wehavebeengoing throughall
theMachpelahrecordsand listsfor
thepast coupleofmonths to see if
we can discovermissing veterans
and it has beenquite a project.
We have some military files
from various wars. Andwe have
lists from the Daughter’s of the
American Revolution from the
1920swhomade listsof thecem-
eteries. We have some old lists
from theAmerican Legionwhen
theyplacedflagsongraves. Then,
wefounda letterfrom theGenesee
County Historian’s Of-
ficewhich listedveterans
inMachpelah.
Lastyear,SidBarefoot
photographed all the
military gravestones in
Machpelah andwe have
his list. Sowith all these
listswehoped tohavean
up to date list ready for
this year, but the work
continues, searching out
misspelled names and
mistaken identity and
nameswithnoclueabout
their military service.
But one by one we are
makingprogress.
This year for the first
time since Charles Lup-
perger’s death in 1966, his grave
will be decorated with a flag on
Memorial Day. He was born in
Wyoming onMarch 9, 1894. His
parentswereGeorge andChistina
Lupperger (who are alsoburied in
Machpeleah– in factwhen Iwent
over to the cemetery, I discovered
that their gravestone has been
tippedover.)
According to his obituary, he
was“aWorldWar IVeteran.”His
service record, indicates that he
enlisted inBataviaonSeptember
25, 1917.He served inBatteryD
of the307FieldArtilleryandwas
in“GroupARepUnit302MTC.”
He servedoverseas from January
11, 1918until June19, 1919. He
washonorablydischargedonJune
19, 1919. His service record also
indicates thathe receivedno inju-
ries and apparently served in no
engagements. When he returned
home, he married Janine Found
onOctober30,1919. (Shedied in
1964.)CharlesandJenniehadone
daughter, Dorothy, whomarried
KenWerner. TheWerner’s were
Jenine’sparentsand theyarealso
buried inMachpelahCemetery.
Charles Lupperger lived in
the LeRoy area all his life. He
was a hunter and fisherman and
a well-known gunsmith and he
wasamemberof theNorthwoods
Sportsman’s Club. He had been
a mechanic at LeRoy Motors
where he had worked for over
30 years. He died in Petawawa,
Ontario Canada, on a fishing
trip at the Pope Allen Lodge.
His granddaughter told me that
it took quite a long time to have
his body shipped back into the
United States. According to the
cemetery records, he is buried in
SectionH gravesite 108, and for
certain, this year, there will be a
flagonhis grave.
On Saturday, May 28, volun-
teerswill beginplacingover 400
flags at Machpelah Cemetery.
Anyone interested inhelping can
join us at 9 am. It usually takes
2 hours to complete the project,
although that depends on the
number of volunteers who show
up.Dress for theweather, rainor
shine. Wear sturdy shoes and be
prepared for blackflies andbring
a bottle ofwater.
LeRoyHistorical Society
Chicken 'nRibs
Sunday,May 22nd
onTrigonPark, LeRoy
11:00 amTil SoldOut!
BBQ 1/2CHICKEN - $10.00 • BBQ 1/4CHICKEN&RIBS - $12.00
RIBSONLY - $15.00
• w/salt potatoes & cole slaw, roll, cookies
Carry Out Only
"DriveThrough" OnTrigon Park
5/22
THECHICKEN
&RIBS
SELLOUT EARLY!!
Prepared
By
PhilTooze
