Herbert is the son of Edward Joseph and Bertha Freda Draves Bonnes, of Hudson, St. Croix, Wisconsin. Herb was born in Hudson and lived there most of his life. He attended University of Wisconsin, in Milwaukee. He enlisted in the U.S. Army during WWII. His enlistment date is shown as 23 Jun 1941. He served until October 13, 1945. While serving his country he saw action in the European theater of war. In December of 1944, he was captured by the Germans and served as a prisoner of war in Stalag 4B Muhlberg Sachsen 51-13 until July 1945, when he was liberated. He was awarded the Purple Heart and held the American Defense and EAME (Europe-Africa-Middle East) ribbons. His report time for POW status was as follows:
World War II POW.
Name: Herbert T. Bonnes; Report Date: December 21, 1944; Latest Report: July 10, 1945; Grade: Sergeant; Service Branch: Army; Arm of Service:
Infantry; Parent Unit: Depot, 106th Infantry Division; Area Served: European Theater, Germany.
Herb told me many years ago, about his time in the POW camp. He spoke of the atrocities he and his fellow prisoners suffered and it made a great impact. These people are our heroes and endured cruelty and malnutrition that had it's effects the remainder of their lives.
Herb was married a short time to Delores Ann Dardis.
On 17 Mar 1946, Herb married Evelyn McCrary, whom he'd met in the military. They married in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he was employed by Brown and Bigelow. In 1947,they moved to Hudson, where he was employed by the Chicago-Northwestern Railroad in St. Paul until 1956. He served as the Civil Defense Director for the city of Hudson in the middle 1950ʼs. From 1956 until his retirement in 1977, he was a civil engineer for Sperry-Univac in St. Paul. He was a member of St. Croix Chapter No. 44 of the Masonic Lodge, Zurah Temple of Minneapolis, the American Legion and a life member of Disabled American Veterans.
On a personal note, in 1967, my husband and I being newly married, decided to move North from Texas. Herb and Evelyn were his aunt and uncle through the McCrary side. We needed a place to stay until he could get a job and we could find a place to live. Herb and Evelyn welcomed us and were so very gracious to us. They more or less adopted us as 2 more kids and we all spent a lot of time together while living in that area of the country. They became surrogate parents and we loved them very much. Although Evelyn and there daughter visited me a few times, I only saw Herb twice after we left to move back to Texas. However, I remember him well and it is my honor to enter this memorial of him. I would also like to thank Rick Bays who sent me the complete genealogy of the extended Bonnes family and supplied me with several details I did not have.
Rest peacefully my dear friend and my hero.....
For Herb & all Vets:
NO, FREEDOM ISN'T FREE
©Copyright 1981 by CDR Kelly Strong, USCG (Ret).
I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.
I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.
World War II POW.
Name: Herbert T. Bonnes; Report Date: December 21, 1944; Latest Report: July 10, 1945; Grade: Sergeant; Service Branch: Army; Arm of Service:
Infantry; Parent Unit: Depot, 106th Infantry Division; Area Served: European Theater, Germany.
Herb told me many years ago, about his time in the POW camp. He spoke of the atrocities he and his fellow prisoners suffered and it made a great impact. These people are our heroes and endured cruelty and malnutrition that had it's effects the remainder of their lives.
Herb was married a short time to Delores Ann Dardis.
On 17 Mar 1946, Herb married Evelyn McCrary, whom he'd met in the military. They married in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he was employed by Brown and Bigelow. In 1947,they moved to Hudson, where he was employed by the Chicago-Northwestern Railroad in St. Paul until 1956. He served as the Civil Defense Director for the city of Hudson in the middle 1950ʼs. From 1956 until his retirement in 1977, he was a civil engineer for Sperry-Univac in St. Paul. He was a member of St. Croix Chapter No. 44 of the Masonic Lodge, Zurah Temple of Minneapolis, the American Legion and a life member of Disabled American Veterans.
On a personal note, in 1967, my husband and I being newly married, decided to move North from Texas. Herb and Evelyn were his aunt and uncle through the McCrary side. We needed a place to stay until he could get a job and we could find a place to live. Herb and Evelyn welcomed us and were so very gracious to us. They more or less adopted us as 2 more kids and we all spent a lot of time together while living in that area of the country. They became surrogate parents and we loved them very much. Although Evelyn and there daughter visited me a few times, I only saw Herb twice after we left to move back to Texas. However, I remember him well and it is my honor to enter this memorial of him. I would also like to thank Rick Bays who sent me the complete genealogy of the extended Bonnes family and supplied me with several details I did not have.
Rest peacefully my dear friend and my hero.....
For Herb & all Vets:
NO, FREEDOM ISN'T FREE
©Copyright 1981 by CDR Kelly Strong, USCG (Ret).
I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.
I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.
Herbert is the son of Edward Joseph and Bertha Freda Draves Bonnes, of Hudson, St. Croix, Wisconsin. Herb was born in Hudson and lived there most of his life. He attended University of Wisconsin, in Milwaukee. He enlisted in the U.S. Army during WWII. His enlistment date is shown as 23 Jun 1941. He served until October 13, 1945. While serving his country he saw action in the European theater of war. In December of 1944, he was captured by the Germans and served as a prisoner of war in Stalag 4B Muhlberg Sachsen 51-13 until July 1945, when he was liberated. He was awarded the Purple Heart and held the American Defense and EAME (Europe-Africa-Middle East) ribbons. His report time for POW status was as follows:
World War II POW.
Name: Herbert T. Bonnes; Report Date: December 21, 1944; Latest Report: July 10, 1945; Grade: Sergeant; Service Branch: Army; Arm of Service:
Infantry; Parent Unit: Depot, 106th Infantry Division; Area Served: European Theater, Germany.
Herb told me many years ago, about his time in the POW camp. He spoke of the atrocities he and his fellow prisoners suffered and it made a great impact. These people are our heroes and endured cruelty and malnutrition that had it's effects the remainder of their lives.
Herb was married a short time to Delores Ann Dardis.
On 17 Mar 1946, Herb married Evelyn McCrary, whom he'd met in the military. They married in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he was employed by Brown and Bigelow. In 1947,they moved to Hudson, where he was employed by the Chicago-Northwestern Railroad in St. Paul until 1956. He served as the Civil Defense Director for the city of Hudson in the middle 1950ʼs. From 1956 until his retirement in 1977, he was a civil engineer for Sperry-Univac in St. Paul. He was a member of St. Croix Chapter No. 44 of the Masonic Lodge, Zurah Temple of Minneapolis, the American Legion and a life member of Disabled American Veterans.
On a personal note, in 1967, my husband and I being newly married, decided to move North from Texas. Herb and Evelyn were his aunt and uncle through the McCrary side. We needed a place to stay until he could get a job and we could find a place to live. Herb and Evelyn welcomed us and were so very gracious to us. They more or less adopted us as 2 more kids and we all spent a lot of time together while living in that area of the country. They became surrogate parents and we loved them very much. Although Evelyn and there daughter visited me a few times, I only saw Herb twice after we left to move back to Texas. However, I remember him well and it is my honor to enter this memorial of him. I would also like to thank Rick Bays who sent me the complete genealogy of the extended Bonnes family and supplied me with several details I did not have.
Rest peacefully my dear friend and my hero.....
For Herb & all Vets:
NO, FREEDOM ISN'T FREE
©Copyright 1981 by CDR Kelly Strong, USCG (Ret).
I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.
I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.
World War II POW.
Name: Herbert T. Bonnes; Report Date: December 21, 1944; Latest Report: July 10, 1945; Grade: Sergeant; Service Branch: Army; Arm of Service:
Infantry; Parent Unit: Depot, 106th Infantry Division; Area Served: European Theater, Germany.
Herb told me many years ago, about his time in the POW camp. He spoke of the atrocities he and his fellow prisoners suffered and it made a great impact. These people are our heroes and endured cruelty and malnutrition that had it's effects the remainder of their lives.
Herb was married a short time to Delores Ann Dardis.
On 17 Mar 1946, Herb married Evelyn McCrary, whom he'd met in the military. They married in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where he was employed by Brown and Bigelow. In 1947,they moved to Hudson, where he was employed by the Chicago-Northwestern Railroad in St. Paul until 1956. He served as the Civil Defense Director for the city of Hudson in the middle 1950ʼs. From 1956 until his retirement in 1977, he was a civil engineer for Sperry-Univac in St. Paul. He was a member of St. Croix Chapter No. 44 of the Masonic Lodge, Zurah Temple of Minneapolis, the American Legion and a life member of Disabled American Veterans.
On a personal note, in 1967, my husband and I being newly married, decided to move North from Texas. Herb and Evelyn were his aunt and uncle through the McCrary side. We needed a place to stay until he could get a job and we could find a place to live. Herb and Evelyn welcomed us and were so very gracious to us. They more or less adopted us as 2 more kids and we all spent a lot of time together while living in that area of the country. They became surrogate parents and we loved them very much. Although Evelyn and there daughter visited me a few times, I only saw Herb twice after we left to move back to Texas. However, I remember him well and it is my honor to enter this memorial of him. I would also like to thank Rick Bays who sent me the complete genealogy of the extended Bonnes family and supplied me with several details I did not have.
Rest peacefully my dear friend and my hero.....
For Herb & all Vets:
NO, FREEDOM ISN'T FREE
©Copyright 1981 by CDR Kelly Strong, USCG (Ret).
I watched the flag pass by one day.
It fluttered in the breeze.
A young Marine saluted it,
And then he stood at ease.
I looked at him in uniform
So young, so tall, so proud,
With hair cut square and eyes alert
He'd stand out in any crowd.
I thought how many men like him
Had fallen through the years.
How many died on foreign soil?
How many mothers' tears?
How many pilots' planes shot down?
How many died at sea?
How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?
No, freedom isn't free.
I heard the sound of taps one night,
When everything was still
I listened to the bugler play
And felt a sudden chill.
I wondered just how many times
That taps had meant "Amen,"
When a flag had draped a coffin
Of a brother or a friend.
I thought of all the children,
Of the mothers and the wives,
Of fathers, sons and husbands
With interrupted lives.
I thought about a graveyard
At the bottom of the sea
Of unmarked graves in Arlington.
No, freedom isn't free.
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