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Mar 30
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Sisters discover letters to their father from his friend killed during WWII
By Elizabeth Pritchett, Fox News
March 27, 2023
Most people never have the opportunity to gain insight into what their parents were like during their younger days, but two sisters in New Jersey did after discovering letters written to their Navy veteran father from his best friend during World War II.
Al Sitarski, left, and Fred Fonda, right, shortly after enlisting in the Navy in 1942. Susan Sitarski Sturm
Susan Sturm and Cindy Sommer were tasked with the responsibility of cleaning out their parents’ home following the death of their 96-year-old mother in January 2021. The women had lost their father, Al Sitarski, years prior in July 2012 at the age of 91.
While in the attic, the sisters came across a brown envelope with the words “A Very Sad Story About WWII” written on the front in Sitarski’s handwriting. Not knowing many details about their father’s four years in the Navy, they opened the envelope and discovered it was stuffed with letters from his longtime best friend, Navy Lt. Fred Fonda.
“The letters in this envelope were a collection in chronological order of all of the letters that Fred wrote to my dad,” Sturm said, adding that the finding was “very touching and amazing.”
Prior to finding and reading the letters, Sturm and Sommer knew of Fonda, but were not aware of the extent of his friendship with their father – a friendship that would come to a tragic end with Fonda’s death in November 1945. Strum said she believed it affected her father for the rest of his life.
Fred Fonda, left, and Al Sitarski, right, pictured outside Cornell University in May 1943. Susan Sitarski Sturm
The sisters ultimately decided they were going to read every letter in the envelope, starting with Sturm. When she was finished she gave them to her sister, who ironically read them on Memorial Day 2021.
“These two men had such a bond,” Sturm said before taking the story back to where she knows it started – Sitarski and Fonda’s high school years.
Both men attended Linden High School in Linden, New Jersey, and were “dearest, closest” friends, according to Sturm, but she thinks the friendship could have gone back further. Sitarski had been in Linden his entire life. Fonda, on the other hand, migrated to the area from Italy and became a nationalized citizen in 1931 at 10 years old.
After high school, they both attended the Newark College of Engineering before enlisting in the Navy in 1942. Both men also completed naval training at Cornell University before they were separated.
Sturm said her father remained on the East Coast while Fonda was mostly on the West Coast. Both men also spent time on various ships.
“My dad’s ship was YMS104 based out of Solomons, Maryland. He actually made a replica of the ship,” Sommer said in an email. “I found the plans to the ship too. I think he must have learned every inch of it.”
Upon being separated, the men wrote to each other often.
Though the sisters only have access to the letters Fonda wrote Sitarski, Sturm said it was clear both men had a great sense of humor while sharing their life updates.
The conversations centered around women, hobbies, career updates and the future. Sturm said there was hardly any talk of the war, at least from Fonda’s end.
Navy Lt. Fred Fonda was pictured holding a dog while at sea sometime in the 1940s. Susan Sitarski Sturm
“I think in their heart of hearts they pictured the war will eventually be over, we’ll both be married, settle down and have children, our wives will be friends, and we’ll have BBQs,” Sturm said. “But it never happened.”
On Nov. 9, 1945, just days after being promoted to lieutenant, Fonda was killed while decommissioning the USS Greene. The ship was one of many damaged beyond economical repair a month prior during Typhoon Louise in Okinawa, Japan.
Fonda was the lead damage control officer in charge of a group removing ammo from the ship’s aft handling room when an unknown gas surfaced and overtook the four men working in the magazine. Fonda attempted to rescue his fellow sailors, but ultimately died with them.
Fonda died at 4:12 p.m. from accidental asphyxiation due to oxygen deficiency, according to Medal Mulisha, a website that shares the stories behind unclaimed medals. He was initially buried at the Island Command Cemetery in Okinawa, Japan, before being repatriated to Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia.
Because of his actions, he was posthumously awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal.
“[He] died a hero,” Sturm said. “Dad never really spoke of it very much, but based upon their correspondence and their friendship, you could tell dad and Fred were dear friends.”
USS Greene (DD-266) pictured by the U.S. Navy at some point between 1919 and 1922. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command
Though the letters came to an end, the women are hoping to find the missing pieces of the story.
“At this point, we had all the letters Fred wrote to my dad, but we obviously did not have the letters my dad wrote to Fred,” Sturm said.
After Sommer read the letters on Memorial Day, she came across a post by Medal Mulisha about Fonda. Not knowing anything about the site, she was convinced it was a sign from her father and Fonda that they are reunited in Heaven.
Since then, the women have been working to see if their father’s letters are somewhere out there by researching Fonda’s family and trying to connect with the relatives they find. They were able to contact a cousin of his in Italy, but that person was not able to help and said communication with the Italian relatives dwindled after Fonda died.
They discovered Fonda had a sister named Anna and, as of February, are still searching for her. Strum said she would be 103 years old, and could possibly be deceased, but neither one of them have found an obituary for her.
Sturm did some digging and found who she thought owned the former Fonda home in Linden, but he was a renter.
“I was hoping and praying in some way, shape, matter or form that maybe the letters that dad wrote Fred were sitting in the attic of the house,” Sturm said. “You never know.”
Navy Lt. Fred Fonda and shipmates on board the USS Greene. Susan Sitarski Sturm
The renter put her in contact with the property owner, who knew of Fonda’s story, but he told Sturm he was not the one who purchased the home directly after the Fonda family lived there.
Though the women are unsure of the letters’ whereabouts, they did receive some insight into what their father might have written to Fonda during a project with Voyage Media’s True War Stories: Mission Report.
In a Feb. 6 podcast episode titled “A Wartime Hero’s Letters,” the show used Sturm’s and Sommer’s research and Fonda’s letters to reconstruct what Sitarski might have said back to Fonda. Because of the 42-minute episode, the sisters were able to imagine what their father’s letters looked like.
“Oh my gosh, I feel like I knew dad when he was 18, 19, 20 years old,” Sturm said.
Though their mission is not yet complete, Sturm said simply finding Fonda’s letters to her father was “so wonderful.”
She added that sharing the stories of veterans, even from decades ago, is “crucially important” so that “people continue to understand what these men and women do to protect us” and are aware of the dedication and sacrifice involved.
Also see: Findagrave Memorial, Fonda Military
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Jul 14
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Interview with Former YPG Volunteer Mike Fonda
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July 12, 2017 – Mike Fonda describes his experience fighting with the YPG in Syria and the current efforts to raise awareness in the United States to gain support for the fight against ISIS. |
KDP arrests two YPG fighters from the US and puts them in the same prison cell with ISIS gangs
Robert Alleva and Michael Fonda, 2 internationalists from the US who came to Rojava to join the fight against ISIS, were arrested by KDP officials and put in the same prison cell with ISIS gangs.
Sunday, August 2, 2015 – News Desk – ANF
Robert Alleva and Michael Fonda, 2 internationalists from the US who came to Rojava to join the fight against ISIS, were arrested and put in the same prison cell with ISIS gangs by KDP officials. KDP officials arrested Robert Alleva, Michael Fonda, Alexandre de Ponte and Russian YPG fighter Semyonov as they were returning to their home countries.
Photo: Militia fighters Ashley Dyball (front right) and American Mike Fonda (front centre). Gold Coast man Reece Harding (back, second from left) was killed in June. (Supplied: Mike Fonda)
Michael Fonda stated that he is from Centreville, Virginia, and his name in Rojava was Demhat Şirvan. Fonda fought in the US army in Iraq and wanted to join YPG in order to fight against ISIS and liberate Kurdish and Arab towns from ISIS occupation. After being released as a result of the diplomatic efforts of the American Embassy in Erbil, Fonda reported that KDP officials held them in the same prison cell with ISIS gangs for 23 days despite the fact that they had told the officials about their membership in YPG. Fonda ended his statements by criticizing the Turkish government’s collaboration with ISIS, and called upon KDP officials to treat better those who were fighting against ISIS.
Robert Alleva is another YPG fighter from the US, and stayed in Rojava for three months to fight against ISIS. Alleva stated that after their arrests, KDP officials told them that they would soon be sent home but the 4 foreign YPG fighters were kept in the same cell with ISIS gangs in a prison in Erbil for 23 days. Alleva said that KDP wanted to set up an example with their imprisonment, and called upon KDP to not treat foreign YPG fighters the way they had been treated. Alleva noted that YPG was composed of Kurds, Arabs, and Christians, and thanked the people of Rojava for their hospitality and struggle for humanity in the face of ISIS barbarism.
Other links: ABC Australia, National Post, YouTube, Crowdrise
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Jan 27
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Story of Masonic Apron – Found at the Battle of Gettysburg on Culp’s Hill – Harrisburg Lodge Thirty-Six Years Later Discovers Owner and Returns Apron
Gettysburg Compiler, Wednesday, May 5, 1909
Battle of Little Round Top – the site of an unsuccessful assault by Confederate troops against the Union left flank on July 2, 1863, the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg.
Lost by one Federal soldier in the sudden shifting of an army corps at Chancellorsville, Va.: found two months later by another at Gettysburg, Pa.: presented to Perseverance Lodge of Masons, Harrisburg, and finally after a lapse of almost forty-six years returned to the original owner. That is the history of a Masonic apron belonging to E. L. Fonda, of Averill Park, New York, which has recently come to light.
The history of the apron unfolds a leaf from the past and brings back again stirring memories of the Civil War. The story of the apron, as far as Perseverance Lodge is concerned, opened at Gettysburg, on July 3, 1863. It was found lying among the rocks on Culp’s Hill, at the conclusion of the second day’s struggle oy John Kunkle of Harrisburg. Mr. Kunkle presented it to Perseverance Lodge on October 12, 1863.
For some years the apron was hung on the lodge room walls, but finally it was taken down and stored with many other relics in a drawer in a cabinet. In March, 1908, Dr. John M. J. Raunick, at that time worshipful master of Perseverance Lodge, in rummaging through the cabinet, came across the old apron. He examined it closely and discovered on the back the stenciled name, E. L. Fonda, and also the name of the Massachusetts manufacturer of such emblems.
Hoping to find the original owner, if he yet lived, Dr. Raunick wrote to Boston, asking if a man of that name lived there or whether any record of the sale of the apron had ever been kept. He received a negative answer. This occurred in March of last year. His next move was to write to the adjutant general of the war department. There also nothing could be learned.
Two letters were next written to the secretary of the war department. In answer to the second he received word that a man answering to that name of E. L. Fonda had enlisted on August 11, 1862, in the 14th New York Infantry, which was a part of the Army of the Potomac.
Then Dr. Raunick wrote to the adjutant general of New York and the Grand Lodge of Masons in that State. They could impart no further information. A third letter to the war department brought an answer referring him to the pension department.
It was at this point that the doctor received the most encouragement. From the pension department he learned that E. L. Fonda lived in Waterbleit, New York. Four letters Dr. Raunick dispatched to Waterbleit. Not one was returned and no answer was received. The fifth letter the doctor made very strong and insisted upon a reply.
A short time afterwards, namely, March 17, 1909, a letter was received from Averill Park, N. Y. It was written by Edward L. Fonda himself. He said that he had received a package of several letters, written by Dr. Raunick and was now answering the first. He also stated that he intended looking at once into the cause of delay.
The Craftsman believes that a Masonic Apron is the most essential physical representation of a man’s commitment to the Craft.
“I moved from Waterbleit to Aver hill Park a short time ago,” wrote Mr. Fonda. “I was born in West Troy, now Waterbleit, Albany county, New York, on March 11, 1831. I bought the apron in 1853, after I had joined the Pawtucket Lodge, Lowell, Massachusetts, and remember distinctly wearing it for the first time at Bunker Hill, when the statue was unveiled there to General Joseph Warren.
“I enlisted in the 14th New York Infantry in 1862 and we were assigned to the Army of the Potomac. The apron I had with me, stored in my knapsack. On May 1 our regiment was transferred across the Rappahannock river to join the rest of the army. This was the opening day of battle of Chancellorsville, and in the hurry of forming I lost my knapsack. I did not miss it until in the midst of the fighting, hours later, and I never expected to recover it.
“I took part in the battle of Gettysburg, where you say it was found. Our regiment was stationed at Little Round Top. My full name is Edward Learned Fonda, and I now reside on a farm a few miles from Averill Park.”
Through this letter and several sub sequent ones Dr. Raunick had no trouble in identifying the owner and finally the matter was placed before Perseverance Lodge. It voted unanimously to present the apron to the original owner. The apron was sent to Mr. Fonda on April 15, 1909, and two days later a letter of fervent thanks was received from the happy veteran.
“The apron,” he wrote, “is nearly as good as new and I must thank Perseverance Lodge for taking such excel lent care of it. My wife had pressed it and fixed the frayed ends and we have it hanging in the parlor.
In his letter Mr. Fonda enclosed a photograph of himself and this was hung with a photograph of the apron in Perseverance Lodge room, nicely framed.
It is the hope of Dr. Raunick that even after the lapse of years he can find somebody who can bridge the gap between May 1, 1863 and July 3, 1863. Was it a Confederate or a Federal soldier who dropped the apron at Gettysburg? Will the answer ever be given?
The apron is of white satin with an area of about 24 inches by 18 inches. It is embroidered with blue and upon it is painted a square and compass, the symbol of Masonry.
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Sep 29
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During the Snake Indian War, Pvt. Charles A. Fonda was mortally wounded at the skirmish of Otseo’s Lodge on April 28, 1868 against hostile Northern Paiute and Shoshone Indians near Warner Lakes, Oregon. Private Fonda was shot in the knee and since his wound was serious, it was decided to amputate his leg in the field. He did not survive the operation, and was almost certainly buried in the field. The site of the skirmish is known, but Fonda’s exact burial place is not. A government-issued headstone was placed at the site in July 2013. A newspaper account describes it as “a little east and south of the stone bridge.” The headstone was placed within 200 yards of the site of the stone bridge, on land that is on the Hart Mountain Antelope Refuge.
Photo by Heather VanDomelen.
The best description of the skirmish at Otseo’s Lodge is in the book ‘The Deadliest Indian War in the West: The Snake Conflict, 1864-1868‘ by Gregory Michno (p. 315):
A group of 18 soldiers and a few Indian scouts attempted to attack a group of Snake Indians at daybreak. The Indians heard the soldiers splashing as they crossed a creek, and retreated to high ground, The soldiers then attacked uphill across open ground, and suffered many casualties. Fonda was the only fatality. The skirmish occurred about 1/2 mile east of the site of Old Camp Warner, which had been abandoned the year before. (per John Griffin, Lakeview, OR)
A Report of Surgical Cases treated in the Army of the United States from 1865 to 1871 by George Alexander Otis (p. 206):
DXXXIX – Mention of a Primary Amputation of the Thigh By JM Dickson MD Acting Assistant Surgeon.
Private Charles A Fonda Co D 23d Infantry received a severe gunshot wound of the knee joint in a skirmish near Lake Warner Oregon April 29 1868. Amputation at the lower third of the thigh was performed on the next day. He died under the operation.
There are photos of Charles (as a boy) and his family on the Fonda Blog at Illinois Fonda’s.
Thanks to John Griffin of Lakeview, Oregon for ordering and placing the military gravestone.
References: Rootsweb, Find-A-Grave
National Historic Register: Stone Bridge and the Oregon Central Military Wagon Road
 Photo by Heather VanDomelen. |
 Click image for Google Map location. |
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Aug 30
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The gravestone of E. Raymond Fonda at Albany Rural Cemetery, who gave his life in battle during the Civil War, has been restored.
The work was performed by Grave Stone Matters on August 24, 2010. (click on images to enlarge)
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The work scope was more extensive than planned because of the discovery of marble side rails in addition to the three-piece headstone and the footstone. Great care and expertise was taken by Joe Ferrannini of GSM, assisted by Civil War Historian Mark Bodnar (credits for photos). Thanks also to Colonie Historian Kevin Franklin for his interest and coordination efforts.
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| E. Raymond Fonda can be found on rootsweb and findagrave listings, and the New York State Military Museum. |
E. Raymond Fonda Sgt-Maj, Co.H, 115th NY Infantry Regiment
Eldert Raymond Fonda; b. 1837 in Watertown, MA; 1850 & 1860 Census, Edinburgh, Saratoga Co., NY; 1860 Census, Vergennes, Addison, VT; d. 7/22/1864 in New York City from wounds sustained in battle; bur. John Fonda Lot, Albany Rural Cemetery, Menands, Albany Co., NY; DAR Library, GRC National Index: Fonda, E Raymond, State IL, Series/Vol s1 v10, Page 175
Civil War Service: 1). E Raymond Fonda; Vergennes, Vermont; enlisted as a Private on 02-May-1861; enlisted in Co.G, 1st Infantry Regiment Vermont on 09-May-1861; mustered out Co.G, 1st Infantry Regiment Vermont on 15-Aug-1861 in Bradtleboro, VT; 2). E Raymond Fonda; enlisted as a Private on 21-Jul-1862 at the age of 24; enlisted in Co.H, 115th Infantry Regiment New York on 01-Aug-1862; POW on 15-Sep-1862 at Harper’s Ferry, VA; paroled on 16-Sep-1862 at Harper’s Ferry, VA; promoted to Full Sergeant MAJ on 16-Oct-1862; wounded on 07-May-1864 at Chester Station, VA; died of wounds Co.H, 115th Infantry Regiment New York on 22-Jul-1864 in New York, NY
Battle of Chesterfield Heights, Virginia - May 1864
Sgt.-Maj. Civil War; mortally wounded at Chesterfield Heights, VA on May 7th, 1864; born in Watertown, Mass., but resided in Cohoes, Albany county, when he enlisted in Co. H. He was a mechanic by trade, and twenty-four years of age. Besides the hard service seen in the 115th NY Infantry, he served his country three months in the 1st VT Infantry, early in the war. His father had been in the employ of the government for nearly forty years; a younger brother held the position of sergeant in the regular army, and Raymond himself had been familiar with military operations from his youth up, so that he was a finished and well drilled soldier. Possessed of a brave and resolute will, he was a good soldier. Blest with a kind and loving heart, he won many friends. Pleasant and amiable to both officers and men, he was highly respected. His military career was without a single blot, and he died a true patriot and esteemed by all who knew him.
The battle of Chesterfield Heights, Va., was his last battle with the rebels. The regiment was lying behind a bank of earth, firing at the rebels, and Raymond refused to lie down with the rest, but kept walking along the lines while the bloody conflict was progressing, making his person a mark for the enemy’s bullets. Suddenly he sang out to the commanding officer, “Major, we are flanked right and left!” And sure enough we were flanked, and many brave men shed their blood before we cut our way out. Among the first to fall was E. Raymond Fonda, and two frightful wounds sent out streams of blood. The soldiers carried his bleeding form from the field, and in due time he reached the city of NY. After many weeks of suffering he died in the arms of his friends.
...was treated in a field hospital until the 10th, when he was admitted into Hampton Hospital, Fort Monroe; thence transferred to New York, and admitted to Ladies' Home Hospital on the 23d of May.
I did some more searching and found this (rather gruesome) account of Sgt-Major Fonda’s hospital treatment:
http://www.braceface.com/medical/Medical_Authors_Faculty/Mott_Alexander_B.htm
CASE 973 –Sergeant-Major E. Raymond Fonda, 45th New York, aged 28 years, was wounded at Drury’s Bluff. May 7, 1864, by a minié ball, which entered one inch to the right of the coccyx, passed upward and out to within half an inch of the surface, just above the trochanter major of the right side. The ball was cut down upon and removed on the same day; it did not injure the bone. The wounded man was treated in a field hospital until the 10th, when he was admitted into Hampton Hospital, Fort Monroe; thence transferred to New York, and admitted to Ladies’ Home Hospital on the 23d of May. Surgeon A. B. Mott, U. S. V., reported: “When admitted, the patient was very much emaciated; the wound healed unhealthy and inflamed, the discharges thin and offensive, and there was a disposition to slough. The sloughing increased on the 26th; the discharge was sanious and thin, the patient weak and restless. On the 28th, the wounds were still unhealthy in condition and showing evidence of gangrene. June 1st: The discharge was slightly increased and the wound painful. Five ounces of sherry wine daily, with extra diet. was ordered. On the 8th, the wounds were still painful, and the discharge continued to look unhealthy. Hemorrhage occurred on the 13th, coming probably from the sciatic artery; persulphate of iron was applied and the wound plugged. On the 14th. there was a very profuse hemorrhage, which was arrested by persulphate of iron with pressure. Hemorrhage recurred on the 15th, and was checked by the application of Lambert’s tourniquet with compresses. The patient was much reduced in strength; pulse 130. Beef-tea and five ounces of sherry wine were given and frequently repeated during the day. There was no hemorrhage the next day; beef-tea and wine continued. The patient was much better on the 17th; his pulse 160. After consultation, it was decided that the only chance for the patient’s recovery would be to ligate the right internal iliac artery. He was put under the influence of a mixture of chloroform and ether, and the operation was performed by Surgeon A. B. Mott, U. S. V.
... and the brave young soldier who saved the regiment was E. Raymond Fonda...
And more on the battle where he was wounded:
http://dmna.state.ny.us/historic/reghist/civil/infantry/115thInf/115thInfCWN.htm
Sergeant-Major E. Raymond Fonda, of Cohoes, who, during the fight, bravely and almost recklessly exposed himself to the storm of bullets, but escaped unhurt, until we were falling back, after the accomplishment of our object, when he was struck in the leg and arm. Our flag-staff was cut in two, the same ball glancing and severely wounding the bearer, Serg’t Keck.
E. RAYMOND FONDA, Sergeant-Major of the 115th regiment, died at the Ladies Home U. S. Hospital, in New York, July 22d, of wounds received in one of the actions near Petersburg. The 115th regiment has returned from Florida, and was at Gloucester Point, opposite Yorktown, on the York river, at last advices. Other troops came on at the same time.
History of Cohoes:
http://www.archive.org/stream/historyofcohoesn00mast/historyofcohoesn00mast_djvu.txt
July 22, Sergeant Major E. Raymond Fonda, aged 27. Was a member of the 115th Reg’t N. Y. Vols. He was severely wounded May 7th, in one of the battles near Petersburg, Va., from the effects of which he died in the Lady’s Home Hospital, New York.
History of Saratoga County:
http://saratoganygenweb.com/Sylvester/chap36.html
E. Raymond Fonda, enl. July 21, 1862, 115th Regt., Co. H; pro. to sergt.-major; mortally wounded at Chesterfield Heights, Va., May 7, 1864; died in hospital, New York city.
True Stories of the War For the Union – Personal Experiences and Observations of Union Soldiers in the Several Campaigns:
http://libsysdigi.library.uiuc.edu/oca/Books2008-05/truestoriesofwar00gris/truestoriesofwar00gris_djvu.txt
All at once the men in gray started down the hill ; then the men in blue gave a wild cheer and charged down the other hillside, reaching the railroad trick first, when they instantly dropped behind an embankment and poured a withering fire into the hosts in gray, stopping their advance. In the mist he dimly saw a fight which chilled his blood – a large body of men in gray stealing around the flank of a regiment in blue, which seemed to be his own brothers, and he felt that they were lost, when suddenly a, fine-looking young soldier from the midst of the regiment in blue rose up from the ground, and at a glance saw their peril, and in the face of a thousand bullets, gave the alarm: the men in blue cut their way through the hosts of gray and escaped, but many scores had fallen in the conflict, among the number being the fine-looking young soldier, who had saved his brothers. This proved to be a description of the battle of Chesterfield Heights and of our regiment, and the brave young soldier who saved the regiment was E. Raymond Fonda, of our company.