Joseph Vidunas 1911-1945 part 2

1929 Joseph Vidunas
age 17, front
photo owned 
by W.A. Vidunas

1929 Joseph Vidunas
age 17, back
photo owned
by W.A. Vidunas

We left the story with Andrew Yorski’s addition to the family in 1922, when he married Mother Mary Sadausky Vidunas.  This was Andrew's first marriage at age 35, and Mary herself was 35 years old.

In 1920, according to the Federal Census, Louis age 20 and John age 17 are employed, Stella, Joseph and Anne are still in school.  I forgot to mention that Joseph had another sister, Mary, who was born when he was age 2 and died the next year.  We’ve explored possible family dynamics, although I don’t have any proof one way or another.  We’ve seen the houses where they lived, even though those addresses are the 2016 version from Google Maps and Google Maps Data (Google, 2016).

1930s Joseph, Stella, Mary, Anne, either Louis or John

In the decade as he was growing up, Aircraft was first used in war by the US, the Red Baron is killed during WWI (Pearson, 1910 The People History, 2017) and the influenza epidemic Spanish flu kills over 500 thousand in the US (America's Best History, 2016).  World War I ends, women get the vote, and $100 then would be equivalent to $1023 in 2009 money (Pearson, 1920 The People History, 2017) .

The 30's were a time when the depression caused by the wall street crash in late 1929 caused the world to undergo a fundamental change in lifestyles , and as part of the change some new radical politics became popular as seen in the rise of Fascism, Nazism, and Stalinism (Pearson, 1930 The People History, 2017).

The 30's also provided a strange phenomenon never repeated where bank robbers and murderers were thought of as celebrities ( a sort of modern Robin Hood ) which in truthfulness they did not rob from the rich to give to the poor just to rob and murder any who got in their way (Pearson, 1930 The People History, 2017).

1930 Census, AnnArundel MD

We next find Joseph in the 1930 Census as a soldier in the US Army, located at Fort George G. Meade, in Ann Arundel, Maryland.  Interestingly, he is listed as a soldier Musician.  I don't have any information as to what instrument he played.  Wouldn't it be fascinating to find out he played the Tuba or the Bass Violin like his son did in the Air Force?  Would that mean that music is genetic?




Meanwhile, the rest of the family is in Kingston, at 20 Penn Street.  Andrew Yorski age 42 is the head of the household.  He owns the house with a value of $4,000.  They apparently did not own a radio.  Mary is 45 years old, and was 16 when she first married, while Andrew was 34 at his first marriage.  

1930 Census, Kingston PA

Lewis the stepson is 27, is married at age 24
John is 24 and single 
Anna is 13 and single, attending school

Joseph Vidunas, 1930s
photo owned by William A. Vidunas

1944 Joseph A. Vidunas
owned by William A. Vidunas

1944 Joseph Vidunas
owned by William A. Vidunas

1944 Joseph A. Vidunas
owned by William A. Vidunas

Balloon Barrage article
from Life Magazine
(Gooley, 2012)

Postcard Barrage Balloon
(Clancey, n.d.)

1940 Kingston PA
Andrew and Mary Yorski

Navy Ship Manifest showing
Tech Sgt Joseph Vidunas heading
towards Canal Zone because of
the attack on Pearl Harbour
(Ancestry.com, 1941)

1945 Headstone Joseph Vidunas, Netherlands

Okay.  I've sat on this post for long enough.  I'm so excited about the new information I've just discovered so I post this incompleted unit for your inspection.  As always, I appreciate constructive criticism and suggestions.




Bibliography

Ancestry.com. (1941, December 21). US World War II Navy Muster Rolls, 1938-1949 [database online]. Tech Sgt Joseph Vidunas, Battery B, 301st Coast Artillery Barrage Balloon Battalion. Ancestry.com Operations Inc. Retrieved from USS Crescent City AP from Norfolk VA to Canal Zone

Ancestry.com. (2007). US Rosters of World War II Dead, 1939-1945 [database online]. Joseph Vidunas. Ancestry.com Operations Inc.

Ancestry.com. (2012). 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Retrieved from Kingston, Luzerne, Pennsylvania: http://interactive.ancestry.com/2442/M-T0627-03554-00387/28867852?backurl=http://person.ancestry.com/tree/47476789/person/150047140756/facts/citation/600180433024/edit/record

Ancestry.com. (2014). US Headstone and Interment Records for US Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942-1949 [database online]. Retrieved from Joseph Vidunas: Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com. (Published 2002). 1930 United States Federal Census. Anne Arundel Maryland, Joseph A. Vidunas. Anne Arundel, Maryland: Ancestry.com Operations Inc.

Ancestry.com. (Published 2002). 1930 United States Federal Census. Kingston, Luzerne, Pennsylvania; 20 Penn Street. Kingston, Pennsylvania: Ancestry.com Operations Inc. Retrieved from Kingston, Luzerne, Pennsylvania: http://interactive.ancestry.com/6224/4639400_00047/52887690?backurl=http://person.ancestry.com/tree/47476789/person/150047140756/facts/citation/600180305279/edit/record

Clancey, P. (n.d.). HyperWar Foundation. Retrieved from A Brief History of the US Army in World War II "Barrage Balloon" by Alexander Brook: http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-C-WWII/

Gooley, L. P. (2012, January 17). New York History Blog; Historical News and Views from The Empire State. Retrieved from Barrage Balloons in the Adirondacks: http://newyorkhistoryblog.org/2012/01/17/barrage-balloons-in-the-adirondacks/

Pearson, S. (2017). 1930 The People History. Retrieved December 2016, from 1930s Important News and Events, Key Technology Fashion and Popular Culture: http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1930s.html

Schouteten, P. (2016). Fields of Honour [database online]. Retrieved February 12, 2017, from Joseph Vidunas: http://www.fieldsofhonor-database.com/index.php/american-war-cemetery-margraten-v/49541-vidunas-joseph

Vidunas, L. (1930s). Photograph owned by Louis Vidunas. Vidunas Family, Joseph, Stella, Mary Yorski, Anne, Louis. Kingston, Pennsylvania: unknown photographer.

Vidunas, W. A. (1929). Photograph Joseph Vidunas age 17, 1929. Kingston, Pennsylvania.

Vidunas, W. A. (1944). Photograph. Joseph Vidunas. owned by William Vidunas.