Don and Phil Jordan

Continued from page 9

Tracing their family backward a bit, the brothers’ paternal grandfather was Carl C. Jordan, the proprietor of the Jordan Funeral Home on North Jefferson Street, with whom their father, Joe, and uncle, Paul, worked. Don, too, was a licensed funeral director and worked with his father, as noted above, before entering the service.

This group of Jordans is certainly related to many who made their homes in the Oliveburg area, like the tall, handsome farm boy, Wallace, who served with the U.S.Army in the Panama Canal Zone during WWII, as well as those brothers who operated the Jordan Furniture Store in Punxsutawney, one of whom, Josef, commanded the National Guard in Punxsutawney when it was first ac- tivated in WWII. In addition, there was the outstanding former PHS (Class of 1919) athlete, Lloyd, who went on to letter in multiple sports at the University of Pittsburgh and was in his 40s in the middle of a decadeslong career as college coach, athletic director and future Commissioner of the Southern (football) conference when he enlisted in 1943 as an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve. Lt. Jordan took charge of the U.S.N.R.’s 1943-46 V-12 program in two of the 131 small colleges partnering with the War Department to fasttrack naval officer training in a wide range of specialized fields. (the Army had a similar program) participants were uniformed, classified as active duty, received military training along with general college coursework and, in the naval program were allowed to participate in college sports. Lloyd’s grown son, Robert Lloyd, participated in this program, served as a naval officer during the war and was wounded. Finally, coming full circle, Paul, the uncle of Don and Phil, served out of state with the U.S. Army Reserve, later becoming Jefferson County Coroner and Mayor of Punxsutawney.

All of these individuals were direct descendants of Robert Jordan who served during the American Revolution and several had intermediate ancestors who served during the Civil War and WWI. Don and Phil’s father, Joe, served in WWI. The reason this gaggle of servicepersons has been included here is to illustrate the widespread impact the war had on community and family (as do all wars). It also demonstrates that the U.S. had a “whole of country” war effort, in the military, in auxiliary services, in essential industries and in every citizen’s sacrifice. •