Remembering Jack Shively

On June 22, 1944, it was reported by the Saratoga Sun that Lt. Jack E. Shively, son of Mr. and Mrs. E.J. Shively, had been reported missing in action over France. The article, which appeared on the front page of the publication, stated that the message gave few details, "only that he failed to return from a mission over that country on June 13."

"The hosts of friends of Lt. Shively here are hoping for further news that he may have made his way into neutral territory, or that at the worse he may be held as a prisoner of war," ended the front page article.

For nearly two months, the family and friends of Lt. Shively held out hope that he would be found alive. Unfortunately, the Aug. 17, 1944 Saratoga Sun reported that the Shively family had received a telegram earlier that week confirming his death.

"The message received this week gave few details, stating only that a report 'received from the German government through the International Red Cross states your son, Lt. Jack E. Shively, who was previously reported missing in action, died 14 June as a result of wounds received in action over France,'" reported the Sun.

Shively was not a native son to the Valley, having been born in Custer City, Okla. April 4, 1918. When he was barely a year old, however, his parents moved to Saratoga so that his father could begin working for the Tilton & Son hardware store. Jack attended school in Saratoga and graduated high school with the class of 1935-36.

From there, the only son of Mr. and Mrs. E.J. Shively enrolled at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb. and graduated with honors in 1940. While attending Creighton, he was involved with the military division of the university and, upon graduation, was commissioned a reserve officer and awarded a second lieutenancy.

Following graduation, Shively returned to Saratoga where he helped his father operate the family hardware store. His homecoming, however, would not last long as he was called to service to "brush-up" on his training. Shively reported to Ft. Warren in Cheyenne on Sept. 8, 1941. After the attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, the young lieutenant requested a transfer to the air corp of the army.

In 1942, nearly a year after his transfer, Shively received his wings following training at Santa Ana, Calif. and a transfer to Luke Field, Ariz. While he was stationed in Luke Field, Lt. Shively's younger sister, Jane, was married to John Glode. Shively made the flight from Arizona to Saratoga for the occasion.

Shively was later transferred to Tampa, Fla. before being sent to England in May 1944. A month later, Lt. Shively was involved in a mission to disrupt the withdrawal of the German occupation of Chinon, France. According to an October article in the French publication la Nouvelle République, Shively attempted a closer pass of the bridge leading out of Chinon and was shot down by the German Air Force.

More than 60 years after being shot down, Chinon erected a memorial in 2006 dedicated to Lt. Shively. In October of this year, Lt. Shively's nephew, Mike Glode, visited the memorial along with several other family members and descendants. The same article in la Nouvelle Republique reported that the family was welcomed by the mayor of Chinon, Jean-Luc Dupont, and a small ceremony at the memorial included the placing of a wreath.

"Lt. Shively was one of the most popular and substantial young men of this community, and continually looked forward to the end of the war when he could return to Saratoga and associate himself with his father in the hardware and implement business. The report of his death came as a distinct shock, and was received with deep regret and sorrow by everyone who knew him," reported the Sun on Aug. 17, 1944.

While Lt. Shively will not be forgotten in the hometown he had hoped to return to after the war, it appears his memory is also kept alive in the town he helped save during World War II.