Edward Alexander Grove

Edward Alexander Grove was born in Glenwood, Minnesota on December 14, 1912. He was the youngest of the five children born to Julius and Jennie Grove. Edward attended grade school and high school in Glenwood. He was active in sports earning at least two varsity letter in high school football, basketball and baseball. In addition, he took part in high school band, orchestra, dramatics, oratory, and glee club, including performing as a tenor soloist.

Graduating from Glenwood High School the spring of 1930 Edward went on to college at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. He wanted to attend West Point but did not initially receive an appointment. His father, Julius, encouraged him to do his best at St. Olaf and maybe his appointment would come later. After attending St. Olaf for two years he received his appointment to West Point enrolling the fall of 1932.

Known as “Whitey” to his classmates because of his very blond hair, he did well in his studies and excelled in athletics, particularly football where he was a halfback and track where he did well in the broad jump. His most memorable football achievement came in the Army-Navy game of 1935. It was his last game for West Point and as Frank Graham, noted sportscaster at the time, said in an article he wrote about the game, “fame caught up with Whitey Grove.” Not only did Whitey catch Navy off guard with an 80 yard touchdown run in the opening minutes of the game, but he also caught a pass shortly thereafter for a second touch down and kicked all four extra points after Army touchdowns. Thus, Whitey scored sixteen points in Army’s 28 to 6 victory over Navy. Colonel John Harland Swenson was a freshman at West Point at this time and attended the 1935 Army-Navy game. He said that Whitey pulled a deception in that game by throwing his shoe off in one direction to draw the defense in that direction as he ran around the other end of the scrimmage line and down the sideline for a touchdown.

The following quotation is from the 1936 West Point yearbook page 134:

In 1932 a blond grin galloped thru the Beast Detail for a scratch late. And for four years Whitey galloped through safety-men for touchdowns. But don’t call Eddy “Swede,” ’cause he’ll point out at least twenty-five reasons why he’s a Norwegian. In true proletarian spirit Whitey has kept faith with us bucks, often being referred to as one of our staunchest members. No file-boning for him, he’s too busy. It’s at feed-hops that he shows his true mettle, buckling down to the annihilation of edibles. With an almost insouciant air toward academics, Ed has helped many of us through problems, though he never could figure why the laundry always added that extra ten per cent. He’s not boning any one branch—they’ll have to hustle for themselves. My bride had better be good, because Eddy was one swell wife!

After graduating from the academy in 1936, he was stationed for three years at Fort Lewis, Washington, as a battery officer with the 9th Field Artillery. In June of 1937 Edward married Alice Ness who he had met when they were students at St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota. The following is the Glenwood Herald’s account of the wedding, July 22, 1937:

At an attractive candle light wedding ceremony solemnized Tuesday evening, June 29, at 9 o’clock in Our Savior Lutheran church, Anaconda, Montana, when Miss Alice Eleanor Ness became the bride of Lieutenant Edward A. Grove at nuptial rites conducted by the Rev. Theo. P. Neste, pastor of the church.

Miss Frances Stransky of Billings, and Miss Maxine Johnson, a cousin of the groom, of Dillion, Montana were bridesmaids. Miss Carmelita Martens was maid of honor and Janica Higgens, niece of the bride, was flower girl. Joseph Grove, brother of the groom, was the best man. Ushers were Jerome Grove and James Higgens.

The bride was given in marriage by her father, James Ness.Mrs. Ness, mother of the bride, wore a navy blue crape jacket dress with cerise trim. Her flowers were a corsage of pink roses. The groom’s mother, Mrs. J. O. Grove of Glenwood, Minnesota was attired in a black and white chiffon redingate dress. She also wore a corsage of pink roses.

The bride, before her marriage was director of the women’s physical education department of the Anaconda schools. She attended local schools and is a graduate of the local high school and of St. Olaf college, Northfield, Minnesota. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Ness of Anaconda, Montana.

Following a wedding trip to Glacier National Park and the Canadian Rockies, Lieutenant and Mrs. Grove will make their home at Fort Lewis, Washington, where Lieutenant Grove is stationed.Mrs. J. O. Grove, Jerome and Joseph Grove of Glenwood, Mr. and Mrs. John Brendal of Hallock and Miss Edna Jaeger of West Concord, all of Minnesota, were among those attending the wedding.

The late summer and fall of 1938 found Whitey and Alice back at West Point where he coached football for three months. From 1939 to 1941 Whitey was Commanding Officer of a lite Field Artillery Battery at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. From 1941-1944 Whitey held various command positions with Artillery as they trained. His stations included Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and Camp Howze, Texas. In 1944 he served as commanding officer of the 404th Field Artillery Battalion as it trained at Camp Livingston, Louisiana, San Louis Obispo and Camp Cooke, California and finally to Germany.

While in Germany, the 404th was in battle for over 40 consecutive days and progressed through Wurzburg, Ingolstadt, Wasserburg and Berchtesgaden. The 404th was near Salzburg, Austria on the German border when the war ended. After this battle Lt. Col. Grove received the Bronze Star Medal for the outstanding manner in which he “accurately directed the fire of his artillery and expertly moved his guns.”

Lt. Col. Grove then moved with the 404th to Luzon in the Phillipine Islands for two years where he was a Deputy Inspector of the War Crimes Commission. Later, in 1947, he was assigned briefly to the 1273rd ASU as an instructor to the New Jersey National Guard unit at Trenton, New Jersey.

It was no doubt because of his strong interest in science and mathematics that Whitey was assigned to artillery and that in 1948-50 that he did graduate work at Johns Hopkins University in the newer guided missile systems. Following this he attended the Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. From here Lt. Col. Grove was assigned to the Army Field Forces Board Number 1 in Fort Bragg, North Carolina where he was promoted to Colonel and he worked with in the G4 area. The family was located here from 1951-1955. During this assignment, Whitey was able to become more involved in family activities and he was able to be involved in the Boy Scout activities of his two oldest sons. It was during this time that Edward Jr. and Grayson earned their ranks of Eagle Scout.

After this assignment Colonel Grove was at the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia. From there he was assigned to Headquarters USARPAC (G-4) at Fort Shafter and then to the 25th Division (G-4) at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii. From 1958-60 he was the Director of Non-Resident Instruction of the Air Defense School in Fort Bliss, Texas. Lt. Col. Grove ’s last assignment was with the Korean Advisory Group, Eighth U. S. Army Logistical Support Command in Seoul and Taegu, South Korea.

After returning to the U.S. in 1962 he was retired with physical disability on March 29, 1963 at the age of 50 years. The family settled in Atherton, California after 27 years of service. Their youngest son, James, was 14 years old when the settled in Atherton.

Following retirement, Whitey had eighteen years that he was able to spend with his family before he passed away. He suffered from a heart ailment but he was able to take part in many activities that he enjoyed. He joined his children on hikes to the Cathedral Lakes near Tuolumne Meadows in the Sierras; he panned gold on the American River; he hunted ducks with one of his brothers on the family homestead near Glenwood, Minnesota; he helped his youngest son James decorate his showcase Victorian home in San Jose, California; he skied, and even inner-tubed down the snowy slopes of the Sierras. He trout fished with his second son Grayson – an expert fisherman – in the icy streams and clear lakes near Anaconda, Montana while visiting his wife’s relatives there.

Whitey’s eldest son Edward Jr. describes his father’s gifts to him and the family as follows. “Whitey Grove gave his family strong values, absolute integrity, abiding love, a passion for the outdoors, a keen interest in athletics, and a natural openness with family and friends. We miss him deeply, but his presence as a husband and father has enriched us all.”

Colonel Edward A. Grove died November 26, 1981 at Atherton, California at the age of 68 years. Burial was at Skylawn Memorial Park, San Mateo, California. Alice Grove, Whitey’s wife, very graciously provided the writer of this history with material for this Grove/Dalager family history. Her letter is dated Feb 26, 1984. Alice passed away October 15, 1984 while vacationing in Granada, Spain. Her funeral service was held at Messiah Lutheran Church, 1835 Valota Road, Redwood City, California. Burial was at Skylawn Memorial Park, San Mateo where her husband is buried.

The whereabouts of the Grove children are as follows:

Edward Alexander Grove Jr.

Edward A. Grove Jr. was born May 4, 1940 in Hawaii. Being the son of a military man, Edward attended many different schools. While his father was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina he was successful in earning the Eagle award in the Boy Scouts of America.

Edward married Carol Joyce Hays on May 29, 1963 at Redwood City, California. Carol and Ed have two sons, Gregory Edward born July 5, 1964 at the March Air Force Base, California and Grant born October 7, 1973 in Bien Hai, Vietnam.

Edward is the Deputy Director of the Office of Budget for the Department of State in Washington, D.C. Carol and Edward live at 2420 North George Mason Dr., Arlington, Va 22207.

Grayson Sherwood Grove

Grayson Sherwood was born July 29, 1942 in Washington, D.C. While his father was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina he earned the Eagle award in the Boy Scouts of America.

On June 26, 1976 Grayson married Carolee Gibbs at Pal O Alto, California. Carolee and Grayson have two children Christon Sean born January 12, 1972 at Redwood City, California and Jennifer Leigh born October 20, 1977 at Walnut Creek, California.

Grayson is a Senior Engineer with the State of California Public Utilities Commission. Carolee and Grayson live at 612 Wiget Lane, Walnut Creek California 94598.

James Olin Grove

James Olin Grove, the youngest son of Ed and Alice Grove was born March 20, 1949 in Washington, D.C. James’ older brother Edward describes James as a very creative interior designer with a thriving business in San Jose, California. His father, during his retirement years, was able to help James decorate his showcase Victorian home in San Jose.

James married Leslie Anne Turk on August 27, 1977 at Atherton, California. James and Leslie have two daughters, Elizabeth Anne born December 11, 1979 at San Jose and Caitlin born Oct 13, 1984 at San Jose.

Bibliography

• Sandra Tomczak, Archivist, Association of Graduates, U. S. Military Academy.
• Alice Grove
• Edward A. Grove Jr.
• Colonel John Harlan Swenson, uncle of the writer’s wife Phyllis
• Writer Jim Dalager, cousin of Edwards, 610 Duluth Ave. S, Thief River Falls, Minn. 56701

The addresses of the sons of Edward and Alice are based on 2002 information.