Austin Ensign Tuttle

A son was born to Fred and Pauline (Polly) Tuttle on August 12, at 537 High Street, in Napoleon, Henry County, Ohio. Girard Tuttle, the eldest son of the family, was given the privilege of naming the new baby. He named him for his best friend, Austin Frease.

Austin attended Napoleon Grade School and graduated in the 1933 high school class.

On March 6, 1942, Austin was inducted into the Army of the United States at Camp Perry, Ohio. After receiving basic training, he was sent to Coast Artillery Corps Training School. The Battery B, 436th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion departed from Norfolk, Virginia, aboard an old luxury liner on October 24, 1942, and arrived off the coast of Casablanca, French Morocco, Africa, on November 8. Austin was in the third wave landing of the invasion of Africa. The troop ship was torpedoed and sunk after most of the men were on African soil. Austin was in the African campaign, attached to the 3rd division, under General George S. Patton, Jr. The next invasion that he participated in occurred on July 10, 1943, in Sicily, with the 5th Army, also under the command of General Patton.

The 436th Battalion went to Italy next with the 5th Army, under the command of General Mark Clark (they were attached to a French Division). They went through Rome on D-Day, June 6, 1944. They participated in the invasion of southern France, going in at Marseilles. The Battalion went through France and Germany to the Czechoslovakian border, where they stayed until after the war. From July, 1945, until September of that year, the battalion was stationed in Blackpool, England, guarding P.O.W.'s. Austin left England in September and was discharged on October 17, 1945, at Indiantown Gap. He received African, European and Middle Eastern service medals with 7 bronze stars and 1 bronze arrowhead.

Following his discharge from service, Austin worked for his father and later with Fred Zahrend in the construction and cabinetmaking business.

On November 18, 1951, Austin Tuttle and Elizabeth M. (Betty) Buckmaster were married by the Reverend Forrest Brown at the St. Paul Methodist Church. (A snow squall went through Napoleon, dumping several inches of snow on the ground, just before the wedding began.) They lived at 722 Tyler Street from 1951 until December 1962.

Betty Buckmaster Tuttle was born on Hopkins Street in Defiance, Ohio, on January 1, 1924, daughter of Claude R. Buckmaster and Irene A. (Durham) Buckmaster. The family moved to Napoleon in 1926. She attended school in Napoleon, graduating in the Class of 1941, and later attended Defiance College. Following high school graduation, Betty was employed at the Alphus Dress Shop. In late December, 1942, she bought the business from Mrs. Alphus Griffin and changed the name to The Betty Dress Shop. The dress shop was first located at 126 W. Washington St., moving to 130 W. Washington St. in May 1945. She sold the business to her sisters, Margaret and Shirley Buckmaster in February, 1955.

The Austin Tuttles have two children, both born in Heller Memorial Hospital, Napoleon. A daughter, Nancy Louise, was born Wednesday, April 21, 1954, and a son, Austin Ensign, Jr., was born Friday, February 13, 1959. Nancy attended school in Napoleon, graduating in the class of 1972. In addition to school activities, she also taught piano lessons for two years, taught Sunday School at St. Paul United Methodist Church and was a member of Rainbow Girls. She is finishing her junior year at the University of Toledo, majoring in personnel administration and accounting in the College of Business Administration. Nancy is a member of the University marching band, pep band and symphonic band. She plays the flute and piccolo. She plans to earn a Master's degree in library science. Since high school graduation, she has been employed during the summer at various jobs: Cedar Point, Ohio, the Campbell Soup Company, Napoleon, and the Napoleon Public Library. Austin, Jr. is a sophomore at Napoleon High School and plays the baritone in the marching band, pep band and orchestra. He enjoys coin collecting, photography and building (models and cabinetmaking).

Betty Tuttle is the secretary at the St. Paul United Methodist Church, where she has been employed since 1970. Austin is in the carpenter and cabinetmaking business. They have resided at 630 Park Street since December, 1962.

Submitted by Viola Tuttle