May 8 is VE Day - the day in which Germany formerly surrendered to Allied Forces in World War II. This year marks the 80th Anniversary of that event. While the countries like the United States and the United Kingdom were commemorating the momentous occasion, a family in Romeo was celebrating that day for a different reason.
That was the day in which Technical Sergeant Harvey Streeter Jr. - the man seen in this photo - arrived at the home of his parents Harvey and Linda Streeter to spend a 60-day furlough after being liberated from a Prisoner of War camp in Germany.
The front page of the May 11, 1945 issue of The Romeo Observer Press covered this event. In it, the article described that Harvey was liberated from that camp on March 30 - Good Friday. He had been interned there since December 18, 1944. Prior to that, he was reported missing in action in Luxembourg.
The Romeo Observer Press wasn't the only organization keeping track of where Harvey was. The First Congregational Church - the church that he and his family went to - also kept tabs of its members who served during World War II. We know this because it created a scrapbook consisting of articles from the local newspaper and information from family members about where those servicepeople were at. It comes from the First Congregational Church Collection and is one of the most valuable military records the Romeo Community Archives has.
For example, the scrapbook covers Harvey's time as a Prisoner of War. The Romeo Observer Press first reported on that in their March 23, 1945 issue. In that article, Harvey stated that "he is well and is being treated as good as can be expected."
In addition, the scrapbook listed that he attended Romeo High School and the Sunday School at the First Congregational Church. From this document, we also know that he enlisted in Detroit on February 16, 1942. From there, Harvey was sent to Fort Custer in Augusta, Michigan; then to Fort Sill in Oklahoma, where he was a cavalry instructor; then to Fort Riley in Kansas, where he was an instructor in heavy artillery; and then to Camp Polk in Louisiana. The March 30, 1945 edition of The Romeo Observer Press reported that he went overseas in August 1944.
When Harvey was released in the spring of 1945, he spent his time soon after in France. According to the same May 11 issue, Harvey said that he "had received the very best of care and that it is a grand feeling to be back in the United States Army again."
Let's hope the Streeter family had a wonderful time welcoming back Harvey on VE Day!
If you know someone who served, feel free to share their story.
Furthermore, if you want to see the First Congregational Church's World War II scrapbook, feel free contact the Romeo Community Archives at rca@romemodistrictlibrary.org or call (586) 690-4890.
Images and sources courtesy of the Romeo Community Archives; First Congregational Church Collection, 1945
