Our second world war -- Part 5

While the county collected tin cans, held blood drives and issued rationing stamps, time trod slowly onward into the second and third years of what soon became a global conflict with real concerns at stake.

This was not a war about water rights.

And with each week, another boy here or there turned 18. The Brookville newspapers were full of snippets about who was assigned where, and how long they'd be on leave ... but usually not where they were going once they went back to their units.

In February 1943, the Democrat listed 21 Franklin County men who had been inducted into either the Army or the Navy ... names you'd probably recognize in one form or another ... and another 16 who had enlisted but were not yet eligible to be inducted. At least three of those names -- Charles Flack, Wright Buckley and Harold Scherer, were from Fairfield.

In all, more than 10 percent of the county's population was actively involved in the war effort, in uniform. How many were sent to the fighting? The records are there.

Some did not return.

The newspapers are full of interesting tidbits about what life was like on the home front and the battle front.

ARMY DESERTER IS
ARRESTED AT CABIN

Near Peppertown, Sheriff Cliff Bruns apprehended James O. Quinlan, 31, for desertion from the Army. The soldier was making his second attempt to neglect his sworn duty.

"Quinlan left Fort Benning, Ga., May 25, and since that time had been sought by authorities. Officers had arrested Quinlan five months previous to his second desertion, in a cabin in another woods, and had turned him over to Army officials."

The sheriff said Quinlan was being cared for by relatives in the Peppertown area.

SHORTAGE OF LABOR
EXISTS IN THIS AREA

"The fact that the Muncie-Marion-Richmond area continues to be a labor shortage area is proof of the necessity of meeting manpower problems by strengthening tried and tested volunteer manpower programs," said (a labor official blah blah blah) ... "and the programs which are now being applied here hav been tested elsewhere and have proven to be successful."

A mouthful of nothing, it seemed, but the report -- in its convoluted way -- emphasized that wartime manufacturing quotas needed to be met.

How that happened was probably more up to the company than the government, but women were clearly considered vital to the process. It was also not uncommon for high-school students to take time off from their studies to work in industry.

MORE FROM THE WAR ... (all of this from 1944)

• A report from the Blood Donor Services committee preparing for the two-day visit of the mobile unit here on July 14-15 shows that 196 donors must be secured before the county reaches its quota of 420 for the two days.
• Coxswain James Fath who suffered an eye injury during the latter part of June has recovered sufficiently to rejoin his ship. He had been confined to a Naval hospital in the New Hebrides Islands.
• Chief Warrant Officer Evan Burgdoerfer of Laurel, serving with the 9th Infantry in Germany, has been awarded the Bronze Star and an Oak Leaf Cluster for heroic achievment and meritorious service in action during the Sicilian and North African campaigns.
• PFC Howard Jinks, son of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Jinks of Fairfield, is a member of the 69th Division 273 Infantry in Gen. Hodges' First Army, the unit which first made contact with the Red (Soviet) Army. Jinks was a resident of Richmond when inducted. His wife resides there. 
• Junior Banning, S2/C, who is with the Radar Division at the U.S. Navy Air Base at Corpus Christi, Texas, has been promoted to the rank of Seaman First Class.

STUDY OF THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN

Our second world war -- Part 4

In a world much different from ours in a time that even history books can't completely explain, one component of World War II was consistent.

Americans were ready and willing to sacrifice personal "freedoms" for the good of the war cause. Listening to the politics of modern America, one wonders if modern pundits have a clue about how we got to this point.

Aside from the standard rationing of gasoline, rubber, sugar and electricity, the nation was absorbed with producing more.

More of everything, so long as it was deemed useful for defeating the evil Axis powers in Europe and the Pacific rim.

One story has endured and with good reason: The Victory Garden.

Such a concept could scarcely be considered now.

In March 1942, four months after the attack on Pearl Harbor (12-7-41) the Brookville American ran the following story:

VICTORY GARDEN
GAINS MOMENTUM
Educational meetings
in several communities

"The Victory Garden program continues to meet with enthusiastic interest throughout the county. Several communities have arranged to hold group meetings for the purpose of effecting the most productive methods of small-space gardening. Colored slides showing the best known insect control policies are being used. The meetings are livened with the screening of a health picture and a "talkie" comedy."

Whoa, the "talkie" comedy would get my attention!

Meetings were planned in Springfield, Bath, Metamora, Peppertown, Oldenburg, Laurel. Though Fairfield isn't mentioned, it's assumed there was at least some interest in the Victory Garden program. It's likely a meeting was held there at some point.

Gasoline rationing ... an everyday event

What seems obvious is that Americans, a full four months into the war, were quite aware that the conflict would exact some heavy demands on the civilian population.

It's also worth noting that the nation had some fairly strong memories of the first World War, which had ended in 1918. Feeding an army was always a challenge. America had the capability, if only her citizens would participate.

And participate, they did.

Farmers were constantly being reminded to stay abreast of changes in rationing restrictions, particularly if they wanted to purchase equipment -- inconceivable in modern America.

"Instances have been reported of persons driving many miles to the nearest War Production Board office, asking for a certificate to purchase equipment, only to find they had gone to the wrong agency."

So, the pressure was on -- produce more food but be prepared to negotiate a maze of bureaucracy if you need equipment to get it done.

They endured.

The premise of the Victory Garden was simple -- grow more than you need, make the rest available to be canned and learn to be self-sufficient. A cannery in Metamora during those early war years issued regular appeals for workers to produce food that could be packaged into ready-to-eat meals for soldiers.

By the end of 1942, the Victory Garden was in full swing. Organizations such as Kiwanis, 4-H, home economics clubs and extension services were structuring useful activities for full-scale implementation in 1943.

Demonstration plots were set up, which helped gardeners control insects, and weeds, as well as teaching them to can their food. For those who didn't have a space to plant a Victory Garden, plots could be obtained. And, a clearing house for surplus vegetables was set up.

The "Big Four" of canning, the newspaper penned, were "tomatoes, green beans, peas and corn."

And "for variety, Hoosiers might plant cauliflower or broccoli or Chinese cabbage." Tips were included on soil fertility and how to buy plants from local greenhouses.

Turnips and onions were also nice choices for storage, the American wrote.

So if you grew too much?

"The Surplus Vegetable and Fruit Committee of the Franklin County Garden Committee in an effort to prevent waste of vegetables and fruit for canning purposes, have worked out a plan to equalize the supply in the county."

(We call that socialism today.)

"Many gardeners will have an over-supply of home-grown vegetables, or fruits, while others who desire to can such produce will not have a sufficient supply."

(OK, we get it.)

"To accomplish this saving, and to provide for equal distribution, the committee has established a 'clearing house' with Mrs. Bessie Dare in charge. Growers having a surplus and persons in need of products are asked to cooperate with the program by calling Mrs. Dare, Phone Brookville 124-M and register their names."

Meanwhile, truck drivers who hauled farm produce were required to "keep a complete weekly record of mileage, gasoline consumption, and tonnage, as required by the ODT. It was pointed out ... that such a record will aid truck owners in getting tire replacements, either recapping service or new tires.

"The statement also emphasized that it will be necessary to have this complete record in order to establish a basis for gasoline needed in the operation of trucks in this classification."

FACTS ABOUT VICTORY GARDENS

• Because canned vegetables were rationed, Victory Gardens also helped people stretch their ration coupons (the amount of certain foods they were allowed to buy at the store).
• Because trains and trucks had to be used to transport soldiers, vehicles, and weapons, most Americans ate local produce grown in their own communities.
• At their peak there were more than 20 million Victory Gardens planted across the United States.
• By 1944 Victory Gardens were responsible for producing 40 percent of all vegetables grown in the United States. More than one million tons of vegetables were grown in Victory Gardens during the war.
• People with no yards planted small Victory Gardens in window boxes and watered them through their windows. Some city dwellers who lived in tall apartment buildings planted rooftop gardens and the whole building pitched in and helped.
• Many schools across the country planted Victory Gardens on their school grounds and used their produce in their school lunches.

An ad from the 1942 American seeking workers in Metamora

Our second world war -- Part 3

We got our news from radio in 1942.

Back home in Fairfield, you'd wake up every morning around dawn, make the coffee and tune in the Motorola or the Philco, listening to the hog reports, waiting to hear news from the Front.

The Front, being ... anywhere in the world that wasn't Fairfield.

Not all the news was bad, and none of it was terrible. In most cases, the news was good. There was logic to that. Winning a war must first claim a casualty called The Truth. In the years following the repeal of neutrality that came with the declaration of war against the so-called Axis, Americans were trained to know only what the War Department told them.

We were winning, slowly but surely.

Which meant, if you had a son in conflict, you knew almost nothing until it was reported through official channels. The Brookville newspapers, though only weeklies, did a marvelous job of informing the populace of goings-on with their soldiers.

And there were many soldiers. Across the country, millions.

Even more millions from other lands who had joined the Allied cause.

The Democrat-American published, in 1942, this dispatch:

"The largest number of Indiana men ever to enlist in the United States Marine Corps in any one month joined the Marines during December, according to Capt. Ralph E. Boulton, Officer-in-Charge of the District of Indianapolis, which includes the entire state of Indiana. Last month, 304 Indiana youths ... were enlisted."

Boulton was quoted: "We welcome every young man with a sound body and a fighting heart who wants to defend his country."

The Marines, according to the article, became appealing after reports of their courageous stand against the Japanese in the Pacific battles.

A lot of what was reported was the result of non-stop, regulated patriotism. Blood drives, war bonds rallies ... all designed to keep the public involved in the pursuit of victory. The "Victory Garden" was a staple enterprise.

Civilian defense rallies were common, and gave local officials a chance to prop up duties and expectations for the public. To some end, not participating was generally considered bad form. And in reality, not participating in the war effort was a bad idea.

In 1942, victory was a long way from a sure thing.

A very long way.

Citizenry suffered minor inconveniences.

"Norman W. Gordon, administrator of the Indiana Store License Division, announced today that some 70,000 merchants who have filed applications for new licenses can expect some delay in receiving their 1942 certificates due to a paper shortage at the mills and to priority on federal printing jobs.

"Mr. Gordon pointed out that the applicants need not let the delay be a source of anxiety to them and that no penalties for delinquency will be enforced as long as the applications for 1942 license are made prior to Jan. 31."

The war bonds drives were relentless.

Bond Program
On Air Tonight

Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau Jr. (etc.) will speak on a special broadcast tonight over the Blue network from 10:00 to 10:30 p.m. The broadcast will be devoted to discussion of the national war bond quota system and the 10 percent payroll savings plan.

The broadcast was to include several military leaders, as well as labor union officials and chief officers of many national business organizations.

A week later, sugar rationing went into effect.

"All retailers and wholesalers of sugar in any form (except molasses); all restaurants, bakeries, churches, which use sugar in the cooking of meals; ice cream, soda fountains, soft drink bottlers, commercial fruit canners ... are required to register with the Rationing Board at the Lew Wallace gymnasium."

Sugar users were required to reveal how much of the product they used during 1941 and adjust accordingly. "If this information is not available, the actual amount of sugar used in March 1942 must be recorded."

The local Rationing Board and its "required" registration. Enough said.

After that, most Americans faced a regular reminder that they needed to share 10 percent of their income with the military forces fighting the evil Axis powers.

Scrap metal drives were common and successful. If it was metal and didn't work, it became an artillery shell.

"Farmers who have not reported scrap are urged to do so before next Wednesday." They were to be paid $10 a ton for heavy scrap. Many refused the money, donating for the cause. Countywide tin-can drives, made house-to-house or at designated pickup centers, were also popular.

To some end, all of America gave 10 percent of almost everything.

It's no wonder we won the war.

THE IMPACT OF RADIO

Our second world war -- Part 2

As war raged in Europe in 1940 and 1941, most Americans were probably content in knowing that the equipment being supplied the British forces was adequate. The notion that an entire nation would need to rise up was outside the scope of comprehension.

In fact, the Brookville American, in a brief article in late November, 1941, cast this somewhat innocuous report:

Soldiers return home

Stanley J. Williams, who has been stationed at Pine Camp, New York, returned to Brookville Saturday. Mr. Williams was transferred to the Enlisted Reserve Corps, under the Selective Service Act amendment which provides for the release from active duty all men over 28 years of age. Williams entered the service on May 13th. he will return to his former employment at the Franklin Manufacturing Co.

Word has been received from Pine Camp that Private Robert (Steve) Ausman had also been released because of the age limit.

On Dec. 7, the Pacific fleet smoldered in ruins in Pearl Harbor.

And by February 1942, the headline in the American was clear:

Monday Date of Registration For
All Unregistered Men Age 20 to 44;
Fourteen Places in County Designated

The sub-head said that men between the ages of 21 and 26 who had registered for the draft in the previous year didn't need to do so again.

The Town Hall at Fairfield was one of the 14 places where registration would be held. H.D. Butcher was in charge of the Fairfield registration.

A month later, the county began its first Red Cross blood drive ... "for emergency use of combat forces."

Mobile units descended on virtually every populated area in the country, and "no preliminary testing of blood (is) necessary." Only plasma was to be used.

The local chapter of the American Red Cross coordinated the blood drive, one of many over the course of the war.

The Red Cross managed several forms of donations, appealing to the natural sense of patriotism.

"We have many enemies. Wake up and realize that the Red Cross is the medium through which we can express our sympathy and give assistance to the ones in great peril and need."

So it was about more than just blood plasma.

"Don't sit idly by, thinking that we of Franklin County are immune from air attack or other horrors of war. Many of you ... have given, generously. But, others that can well afford to, have not."

The appeal to guilt worked pretty well, one assumes. The goal in the first part of 1942 was $3,000 for the county.

By April of 1942, the newspaper announced another phase of the draft, this one "to register all men 45 to 64 inclusive on that date."

One can assume that a degree of panic had begun to set in, since men approaching retirement age had little left to give.

But some of them obviously showed up at the Town Hall to answer the call.

"Persons physically unable to appear for registration should get in touch with the chief registrar in their community and ask that they be taken care of."

And, only 9 questions were to be answered:

1. Name; 2. Place of residence; 3. Mailing address; 4. Telephone; 5. Age and date of birth; 6. Place of birth; 7. Name of somebody who knows where you live; 8-9. Employment information.

Seemed easy enough. How sick did you have to be to be exempt? It's not clear, so we must assume you'll be healthy soon.

Meanwhile the war bonds sales began to pick up steam.

Nearly anything that could be used for the effort was appropriated.

And Stanley Williams and Steve Ausman doubtless went back to war.

RED CROSS WAR EFFORT

Our second world war -- Part 1

America wasn't ready for war.

Two distinct end points mark the parameters of World War II -- September 1939 and April 1945, the effective start and finish to the global conflict.

In the middle of all that, virtually every human on the planet was affected in some way by the war.

According to Julie Schlesselman, who produced a comprehensive book with the names of practically everyone from Franklin County who ever wore a uniform, about 1,700 men and women served in the war in some capacity.

Of that number, at least 28 were from Fairfield or Fairfield Township. Without the aid of a detailed census for the war years, one could assume that the 28 represents a significant percentage of eligible men.

Brookville newspaper accounts of the American involvement in the war are scattered, brimming with local flavor. The reports range from official Department of Defense handouts to first-person letters, shared through gossip. It is inconceivable in the future of human history that a conflict of this proportion will ever occur again.

Let's start somewhere near the beginning.

Around the time Hitler's army invaded Poland in 1939, a syndicated column "This Week in Washington" speculated on the "minds" of our top officials.

"A dozen questions of vital national interest are being asked, and the answers are as various as the questions. All relate to the possibility or the probability of the United States being drawn into the European mess, whether we want to go to war or not, to just what we can do to keep out of the war, and how a great war in Europe would affect us if we're not participants."

Dozens of questions probably boiled down to one: How do we profit from this adventure?

The article continues:

"Much has been said and written about the completeness of our program of national defense, but the recent war games in which the regular army and the national guard participated have disclosed that we are nowhere nearly as ready to fight as people had supposed."

The column reveals that Gen. Hugh A. Drum, the Army's Chief of Staff, had been "outspoken" in his criticism of America's readiness to fight, claiming the equipment was outmoded, and the soldiers, including the regular Army, had been badly trained.

"We are short of mobile artillery, of anti-aircraft guns and of coast-defense artillery, according to high army officers, some of whom are much more outspoken than General Drum."

Not a good mix in the face of bellicose countries like Germany and Japan, who obviously knew how to read! America could be had ... and even her generals are admitting it! Bad form, fellas.

But America was inclined to sustain a neutral position on the war in Europe and was only marginally interested in the affairs in the Far East. The belief that World War I was "the war to end all wars" was accepted by people without much dispute.

"While public and official sympathy with the so-called democracies of Europe against the dictatorships is so well understood as to be taken for granted, can we avoid acts which could be interpreted as taking sides?"

The column suggested that acts of aggression against the U.S. would not be taken lightly, but they'd have to be pretty damned serious before America would go to war.

Meanwhile, some experts in foreign policy predicted that if Europe were to fall to the Nazis, meaning England and France, a likely station of war expansion might be South America.

A little closer to home, for sure.

"Regardless of the questions whether the U.S. may become involved in actual hostilities, the best informed officials in Washington hold that war would have a serious effect on this country's economic position."

And a country hobbling out of the Great Depression was apparently worried about the price of corn.

President Roosevelt did hold an executive hammer in restricting trade with belligerent nations, but he was saddled by a congressional neutrality act that would handcuff the Pentagon.

It's also worth noting that the U.S. held no particular affection for the communist government of the Soviet Union. In that respect, it was at times difficult to determine which enemy was worse.

The logic was: Subversive elements in the Nazi sphere of influence were attempting to stir up anti-German hate in an effort to modify public opinion that would lead America into a war with the Nazis, one the Nazis would win.

All that, the thinking went, after the Germans crushed the British and French resistance, whereupon the Germans could literally rape the U.S. of its natural resources.

"In the case of communist propaganda emanating from Russia, the (Un-American Activities) committee holds, the special interest of the Moscow government is that the democracies of the world and the totalitarian governments shall destroy each other."

Leaving the non-totalitarian Joe Stalin in charge, no doubt.

WAR CHANGES POLICY

Congress did in fact modify the terms of its neutrality act after Germany invaded Poland.  "High officials indicate that the gradual trend of events is likely to bring about a feeling that would seen be impossible to ignore concerning the war in Europe, and the bombing of passenger ships and other acts of similar nature would soon cause a rise of dissension that might involve America in hostilities."

The changes in the neutrality act effectively allowed for the shipment of supplies to European allies.

"The protests of the vast number of people who have written their (lawmakers) urging the retention of the (arms) embargo are not being disregarded, but the attitude of members of both Houses, with some exceptions, is that these protests come from people who honestly believe that the embargo is the only way, or the best way, to keep the U.S. out of war."

It would be more than two years before the U.S. would go to war.

INVASION OF POLAND

Route 101, all the way to Roseburg

... or how I learned to love concrete.

It's difficult to form any conclusions about the overall opinion regarding the construction of State Route 101 from Brookville to ... um ... well, Liberty.

It's difficult because news reporting of the event bordered on the absurd.

As in, if you didn't know where to look, it would be like a tree falling in a forest.

S.R. 101, or what it became, was partially a product of President Roosevelt's "New Deal" during the Great Depression, though the actual designation of the road preceded his inauguration in 1932.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) project was, to say the least, necessary under any conditions. You'd just have a helluva time proving it. One might assume that the highway to Liberty wasn't all that popular.

The Franklin County Surveyor's office provided the dates for the more notable moments in the building of the highway, which crossed the East Fork of the Whitewater where the bridge is located today just below the dam.

From there, the road skirted the valley on the east side, slicing through clay banks on its way to Fairfield. It was to replace an ancient toll turnpike that mirrored one (so to speak) on the west side of the river. Various bridges came and went to help farmers traverse the stream.

The covered bridge at Fairfield linked the west side of the river to the town, northward into Union County.

So ... what was the big deal?

The first useful Brookville Democrat report on the work boldy said in July 1931:

Brookville and Liberty
Joined by State Road 101

Brookville and Liberty are at last linked by a state road.

The final step in this direction was taken when the Union County Council authorized the appropriation of $3,500 as this county's share in the cost of building a new bridge over Hanna's creek.

The new road has been designated as Route 101 and is shown on the latest edition of the state highway map. Under the new numbering, Route 44 will start at Roseburg.

Robert Boren, of Fountain City, member of the state highway commission, has stated that construction of the $35,000 concrete bridge will be started within two weeks. It is to be 150 feet long and 24-foot roadway.

State maintenance and marking of the road to Brookville is to start at once.

So far, so good, right? The "highway" was simply a state-designated route. No real road as we know it existed. This process only allowed for a bridge to be built near Roseburg.

Roseburg was apparently important to the process since the road from Fairfield wound along the river and eventually crossed over at Dunlapsville, a mile west of there.

News reports on the progress of the work get much sketchier as the months dribble by, so much so that headlines declaring the opening of squirrel season are higher up on page 1. Tidbits about the highway are shoved in as "filler."

Such as in the Brookville American, on Sept. 17, 1931:

STATE TAKES OVER
FRANKLIN CO. ROAD

The Brookville-Roseburg road was taken over by the state Highway Commission this week. A crew of men have begun the work of maintenance. the road will be known as State road 101.

North of Roseburg, it was to be S.R. 44 for some reason. No explanation as to what "maintenance" entailed since grading and paving were still in the exploratory stage.

It's important to note that the state was taking control of many roads in Franklin, Union and Fayette counties during this time, including S.R. 121 from Laurel to Connersville, and U.S. 52 toward Metamora. As well, paving of S.R. 1 to Connersville was in the program.

By 1933, paving actually took on dimension. Out of the mud and gravel came Indiana's highways.

Aug. 31, 1933:

STATE ROUTE 101 TO BE PAVED

According to an Indianapolis dispatch, the contract for paving of state Road 101 between Brookville and Roseburg will be let September 21. Although nothing definite regarding when actual paving will begin can be ascertained at this time, it is assumed that this work will begin immediately after the contract is let.


Well, let's start the WPA party!

Sure enough, a couple of weeks later:

PAVING PROJECT LET

The Indiana Highway Commission Wednesday awarded a contract for paving road 101 in Franklin and Union counties, a distance of 7.049 miles to Roseburg, Burns and Company for $149,336.46.

5.369 miles of concrete pavement in Road 44 in Fayette and Union Counties to J.C. O'Connor and Sons Inc. of Fort Wayne for $127,713.

The Fieber Gravel Washer of this city had prospects for getting a contract to furnish gravel on the projects.

That basically covers it.

After the paving was complete, the old wooden bridge over the river was replaced in 1934. Eventually, the road from Brookville to Roseburg became a road to Liberty, since Roseburg lacked many of the tools necessary to establish itself as a destination.

All in all, not much fanfare. Then again, it wasn't a federal lake.

*

FYI: The Democrat and the American were both published in the same shop and contained practically the same content. They allegedly represented the political parties, mostly in name only.

The plague of polio -- Part 2

Dr. Jonas Salk

The Brookville American, in an editorial in early 1942, issued this appeal just weeks after the United States had embroiled itself in a global conflict known as World War II.

*   *   *

These are days of multiple appeals for public subscription to numerous worthy and essential causes. Franklin County has responded with zealous generosity to each and every plea of these agencies for human well-being and national safety.

Now comes a soul-stirring appeal for generous financial aid to a program of succor which is by no means the least among the many imperative things to which we must contribute today. This cry for help in the alleviation of suffering comes from our children throughout the nation -- helpless little tots upon whom a merciless and thus far unfathomable scourge of death and suffering descends in appalling relentlessness. It comes from our men or medical science who search untiringly for the source of this deadly scourge -- INFANTILE PARALYSIS. It comes from still another group of scientists who probe this baffling killer-crippler in quest of methods by which it can be isolated and treated successfully.

The suffering of these stricken children, the death -- the maiming and crippling -- visited upon them by Infantile Paralysis must be stopped. there is but one way to stop it. Funds and more funds must be made available to care for the stricken and to provide research scientists in their endless vigilance. Some progress is being made, of course, but even a temporary curtailment will mean a slipping backward. Thus, regardless of our other commitments, we must keep this work going.

In making our contributions we might well bear in mind the words of the Master who said, in response to questions asked Him about children, "As ye do unto the least of these, do ye also unto me."

*   *   *

It would be another dozen years before a doctor named Jonas Salk would help produce and deliver a serum that would control infantile paralysis, known generically as polio.

I wasn't able to learn exactly how successful those fundraisers were in the Whitewater valley, but they were ongoing. President Franklin Roosevelt, a victim of polio, was the natural standard-bearer in the complicated pursuit of a treatment.

Polio was a mystery virus. Nobody in those early days knew what caused it, though speculation centered around polluted water, easy to identify and much more difficult to control.

In 1952, Salk and his fellow researchers finally broke through with a polio vaccine that has largely been responsible for the near-eradication of the dreaded disease.

Albert Sabin is credited with developed a vaccine as well.

A BIT ABOUT SALK