Published: April 05, 2008 08:43 pm         

Unique find

Mike Fry finds 65-year-old newspaper featuring friend’s photo

A few years ago, Mike Fry was looking to buy an old rental house, and was ripping up linoleum when he discovered old newspapers underneath.

Fry, a self-proclaimed “history fanatic,” took the old newspapers home with him to read. As he flipped through them, a newspaper dated March 25, 1943, immediately caught his eye.

“I saw the name Quillen, and read that it was about Paul,” he said. “It was hard to believe.”

The newspaper featured Paul Quillen, a man Fry had known since he was 5 years old.

The photo and story called “Reunion in Africa” featured Quillen and his brother, Clarence, in their Navy uniforms, arm-in-arm. The photo was accompanied by a story about Clarence’s surprise visit to Paul while both were in North Africa serving in World War II.

When Fry told him about the newspaper clipping, Quillen said he had heard about the newspaper article, but never saw it.

“He was shocked,” Fry said. “So was I. It literally knocked him off his chair. We all got a good kick out of it.”

The reunion occurred in Casablanca in November 1942. Quillen hadn’t seen his brother, Clarence, in two years.

Quillen said that he was ecstatic about seeing his brother, who he called “Red.”

“I go, ‘My God, there’s my brother!’” he said.

The two spent the entire day together catching up.

“He stayed with me on my short patrol duty,” Quillen said.

On that day, Quillen, who was 16, and Clarence, who was 28, stopped to pose for a picture taken by a street vendor.

The picture, which Quillen has in his house in a frame, was sent to their mother, Rose, who submitted it to the Logansport Press.

Quillen had another surprise from his brother, who worked in the communications department, a month later in Algeria.

This time, the two were able to spend a week together. Quillen said they always had fun, especially because they both had transportation and were able to travel wherever they wanted.

Although Clarence was 12 years older, Quillen said the of them were always close.

They grew up in a two-story home in Logansport, and both were electricians.

Quillen joined the Navy when he was just 16, lying about his age to get in, and had traveled the world by the age of 18.

“In those days, it was a big deal to go to a foreign country,” he said.

Clarence passed away in 2002, but Quillen still vividly remembers the time they spent in the war. Quillen spent six years in the military and Clarence spent three. They ran into each other a total of three times.

Quillen said he had other brothers in the war as well, but he never saw them.

According to Fry, finding the newspaper allowed the two to have some pretty intriguing conversations.

“I had known Paul for quite some time, but didn’t realize he had been all over the world by 18,” Fry said. “I’m sure it brought back some pretty good memories for him. It was really interesting for me to talk with him about what happened 65 years ago.”

Fry is still shocked about his find.

“It was a pretty strange happening to find that newspaper in such good state and with someone you know,” he said.

Melissa Soria may be reached at (574) 732-5143 or via e-mail at melissa.soria@pharostribune.com