By Julie Huebel, Pierce County Historical Association
ELMWOOD, WI – With the Rock Elm book reprint behind me, my mind has decided on a new obsession and that is to identify and research all of the Pierce County members of the military that have lost their lives during service. I was able to take advantage of some recent research for this letter T article. So, T is for Taplin… in honor of Private Rex Duane Taplin.
Private Taplin, age 22, was killed in action on December 20, 1943, while serving in Italy during WWII. He served with the 504th Parachute Infantry of the 82nd Airborne Division. He had enlisted on August 15, 1942, from Milwaukee, just four days after his 21st birthday.
I couldn’t find the details of how he died, but I did find a note that said he was killed in the “Venafro sector” and was first buried temporarily in the American Carano Cemetery before being interred in the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno, Italy, where a white marble cross bears his name. He also has a stone memorial at Ellsworth’s Maple Grove Cemetery.
The headquarters of the 504th was established in Venafro, Italy on December 10, just ten days before Rex would be killed in action there. Colonel Tucker wrote of the day Private Taplin died: “On December 20th, the 504th RCT held the Hill 1205, 950, 954, 710 and 687 and sent regular patrols to the Hill 877 and 710. The fights consisted of assault of hills and heights one after the other. It was a hard fight on abrupt slopes. The wounded were evacuated with great difficulty! The supply of heights, a real problem. Of a total of 19 days of fighting in Venafro, the 504th PIR [Parachute Infantry Regiment] (alone) counted 54 KIA, 226 WIA and 2 MIA. Most of the losses are due to the enemy artillery fires.”
Rex Taplin (1921-1943) grew up in the Elmwood area, where many are familiar with the Taplin name. His parents were Lynn Taplin, Sr. (1890-1963) and Verta Bunce (1890-1965). Lynn was also born in the Elmwood area, raised in Weston Township in Dunn County and Verta was born in nearby Salem Township. They married in 1917, living in Weston Township while establishing their family. There was a mention in the March 19, 1931, issue of The Dunn County News in the Comfort neighborhood section that read: “A farewell was tendered Mr. and Mrs. Lynn Taplin at their home Saturday night by their neighbors and friends to a large number. The evening was spent playing euchre at five tables. The head prize was won by Mr. and Mrs. M. G. Thompson. Mrs. Peter Bundy and H. Bauer received a prize. Lunch was served at midnight. Mr. and Mrs. Taplin are the recipients of a purse of money, a token of esteem. Taplins are moving this week to Beldenville, on a farm.”
On the 1940 census, the family was living in Oak Grove township in Pierce County and Lynn’s occupation was listed as “barberry eradication”. This prompted me to look this up and I found interesting information on the Minnesota Historical Society’s website about the “Barberry Eradication Program” that ran from 1918-1980 as a joint effort between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and several states to work to remove this invasive ornamental bush because of it acting as a secondary host for the fungus that causes stem-rust disease in wheat. By the 1950 census, Lynn, Verta and son, Donald were living in Ellsworth on Main Street and the listed occupation for Lynn was: “Fireman”, and industry noted as: “Creamery”. Lynn’s parents were Lorenzo Taplin, Jr. (1851-1929) and Lizzie Vliet (1858-1924), both buried in the Lower Weston Cemetery. Lorenzo was born in Quebec, Canada.
When I saw where he was born, I thought, are the Taplins another French-Canadian family? I soon learned, no, they were not French-Canadian. His parentage as linked on the Findagrave website, has Lorenzo, Jr.’s 3 times great-grandfather, Mansfield Tapley (1685-1732), born in Salem, Massachusetts of English ancestry. His son, John (1727-1803) went by the surname Taplin instead of his father’s Tapley. It seems at least some of Mansfield’s descendants went on to use the Tapley surname. John served as a Colonel in the French and Indian Wars, serving for the British Army. Due to the Revolutionary War breaking out, he moved his family to Canada. He also participated in the War of 1812, on the side of Canada/England.
Meanwhile, back in Weston Township, Lorenzo was filing his intention to make final proof in support of his claim on his homestead application for the S1/2, of the NW1/4 of section 32 in November of 1879. He had been in Canada for the 1861 census and in Dunn County by the 1870 census. He and Lizzie Vliet married in 1876 and began their family. Hmmm…Vliet is an interesting name, but I have a different name in store for the letter “V”.
