The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Chardon grad was notable ‘Mountain Boy’
Ashcraft stood out on Chardon grid, made ultimate sacrifice in WW2
Prior to World War II, Chardon’s teams were nicknamed the Mountain Boys.
The Painesville Telegraph in that era preferred to kiddingly reference that moniker from a rural standpoint.
But the moniker also spoke to the toughness of the young men who represented their proud school and community.
One so-called Mountain Boy who exemplified that toughness was 1938 Chardon graduate Wilton Ashcraft.
On the gridiron, he worked his way from sophomore substitute to invaluable senior in the backfield.
Later, he answered the call to duty and — in his first mission as a sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Corps — perished in service to his country.
His story is similar to many of the era — and as the Hilltoppers of today strive for the
Division III state championship Nov. 21 against Columbus DeSales, a Mountain Boy of yesteryear deserves for his tale to be uncovered generations later.
Ashcraft was born Aug. 31, 1920, in Munson Township to father Frank and mother Irene. The family lived on Mayfield Road, with Frank earning a living for his family as an inspector for the state highway patrol.
When Ashcraft was 10, Frank died Dec. 20, 1930, at the age of 52.
Irene later remarried, and Ashcraft and sister Genevieve had a new stepfather, George Betzer, who ran his own butcher shop in Chardon.
It took Ashcraft time to become a standout in football for the Mountain Boys.
As a sophomore in 1935, he appeared in three games as a substitute, all blowout wins over Madison, Perry and Harvey’s junior varsity.
Then in 1936, Ashcraft began to see more frequent action, starting three games at quarterback and another at halfback. It was a long season for Chardon, with the best result in which Ashcraft appeared being as the starting quarterback in a 0-0 tie with Mentor on Nov. 7.
His breakout campaign came as a senior in 1937.
While not the best year for the Mountain Boys from a won-lost standpoint, as they went 3-5, Ashcraft earned his respect along the way.
In previewing the 1937 season for Chardon, Ashcraft was listed by the Telegraph as a “veteran who will show in Chardon’s lineups.”
Coming off a seasonopening 13-0 setback at Ashtabula Harbor, the Telegraph seemingly couldn’t help themselves with that aforementioned rural portrayal.
“The Chardon High School Mountain Boys hang up their squirrel guns long enough this weekend to travel down out of the hills to the big city,” the Telegraph wrote bizarrely in its Sept. 30, 1937 edition.
“Coach Dick Severns worked this week on the ragged blocking and running interference to round out a perfect offense to throw at the big East Cleveland aggregation.”
The Telegraph was referring to a road game against Shaw’s reserve squad Oct. 1. Ashcraft started at fullback and scored a touchdown in an 18-13 win.
“The Chardonites’ first score came in the opening period of the game when Ashcraft took the pigskin over the goal line to climax a series of power plays,” the Telegraph reported.
Another start for Ashcraft at fullback against Kirtland — which back then also had a different nickname, the Golden Tornado — resulted in another win, 13-0.
“The Mountaineers drove over their first touchdown in the initial period when Ashcraft, behind a cutting interference, ran in a reverse off tackle through the right side of the line for 25 yards, placing the ball on the Kirtland 7-yard strip,”
the Telegraph wrote.
Unfortunately for the Mountain Boys, a fourgame losing streak followed, but all were tight defeats — 6-0 against Wickliffe, 13-0 at Mentor, 7-6 at Madison and 6-0 to Perry.
The Telegraph was quick to praise Ashcraft, though, as he transitioned to quarterback during the losing skid.
In the loss to the Cardinals, the Telegraph lauded Ashcraft in its Oct. 23, 1937 edition, noting the senior “handled his team like the general he is.”
After the Perry loss, the Telegraph stated: “The Chardon line was unable to withstand the assaults of the Pirates who were consistently rushing Ashcraft as he tried to punt out of the holes where Chardon had been placed.
“The Mountain Boys have had a lot of bad luck this season, being nosed out of three league matches by only one touchdown.”
Ashcraft’s last game as the “general” for Chardon was a winning one, how
ever.
The Mountain Boys ended their losing skid with a 34-14 rout Nov. 12 against Chester, scoring 28 unanswered points after being down, 7-6, at half. To that point, Chardon had scored 37 points that entire fall.
Ashcraft scored a pair of touchdowns to close his high school football career.
“Ashcraft drove off tackle for the first goal,” the Telegraph wrote.
“The victory was the last scholastic game for 10 of the Mountain Boys, who are graduating next spring.”
Ashcraft was named as a first-team all-Class B performer by the Telegraph after the season. Also joining him on that all-star team were two other News-Herald coverage area gridiron standouts who would also later make the ultimate sacrifice for their country, Kirtland’s Edward Vernick and Perry’s Elroy Baxter.
“The Mountain Boys’ representative on the all-stars stood out as a great back all through the season, even when the going of the team
was rather rocky,” the Telegraph noted in praise of Ashcraft.
Upon graduating from Chardon, Ashcraft became a partner in his stepfather’s business, serving as a meat cutter.
As World War II raged abroad, though, Ashcraft emerged from the heart of Geauga County to answer the call to the armed forces.
He entered service on Aug. 11, 1943 and trained at several camps in preparation for duty as a bombardier in the U.S. Army Air Corps — Keesler Field in Massachusetts, Santa Ana in California, Lowry Field in Colorado and later stops in Las Vegas and Rapid City, S.D.
Sgt. Ashcraft went overseas Feb. 17, 1945.
He was part of the 94th Bomb Group and 332nd Bomb Squadron, serving as a nose gunner toggler aboard a B-17.
On March 15, 1945, the 94th’s mission was to attack German army headquarters outside Berlin.
As his 10-man crew and B-17 flew in, they were met by anti-aircraft rounds, which set two of the plane’s engines on fire.
In an Individual Casualty Questionnaire later declassified, witnesses in other aircraft believed, although “purely s upp o s it ion ,” that, “It was thought that Ashcraft might not have been killed by the initial explosion, just wounded. He might have then tried to jump out.”
Of the 10 men on that B-17, Ashcraft was one of four who were killed. The other six, when the plane crashed near Gransee, north of Berlin, were taken as prisoners of war. His plane was one of 153 lost by the 94th during the war.
Ashcraft was initially reported back home to Chardon to his parents and sister as being missing, but later confirmed as killed. He was 24 years old.
“He trained at many camps throughout the United States and went overseas last Feb. 17,” the Geauga Republican-Record reported.
“While attending Chardon High School, from which he graduated in 1938, he was prominent in athletics.”
A cenotaph, which is a memorial placed for someone who is laid to rest elsewhere, remains i n Ashcraft’s honor at Maple Hill Cemetery on the corner of Auburn Road and Butternut Road in Munson Township. He is memorialized next to his father Frank.
Ashcraft’s final resting place is at Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial, a 90.5-acre site for 5,317 American war dead in Belgium, the majority of whom served in the U.S. Army Air Corps.
According to American Battle Monuments Commission, which oversees military monuments and cemeteries abroad, headstones at Ardennes, Ashcraft’s included, “are aligned i n straight rows that compose the form of a Greek cross.”
Ashcraft was a Mountain Boy of great note, then an American of great note as well.
After being honored by the Telegraph on that 1937 Class B all-star squad, the Telegraph continued its praise of Ashcraft.
“Ashcraft ran a good game of ball and blocked well for his fellow backfield men,” they wrote.
As it turns out, he represented those Mountain Boys well, on the gridiron and off for all time.