Dongene Yokeley (1933-2019)       

Saline County, Missouri

Photos:

Dongene Yokeley
Air Force

 

Links:

• Facts

• Father - Estel (Pete) Yokeley

• Mother - Bonnie Murle Nall Yokeley Wood

• Sister - Betty Murle Yokeley Harris

• Brother - Bill Yokeley

• Wife - Renate Rompf Yokeley

Renate Rompf's Family in Germany 1953

Bonnie Nall Yokeley Wood with daughter-in-law, Renate Yokeley and Virgil Wood

Virgil Wood and Bill Yokeley
Donald & Harue Yokeley
(Bill's child & wife)
Ida Rompf (Renate's mother), Dongene Yokeley with his mother, Bonnie Wood
Dennis (Bill's son), Michael & Debbie (Dongene's children)

Renate on left,
Harue (Bill's wife),
Ida Rompf (Renate's Mother)
Bonnie Wood (Dongene's Mother)

Children: Debbie and Mike Yokeley

Bill & Dongene Yokeley with wives visiting their Father, Estel (Pete) & his wife, Toots

Dongene & Renate Yokeley with their daughter, Debbie and her daughter, Cassie Scott

Dongene with granddaughter,
Cassie Scott

Cassie Scott

Dongene, Mike, Cassie, Renate and Debbie with Diane and Jacob Harris

Cassie Scott 2006

Dongene Yokeley

"I was born in Marshall, Missouri and raised by a single mom trying to provide shelter, food, and clothing for three kids during the depression.  My mother was fortunate as the International Shoe Factory was hiring.  Mom worked there for 30 plus years.  We moved five times before I went into the service.  We moved in with Grandma a couple times during that period.  I didn't know why but now I think mom didn't have enough money to pay the rent.  We lived in two houses that didn't have inside plumbing.  Mom heated the bath water either on the coal oil stove or the potbelly stove.  We bathed in a washtub and I was usually the last one to bathe in the dirty water.  Mom made sure we each had duties around the house.

My sister, Betty, kept the house clean and my brother, Bill, and I would bring in the coal and corn cobs in the winter time and in summer made sure the lawn was kept up.  We all had jobs at an early age.  Bill and I sold vegetables and magazines and mowed people's lawns.  Around the age of thirteen we started delivering the Kansas City Star, twice daily.  I delivered the paper until I was a senior in high school.  We would bale hay for the farmers during the summers.  When summer was over and we went back to school our newspaper boss lady would always hire us back.  I know she knew our family needed the money.  Betty worked at the corner grocery store in the summer. 

Mom was very religious.  She taught Sunday School for over thirty years.  In the later years she taught people in their eighties and nineties.  We never had a car and I can remember the many times we walked to church in blizzard conditions."

Military Career

"I joined the Air Force and when I shipped out to Germany I actually traveled by ship, a Troop Ship. This was back in February 1953. The name of the ship was General Harry S, Taylor.  We went as a complete Squadron, over 600 hundred men and women. We made history as being the First Missile Squadron deployed to Europe. It took us 11 days to reach our destination, the Port at Bremerhaven, Germany. We again made history by going through the worst storm our ship the General Harry S. Taylor had ever been in. It lasted over 4 days and nights. This may be hard for the average person to fathom but the waves at times were twice as tall as the ship. I thought any minute the waves would devour us, but that didn’t happen, that little ship maneuvered us through the storm for the better of four days. Needless to say there were quite a few sea sick troops, We had to eat standing up holding on to our trays. Shaving was almost impossible and water was gushing out through the commodes. It was an experience I never want to go through again. Prior to our entry into the English Channel we picked up a pilot. From WWII there were still many sunken ships still in The English Channel. The pilot knew the safe passage to steer us through the channel. We saw many ships masts and bows sticking up through the water. It was a very interesting voyage which I will never forget. NOTE: The General Harry Taylor was renamed General Hoyt S, Vandenberg. It was sunk 27 May 2009 off Key West, Florida where she is a man made reef.

"While stationed in Germany at Bitburg Air Force Base (AFB), my job was in the communications field.   A little less than a year I got assigned to a five man relay site about 100 miles from Bitburg.  We were to find housing and meals with the German people.  I found a room with the Romph family.  There were his wife, four daughters and one son.  His oldest daughter and son were married, living elsewhere and both had children of their own.  I slept there but we found a place where we could all get three meals a day.  The oldest daughter still at home was Renate.  We got together and had a good time but I wasn't the marrying kind (I thought). 

I decided to get discharged and stay single. I got discharged and decided maybe I would like to marry Renate.  A recruiter at home said no problem, if you re-enlist you will get stationed in Germany.  Well, I wound up in Morroco for a year if single or three years if married.  I got leave two times and both times got hops to Germany.  The first time I asked her to marry me and start the paperwork on her end and I on mine.  The second time we got married twice, once by the mayor (which is your official marriage date) and next day a church wedding.  We walked out of the house Renate in her wedding dress and I in a suit.  I was embarrassed as the street was lined with people on both sides and two young kids, a boy and a girl, throwing flower pedals.  I could understand a little German but told Renate to elbow me when I was supposed to say "Yaa".  She did.  We had a good wedding party at her house and probably celebrated too hard.  I found out another custom which was to awake early and go to all her friends and relatives for coffee and cake.  I couldn't look at a cake for months thereafter.  I sent Renate to my house shortly before my one year tour in Morocco was over.  She flew into Kansas City where my sister and Buck picked her up.

After stationed in Morocco,
my next base Was Mcdill AFB Tampa, Florida arriving in Oct 1958 (there I cross trained to Instrument Trainers where I maintained the trainer and instructed Rated Pilots).

I transferred May 1963 to Vandenberg AFB CA,

I transferred Oct 1964 to Ellsworth AFB, Rapid City, South Dakota

Next transfer to Ellsworth Oct 1970 for Laredo AFB, Laredo Texas. (Laredo AFB trained students into becoming Rated Pilots, we taught Many NATO students. My job was to demonstrate many aircraft maneuvers explain what each maneuver looked like on your instruments and best procedure to return to level flight. After my demonstration, usually the next day I would grade the students on how well they performed the maneuver. If they got satisfactory their next step was flying that maneuver in the actual aircraft.

After Laredo AFB in Aug 1973 I transferred to Mather AFB Sacramento, CA. At Mather they were still setting up the Navigational Trainers and getting all the bugs out. My duty there was acting as an aircraft controller. I retired 1 Oct 1979. Total Service: 26 Years, 6 Month 4 Days. (Rank on retirement SMSGT)

After my retirement I worked less than a year at the Sacramento Army Depot. I quit there and went to work for the Post Office at the Sacramento Distribution Center for 18 plus years."

Letter and photos from Dongene Yokeley 23 November 2010. Thank you!