IA LA - Duane Roy Dreher, 34, Mason City, 7 Nov 1955

[Gardener1850]

Could this be him?
Obituary for Ray Duane Dreher at Hockenberry Family Care Funeral Home

No, that is not the missing man. That man was born in 1941 and is much younger.

Duane was 34 years old in 1955 when he went missing-- putting his date of birth at about 1921*.

If Duane Roy Dreher is still alive today he would be about 98 years old.

I'm guessing he either took on an alias and passed away under the alias OR he died in 1955 and his remains have not been found.
He could be among the unidentified if DNA has not been entered for the UID.

MOO.

*ETA: I just checked Ancestry and the missing Duane was born 31 Jan 1922.

 

[Gardener1850]

An interesting ship record for anyone on Ancestry: Ancestry - Sign In

Dwane Roy Dreher
in the New York, Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957


View

Name: Dwane Roy Dreher
Arrival Date: 7 May 1943
Birth Date: abt 1922
Age: 21
Gender: Male
Ethnicity/ Nationality: English
Port of Departure: AL Basrah, Iraq
Port of Arrival: New York, New York
Ship Name: Stephen F Austin
Search Ship Database: Search for the Stephen F Austin in the 'Passenger Ships and Images' database

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The record shows he sailed into New York from Iraq on 7 May 1943, while serving in the US Navy.

His rank was "2/c seaman" and he had been gone 7 months.

This verifies one of the above news articles that Iraq was one of his stations in the Navy.

Of note is that many records spell his first name "Dwane".

Also interesting to note is that his son was born roughly a year after this return from Iraq. Dwane's son was most likely conceived not long after he returned from his Navy trip to Iraq.
Then he left to go to Russia while his 1st wife was pregnant and returned again when his son was 5 months old according to the article in post 12.

MOO.

 

[Gardener1850]

This is an application Dwane made for a World War II Service bonus: Ancestry - Sign In

It is hard to read but I screenshot the most interesting piece of info. It lists his dates of overseas Navy service in two columns: Date of Departure from US and Date of Return to US

Here are his service dates and possible travel locations based on the above and the previous articles found:

2 May 1942 -Departed (To Iraq?)
10 May 1943 -Returned (From Iraq according to Ship Record in post #22)

9 Oct 1943- Married his first wife Marjorie in Brooklyn, New York.

5 Nov 1943 -Departed (Possibly when he traveled to Cuba, Panama, South Africa, Iran, Iraq, Arabia and India as the article in post #12 says)
4 Feb 1944 -Returned (His 1st wife would have been 5 to 6 months pregnant)

20 Feb 1944 -Departed (To Russia? Dwane's son was born during this deployment in May 1944)
20 Nov 1944 - Returned (From Russia to see his son for the first time according to the article in post #12)

13 Dec 1945 - Departed - (To Germany, Belgium, France, Holland, England, Scotland, Ireland and Russia according to article in post #12)
16 Sept 1945 - Returned (End of Service in Navy)

He received a $500 bonus for filing this paperwork.

 

[Gardener1850]

Marriage record for his first wife Marjorie: Join Ancestry

They married 9 Oct 1943 in Brooklyn, New York -- Dwane would have been home on leave from his first Navy Tour which included Iraq. He departed again less than month later. His son was likely conceived in this very short time he was home.

(How romantic and sad all at once-- This was a very common occurance during World War II, sweethearts marrying right before the man shipped off to war and babies born while they were gone. This info might not help us solve where Duane went but it gives an important glimpse into his life in my opinion. His first Navy tour including Iraq fascinates me for some reason. MOO).

 

[madamx]

This is an application Dwane made for a World War II Service bonus: Ancestry - Sign In

It is hard to read but I screenshot the most interesting piece of info. It lists his dates of overseas Navy service in two columns: Date of Departure from US and Date of Return to US

View attachment 166895

Here are his service dates and possible travel locations based on the above and the previous articles found:

2 May 1942 -Departed (To Iraq?)
10 May 1943 -Returned (From Iraq according to Ship Record in post #22)

9 Oct 1943- Married his first wife Marjorie in Brooklyn, New York.

5 Nov 1943 -Departed (Possibly when he traveled to Cuba, Panama, South Africa, Iran, Iraq, Arabia and India as the article in post #12 says)
4 Feb 1944 -Returned (His 1st wife would have been 5 to 6 months pregnant)

20 Feb 1944 -Departed (To Russia? Dwane's son was born during this deployment in May 1944)
20 Nov 1944 - Returned (From Russia to see his son for the first time according to the article in post #12)

13 Dec 1945 - Departed - (To Germany, Belgium, France, Holland, England, Scotland, Ireland and Russia according to article in post #12)
16 Sept 1945 - Returned (End of Service in Navy)

He received a $500 bonus for filing this paperwork.

Wow great timeline Gardner! I agree with you it's both romantic and sad at the same time.
Makes me wonder if he left Iowa and went back to Brooklyn?

 

[Gardener1850]

Wow great timeline Gardner! I agree with you it's both romantic and sad at the same time.
Makes me wonder if he left Iowa and went back to Brooklyn?

I think they might have married in Brooklyn because he was between Navy tours and on a few months shore time. His ship could have been docked in the Brooklyn Navy Yard: Brooklyn Navy Yard - Wikipedia
Or that might have been where Marjorie was employed during the war--thousands of women took jobs in the Navy Yard in Brooklyn during WWII according to wikipedia. I'm just guessing though.

That said, I agree he could have gone back to Brooklyn or really anywhere in the world if he chose to disappear. He had seen a lot of world traveling with the Navy.

He could be an unidentified body just about anywhere. Or he might have started a third family under a different name and perhaps his change of identity was never discovered. I hope his grandchildren have put their DNA into all the big genealogy websites including GED match. They might find close relatives they never knew about that could solve this case.

 

[Dingdinger]

I think they might have married in Brooklyn because he was between Navy tours and on a few months shore time. His ship could have been docked in the Brooklyn Navy Yard: Brooklyn Navy Yard - Wikipedia
Or that might have been where Marjorie was employed during the war--thousands of women took jobs in the Navy Yard in Brooklyn during WWII according to wikipedia. I'm just guessing though.

That said, I agree he could have gone back to Brooklyn or really anywhere in the world if he chose to disappear. He had seen a lot of world traveling with the Navy.

He could be an unidentified body just about anywhere. Or he might have started a third family under a different name and perhaps his change of identity was never discovered. I hope his grandchildren have put their DNA into all the big genealogy websites including GED match. They might find close relatives they never knew about that could solve this case.

Yes Dwanes 1st wife Marjorie ( Grandma) worked in the shipyards. In New York and San Francisco at close of war. I believe Dwane (Grandpa) had severe PTSD after the war. He commented in his military files he had been attacked by Submarines and Airplanes while serving on 3 ships. SS Barbara Frietchie, SS John Wanamaker and SS Stephen F. Austin.

 

[CruGirl]

It mentioned he was known as a good card player, lots of crime and gambling in MC at this time. My mom likes to say most of the murders in Mason City were committed “by the Greeks that her dad played cards with”. I keep telling her this is a rather racist and accusatory statement, but she still says it...

 

[John/Jane Doe]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)