Oetting, Elmer C.

ELMER C. OETTING

ENSIGN

U.S. NAVY

Elmer C. Oetting was born in Decatur on November 1, 1923. He was the son of Henry and Adelinda (Scheumann) Oetting. Elmer grew up in a large household on the family farm on Decatur Route 1. He had four brothers: Paul, Clarence, Henry and Arnold. His sisters were Dorothy and Evelyn. Elmer went to school at St. John's Lutheran School and graduated from Monmouth High School. In addition, he graduated from the International Business College in Fort Wayne and worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad also in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Elmer was an active member of the St. John Lutheran Church and was a member of the Young People's Society there. 

On December 15, 1942 Elmer enlisted in the United States Navy Air Corps. In August 1943, Cadet Oetting began his training at Monmouth College in Illinois and eventually Corpus Christi Texas to complete training to become a Naval Aviator. His brother, SSgt. Paul Oetting also served in WWII with the U.S. Army. 

Naval Air Station Corpus Christi provided intermediate flight training for naval pilots. It was the largest naval aviation training facility in the world and trained over 35,000 aviators during the war.

With only two weeks left of his training, Cadet Oetting was killed when his plane crashed on April 2, 1945. He was scheduled to earn his wings and be commissioned as a Navy Officer on April 18. 

A funeral with military rites was held April 8, 1945 at St. Pauls Lutheran Church in Decatur. Cadet Oetting's remains were returned home in a bronze casket escorted by Aviation Cadet John Mamara. In addition, a chaplain, bugler, and firing squad from the Bunker Hill Naval Training Station in Peru conducted full military honors. Cadet Oetting was posthumously awarded his commission of Ensign.

In 1946, memorial markers were erected in the St. John Lutheran Church Cemetery for four members of the church who were killed in service to our nation during WWII. The four identical markers were placed next to each other, within view of their former homes. The markers were erected for Ensign Elmer Oetting, Sgt. Frederick Scheumann, Private Arthur Berning, and TSgt. Walter Schroeder. Ensign Oetting and Private Berning are interred in their plots while the others are interred elsewhere. 

For his service and sacrifice, Ensign Oetting earned the American Campaign Medal, and the WWII Victory Medal. 

SOURCES

“Decatur Daily Democrat 4 April 1945 — Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana’s Digital Historic Newspaper Program.” Newspapers.library.in.gov, newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=DCDD19450404.1.1&e=------194-en-20-DCDD-1--txt-txIN-Oetting------. Accessed 26 Mar. 2024.

            “Decatur Daily Democrat 5 April 1945 — Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana’s Digital Historic Newspaper Program.” Newspapers.library.in.gov, newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=DCDD19450405&e=------194-en-20-DCDD-1--txt-txIN-Oetting------. Accessed 26 Mar. 2024.

           “Ens Elmer C. Oetting (1923-1945) - Find a Grave...” Www.findagrave.com, www.findagrave.com/memorial/33164381/elmer_c-oetting. Accessed 26 Mar. 2024.

           “Naval Air Station Corpus Christi.” Wikipedia, 5 Oct. 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naval_Air_Station_Corpus_Christi. Accessed 26 Mar. 2024.

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