Family of Salem brothers killed in WWII honored for their sacrifice

Two brothers from Salem, Ohio have been recognized for their ultimate sacrifice in the second World War. 

Kevin Callahan, author and historian, visited the city to share the story of the Trimmer brothers Thursday. Callahan researched the Trimmers for his book Brothers in Arms, which tells the stories of brothers buried side-by-side in American World War II cemeteries. 

“The idea that they would be brought together and in their final resting place, they could sort of forever be together, I think that was a great gesture to both those soldiers as well as to those families,” Callahan said. 

Five Trimmer brothers fought in the second World War, and two — Earl and Stanton — died in the conflict. They were killed nine days and 50 miles apart in 1944, but laid to rest right next to one another at Brittany American Cemetery in France. 

Their mother, Anna Trimmer White, raised eight children almost entirely on her own. She lost another son, Carl White Jr., years later in the Korean War. 

Callahan said he was inspired to write the book in part by how “heroic and courageous and brave” Trimmer White was. 

“She didn't fight in the war, but she sacrificed a lot, as did a lot of these families,” Callahan said. 

To exemplify this, he shared a snippet of a newspaper interview, in which he said a reporter asked Trimmer White about having lost three sons to war.

“Naturally, I feel deeply that they are gone, but if the sacrifice they have made will keep liberty alive, not only in this country, but in the rest of the world as well, their lives were not wasted,” Callahan quoted Timmer White as saying. 

Sitting in the audience at Callahan’s talk was Karen Griggy, the granddaughter of Trimmer White and niece of the Trimmer brothers. The author presented Griggy with ‘Brothers in Arms’ medals for her family, recognizing the sacrifice they made for freedom in the U.S. and abroad. 

“It's an honor, really, even though I didn't know them, because they passed away before I was born,” Griggy said. 

“It brings back memories of hanging out with my grandmother. I mean, she was a wonderful person,” she added. “When we were in her house, I would ask her about their pictures, and she would tell me about them.”