By David A. F. Sweet
Though World War II veterans dwindle by the day, their stories continue to resonate. One in particular is that of Robert Totten Isham of Lake Forest.
A 1943 graduate of Yale University, Isham – known as Rab — chose to pursue field artillery in the Army. After training in Oklahoma and California, where he was promoted to corporal, he returned to Chicago via Pullman car for a two-week leave of absence. Little would be as peaceful during the next year.
Lake Forester Robert Isham found silverware and more with Adolf Hitler’s initials during a visit to his battered country retreat at the end of World War II.
Soon after D-Day in 1944, Isham and the 693rd Field Artillery Battalion crossed the English Channel and disembarked in France (in an interesting twist, Isham was the only member of the battalion who spoke French, and he happened to be fluent in the language). During General George Patton’s charge across the country, the battalion fired howitzer shells — whose accuracy exceeded 10,000 yards — at the enemy. Serving as a forward observer, Isham endured combat for 60 straight days; he was awarded the Bronze Star for bravery under fire.
The soldier soon found himself laying “telephone wire under fire to maintain communications with outposts,” as he wrote in his war memoir, which he shared with his family and friends. In early 1945, he crossed into Germany. On May 3, he encountered the defeated German army – so close he could almost converse with them.
“I can remember looking on, not with a feeling of revenge or victory, but rather with a feeling that these beaten men were just another sad picture in a dismal war,” he wrote in his memoir.
Though the preceding is quite a story in itself, it’s the aftermath that is truly astounding. The 24-year-old was quickly dispatched to Berchtesgaden. He came across Adolf Hitler’s once heavily fortified mountain retreat, parts of which had been leveled and gutted by fire. With the Fuhrer having committed suicide days before, Isham and two other soldiers entered the house with ease.
“As I remember it, we started wandering around, picking up anything we could find just to say we had gotten it at Berchtesgaden,” Isham wrote. “I found a roll of toilet paper, some old Christmas cards and a Berchtesgaden telephone directory.”
In a letter home to his parents, Isham shared the beauty of the world outside the crumbling chalet.
“The quiet, clean, serene dignity of the Alps is even more impressive after so much destruction, waste and ruin,” he wrote. “It serves to remind us that there really are some things that even this kind of war and madness cannot touch.”
Isham’s exploits were covered in a Lake Forester article (left), and his Hitler memorabilia was featured at the Chicago Historical Society.
The American soldiers walked to a nearby air raid shelter. Inside, they found knives and forks – silver pieces engraved with swastikas and the initials A H – along with other Hitler fare. Since it was legal for the soldiers to remove German government property of no military value, the trio grabbed the infamous treasures.
“When three soldiers are living out of the rear end of a Jeep, there really isn’t much room for a sack of looted silver,” Isham noted in his memoir. “So, when we returned to the Battalion, I built three wooden boxes, labeled them ‘personal laundry,’ and mailed them to 999 Lake Road, Lake Forest, Illinois. Surprisingly enough, some time later, all three boxes arrived uncensored and unscathed.”
Before long, the collection was shown at the Chicago Historical Society. Today, a silver pitcher, platter, sugar tongs, luncheon fork and knife, demitasse spoon and linen tea towel — all monogrammed A H — can be seen at the History Center of Lake Forest and Lake Bluff, whose Returning Home From War exhibit runs until March 15. It includes other compelling stories about local war veterans, such as Kent Chandler, Charles Clarke and others.
“I have always admired my grandparents’ (especially my grandmother’s) strength and resilience as they lived through having three sons in the war zones all at the same time,” said Janet Field, George’s daughter. “How fortunate they (and us!) were that all three came back alive and well.”
When Rab Isham returned to the Chicago area after being discharged in November 1945, he ran Streeter-Amet Co. and Wyco Tool Company. He married the former Bleecker Burnett of Winnetka, they raised a family and eventually moved to Santa Barbara. It was there that I first saw the Hitler silverware. Rab joked to me that when he showed it to a Chicago friend with the initials AH, he wondered how Isham had gotten his silverware!
The World War II veteran passed away in 2015. The final lines of his memoir emphasize the importance of those long-ago days.
“Thus, dear children and grandchildren, the Army and War experiences of your aged grandfather came to an end. Believe it or not I was young and eager then and although I can’t conceive of ever doing it all over again, it was still the greatest experience in my lifetime and I wouldn’t want to have missed any of it.”
Unsung Gems Columnist David A. F. Sweet can be reached at dafsweet@aol.com.
