By JACK PALMER
palmer@crescent-news.com
ARCHBOLD -- They came from all walks of life, different faiths and non-faiths, ranging in age from 16-72.
Dubbed "seagoing cowboys," they were men and boys who delivered livestock on cattle boats to war-devastated countries from 1945-47 as part of the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration and the Heifer Project.
"Theirs is a remarkable story," said Peggy Reiff Miller, who has researched, written about and documented the history of the seagoing cowboys since 2002. "Some sought adventure, some sought to serve people whose lives had been torn apart by war, some wanted to see firsthand what they had only read about or seen on film."
Most of the oceanic journeys went to Europe, typically to Poland, Italy and Greece. Some of the later trips were made to China and Africa.
"We had to pay our own way to Newport News (Va.) where the ships left from," said Maurice Nafziger of Archbold. "For me, the adventure was a big part of it. But it was also a chance to help people halfway across the world."
Trip durations lasted anywhere from 4-12 weeks depending on the type of ship and the weather.
"We ran into really rough weather during the winter of 1945," said Glen Nafziger, Burlington. "I'm not sure if it was one really big one storm or a series of storms, but we had to head into the wind to keep from being blown over."
Glen Nafziger and Loyal Nofziger each made to two trips to Poland -- December 1945 and January 1947.
"We were on the same boat both times," said Nofziger, Archbold. "Over 40 horses died on one trip, but I suspect some were sick before we left."
Upon the ship's arrival, the "cowboys" saw little else than rubble.
"There was destruction wherever we looked," said Lauren Bowman of Archbold, who went to Poland in December 1946. "In many areas there wasn't a single building standing."
Miller, who resides in Milford, Ind., became personally interested in the saga of seagoing cowboys a few years after her grandfather died in 1969.
"My father gave me about a dozen photos from a cattle boat trip to Poland that grandpa Abe had taken in 1946. Having grown up in the Church of the Brethren, I knew about the seagoing cowboys but I didn't know my grandpa had been one. So I never heard his story."
A move of her husband's job from Maryland to Indiana in 2002 gave Miller the opportunity to focus on writing and research.
"The seagoing cowboys were among the first people to get to Europe after the war," she said. "What they saw changed a lot of their lives. They were determined to come back and change the world from what they had seen."
"I liked the idea of helping people while doing something for the country," said Archbold resident Dale Wyse, who was aboard a ship to Greece in February 1947. "My dad didn't think I would make it back, that I would get sick or die in a storm, but I didn't mind the risk."
On their return trip, the seagoing cowboys often encountered stowaways wanting to emigrate to America.
"Many of them were young boys who had lost their parents in the war," said Doyle Short of Archbold. "The would hide on the ship and we would use fire hoses to get them out."
"Once we reached the Rock of Gibraltar, they stayed on," added Maurice Nafziger. "If we found them before then, we dropped them off at some port in the Mediterranean."
One of the humorous stories involved the veterinarians on the ships, many of whom were young and still in school.
"I think a lot of them were dog and cat vets," said Ralph Aschliman, Archbold. "They didn't seem to know much about large animals."
Miller's most recent accomplishment is the production of the DVD documentary photo story, "A Tribute to the Seagoing Cowboys." The brief video will be shown to the public Friday at 7 p.m. in Zion Mennonite Church, 300 Short-Buehrer Road, Archbold.
"After the video, I will talk about the history of seagoing cowboys," said Miller. "I'll then invite the seagoing cowboys in attendance to come up and share their experiences. That will be the most compelling part of the program."
For more information about seagoing cowboys, visit www.seagoingcowboys.com.