Sylvester W. Irlbeck

World War II

Sylvester Irlbeck was born on May 17, 1917, near Templeton to Engelbert and Frances (Schlichter) Irlbeck. He attended Sacred Heart School and worked on the family farm. In 1939, he graduated from the Iowa Barber College in Des Moines.

When Sylvester registered for the military draft on October 16, 1940, he indicated he was employed at Nick Ohlinger’s barber shop in Templeton. He enlisted in the US Navy at Carroll on January 13, 1942, a little more than a month after the Pearl Harbor attack. He was assigned serial number 6262500. He was sent to the Great Lakes Naval Training Center near Chicago for boot training.

By August, 1942, Sylvester was in Templeton on furlough. At that time, he was a Seaman and assigned to Barracks 78 at the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station in Texas. By February 5, 1943, he was given the rating of a coxswain, an indication that he was involved in supervising and training other sailors. On August 21, 1943, he was promoted to Boatswain Mate 2nd Class.

By June, 1944, Sylvester was again on furlough with his parents. He was still assigned to Corpus Christi NAS and had the rating of Barber’s Mate 2nd Class in a continuation of his civilian profession. In late 1944, Sylvester was sent to Camp Ojai, CA (also known as Camp Oak). This facility had been built by the US Army but was transferred to the US Navy in 1944. The Navy utilized the camp as an extension of Port Hueneme, the Navy’s primary support base for the Seabees. Sylvester trained for duty overseas and presumably provided his services as a barber.

In early 1945, his unit left the United States for duty in the Pacific. He served on Saipan in the Mariana Islands likely in support of the Seabees as these islands became a major base for the US Army Air Corps. Later, the Marianas served as the stepping off point for the atomic bomb attacks on Japan. With those attacks, the Pacific war came to an end in August, 1945.

Sylvester remained on Saipan until sailing back to the United States on November 22, 1945, aboard the USS Hoggatt Bay, an escort carrier. This returning voyage was called “Operation Magic Carpet” and included over 1,200 servicemen. The ship docked in San Pedro, CA on December 7, 1945. Sylvester was discharged from the US Navy on December 22, 1945, with the rank of SSMB 1c (Ship’s Serviceman Barber 1st Class) and returned to Templeton.

On April 30, 1946, Sylvester was married to Ardella Bluml at St. Augustine Church in Halbur, IA. The couple lived in Templeton for two years as Sylvester continued his work as a barber. In 1948, they purchased a café, tavern and barber shop in Halbur which they operated for seven years. In 1955, the family moved to a farm east of Templeton. Sylvester continued his barber activities and also sold insurance. They moved into Templeton in 1984. Sylvester died in Carroll, IA on June 26, 2002 at age 85. He was buried in Sacred Heart Cemetery in Templeton.