“Pearl Harbor had been attacked, it was the patriotic thing
to do,” Nina Wiglesworth Morgan replied when asked why she moved to Washington,
D.C. as a teenager. Secretarial and
book-keeping skills landed her a job with the Veterans Administration, “I was
good at shorthand, too,” she added.
She thinks patriotism and a “Free a Man to Fight” poster may
have had something to do with her joining the Marine Corps in 1943. “From Boot Camp at Parris Island, I went to
Camp Lejeune as a clerk-typist. After
completing Quartermaster School, I spent the rest of my Marine Corps time as a
Supply-man.”
It could have been patriotism that led her to spend time
getting to know Ernest Wiglesworth, a Marine assigned to Camp Lejeune for
well-deserved rest and recuperation. A
Pearl Harbor survivor, he was also a decorated combat veteran of Midway and
Guadalcanal.
“We fell seriously in love, but Ernest was sent back to the
South Pacific for the Battle of Peleliu.
I promised to wait -- he sent my engagement ring in the mail.” Nina Mae Johnson and Marine Gunnery Sergeant
Ernest Woodrow “Buddy” Wiglesworth were married on November 28, 1945. She had been honorably discharged from the
Marine Corps 13 days.
Ernest Wiglesworth left the Marine Corps in 1947 and moved
his wife and young son, Ernest Jr., to Greensboro. Five other children were born into the family
– Jim, Keith, Lee, Lynn and Kathleen.
The broader family includes 10 grandchildren and eight
great-grandchildren. Ernest Wiglesworth
died in 2000 – he and Nina had been married 54 years.
In 2008, she married Ray Morgan, a retired Army combat
veteran of Korea and Vietnam. He died in
2011.
While becoming a Gold Star Mother was the most patriotic
event of Nina Morgan’s life, it was, by far, the saddest.
Boatswain’s Mate 3rd Class Ernest
“Skip” Wiglesworth was killed in Vietnam on March 14, 1968 when his riverboat
struck a Viet Cong mine.
Ironically, the young petty officer had written a letter to
the Greensboro Daily News. He wanted
people to know the Navy was working hard in Vietnam, getting shot at and
running into enemy mines.
The letter was published March 16, 1968 – the same day Navy
officers came to the Wiglesworth home to notify them their son was missing in
action.
According to his mother, “Skip was scheduled for rest and
recuperation on April 4. His wife had
already made airplane reservations to meet him in Honolulu.” A huge portrait of her oldest son hangs
prominently in Nina Morgan’s living room, along with his personal decorations.
She reflected, “Skip was born during his father’s last year
on active duty as a Marine. He wanted
desperately to be a Marine like his Mom and Dad, but they would not take him at
17. The Navy did. Those were the days of the Vietnam War – I
thought he would be safer in the Navy – but you never know.”
Another Wiglesworth son, Jim, perhaps better known as Jungle
Jim of the Old Rebel Show, is an Army veteran.
Born in Reidsville and graduated from high school in
Raleigh, Nina Morgan has spent most of her 92 years in Greensboro, where she
and her husband raised their family.
She has faced more than her share of adversity. Her father was born blind, as were two of her
sons, as a result of Norrie Disease (A hereditary disorder that leads to
blindness in male infants, according to the National Institute of Health).
“All my siblings are gone. I guess you can say, I’m left holding the
fort, but I sure am thankful for the years the Lord has given me,” Morgan
reflected recently.
Whether from patriotism or dedication, every Wednesday
evening finds Nina Morgan at American Legion Post 53, where she has served as
Post Commander. “I don’t play bingo, but
I keep the books and handle the finances.
It’s a non-paying job, I just enjoy doing it. Players buy their cards from me and I hand
out whatever they win.”
Even poor television scheduling on the part of Survivor
producers doesn’t give pause to Morgan’s American Legion chores. According to her daughter, Lynn Wiglesworth,
“I pull up the show on demand for Mom -- she watches the Wednesday show
faithfully on Thursdays.”
Morgan’s grand-daughter, Kelly Wiglesworth, won $100,000 for
her second place finish in the show’s original series. She is currently contending in Survivor:
Cambodia – Second Chance.
Kelly doesn’t need reminding – her grandmother is pulling
for her.
Our country shouldn’t need reminding either – Nina
Wiglesworth Morgan represents the finest of what Veterans Day is all about.
Harry Thetford is a retired Sears Store Manager who enjoys writing about
veterans.
