PARRIS ISLAND PRIMER

Reading and writing about the Marine Corps is a passion for me.  Without argument, my brother joining the Marine Corps when I was six years old had lots to do with that passion.

PLATOON 76 EXCELLED ON THE RIFLE RANGE -- MANY OF US
BECAME RIFLE COACHES AT QUANTICO, INSTRUCTING MARINE
CORPS OFFICERS HOW TO FIRE THE M-1, BAR & COLT 45

I can’t say that I learned to read by reading about the Marine Corps, but reading about the Marine Corps was a top priority after I did learn to read.

Without argument, I learned a lot about writing by writing about the Marine Corps.  There should be an adage -- you learn to write best by writing from your heart. 

Even though I’ve come close to heart-writing on articles over the years pertaining to Memorial Days, Veterans Days and Marine Corps Birthdays, I’ve never really, really written about the Marine Corps experience from the depth of my heart.

Until now.

That hesitancy has to do with advice given me by a pastor-friend of years past, “Life comes down to three major choices – your vocation, your partner for life, and alignment for your after-life.”

He was as wise as indicated by the stream of initials that trailed his name.  However, either from a sheltered background or academic naiveté, he failed to account for guys at my juncture, who were incapable of making such heady choices.

While family and a covey of earlier pastors helped me along with my after-life alignment, only the Marine Corps could have conditioned me to make sound choices in the areas of choosing a vocation and a partner for life.

Good grades came easy for me, even though I goofed off in high school and my first two years of college.  Parris Island was pre-destined to be my first real test.

I suspect a good number of family and friends seriously doubted I had the heart to make it through boot camp, a premise strongly articulated by my drill instructor, just after passing the point of no return (Yemassee, SC).

To that point, the piece of gum I swallowed after the DI expressed his strong disfavor, was the last piece of gum that ever entered my mouth. 

Records say I reported to Parris Island July 7, 1955 and departed September 23, 1955, seventy-seven days inclusively. 

GRADUATION DAY @ PARRIS ISLAND, SEPT1955
FELLOW GRADUATE FROM CO-LIN, JIMMIE RODGERS
BEING AWARDED, HARRY THETFORD IS NEXT

Stated another way, for seventy-six evenings, I thanked the Lord for another day of survival.  And, wondered to myself if I had the heart to make it one more day.  And, on the seventy-seventh evening, I thanked Him for life itself. 

While “goofing off” in college was a skill set for me, Parris Island Drill Instructors deleted that from my persona in microseconds.  Instantaneously, I tried to do my very best in every respect of boot camp.  I wanted to be the first to fall in for formation.  I’m a slow eater, but was never, never last out of the chow hall.

I learned how and when to respond vociferously, and how and when to remain very quiet.  I tried to jump higher, run faster, last longer, shoot better, memorize faster, and spit-shine glossier than all others. 

I learned this was a lost cause unless I helped all others jump, run, last, shoot, memorize and spit-shine as well as I could.

I could say it was OK for sand fleas to chew on me, since that meant buddies standing nearby were being spared.  I could, but that would be a huge lie.   

If the Marine Corps wanted to teach me something, I wanted to learn it.  Again, a moot point unless all others learned it as well.

Did this make me the best man of the sixty-nine graduating Recruits in our platoon?  Far from it!  Sixty-eight others had the same aspirations.  Most of these aspirations were drill instructor-inspired, but a covert group always took up any slack.

That “covert group” persona has probably been around since 1^ST LT Pressley O’Bannon put the initial unit of Marines together in 1775.  It exemplifies the Marine Corps.  

 

After boot camp, we learned the Marine Corps already had a term for this covert group mentality that no Marine should be left behind.  They called it, “Esprit de Corps”!

In today’s vernacular, the Marine Corps left me with an attitude.  While I never had an eagle, globe and anchor tattooed on my arm, the same three items tattooed on my heart are holding up quite well.      

It isn’t fair to say that everything I’ve learned, I learned from the Marine Corps.  There is no question that everything I’ve learned has been brought into sharper focus by my Marine Corps experience.  

This isn’t a puff piece for the Corps, and no apologies are offered for those from other services with equal or better experiences – just words from one Marine’s heart –  well over a half century after the fact.

Every Marine has a story.  I recently golfed with a retired Army veteran with thirty years’ service.  He noticed my surprise to see his car loaded out with Marine Corps decals and paraphernalia. 

He explained, “I spent a hitch in the Marines before I went Army!”  On the way home that afternoon, I knew it was time to write my Marine Corps heart article.  

God bless America, and God bless the USMC, it’s never been a greater time to be “One of the Few!”

A WARRIOR AND A GENTLEMAN

Two full-time RV couples, both from Greensboro, but unknown to each other, camped side by side at Hagan-Stone RV Park.  Deluges came, both RVs bogged down to their axles.  The other couple was bogged down in a custom-made Foretravel bus.  My wife and I were bogged down in a Winnebago. 

DAVID & DAWN CARTER

With their help, the Winnie finally tracked out to dry land.  With our help, their Foretravel sank deeper, eventually bog-extracted by a biggie-sized tow vehicle.

Fast forward two RV lifetimes, the Foretravelers and the Winnie couples find themselves living side by side – unknowingly -- in Greensboro villas.  As is too often the case, only after David Carter died did I realize what I had missed by not knowing him better.  Or, by asking a few questions.

Those at Greensboro’s Curry High School knew Carter well.  They had an inkling he would be successful, seeing that he was Senior Class president, school newspaper editor, Key Club, Curry Club, Quill & Scroll, lettered in football and track, and more.

However, it is doubtful his Curry classmates had any inkling Carter would join the National Guard even before finishing high school in 1956.  After all, his parents were Quakers.  His father was pastor of Glenwood Friends Meeting.

Local trivia buffs can have their say about Curry School, but here are a few hints.  Named after a financial supporter, Jabez Curry, the neighborhood school opened in 1902 and closed in 1970.  It offered practical experience for students and practice teachers at UNCG.

For those thinking Carter would opt for college, they were correct, but their timing was off.  During twenty-four years of Army service, he earned a BA degree from the University of Nebraska and a master’s degree from the University of Utah.

After advancing from private to Specialist 5, David Carter completed Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as a 2^nd Lieutenant.  Already a paratrooper and Green Beret, Carter earned his wings as a helicopter pilot.  He was a helicopter flight instructor before his first deployment to Vietnam. 

Carter’s combat tours can almost be date-lined by his litany of personal awards.  In September, 1967, he was presented a bronze star for meritorious service during ground operations. 

In March, 1968, he was awarded a purple heart for wounds received in combat.  In July, 1968, he won a distinguished flying cross for heroism in aerial flight.

In August, 1968, Carter volunteered to take his Chinook helicopter on a dangerous night-time resupply mission to a forward position.  Weather forced gunship escorts to turn back, but Carter completed the mission in the face of withering artillery, small arms and machine gun fire.

 

As a result of this mission, Major General Melvin Zais, commanding general of the 101^st Airborne Division, presented Carter a silver star, the nation’s third highest valor award.

Carter survived five helicopter crashes – three from enemy fire and two from other causes.  He wrote later regarding his retirement, “The Army decided it was cheaper to pay me a pension than to keep me flying!”

He made at least one unscheduled trip back to the States while serving in Vietnam, but it wasn’t to his liking.  He was tasked to escort the remains of a fallen friend.

DAVID CARTER SERVED WITH VALOR & DISTINCTION

Carter earned the incredible number of fifty-seven air medals, with valor device, representing meritorious service in combat involving aerial flight.   He was a master aviator and master parachutist, and expert marksman with seven different weapons.

Commanding both air and ground forces, he was awarded two army commendation medals and a meritorious service medal for Vietnam service, as well as gallantry awards from the Republic of Vietnam.

A naval officer who served with Carter acknowledged his vast array of personal decorations, “But what impressed me more -- David Carter was a gentleman, he did not smoke, drink or use vile language -- he never wavered from his Quaker values.”

In the early seventies, Carter completed the 82^nd Airborne Jumpmaster Course, Special Forces Officers School, and was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. 

CARTER'S PERSONAL AWARDS WERE UNIQUELY UNIQUE

He was selected as a member of the National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP) battle staff.  Known colloquially as the doomsday aircraft of the cold war era, U.S. forces could be commanded from this aircraft in case of an extreme national emergency.

After his military retirement, Carter founded an insurance and investment firm, which he and his wife operated successfully for over twenty-five years.  In addition to his wife, he left three sons, two daughters, and three grandchildren.  To them, he left a military, moral, and entrepreneurial heritage like few others. 

Memorial Day (2013), was the family’s first after Carter’s death.  While David Carter died unexpectedly, he left his affairs in impeccable order.  It would not be surprising to learn he left specific instructions for his progeny’s first Memorial Day observance without him.

       

GLENWOOD ARMY RANGER GAVE -- AND KEEPS GIVING

Thousands of U.S. Army soldiers have trained at Fort Lewis, Washington over the years, but Greensboro’s Al Stewart must have been the most atypical when he reported aboard the sprawling base during the summer of 2012.

Without a doubt, he was the only combat veteran of Vietnam in his battalion.  Over 40 years prior, he had fought on the ground, wearing the Combat Infantry Badge, Jump Wings and tab of an Army Ranger, and in the air, wearing the wings of an Air Crewman. 

   

Secondly, he was 20 years older than his Battalion Commander.  Additionally, he was the only civilian in his battalion.  Without a doubt, he was the only retired Greensboro Police Officer in the group.

IS IT POSSIBLE FOR A VIETNAM VETERAN TO
SERVE IN AFGHANISTAN?    ASK AL STEWART

The battalion would deploy intact to Afghanistan after three months of extensive training.

Stewart understood deployments – he had recently spent a year deployed to Iraq, where he served as Regional Commander – Iraq Police Mission.

Prior to that, he had deployed to Beirut, Lebanon where he served as first Contingent Commander for establishing the initial Lebanese Police Mission.

There were two other year-long deployments to multiple areas in Iraq, where he trained and advised Iraqi police officers and served as Mosul Police Academy Director.

According to Stewart, he has a perfectly logical explanation for these unique deployments, “I was a Greensboro Police Officer from 1973-2003, and began work with the District Attorney’s Office the day after I retired.  A government contractor came along and offered me the first job in Iraq.  I had major reservations about getting shot at again, but figured this would give me some fresh material to tell my grand-kids.”

In a more cogent mode, “These were exciting and rewarding assignments.  Even though I did not mention it to my contractor(s), the work was so enjoyable, I would have probably worked for free.  Living conditions were tough but working with young soldiers and foreign nationals who really want positive change makes me happy and proud.”

Stewart’s persona of giving back continues to this day.  The Guilford College graduate chaired the 2015 Piedmont Triad Red Cross Heroes Event and is on the Servant Center Board of Directors.  He leads the Steve Millikin Black Caps Veterans Group and heads up the Guilford County Veterans Memorial Committee.  He has also worked tirelessly with the Carolina Field of Honor.

STEWART RAISED ARMY FLAG FOR
GREENSBORO'S NEW VETERANS MEMORIAL

Admitting to “barely graduating,” from Smith High School, Stewart went to Elon College to play football, “That didn’t work out, in more ways than one.  At an early age, I may have been drawn to the military from seeing a huge poster with photos of over 200 Glenwood Boys in Service in my grandparents’ Grove Street Café.”  That poster is still around – in the Glenwood Branch Library at 1901 West Florida Street in Greensboro.

Fast forward to 2015 – Stewart went back to his roots when he married a former schoolmate and Glenwood girl – Nicki DiMaria. 

Whatever the motivation, Stewart proved to be a better soldier than collegian.  After basic, Advanced Infantry Training, Parachute and Ranger schools, he became an Army Ranger.  This pretty much assured him of his first deployment – to Vietnam.

AL STEWART (L) SERVED IN VIETNAM AS RANGER
ON GROUND AND AERIAL GUNNER IN THE AIR

“We operated in six-man teams on primarily long-range reconnaissance missions.  Sometimes we walked off a fire base but mostly we were inserted by helicopters.  Since we could not be re-supplied, most of our missions were six days or less – my longest was 12 days.”

During an extended tour in Vietnam and after his Ranger Company (Golf) stood down, he earned his Air Crew-member Wings.  “I was a gunner on a Night Hawk helicopter – we were flying or on stand-by all night, every night.  After dark, we were about the only game in town!”

Stewart doesn’t dwell on his year of jungle fighting as an Army Ranger, on the sizeable number of combat mission he flew, on being shot down three times in five months, or on personal decorations earned.  “The opinions and respect of the men and women I served and worked with over the years are all I care about.” 

NICKI & AL STEWART -- GLENWOODERS AT HEART

  

While Stewart disdains public recognition, he promises full disclosure to his grandchildren – one of whom is surely destined to write a book about their grandfather, Al.  

He may need more grandchildren -- theirs will not be an easy write.  I can empathize with them.  Writing about valorous service in Vietnam, distinguished police career, multiple civilian deployments to Iraq, Lebanon and Afghanistan, veteran advocacies, and civic leadership is certainly beyond the purview of a newspaper column.

      

       

 

 

  

ONE BRAVE MAN OF THE GREEN BERETS

Born in Oklahoma as the son of a soldier, 71-year old Mike Linnane grew up in Massachusetts and Colorado.  In 1982, he moved to Greensboro.  He has a cache of interesting stories about construction, building, gardening, travel, veteran advocacies and grandchildren.

MIKE LINNANE WEARING HIS MOST HIGHLY ESTEEMED
AWARD -- THE GREEN BERET

As a former enlisted man who retired as a Special Forces Major, he has a few Army stories as well.  Some of these, he shares – others, he maintains -- are best left untold.

One of his stories, I found on his plaque at the Special Forces Hall of Fame at Fort Bragg, into which he was inducted in 2013. 

MIKE LINNANE'S PLAQUE AT SPECIAL
FORCES HALL OF FAME

Reading from the plaque, “Linnane successfully led a small force of Special Forces, indigenous soldiers, and a U.S. tank platoon in a continuous 10-day battle against a North Vietnamese Army Battalion, which was reinforced with 10 Soviet tanks.”

For future reference, that battle was at Ben Het, and the indigenous soldiers were Montagnards.

Linnane was combat wounded in Vietnam.  He was hospitalized and convalesced for five months, “while in the hospital, they mailed me a bronze star, purple heart and combat infantryman’s badge.”  At his request, he returned to duty with Special Forces in Vietnam.

Nearly 11 years of Linnane’s 20-year Special Forces/Army career were spent overseas.  That included over nine years in Europe and behind the Iron Curtain, where he was recognized for his involvement in the Cold War.  It also included service in Belgium, England, Spain, Germany, Greece, Italy, Austria, France, and “other locations,” as Linnane prefers.

A LINNANE DAUGHTER CORRALLED MANY OF
HER DAD'S PERSONAL AWARDS AND MADE
THIS SHADOW BOX FOR HIS OFFICE

Special Forces personnel are recognized by their distinctive Green Beret.  Per Linnane, “I may have been the only slick-sleeved private to earn a Green Beret in 1962 – it remains my favorite award.  I was promoted to PFC the day after graduation.”  

After my first three years on an A Team overseas, I completed Officer Candidate School and became an instructor at Jump School, and subsequently qualified as a Master Parachutist, Pathfinder, and HALO.”  He explained, “HALO is an acronym for High Altitude, Low Opening – I made a number of jumps of that sort.

The HALO tactic was used typically for night infiltration from 25-30,000 feet -- today, even higher.”

Linnane has five balloon jumps to his credit, as well as dives from submarines with SEAL Team II.  He made jumps at Fort Benning as a private and as a lieutenant, “I asked why enlisted men got $55 per month jump pay, while officers were paid $110.  I should have known the answer.  Officers get twice as scared!”

When Linnane leads the discussion, he talks mostly about his family, “A brother-in-law, niece and three nephews graduated from service academies.  Several cousins served in Viet Nam.  My father and my wife’s father, and several of our uncles served in World War II or Korea.

Two of my sisters, Barbara Ryan Guest and Jeanne Love, are Gold Star Wives, having lost their husbands from Vietnam War service.  The husband of my third sister, Joan, served with the Seabees in Vietnam.  The son of my fourth sister, Carol, is a West Point graduate and has served in Iraq.  One of my brother’s daughters served as a Marine Corps sergeant in the liberation of Kuwait.”

As for 30 years of owning and operating a construction company, “I spent 20 years blowing things up and 30 years putting things together.  I probably bought, sold, built, or fixed over 300 properties in Greensboro.”

Not that Mike Linnane needed re-energizing, but the events of September 11, 2001, did just that, “I shut down the project we were on, paid the workers and told them to go home to their families.  I wrote tons of emails to my children, preparing them for survival mode.”  

Later, they suggested Linnane compile the emails into book form, which he titled, HOW I PREPARED MY FAMILY TO SURVIVE  A TERRORIST ATTACK.

Thousands of copies were printed, enough for all the Linnanes and his Special Forces buddies.  The IOSSS (Inter Operational Security Support Staff) purchased all remaining copies.

Mentioned at the outset was Linnane’s battle at Ben Het, which was supported by Montagnard volunteers.  Here is the rest of that story, “We had 400 Montagnard warriors at our small base.  They went out when we went out – we could have hardly done without them – and they needed us too.”  

In return, Linnane helped found the Save The Montagnard People Organization.  Since 1986, he has personally sponsored 13 families and 30 single warriors from Ben Het, all of whom have resettled in North Carolina.

For years, Linnane’s desk held a, “The Army Is Behind You” desk plate.  “I never knew such a simple saying could have so many meanings,” he says.

-

THE BATTLE THAT CHANGED THE WAR IN VIETNAM

From the Ia Drang Valley of Vietnam’s Central Highlands came this poignant response, “If he’s that crazy…bring him on in.”  The responder was Lt. Col. Harold G. “Hal” Moore, commanding 1^st Battalion, 7^th Cavalry, 1^st Cavalry Division (Airmobile).

The request had come from a persistent UPI war correspondent who had watched the first day of the battle with observers from an over-flying helicopter.  That afternoon, he slipped aboard a troop helicopter, only to be replaced by an urgently needed medic.  Now, he was requesting permission to be inserted into the most dangerous spot on earth aboard an evening supply helicopter.

His name was Joseph L. “Joe” Galloway, who had earned his combat correspondent credentials after seven months of combat coverage with the Marines.  “That night, I rode into the pages of history sitting on two cases of grenades.”

AS A WAR CORRESPONDENT, JOE GALLOWAY
HAS BEEN THERE, DONE THAT!

   Galloway, 74, and a native Texan, now resides in Concord, North Carolina with his wife, Gracie, and their animal-rescue Poodle, Jacques.  As for what he’s done lately, “The most I do nowadays is grow about 25 tomato plants each summer and a few rows of corn.” 

GALLOWAY HOUSEHOLD CHAIN OF COMMAND:
JACQUES, GRACIE & JOE

Even if his tomatoes and corn are of Guinness proportions, vetting such a gross understatement is beyond the purview of this column.  However, what Galloway did between riding in on the grenades and gardening in Concord is where we are at the moment.

Much of what Galloway did in this interim involves the New York Times best-seller he wrote -- in collaboration with Moore -- We Were Soldiers Once…And Young.  “It took six months to write this book, but 10 years to research it – actually, it’s a soldiers’ story told in their own words,” says Galloway.  It has been printed in six languages and over 1,300,000 have been sold.

NEW YORK TIMES BEST-SELLER IS REQUIRED
READING IN MANY MILITARY CIRCLES

The enthusiastically received book spawned a popular movie, We Were Soldiers, produced in 2002.  Moore was played by Mel Gibson, Barry Pepper played Galloway, who confides, “The movie is 75% reality, 25% other ingredients.”  (Note – “other ingredients” is a paraphrase.)

Written from the first person perspective, the 455-page book by Moore and Galloway about the first major battle in Vietnam is graphic, authoritative, and meticulously researched.  It is required reading in numerous military circles.

Our grandson’s 8^th grade history teacher even classifies the book as scholarly.  A recent assignment: “Lessons learned from Ia Drang, Old America vs. New America mindset, miscreant Hollywood productions, our attitude towards North Vietnam – then and now, and is it good or bad that school children aren’t being taught about great battles?”

What the book does not say is informative as well.  Per Galloway, “I did not go to Vietnam to cover politics – I went to cover soldiers on the front-lines.  These troopers served valiantly.  Many were wounded, hundreds were killed, all had their lives changed at the first sound of war.

 

For them to be advised to return home out of uniform and not to interfere with fellow Americans protesting and burning their draft cards is too ludicrous to print.”  Adding salt to their wounds, the Vietnam GI Bill was termed, “retrograde in its philosophy,” by the New York Times.

As a Vietnam War primer – U.S. support for the war was undermined by a credibility gap between two successive presidential administrations (Nixon and Johnson) as to prosecuting the war.  Additionally -- whether cause or effect -- a strong anti-establishment counter-culture arose to compete with the patriotism which had permeated our country in wars past.

Galloway was awarded a bronze star with valor device for rescuing a badly wounded soldier in combat.  His was the only such award made by the U.S. Army to a civilian during the Vietnam War.

GALLOWAY'S BRONZE STAR WITH VALOR DEVICE

Moore and Galloway returned to the Ia Drang Valley 30 years after the battle.  This visit resulted in their second book, We are Soldiers Still: A Journey Back to the Battlefields of Vietnam, published in 2008. 

GALLOWAY ISN'T ADVERSE TO A BIT OF LEVITY
HIS CAVALRY COVER MAY BE THE ONLY ONE
WITH THE MARINE CORPS EAGLE, GLOBE & ANCHOR

Galloway will be in Greensboro on June 1, 2016 to talk about his career as a war correspondent.  The luncheon event, sponsored by the West Point Society of the Piedmont, will be held at the Grandover Resort.  Per Galloway, “I have invited my friend, Joe Marm to join us – I believe he will.”  (Marm lives in Goldsboro -- he won a Medal of Honor during the Battle of Ia Drang Valley)

Reservations are required and may be made at https://secure.west-point.org/wps-piedmont/luncheon/

 

   

      

B-17 NAVIGATOR NEVER FELT HE WAS FLYING ALONE

B-17 pathfinder navigator, 1^st Lieutenant Joseph L. “Joe” Jones, had reason to be upbeat the evening of October 5, 1944, even though he was deep in the heart of the war zone.

NATIVE ALABAMAN JOE JONES LOVES CALLING
ASHEBORO, NC HIS RETIREMENT HOME

First, he learned his wife had delivered their first child 10 days earlier, but neither name nor sex was mentioned. 

Secondly, he was scheduled to fly his 29th combat mission the next day – after 30 missions, he would rotate stateside.

Lastly, he was aware B-17 crews nearing the completion of their tours were often given less hostile targets.

Backtracking a bit, Jones and his freshly-trained crew picked up a new B-17 in Nebraska and flew it to England via the northern route in March, 1944, “We flew over lots of water – as the navigator, I received lots of attention!

It’s just as well that we gave up our new B-17 to a senior crew upon our arrival in England, because the aircraft we flew on our first mission was badly shot up and damaged.  Two or our gunners were wounded and did not fly again.

 

By D-Day, I had been designated as pathfinder navigator.  To insure complete secrecy of the mission, those of us briefed the day before were clustered and could not leave our ward.

On June 6, we bombed Omaha Beach at 6:59 a.m. and returned for a second mission inland that afternoon.

Those were the exceptions -- most of our missions were deep inside Germany – our average mission was over eight hours per run.”

 

Now back to the almost perfect scenario mentioned earlier.  “Actually, it turned into more like a perfect storm.  We were surprised when given Berlin as our target.  It was one of the most fiercely defended.  We had been there twice before, and shot up both times.

As the 11 B-17s in our squadron approached Berlin, we met heavy flak and 75 Luftwaffe fighters.  They made three passes at us and all 11 of our bombers went down.  Our aircraft caught on fire and the bail-out signal was given.  The hatch was jammed when I went to jump so I went back up front to help the bombardier who was yelling for help.

Suddenly, the aircraft exploded.  The bombardier and I were blown from the ship at 31,000 feet.  Even with head, shoulder and leg wounds I regained consciousness at about 12,000 feet.  Miraculously, the Lord had opened my parachute.

The bombardier’s chute had also opened and one gunner had parachuted safely.  The gunner was crying from shock and because his shoes had flown off during the jump.  I told him he could have my extra flight boots, but first we were going to get on our knees and thank the Lord that we survived the explosion – the other seven members of our crew perished.”

Jones was imprisoned with other Allied aviators in Stalag Luft III at Sagan, Poland for several months.  He was actually housed in the north compound, from which The Great Escape had been made earlier.

STALAG LUFT III PERSONAL RECORDS CARD FOR COL JONES

As the Nazis considered Allied aviators valuable for future negotiations, Jones and his peers were moved westward in January, 1945 as the Russians closed in, “At three a.m. we were told the camp would be evacuated in two hours.”

After four prisoner of war camps, three inhumane days on forty & eight rail cars, two forced marches and eight months later, Jones was liberated.  He credits Psalms 91 for surviving his POW experience.

JONES SERVED 33 YEARS DURING WW II, KOREA & VIETNAM

Jones wasn’t quite homeward bound yet, “They needed officers to help round up our enlisted men from forced labor camps scattered over the area.  We gutted a cheese factory and manufacturing plant to provide temporary housing – they deemed our food and hastily constructed bunk beds to be luxurious.”

On June 8, 1945 Jones arrived in Boston and called home.  He learned his first child was a daughter, and her name was Glenda, “My family wrote often about her and sent me packages but nothing got through.  I wrote them several cards and letters but they only received one postcard, notifying them I was a POW.”

Jones’ illustrious Army career spanned 33 years and three wars.  Among his personal awards are three Legions of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross and Purple Heart.  He retired in 1975 as a colonel, and now resides in Asheboro.

Saved at the age of 12, Jones remains a strong man of faith at 93.  He helped start Raleigh’s Providence Baptist Church in 1978 and Cary’s Colonial Baptist Church in 1987.

COL JONES' "BRAG BOARD" IS IMPRESSIVE -- THREE LEGIONS OF MERIT,
DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS, PURPLE HEART

Not that he needs help, but his wives may have helped him keep his faith.  After losing his first wife after 69 years of marriage, he married Betty McDowell.  Her father and grandfather were pastors, as are her son, grandson and brother-in-law.

  

     

    

MR. ED DEFINES SENIOR GOLF

Edward “Beany” Mitchell and I met early on a Wednesday morning.  Realizing he had played golf on Tuesday and would play again on Thursday, I appreciated him giving up Wednesday golf for our interview.

REST IN PEACE, EDWARD MITCHELL -- Passed away November 30, 2015

It wasn’t the fastest interview on record, but not much dust settled.  I understood why when escorted out of the Mitchell home – two sons-in law were waiting in the driveway to take Pop-Pop out for a round of golf.

Fair disclosure – A daughter provided, “Beany.”  The sons-in-law and one grandson  offered, “Pop-Pop.”  Cedarcrest Golf Course owner, Becky Lowdermilk, knows him as “Mr. E.”  I’m sticking with “Mr. Mitchell.”

Actually, the Wednesday event appeared more of a mission than a golf outing.  Mitchell has seven holes-in-one trophies in his den, but has saved space for one more.  Hopefully, it came today, but I haven’t heard.

This wasn’t a typical golfing week for Mitchell, now in his 98^th year – he customarily only plays two days a week.  Although he now uses a golf cart, his trim and slim physique belies thousands of rounds of golf in the walking mode.

Born the son of a post office supervisor, Mitchell followed his Dad’s footsteps. He worked 34 years for the Greensboro post office and has now been retired 44 years.

That’s worth a read-again.  He worked 34 years and has been retired 44 years.  While baby boomers might find the fact he has been retired longer than he worked unfathomable, nonagenarians such as Mitchell think it’s pretty cool.

Similarly, Mitchell doesn’t consider shooting his age on the golf course particularly noteworthy, even though that is something neither Tiger Woods nor Jordan Spieth have ever done.

In 1940, Mitchell married Margaret Lassiter, the daughter of Randolph County Sheriff, W. P. Lassiter.  They were married in the home of Rev. and Mrs. J. Clyde Turner, iconic pastor of Greensboro First Baptist Church – Dr. Turner officiating.

Margaret Mitchell was a hair stylist for Greensboro’s Eula Mae Beauty Shop on North Elm Street.  She passed away in 2000, after 60 years of marriage.  

The couple had four children, eight grandchildren, and 18 great-grandchildren.  Per Edward Mitchell, “We had one child and another on the way when l was drafted.  

They sent me to the Philippine Islands.  I was working in a bombed out Army post office in Manila when the war ended.  Neither of us knew it at the time, but my brother, Clyde, was stationed there too.  He was an aerial gunner instructor in the Army Air Forces.  We were able to get together one time for a short visit.”

EDWARD MITCHELL – WORLD WAR II

Another of Edward’s brothers, Earl, served with the Army’s 25^th Infantry Division during the Korean War.  Harris Mitchell, the oldest of the Edwards brothers, died in 1998 at 85.  The four Mitchell brothers have one sister, Mary.  She is 93 and lives in New Mexico.

The Mitchell family lived at 703 North Eugene Street.  Edward Mitchell worked as a paper boy.  Undoubtedly, he made timely deliveries and started early on his way to becoming an outstanding postman.  A certificate from the school year of 1925-26 reads, “Prompt and steady attendance, neither absent nor tardy.”

After graduation from Greensboro Senior High School, he was awarded a band scholarship at Culver Military Academy in Indiana, “I played the French Horn in high school and at Culver.  All our children were musically talented as well,” says Mitchell.

Mitchell attended UNC-Chapel Hill during the Depression Years, “At the time, the job at the post office looked too good to pass up, so I dropped out of college, came home and went to work.”

A strong connection with First Baptist Church continues with the Mitchell brothers, Edward, Clyde and Earl.  Edward Mitchell joined May 13, 1928 at the age of 10, “Long-time members were recently honored at First Baptist – they said I had been a member longer than anyone else.”

Mitchell is not the oldest First Baptist parishioner – that honor goes to D. B. Cobb, who is 103.

Those who have attended the John Willett Men’s Bible Studies over the years will remember the “Mitchell table,” which was usually manned by all three brothers.

98-YEAR OLD EDWARD MITCHELL IN HIS NATURAL HABITAT

“We count Mr. Ed as family at Cedarcrest,” says Becky Lowdermilk.  “He was a paying member for many years but several years ago we made him an honorary member with complimentary golf for the rest of his years.  Even our ducks loved Mr. Ed – he often went by the bakery and bought them something to eat.”