Looking Back

Teresa McCrary, Times-Herald Publishing looking County’s (Editor’s history back Note: at is featured This St. Francis column each Friday on this Lifestyles page along with the week’s History Photo. The items included in this column were printed in previous editions of the TimesHerald.)

June 1944

News From Our Boys - Mrs. Richard Freeman of New Orleans, La., the former Montine McDaniel, received word that her husband, Captain Freeman, has been promoted to the rank of Major. Major Freeman is stationed somewhere in North Africa with the U.S. Army. Mrs. Freeman and sons, Louis and Richard, are here at this time visiting in the home of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Louis McDaniel. ***Captain John T. Plummer of the Herbert Smart Air Field at Macon, Ga., has arrived in the city to spend the weekend with his mother, Mrs. Harry Plummer and daughter Mary Kathryn. ***The Army Air Force Training Command announced today that Pvt. David T. Carwile of Forrest City, was graduated from the Department of Armament of Lowry Field, Denver, Colo. Aircraft armament deals with the operation and maintenance of the guns used on Uncle Sam's heavy bomber and fighter planes. Students are given a thorough course in assembly and disassembly of equipment and practical work on field models supplements classroom duty. A well planned military training program and physical training program supplements the armament course. Pvt. Carwile, is the son of Mr. and Mrs. W.R. Carwile, 809 N. Izard Street and attended Forrest City High School. He enlisted in the service on June 3, 1943 at Camp Robinson. *** M. Sgt. L.E. Barber, son of Mr. and Mrs. J.E. Barber of Palestine, will undergo an operation in the near future at the base hospital in Woodward, Okla. ***Lt. Paul R. Eldridge will leave Wednesday night for Bowling Field Washington, D.C., where he will be stationed. Lt. Eldridge has been visiting in the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Rolfe C. Eldridge, Sr., on North Ctreet. ***Cecil Carl Morgan, Pvt., formerly of Madison, reported for duty with the 7th Ferrying Division, Air Transport Command, Great Falls, Montana, May 23. Pvt. Morgan is the son of C.L. Morgan of Madison. *** Pvt. Fred Miller of Sheppard Field, Texas, spent today in the city, visiting his wife and friends. Pvt. Miller will return to the Texas airfield tonight. ***Pvt. Clyde Buchanan, son of Mrs. Eva Phelps of this city, has left San Francisco for overseas duty. His mother reports, from a letter recently received from him that he is getting along just fine. *** Sgt. and Mrs. Calvin Downey are the parents of a son born Saturday. The baby has been named Gerry Donald. Mrs. Downwy is the former Lorene Whitmer. ***Pvt. R.W. Shaw,III, left for Camp Van Dorn, Miss., after spending a few days here with his parents. ***WAR BONDS – Still a good buy!

A Forrest City Marine on duty Marine Sergeant Samuel Lee Hodges, 27, North Division Street, who since joined the Leathernecks, has been through the following: He was on a ship unsuccessfully attacked by 21 Jap. planes, he was in the battle of "Bloody Ridge,” at Cape Gloucester, New Britain, he was shot down twice by Jap machine gunners during the Hill 660. "I could see the tracers zipping four and over my head,” he said. "That's when I learned to exhale with my belly muscles." He is with the Marine Engineers. Hodges is the son of Mrs. S.L. Hodges, Sr., of here and before entering the service was connected to Hodges Coal Co, here.

A group of officers of the State Guard unit located here are spending this week at Camp Robinson, near Little Rock, where they are attending a combat school to familiarize them with latest methods of handling the men in the local company in case of emergency. Those attending the special instruction there this week are: 1st Lieut. W.C. Mooney, 2nd. Lieut. M.S. Smith, Sgts. Raymond McIlwain, Virgil Vandiver and I.M. Fulkerth and Corp. Raymond Sharpe. The men left Sunday and will be gone until the end of this week.

*** Pvt. "Doc" Carrick of Charleston, S.C., and nephew, Dee Attix, of Knoxville, Tenn., arrived this morning to spend a week in the home of Mrs. W.H. Aldridge. *** Sam Sharpe, North Rosser St., pioneer merchant, told us of receiving a cablegram containing a personal Father's Day greeting from his son-inlaw, Ruben Engelberg, now on duty with the U.S. Army forces in Italy. Sam said the overseas message frightened him at first, because he feared it contained bad news; but the family were overjoyed at this assurance of safety and of thoughtfulness from the member so far removed from home. *** Sgt. and Mrs. Frank Galloway Jr., and daughter Linda, of Battle Creek, Mich., arrived Sunday for a visit in the home of his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Galloway Sr. On the 24th of June, Sgt. Galloway will report back to Battle Creek and will leave shortly for overseas duty. Mrs. Galloway and daughter will remain here for an indefinite visit. ***Pvt. Harvey Deere is spending a 15-day furlough with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. D.M. Deere of Star Route South. He is stationed at Gieger Field, Spokane Washington. ***Minnie Tully, member of the Women's Army Corps, arrived Friday morning to spend a 15 day furlough with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ed Tully. She is stationed at Camp Lawton, near Seattle, Washington. *** Kingsman, Ariz., among recent graduate of the Kingsman Army Air Field Flexible Gunnery School, situated a few miles outside of Kingsman, Ariz., was 20-yearold Joe G. Gray, son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas G. Gray of 905 N. Washington St., Forrest City. Pfc. Gray entered the Army at Little Rock on July 5, 1943. He attended University of Tenn. As a student gunner at the Kingsman school Gray went through a ground school course in which he was taught the principle of ballistics, sighting, tarret maintenance, range estimation and aircraft machine guns following a protracted course on the gunnery range, where he shot the .22 rifle, shotgun and calibre .30 and .32 guns he was given two weeks of air firing before being presented with his gunnery wings. ***With U.S. South Pacific Army ForcesLieut. General Millard F. Harman, commanding U.S. Army Forces in South Pacific, announced the award of the Air Medal on May 24th,1944 to the following member of the 12th AAF: William I. West Staff Sergeant, Air Corps, United States Army, as armored gunner from 2 January to 15 January, 1944. Home address Proctor. *** Returning from a months duty in India, Capt. C.M. Bogart of Forrest City, stepped off an ambulance plane her last week and admitted that it was good to see his home state again. Capt. Bogart, a medical officer, had been in India with a topographer battalion of engineers. He was flown from Loveil General Hospital in Fort Devens Miss., to the Army and Navy General Hospital here for treatment. The officer has been in the Army for two years and was stationed for two years and was stationed at Camp Claiborne, La., before being sent overseas with his unit. He is a graduate of the University of Tennessee College of Medicine and was in private practice in Forrest City before entering the Army. He is married and has two young sons. Mrs. Bogart met him at McLaughlin airport the day he arrived in Hot Springs.

Lt. Merwin McCoy of Gallatin, Tenn., is spending his leave here with his mother, Mrs. W.C. McCoy. ***Pvt. and Mrs. Harvey Deere of Spokane, Wash., are here spending the week with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. D.M. Deere. They visited in Kingsland last week, the guests of Mrs. Deere's mother. ***The Army Air Forces Training Command announced recently that Pvt. Barney L. Oswalt of Forrest the Department City was graduated of Armament from of Lowry Field Denver, Colo. Aircraft armament deals with the operation and maintenance of guns used on Uncle Sam's heavy bomber and fighter planes. Students are given a thorough course in assembly and disassembly of equipment and practical work on field models supplements classroom study. A well planned military training program and physical training program supplements the armament course. Pvt. Oswalt is the son of Mr. and Mrs. W.G. Oswalt, 625 N. Washington, Forrest City and attended Forrest City High School. He entered the service on July 15,1943 at Little Rock.

Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.-Private Maggie M. Kimble, daughter of Mrs. Eveline Kimble, Star Route South, Forrest City, who has been stationed at the training center of the Women's Army Corps here, has been assigned to First WAC Training Center, Ft. Des Moines, Ia. ***Major Gus Laughrun is spending a 30-day leave with his family here in Forrest City. Major Laughrun has been undergoing treatment at the Army Navy Hospital in Hot Springs following overseas service. *** Lt. and Mrs. Jerry Burns, Jr., of Long Beach, Calif., arrived here to spend a 10-day leave with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Burns.

Musician G. Charles Watkins, 3-c, has Troy son recently of Mrs. Watkins, Ethel been appointed director of the Officers Club Orchestra at the U.S. Naval Training Station, Great Lakes, Ill. Mr. Watkins will be remembered in this section of the country as a member of Sammy Watkins Orchestra whose music used to emanate from the Peabody Hotel several years back. His Great Lakes Orchestra is composed of men formerly associated with some of the leading orchestras of the country such as: Sammy Kaye, Lawrence Welk, Ran Wilde, etc. The leading male vocalist is Jack Kilty who sang the part of "Curley" in the record breaking stage play "Oklahoma.” Mr. Watkins is also a member of the U.S. Naval Training Station broadcast orchestra and is heard each Friday evening over the Blue Network on the program "Meet Your Navy." ***Captain Nall Bogart, who recently removed from overseas duty, is visiting his family here. Captain Bogart has been receiving treatment at the Army-Navy Hospital in Hot Springs. ***Staff Sergeant Lester Glambrone and Sergent Nick Di Orio of the Stuttgart Army Field arrived in this city for a short visit with friends. *** W.M. Brown, 17-year-old son of Mrs. W.M. Brown of this city, volunteered for Marine duty and left Wednesday night for San Diego, Calif., where he will receive his basic training. Mrs. Brown accompanied her son as far as Little Rock. *** Pvt. Ruth Rowland of Sioux Falls, S.D., arrived for a 15-day furlough with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Rowland. ***Pvt. "Doc" Carrick and his nephew, Dee Attix, left for Knoxville, Tenn., where Pvt. Carrick will leave his nephew at the home there and will go on to his station at Charleston, S.C. They have been visiting in the home of Mrs. W.H. Aldridge for about a week.

Second Lt. Leonard D. Hine, 22, son of Mrs. Elizabeth L. Hine, 1220 E. Broadway is reported missing in Italy since December. He was navigator on the Liberator "Sweating It Out," which limped back to base May 17 full of flack holes. The next day Lieutenant Hine went out over Bulgaria in another plane which failed to return. A St. Xavier graduate he attended the University of Louisville before being called to active duty in January, 1941, with the 138th Field Artillery. The next year he transferred to the Air Corps and was commissioned in August, 1943. ***Lt. Hine has visited in the home of his grandparents here, Mr. and Mrs. C.R. Hine and the last communication they had from him was a letter written from Italy on April 23, at which time he wrote that he had flown 19 missions, returning from some of them with as many as 40 holes in his ship. ***Lt. Jerry Hicky of Camp Robinson, spent the weekend with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Phillip Hicky. ***Captain Paul Chambers of Fort Bliss, Texas, was a visitor in Forrest City Saturday. Captain Chambers formerly ran the newspaper in Hughes before entering the armed forces. ***Pfc. James Howle has returned to Fort Bragg, N.C., after a furlough here with his wife and sister, Miss Sarah Howle. ***Pfc. Bill Clanton of Camp Robinson is spending a 10-day furlough with his wife his wife here at this time. ***Pvt. Ben Fogg Jr., is spending a 10-day furlough with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. G.B. Fogg. Pvt. Fogg expects to leave for overseas duty at the end of his furlough. At present he is stationed at Selfridge Field, Mich.