Thursday, July 12, 1945
Our Army and Navy Boys
With the U. S. Forces in France – The names of West Virginia soldiers released from prison camps inside Germany were made public recently as they passed through a Recovered Allied Military Personnel camp near a French port on their way home…
Many of the men passing through the camp have told stories of German atrocities, starvation diets and forced marches of hundreds of miles from one camp to another. Each has received any necessary medical care, food, new uniforms and been given an opportunity to purchase souvenirs.
Among the West Virginia men was Harlan G. Tallman, of Main Street, Durbin.
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Captain George Sharp, of the Marines, who was wounded while serving in the South Pacific, writes his parents, Judge and Mrs. Summers Sharp, that he met a Marlinton boy, Ralph Nottingham, of the Navy, aboard ship, and that Ralph had given him a couple Pocahontas Times which he had enjoyed very much. And Ralph wrote to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Carl Nottingham, that he was pretty homesick anyway, and it certainly was a thrill to meet and talk with someone from home.
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Technical Sergeant Noyle Fertig is home from the army with an honorable discharge under the point system – he had 136 points. He has been in service six years, with 52 months overseas. He has seven battle stars on his Asiatic-Pacific Theatre ribbons, a Good Conduct Medal and American Defense ribbon with a star for Pre-Pearl Harbor Service. He is the son of N. R. Fertig.
He has three brothers in the service: Dale, of the Signal Corps; Sergeant Glade, who is stationed in England, and Ensign Sanford.
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Audrey “Fuzzy” Dilley, son of Mr. and Mrs. E. C. Dilley, and Sergeant Earl “Barney” Slavin, son of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Slavin, after long and hard service, have received an honorable discharge from the Army.
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Lieutenant Walter Jett, of the Navy, is home on leave from long service in the Pacific.
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Private First Class Claude Stimeling, of the Air Corps, is home on a 30-day furlough with his mother, Mrs. Ewel Blake, of Cass, after 17 months in Europe. He came home on the big ship, Queen Elizabeth, with fourteen thousand other servicemen.
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Sailor Raymond Geiger serves in the Pacific and took part in the Oki Wuna[sp] campaign. He writes to his mother, Mrs. Ellet Higgins of Spruce Flat, that if he were with her on a high West Virginia mountain, he would stay there a long time. Then he would go and catch some fish he could eat.
FIELD NOTES
Jesse McNeill, Stanley Loudermilk, Taylor Morrison and some others maintain a fishing camp above the mouth of Swago, at the Buckley Rocks in Greenbrier River. Last Saturday afternoon they turned up for a bit of fishing, and there was a four-foot black rattlesnake making himself at home in the camp. Jesse proceeded to lay the big snake out. The snake was big and he was able. He had just shed off and his sparkling black coat was relieved with bright yellow markings. This snake was on the wrong side of the river for rattlers, but they do come across at times. This one carried a string of twelve rattles.
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Hon. Fred W. Ruckman, of the Pocahontas County Court, was in for to inquire about a reliable man with reliable bear dogs. I put him in line with several of my friends, with a guarantee of results, all things being equal. He is shy several head of sheep over at his grazing farm on the Blue Lick of Stamping Creek. His man found fresh bear tracks in the woods around the farm and three or four sheep carcasses neatly covered up by some varmint. The man said bear. I said panther; maybe, wild cat.
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Early this spring, Dan Carpenter, over on the Beaver Dam, found the carcass of a sheep neatly covered up with sticks and leaves. I told him, certain and sure, this was the sign of a panther. He set a trap, and in a day or two, caught one big bay lynx. I still held out for panther in spite of this seemingly conclusive circumstantial evidence. The way I got around it was that while a big bay lynx will kill a full grown sheep, he is never above eating at prey left by panthers and bears and people and dogs.
LOCAL MENTION
Miss Virginia McChesney is home from Pittsburgh to spend a short vacation with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Forrest McChesney. She is a student at Penn High, was awarded a medal in track, and is also an A student.
Sylva Barcroft spent two days at home recently. She is employed at the Watoga State Park.
The cottage prayer meeting was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Otto Kinnison Sunday. There was a large attendance with good services.
Mr. and Mrs. M. B. Herold, of Washington, are spending two weeks at their summer home at Minnehaha Springs. Their son, William, is still in an Army Hospital recovering from wounds received on Leyte. Their other son, Bedford, is in Germany.
Misses Joyce and Shirley Elmore of Valley Bend, are guests of Mr. and Mrs. H. M. Elmore.
Dale Boggs was injured while riding a bicycle near Moody Wilson’s Sunday. He is resting in the hospital.
Miss Mary Catherine, Arnold and Yvonne Jackson were weekend guests of Miss Ruth Lacy at Seebert.
BIRTHS
Born to Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Edgar, a daughter, Anne Davis.
Born to Mr. and Mrs. James McNeill, of Buckeye, a son, named Michael Blix.