Reminiscences

REMINISCENCES

� Jewell Gladys (Youngblood) Strange

"Aunt" Jewell, as the last surviving child of George and Sarah Youngblood, was asked to share with the readers of this history her early memories of her family and growing up in Kemp. She agreed, and on January 1, 1992, she, with the help of her daughter, Jean, composed the following vignettes.

"...[As] the youngest member of George and Sarah Youngblood's family. I would like to share with you some of my memories of our parents and their children and memories of Kemp.

"My father...taught school near Boiling Springs. It was there he met my mother..., a student in his class. A class roll, dated August 9, 1880 [see page 102] shows the name of my mother, as well as her brother Wilder, and her sisters Nancy, Tarcey and Dora (Dorey).

"At the time of my parents' marriage, my father was 26 years old and mother was 16 years old. After their marriage, my father received from his parents land which included the Youngblood Mill and my mother received from her parents land near Boiling Springs. They started keeping house in a log house at the Youngblood Mill and it was there that the seven older children in the picture [page 30] were born. Later they moved to Kemp and the five younger children were born there.

"The only one of my grandparents I ever knew [was] Grandma Millie. We would go over to Boiling Springs in the buggy to see her. She would visit all the children and we loved to see her come to visit with us.

"I have clearer memories of some of my brothers and sisters than I do others. Callie and Eugene were already married and had Clarence, three years old, before I was born.

"When I was two years old, Minnie Lee died. Almeda was married in 1909 and Agnes married in 1910. Being so young, I do not remember these three sisters ever being at home. In later years Joe Hall teased me about coming in the living room when he would come over courting Agnes.

"George and Mary Lou were married in 1914 and lived at the old mill and I remember going fishing there at the pond.

"When Mattie Eva and Bragg married in 1916, they stopped by the house to get her suitcase. My father told Bragg he could take me along too. In later years after I married and came back, I always felt like their home was my second home.

"Rosa was a school teacher when she married Mr. Page in 1917.

"Five years before my parents' death, Almeda died in 1924, leaving ten of us children living. Vera Mae and Andrew were married in 1926. She also had been teaching school and living away from home. While our parents were living, the children came home to get together.

"On June 30, 1931 I married and came to Tampa, and have lived in my present home for the past 57 years. Each year when Strange had his vacation we would return to Georgia to visit our families. Our get-togethers at first were at the old home place. In later years Ephraim built the clubhouse and we met there, but after his death, we only met one time.

"With a large family, my mother did lots of sewing. One day the scissors slipped and caused her to lose the sight in her right eye, and this is how I always remembered her.

"Kemp was a large community with several stores, schools, church and post office. The only remaining signs of the past are the church, cemetery and our old home.

"As the children grew up we attended the school across the road and we were able to come home for lunch. In later years the school was closed and torn down. We were then sent to Swainsboro to school.

"As each of the children married they received land or money to help them get started. Being the youngest child I received the home place. In 1939 I sold it to Thelma where she lived until her death.

"In front of our house was a large oak tree and I remember my father sitting under it reading his Bible. This Bible is where I found the...record of his class roll of students.

"Church was a big part of our family life. Even though my parents' membership remained at Boiling Springs Baptist Church, they were faithful workers to Ebenezer Methodist Church across from our home until their death. My grandfather Spencer Youngblood had given $100.00 in gold toward the present church building. My earliest memories of the Protracted Meetings (revivals) were much good singing and preaching. Among the many who offered prayer was my mother. She being such a devout Christian was a great influence on all of her children, and all who knew her.

"In 1917, mother had her first stroke. She was very ill at first, but slowly improved. After this, she was never able to use her left arm and hand, but with some help she could push a small chair and take a few steps. We had a car by now and Bill and Ephraim could put mother in [a] chair to carry her to the car. We were going to try and get a crutch in hopes she could walk some, but then she had another stroke on the right side and became a total invalid.

"Following this second stroke, Thelma, being older, took over the household chores. I took care of my mother's needs. Her right arm was too weak to feed herself, so I did that. I always felt like I owed Thelma so much for her letting me continue in school. In all the 12 years mother lived, she never complained about her illness. Her daily prayer was to live until I was older. Then some time before her death she would tell the Lord, 'I'm ready to go when you want me.' On May 16, 1929, twelve years and 1 day after mother's first stroke, she died.

"My father had been well, but after our mother's death, he began to have some heart trouble. Thelma and I were the only ones at home. Ephraim worked in Swainsboro and boarded there, and the others were all married and gone. Father's health began to fail toward the end. He had to sit in a rocker to be able to breathe and sleep. He told Thelma and I that he might not wake up one morning, but he wasn't afraid to go to sleep. Then November 13, 1929, about noon, he died. Their deaths were six months apart.

"There is a memorial stained glass window at Boiling Springs Baptist Church placed there in memory of our parents by their children. In Ebenezer United Methodist Church there is a memorial plaque in honor and memory of our parents and their children placed there by Strange and me.

"To the descendants of my parents who never knew them, I feel like you missed so much. Since I'm the only one of the children living now, I miss all of them so very much, but I feel so blessed to have been a member of our family."

One memory which Aunt Jewell didn't include in this narrative, but which was related to me earlier, concerned the picture of the five youngest siblings on page 30. The reader will note that Jewell's right hand is closed. It is closed because it is holding the coin with which she was bribed to stand still for the picture.

� Meda Royce Hall

The following is Royce's personal perspective of his early years in and around Kemp and of his WWII experiences. It is of more than passing interest to those of us who remember the times, and should provide future generations with a modicum of insight to that period. Royce's permission to share this with the readers of this history is appreciated.

"...I do not recall that I was told about Grandmother's [Sarah "Sallie" Youngblood] passing, but I recall with certain clarity that I was told of Grandpa's [George Ashley Youngblood] demise just before my sixth birthday in 1929. We were living in Alma at the time. Since this was my first exposure to the death of a relative I recall I just sat down and cried because Johnnie [Royce's sister] was crying when the news came to us. I'm sure I was too young to comprehend the enormity of the event, but it seemed appropriate to cry along with Sister.

"I can only recall attending one of the Kemp Reunions in the early 30's, but you can rest assured I was greatly impressed with the long tables under the pine trees, all loaded with good food and iced tea. Those were the dark days of the Depression, and any amount of food was a most welcome sight. I recall some, but not all of our relations at Kemp and thereabout, but I do recall Aunt Mattie Eva, Callie, Thelma and Uncle Ephraim because as children we young ones did spend summers with them. Rudy [Royce's brother] and I spent most of our time with Aunt Mattie and Uncle Bragg because we enjoyed Gene and Reggie so much.... There [were] many fond memories of swimming in the Ohoopee and visiting relatives, but I'm sure the fondest memories dealt with the delicious meals those dear folk prepared for us hungry kids....

"My naval career began on December 30, 1940 and ended on January 23, 1947. When the Germans invaded Poland in September of 1939, I told Papa [Ulyses R. Hall] I would be enlisting in the Navy on my 17th birthday, because I just knew we were going to be drawn into the war. After high school graduation in June 1940 I worked and boarded in Beaufort, South Carolina until my birthday. At that time, I met Papa in Savannah at the naval recruiting station, because he had to sign for me (he was opposed to my going into the service, but knew how determined I was).

"...I was held at Pensacola Naval Air Station as a gunnery and bombardier instructor from 1941 until mid-1943. In June 1943 I was assigned duty as leading air crewman of a newly formed composite carrier squadron of fighters and torpedo planes at Alameda Naval Air Station in California. I was a turret gunner in a TBF torpedo bomber operating off CVE (baby flattop) carriers built by Kaiser in Bremerton, Washington. Our carrier division consisted of six carriers with six or more escort[ing] destroyers or destroyer escorts. Our squadron always operated from the flagship carrier, so we had an admiral on board for all of our battle action.

"In early '44 we were involved in the mop-up operations in the Marshall Islands, but our first real action came at Saipan in the Marianas Group on June 15, 1944. The Japanese hotly contested our landing there, because they knew the loss of those islands would expose their home islands to our long range bombers. Our carrier suffered a direct bomb hit on June 17th which killed 13 men, wounded many more and put the ship out of commission. Our squadron scattered out among the other five carriers as replacements, and I flew some 36 missions over Saipan, Tinian, and Guam during June, July and August of 1944.

"Our squadron commander recalled us to Pearl Harbor in late August, where we reformed and proceeded by carrier transport to the Admiralty Islands to reboard our carrier for the invasion and liberation of the Philippine Islands. We covered MacArthur's landing on Leyte on October 17, 1944 and proceeded to provide air support for the ground forces until our carrier division was overrun by main elements of the Japanese battle squadron the morning of October 24, 1944. This was the main battle for Leyte Gulf and historians tell us I was part of the greatest (and hopefully the last) great naval battle of all times. I was credited with one assist on what I was later to learn was one of the first Kamikaze planes to dive on our fleet. Our plane hit a cruiser with three 500 #AP bombs and put her out of commission. I strafed some 15 ships with my gun turret, until I expended all my 50 calibre ammo, at which time I asked our pilot to get us to hell away from all those people I could see that were shooting at us from a range of about 200 feet. Since our carrier had been holed by some eight direct hits (8"and 12") we had to land on Leyte where we spent a couple of days and nights. We then hitched a ride on another carrier back to the Admiralty Islands, where we caught our damaged ship for the long ride home to San Diego. I reformed a new V.C. squadron in Seattle, Washington in January of 1945, and although my ship went on to Iwo Jima, Okinawa and the end of the war, my battle action ended in the Philippines....

"[My] last year or so in the Navy was spent at a naval air station near Norfolk, Virginia.... There was no more flying for me or any meaningful duty because the Navy was trying to figure out what to do with the few of us that were regular Navy. At any rate I was discharged in January 1947 with the rank of Chief Petty Officer.... Our carrier and her squadron were the only ship in history to receive two Presidential Unit Citations, plus a third [citation] from the President of the Philippines."

As harrowing as Royce's war experiences were, in a telephone conversation with him, Royce unequivocally stated that his brother, Jim, was the one who had been in more dangerous situations as a combat engineer and participant in five major European battles [page 45].

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The following article provided by Nan Hall is from the January 25, 1946 issue of The Beaufort Gazette, Beaufort, SC, and recounts the reunion of Royce, his brothers, family members and friends.

"Post War Plans

An occasion that the Hall family had looked forward to for several years was a reunion of all the members of the family... Last weekend the home of Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Hall at Floyd Heights was the scene of this long awaited occasion... Mr. and Mrs. [U]. R. Hall, of Ridgeland, their one daughter and six sons had never been separated before the war, and since five of the sons were in the armed forces, they feel fortunate to be back together with not a single casulty [sic]... The overseas ribbons, battle stars and hash marks of the brothers who served from New Guinea and Okinawa to Germany literally filled the Hall home, but those things are obsolete to the boys, whose interest centered on rehashing old times...and the delicious dinner Sunday consisting of their favorite dishes...pork...quail... hot biscuit![sic] Enjoying their reunion were their parents, Mr. and Mrs. [U]. R. Hall, of Ridgeland, also Mr. and Mrs. T. E. Jones and sons, Edwin and Don, of Jacksonville, Florida...Staff Sergeant and Mrs. Jim Hall, of Jacksonville...he had returned to the states from Germany on Christmas day and has five battle stars...Staff Sgt. and Mrs. Russell Hall and son, George, of Savannah...his past four and one half years were spent in the service...Staff Sgt. George Hall, of Ridgeland who recently returned after thirty-four months overseas, and who has the Presidential Citation with Oak Leaf Cluster...Staff Sgt. Rudolph Hall, just home after thirty-two months duty in the Asiatic Pacific...C. P. O. and Mrs. Royce Hall, U. S. N., now stationed in Charleston...he, too, is an Asiatic Pacific veteran and is now awaiting orders to report to the West Coast...also a friend of the family, Miss Leona Cooler, of Ridgeland."

Nan noted that her children, Nancy and Jerry, were also present at the reunion, but they were inadvertently omitted from mention in the article.

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