Augusta Georgia: Metro:World War II veterans make the grade again 11/11/01

World War II veterans make the grade again

Web posted Sunday, November 11, 2001

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By Amy Allyn Swann
Staff Writer

LOUISVILLE, Ga. - Howard Curtis Clark wasn't sure he wanted to graduate.

"I was kind of dreading it," he said. "I was thinking, 'I'm 76-years-old, what do I want a diploma for?"'

But Monday night, he joined other World War II veterans at Jefferson County High School for a special Veterans Day ceremony.

The men who left high school, and Jefferson County, to defend their country finally graduated - nearly 60 years later.

Brandy Brown holds her daughter Jewelianna, 2, as she waves her flags during Jefferson High School's veterans graduation ceremony. ANDREW DAVIS TUCKER/STAFF
"We owe them a great debt," said Geneda Henley, who accompanied her cousin World War II veteran Theodore Tarver. "You just can't do enough for them."

More than 400 people gathered for the event. Most were there to watch their husbands, fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers receive their diplomas.

The need to recognize their sacrifice and bravery prompted this first graduation, said Carl Bethune, the superintendent of the Jefferson County school system, who organized the event.

The Georgia General Assembly granted school systems the power to bestow the diplomas with House Bill 176, which was approved during the 2001 legislative session.

"We should have done it a long while ago," said Tip Carroll, the commander of American Legion Post 229 in Jefferson County. "This is a great, great thing."

The pride of the families was palpable as they snapped photographs and videotaped the graduates - some now stooped with age and leaning on canes or an outstretched arm for support.

Twenty-three diplomas were presented.

Fourteen of the men made it to the ceremony. Family members accepted the others, including six that were awarded posthumously.

The veterans' presence at the high school Monday night also was a living history lesson as the men shared their war memories with their families and each other.

G.T. Williams' cheering section included his wife, five of his six children and their spouses, and eight of 10 grandchildren.

"We've been so excited," his daughter Patsy Cox said. "We're so proud of him."

Mr. Williams served in the in the infantry in the European Theater.

"Wasn't anything in front of me, but the enemy," the 80-year-old said.

The oldest of 10 children, he was drafted and sent from the fields to the front. His memory has dimmed with age and his health has failed after six heart bypasses, but he still remembers the day he met Gen. George S. Patton.

"(Our infantry) were going to take a small town in Germany," Mr. Williams said.

Soon they were being fired on, and Mr. Williams dropped down with his weapon beside a train track, he said.

"You didn't do too much standing up in war."

He heard someone walking down the track, and warily raised his head. All he could see from that vantage point was a hat with four stars. That's when he heard a deep voice ask, "How's it going, soldier?"

"We talked for a few minutes," Mr. Williams said. "He was a real soldier."

Then Patton swung into action. He ordered the infantry troops to pull back as he brought in tanks, running the German soldiers out of the town and preventing more casualties.

Mr. Williams and his brother Mervin survived their time in Europe and as soon as they could made their way back to Jefferson County.

One of the happiest days of Mr. Williams' life was when the Army put him on a train heading south, he said.

For his family, another happy moment was Monday night, when they clapped and cried for their father and grandfather.

"I'll be honest with you, this has meant the world to him," said his wife, Virginia. "He always said all he wanted to do was live to be 80, and he made it. But this was something special. He was really looking forward to this."

The Fort Gordon Color Guard exits the auditorium after the playing of the National Anthem at the start of the graduation for World War Two veterans who did not recieve their high school diplomas because they were called to war . ANDREW DAVIS TUCKER/STAFF
As was Mr. Tarver.

"He came to my office in his uniform when he heard about the graduation," said Mr. Bethune, the school superintendent.

Mr. Tarver was 16 years old when he joined the Army.

He was living in Coney Island, N.Y. - having moved there with his family from Jefferson County.

"I told them I was 18," he said with a laugh. "They didn't care. All they wanted was the body."

In short order, he was shipped to England in January 1945 and then deployed to the Pacific.

The Army was a good fit for the young man, and he stayed in - serving in Korea and later as part of the occupation force in Berlin.

Now 74, he still fits into his uniform and recently took his ultralight plane, which he built from a kit, up for a test flight.

Finishing his plane is an accomplishment. So is finally receiving his diploma.

"It's just wonderful," his cousin Ms. Henley said. "We grew up like brother and sister, and I am so proud of him."

The teens who went to war could have returned to high school after their service ended, but it wasn't that simple, said Marilyn Murphy, the daughter of veteran William Henry Wren.

"When he came back, he had to go to work. He had a family to support," she said.

Mr. Wren was 18 when the Army sent him to the Pacific.

One of six brothers to serve in World War II, he was an artillery man, and in February 1945 was in Iwo Jima firing 155 mm howitzers.

He survived without a scratch, and five of the Wren boys made it home.

Mr. Clark also was at Iwo Jima. The Navy petty officer 2nd class was aboard a landing craft tank ferrying supplies to the men fighting and taking the wounded to a nearby hospital ship.

"It was a big change," he said. "I couldn't hardly grip it, but you had to."

The anguish of the men was almost unbearable, he said.

"They would holler and carry on," Mr. Clark recalled. "It was awful."

Mr. Clark didn't want to go to war. The 18-year-old was worried his family wouldn't survive without him.

"My daddy's legs had gone bad, and he couldn't work the farm by himself," he said.

Mr. Clark registered for the service and left Stapleton High School to work the farm full time to qualify for a deferment.

He was deferred - briefly.

When his country called a second time, he went.

On the LCT this time , Mr. Clark's main duty was to keep the engine running, but even those down below were not safe from Japanese fire.

The ship's cook was shot while below the ship's deck - the bullet ripping through the metal hull of the ship.

There was no time for fear, Mr. Clark said.

"They made us brave."