2nd Lt. Stewart M. Baker, Jr. Korean War photo. [Photo: The Dothan Eagle] Author: John Vick When 2nd Lt. Stewart M. Baker, Jr. was killed in Korea on September 19, 1950, his home of record was Andalusia, Covington County, Alabama. His father was The Rev. Dr. Stewart M. Baker, pastor of The First Methodist Church of Andalusia. Stewart Melvin Baker, Jr. was born December 26, 1927, in Castleberry, Conecuh County, Alabama. His parents were Anne Douglas Park and Stewart Melv

Author: John Vick Eland as a young 2nd Lieutenant in the Army. Eland Anthony’s Company was the second Allied unit to enter Dachau. He remembered, “I’ll never forget it as long as I live. The smell of burning human flesh was unbelievable.” As an American infantry unit approached the concentration camp the previous day, Nazi guards had nailed boards over the windows and doors, soaked the buildings in gasoline and set them on fire. The stench still lingered, permeating the air

Author: John Vick Charles L. Saunders of Opp, Alabama, graduated from Opp High School in 1943 and then joined the U.S. Army. After completing infantry training, he was assigned as a military policeman with the 795th Military Police Battalion. His unit landed in Normandy only six days after D-Day. During the advance through France and Germany, Saunders guarded General William H. Simpson, commander of the Ninth Army, and helped escort French General Charles de Gaulle into Paris

Author: Michele Gerlach The bookends of Martha Dixon's life are mismatched. "I grew up so poor, we couldn't afford fun," she said. In contrast, she's spent her latter years literally giving money away - working to improve the lives of others. Times were hard in Covington County in 1930, when Martha Belvin left school at 15, and went to work, first in the local Alatex, then in a Columbus, Ga., cotton mill. It was while she was in Beaumont, Texas, with an aunt that she decided

Author: Robert Evers World War II would be the last war in which the U.S.Armed Forces were fully segregated. Black soldiers mostly served in separate units under white officers, and were at first barred from combat roles. Black soldiers were assigned to separate units—officially designated as “colored”—and typically served under white officers. Due to the racist policies of the era, they were often restricted to service and support roles such as construction and supply. By la

Author: John Vick L-R. Lena, Josephine and Martha Baldwin Judge and Mrs. E.O. Baldwin raised four children in Andalusia, Alabama, and all four served in the United States Navy during WW II. The author wrote about the late Judge William Hope “Bill” Baldwin in the Dec. 21, 2019 edition of the Andalusia Star-News. Bill joined the Navy and was an Aviation Metalsmith stationed at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, when the Japanese attacked on Dec. 7,