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,

Author : John Vick “We were completely surprised and utterly unprepared” was the response given by Bill Baldwin, when asked about the Japanese attack on the navy seaplane base at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, on Dec 7, 1941. Baldwin, who had grown up in Andalusia and attended the schools there, graduated from Andalusia High School in 1938. He attended the University of Alabama 1938-39, but left in the fall of 1939 for lack of money. He briefly worked at a cotton mill before joining t

Author: John Vick PFC. Willie Ward's name is listed in this diary kept by Charles D. Page, a POW at the Cabanatuan prison camp in thePhilippines. Page recorded the names of the 27th Bombardment Group that were held at the camp. His diary records in pencil, the names and fate of the the 212 men from the 27th. "D or Dead" was written by the names of the men who died. Of the 39 men listed here, only 16 survived, including PFC Willie Ward. [Photo: The National WW II Museum] Durin

Author: John Vick Randolph Kyzar was one of at least two Andalusia High School graduates to fly The Hump during WW II, the other being Dempsey Albritton [see Andalusia Star-News article dated July 3, 2021]. The dangerous supply missions referred to as flying the Hump involved some of the most hazardous flying conditions experienced during WW II. Before his tour in the CBI [China-Burma-India] theater was finished, Randolph Kyzar had completed 824 flight hours. Marcus Randolph

1st Lt. Don S. Mathews as a member of the 117th Field Artillery Regiment, Andalusia, Alabama. [Photo: John Vick] There is a bronze plaque located in the historic German city of Mannheim, Germany, which reads: “From this building on March 28-29, 1945, American Forces under the command of Major Don. S. Mathews conducted telephone conversations with City Official, Nikolaus Quintus in the administrative building of the electric, gas, and water works in K-5. He was assisted by Cap

Cadet Ben Crum Foshee, Aviation Officer Candidate School, NAS Pensacola, Florida. [Photo: The Flight Log 1940 published by the Aviation Cadet Battalion, NAS Pensacola] After completing flight training at Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida, Ensign Ben Crum Foshee had to complete a fixed number of “arrested landings” aboard an aircraft carrier. The carrier was the USS Lexington [CV-2], located just off the port of Miami, Florida. After successfully becoming “carrier qualifie

Comer A. Wilson, US Navy Comer A. Wilson was born in Andalusia to Paul Anderson Wilson and Hannah Doscia Wilson. He attended Andalusia schools and served with the local National Guard unit before enlisting in the U.S. Navy in 1931. By 1941, he had risen to the rank of Chief Boatswain’s Mate and was serving aboard the battleship USS Arizona. On the morning of December 7, 1941, Wilson was killed during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was among the 1,177 Sailors and Mari

“Those who flew in late 1942 and early 1943 fought a very different war than those who came later”. Russell Strong-First Over Germany The story of the US 8th Air Force’s bombing campaign against Germany is one of the most well-known and researched campaigns of the Second World War. Much of this interest began with the historic 1944 documentary Memphis Belle by Hollywood director William Wyler. The plane itself has become the most iconic plane of the entire war. In the followi

Author: John Vick 2nd Lt. Herb Carlisle [L] and Capt. Casey [R], Medical Company, 17th Infantry Regiment in Korea. [Photo: Gary Carlisle] Quoting from Herb Carlisle’s Korea diary, “Friday, October 26, 1951: It was very cold today, even though the sun was shining. Just before lunch, there were two casualties that came in. One died shortly. He had wounds to his arms, leg, chest and head. This made the noon meal a quiet one. We evacuated the other soldier by helicopter. There we

Author: John Vick Captain William G. Cumbie, MD, U.S Army Medical Corps, WW II. [Photo: Dr. William G. Cumbie, Jr.] It was not long after completing medical school and internship at Charity Hospital in New Orleans, that Dr. Gary Cumbie joined the U.S. Army Medical Corps and was sworn in as a First Lieutenant on July 3, 1943. He was sent to Camp Barkeley, Texas, for training. He wrote his mother on July 4, 1943, “Please excuse the writing as I’m sitting on the side of the bed

Author: John Vick The author thanks Tom and Mike Cowen for their help in writing about their great-uncle Noah Nelson Cowen from Opp, Alabama. Like so many of his brothers-in-arms, Lt. Cowen died way too young. He never had the chance to start his own family and live out his dreams. America is forever in their debt. May we never forget! 2nd Lt. Noah Nelson Cowen standing in front of his P-51D Mustang fighter plane, Margaret Two, during WW II. [Photo: Mike Cowen] The 350th Figh

Author: John Vick Major Lester CV. O'Neal, MD, Regimental Surgeon, WW II, KIA Italy. [Photo: Mrs. Tillie O'Neal Hamiter] Memorial Day is a day in which we honor those who gave their lives in the service of their country. Most of us have known some of the veterans of WWII, the group celebrated by Tom Brokaw as The Greatest Generation. The fallen from WW II are honored at the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. Among those fallen heroes is Major Lester C. O’Neal, MD, Regi

Author: John Vick Willie Locke and Mortar Squad #8 were busy pumping round after round into the oncoming North Vietnamese assault. Willie suddenly found himself blown several yards from the bunker, disoriented and said, ‘Where did that round come from?’ About that time, one of my buddies from the mortar squad came over and said ‘Man, you’re bleeding all over!’ That’s when the Corpsman came over.” Willie James Locke, Jr. was born November, 16, 1947 to Willie Gene Locke and Dai