Military Monday

 

Warren M. Bowen
1898-1955

Cpl, Co I, 18th Infantry, 1 Division
World War I

Silver Star and Purple Heart + Oak Leaf Cluster

Military Monday

 Robert Dale Miller 

(1921-1995)

U.S. Navy

World War II and Korea

Military Monday

 

Lee Wade "Buddy" Willis
1941-2004

U.S. Army

Military Monday

 

Paul Wallace Smith
1928-1997

Cpl, U.S. Marine Corps, World War II

Military Monday

Ray Henry Tapley

May 18, 1925 - December 25, 1971 

Newspapers.com, Chattanooga Daily Times, Chattanooga, Tennessee,
Saturday, February 19, 1944, Page 3

Pfc. Tapley Is Here on Furlough After 18 Months in Pacific Area

Pfc. Ray H. Tapley, 19, who was in the first group of marines to land on Guadalcanal, is spending a 45-day furlough here with his parents, Mr. and Mrs. S. H. Tapley, 310 Poplar Street.

Formerly employed in the circulation department of The Chattanooga Times, Tapley saw his first foreign service in Samoa. From there he went to New Caledonia, later going to Tulagi, Guadalcanal and the Russell Islands in the Solomon group. His last overseas duty before returning to the States was in New Zealand.

The 19-year-old youth, who enlisted in the marines in November of 1941, has served overseas approximately 18 months. Most of that time he spent driving trucks. Tapley returned to the United States last Nov. 26 and has served at Corona, Calif., since that time. His next assignment is the naval hospital at Memphis.

Among the service ribbons Tapley wears, one indicates a presidential citation. He was in the First Marine Division, all members of which were included in the citation. Other ribbons he wears are the Southwest Pacific Ribbon, which bears three stars for major battles; the American Theater Ribbon and the American Defense Ribbon.

Tapley attended Vocational High School. - Transcription by Google Gemini

Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - How Will You, Or Did You, Celebrate America's 250th Birthday?

 From Randy (my cousin) over at Genea-Musings:

it's Saturday Night - 

time for more Genealogy Fun!!!

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to:

1)  It is the 250th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence today.

2)  How will you celebrate the day? Or, how did you celebrate the day?

Here's mine:

    Our plans for the day fell through... for various crazy reasons. In addition, it has been so hot here in Georgia, that it was just too miserable to go outside for cook outs or anything.  So today ended up being a typical quiet Saturday with chores.  

    However, I have been celebrating the 250th birthday/anniversary of our country in my own way for the past week.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I have been taking advantage of Fold3 opening up their Revolutionary War records for free through July 6th (this Monday).  I have been furiously searching, downloading, transcribing, and saving as many records of my ancestors as possible.  I am in awe of the records I am finding, and I am so proud of my ancestors, 3rd, 4th, and 5th great-grandfathers who fought for this country.

    Also Mom and I are going to see the movie, "Young Washington" on Tuesday afternoon.  We are really looking forward to that!

Military Monday

    In honor of the United States of America's 250th birthday coming up, I wanted to take this opportunity to salute the brave souls who fought for our democratic way of life in The Revolutionary War, 1775-1783. 

    For this special occasion, Fold3 is providing their Revolutionary War records for FREE through July 6th!  I immediately cleared my schedule (which was already free) and starting searching.  I have to go back and get all the information, but I did a quick perusal today in order to write this post.  

Name	Relation	State	Unit, Regiment, Other
Samuel Bevier 1740-1826	3rd cousin, 6x removed	New York	Ulster County (NY) Militia, 7th Regiment, Col. John Hardenburgh; Snyder’s Regiment (Ulster County Militia)
Nathaniel Bosworth 1753-1844	Spouse of 2nd cousin, 7x removed	Connecticut	Armorer in Captain Meigs’ Co., Colonel Spencer’s Regiment, Connecticut Troops
John Brainard 1754-1820	Spouse of 6th great aunt		Militia Man; Sgt in Lt. Smith’s Company
John Prescott Bush Sr 1758-1846	Half 6th great uncle	South Carolina	Officer; Regiment Unknown
David Hubbard 1749-1836	1st cousin, 7x removed	Connecticut	Private, 7th Co., 5th Connecticut Regiment, commanded by Lt. Col. Isaac Sherman
Isaac H Osman 1738-1778	5th Great Grandfather	New York	Private, Orange County (NY) Militia, 1st Regiment; Died as POW
Israel Osman 1736-1778	6th Great Uncle	New York	Private, Orange County (NY) Militia, 1st Regiment; Died as POW (Isaac’s brother)
John Osmun	6th Great Uncle	New York	Sargeant, Lamb’s Artillery (Isaac and Israel Osman’s brother)
Abraham Ozmun 1764-1848	4th Great Grandfather	New York	Private, Collier (one who makes gun powder), Regiment Unknown
Solomon Page Abt 1760-1823	3rd Great Grandfather	North Carolina	Corporal, Bailey’s Company
John Tapley Patterson Abt 1746-?	1st cousin, 6x removed	North Carolina	Unknown Unit or Regiment
Mark Patterson Abt 1739-Abt. 1808	1st cousin, 6x removed	North Carolina	Unknown Unit or Regiment
Comfort Ranney 1759-1859	5th Great Grandfather	Connecticut	Private, Captain Edward Eells’ Company, Col. Samuel Wylleys’ 3rd Regiment; Discharged 29 May 1780
Elijah Ranney 1750/51-1833	2nd cousin, 7x removed	Vermont	Private, Vermont Militia, Major Day’s Command of Westminster on alarm of 17 Oct 1780
Nathaniel Ranney Jr 1735-1800	6th Great Grandfather	Connecticut	Private, Col. Samuel Wylleys’ 3rd Connecticut Regiment
Thomas Erastus Redman 1745-1836	Spouse of 1st cousin, 6x removed	Virginia	Private, Captain James Johnson’s Company in the 6th Virginia Regiment of Continental Forces commanded by Lieut. Col. James Hendricks (Note: His war record indicates he was deceased 07 Feb 1777.)
Jeffrey Smith 1763-1846	Spouse of 6th Great Aunt	Connecticut	Continental Army; Company and Regiment unknown.
Adam Tapley Bet 1760-1770 - 1837	5th Great Uncle		No information on his service located.

   

Military Monday

    Military Monday posts are made to honor those in my family tree who have served in the United States military.

George Washington 'G.W.' Tapley

1937-2016

Sgt, U.S. Army, Korea and Vietnam

Military Monday - Talmadge Lewis Lynn

 Military Monday posts are made to honor those in my family tree who have served in the United States military.

Talmadge Lewis 'Tab' Lynn

1920-2000

U.S. Army, World War II

Thank you for your service.  

On this Memorial Day 2026, I want to thank all of the soldiers in my family tree who gave their all in service to our country.

Military Monday

 

Military Monday posts are made to honor those in my family tree who have served in the United States military.

  

Virgil Willard Powell

1916-1958

U.S. Navy, World War II

Virgil was my 2nd cousin.  Our common ancestors are James Madison "Jim" Tapley and Elizabeth Rebecca "Becky" Page.

Thank you for your service.

Military Monday

Military Monday posts are made to honor those in my family tree who have served in the United States military.

1962

Donald Wayne Johnson
SP4, U.S. Army, Vietnam

    Donald was my 3rd cousin 1x removed.  Our common ancestors are Solomon Page Jr. and Elizabeth Caroline Scoggins.

    Thank you for your service.

Military Monday

    Military Monday posts are made to honor those in my family tree who have served in the United States military.

Ollie Whitton "O.W." Tapley, Jr.

Sergeant, U.S. Army, World War II, Disabled

O.W. is my 3rd cousin 2x removed.  Our common ancestors are Archibald Odom III and Isabella Elizabeth Anderson.

    O.W. is also my 4th cousin, 1x removed on my Tapley line. This happens in my tree a lot since my ancestors hailed from small communities.

    Thank you for your service.

Military Monday

    Military Monday posts are made to honor those in my family tree who have served in the United States military.

Charles Howard Rumfelt, Jr.

U.S. Navy

1964 - 1969

Clarion-Ledger
Jackson, Mississippi
Friday, January 21, 1966, Page 22

    Chuck is my 5th cousin 1x removed. Our common ancestor is Newhampton Tapley.

    Thank you for your service.

Military Monday - Marvin Gillis 1895-1918

    Military Monday posts are made to honor those in my family tree who have served in the United States military.

Marvin Marion Gillis

U.S. Army

May 27, 1913 - October 9, 1918

World War I

Transcription by ChatGPT:

"SGT. MARVIN M. GILLIS
Soperton, Ga.

Sergeant Gillis served about four years on the Mexican Border previous to the United States entering the war. Attached to Company “B”, 11th Machine Gun Battalion, 4th Division, he embarked for overseas service May 9th, 1918. Was wounded in action, dying as a result of his wounds in Evacuation Hospital No. 8, in France, October 9th, 1918."

Marvin's World War I Service Card, 1917-1919, Ancestry.com

    Marvin is my 4th cousin, 1x removed.  Our common ancestor is Newhampton Tapley.

Military Monday

    Military Monday posts are made to honor those in my family tree who have served in the United States military.

Hubert Thomas Davis

U.S. Navy & U.S. Army, World War II

b. 06 Aug 1921 in Manning, Baker, Florida, USA

d. 23 Feb 1995 in Ellenwood, Clayton, Georgia, USA

burial: Garden of Memories Cemetery, Tampa, Hillsborough, Florida, USA

Military Marker photo courtesy of Find-A-Grave

    Hubert was the husband of my 5th cousin, 3x removed, Shirley Marie "Shellie" Price. Our common ancestors are John Moore and Sarah Norris.

Military Monday

  Military Monday posts are made to honor those in my family tree who have served in the United States military.

Emerson Lanier Burns

U.S. Army, Korea, POW

August 4, 1950 - August 21, 1953

  I chose Emerson for Military Monday today because I found the most interesting blog post about him and other POWs from Laurens County. 

"Emerson Burns left Adrian, Georgia at the age of eighteen, when he joined the Army in 1949. Burns was sent to Korea on August 4, 1950. While in Korea, Sgt. Burns worked as a radio operator and truck driver. In November 1950, Burns and his unit barely escaped capture when the Chinese Army overran his division. A member of HQ Company, 38th Regiment, 2nd Division, Burns was in Wanju in January of 1951 when he and seven hundred fifty other soldiers were taken prisoner. Burns and his unit had gotten through the roadblock at Kunure, where many of the 2nd Division troops had been killed. Burns' six by six truck had its gas tank shot out. The men were forced to march for three months. On the seven hundred mile march the men were given twelve total days of rest. One in five of the men would live to see the end of the war. Burns and the others were taken to Camp Number 1 near Chonwon. When they first arrived, the prisoners were fed twice a day. Their diet mainly consisted of soy beans and millet. Later the meals were changed to dry fish and rotting eggs. They had to eat it. It was their only food.

Temperatures in the Korean winter often fellow to thirty degrees below zero. Burns recalled that the men were allowed to have a fire in a home-made furnace for about an hour a day. The men lived in mud huts with mud floors. Eventually Burns was stricken with beri-beri, a disease caused by vitamin deficiencies. When truce talks began in 1951, the prisoners were allowed to write letters home. In the long days in the mud huts, Burns dreamed of living in Dublin. He did not know that his parents, Mr. and Mrs. R.D. Burns, had already moved to Dublin. Burns wrote home several times, stating that he was doing as well as could be expected."

From: https://dublinlaurenscountygeorgia.blogspot.com/2013/07/korean-war-pows-will-never-be-forgotten.html

Go read the entire post.  It is very interesting!

Emerson was my 3rd cousin, 1x removed.  Our common ancestors are Francis Bryant Drake and Selina Henlee King Drake.

Military Monday - Charles Lewis Lynn

  Military Monday posts are made to honor those in my family tree who have served in the United States military.

Charles Lewis Lynn

b 05 Feb 1945

d 05 Jul 1991

DC3, U.S. Navy, Vietnam

  Charles was my 4th cousin.  Our common ancestors are Zachariah William Claxton and Lincelia 'Lincely' Bush Claxton.

Military Monday - Jack L Ray (1919-2010)

  Military Monday posts are made to honor those in my family tree who have served in the United States military.

Jack Lowery 'Larry' Ray

U.S. Army Air Corps, World War II

August 5, 1942 - aft. September 7, 1944

Published in the
The Dadeville Record
Dadeville, Alabama
Thursday, January 13, 1944, Page 1
Image courtesy of Newspapers.com

"S/SGT. JACK L. RAY

S/Sgt. Jack L. Ray and his two-year-old daughter, Julia, the photograph being made up his visit home last July, first visit during eleven months service.

His training days date from August 5, 1942, when he took boot training in the U. S. Army Air Corps at Miami Beach, Fla., then on to Madison, Wis., Roswell, New Mexico, and is now stationed at Midland, Texas, with the Third Commanding Squadron as chief control tower and radio operator.

His wife, the former Miss Ruby Florence Tapley, resides at Alexander City, an employee of Comer Mills.

S/Sgt. Ray writes: "I receive the Dadeville Record regularly and enjoy every line of it. Be sure to keep it coming. I enjoy the boy’s letters and read lots of them from some of my schoolmates with whom I would be out of touch if it were not for Boy’s column. I would like to see all my friends and especially Dowdle Willis. Please pass my address on: Serv. Det. 5th Ferrying Gp., Midland Air Port No. 2, Midland, Texas." Transcription by ChatGPT.

  Larry is the ex-husband of my 5th cousin, 1x removed, Ruby Florence Tapley (1923-2014). Our common ancestors are Joel Tapley and Mary Avent.

Postscript:  I don't know if Jack legally changed his middle name of Lowery to Larry, or if he just adopted the nickname Larry, but he used it after his military service and for the rest of his life.  Also, I don't know the exact date he left the military.  I used the date above because I found a news blurb published from that day, stating he was a radio operator in Midland, Texas. So I know he was still in the military at that date and time.