Area War Dead from WWII (Part One)

Since May is the month we celebrate Memorial Day, I been looking through old newspapers for lists of casualties of service members from World War II. These lists usually include only the name and hometown of the listed person. I have tried to add some content to the stories of  these young men whose bodies were returned to the area in July 1948. These folks are all heroes, who left their homes either through the draft, or just a desire to help defeat the Axis Powers. They were so young and many died in some of the very first combat they experienced. Over the decades, I think some have begun to forget the sacrifices these folks made, and the void their absence left in their loved ones at home. 

Below are names from only one newspaper article. There are many, many, more. All heroes.

Article from Pensacola Journal, 8 July 1948:

Area War Dead Returned in July 1948

Killed in Action in Italy

Returned on the US Army Transport, SS Carroll Victory

Alabama:

Pvt. Willie S. Cook, Evergreen

SN 1^st Ernest Kelley, Atmore

Pvt. William L. Money, Andalusia

FN 1^st William E Stone, Phenix City

Florida:

Pfc. Albert Bryant, Ponce DeLeon

Pfc. Arthur L. Carmichael, Graceville

Pvt. Francis H. Davis, Pensacola

Pvt. James N. Hayes, Caryville

Pvt. Curtis Kelly, DeFuniak Springs

Ssgt Allen Lundy, Baker

Pfc. Omer W. Page, Panama City

Pfc. Wiley M. Taylor, Quincy

SS Carroll Victory, (hull V-27), was the 27^th Victory ship built during WW2 under the Emergency Shipbuilding program. It was named after Carroll, Iowa, and operated by the Lykes Brothers SS Company. Built by the California Shipbuilding Company in Los Angeles, the keel was laid on March 28, 1944; launched June 13^th, and completed August 31, 1944. (Five months to completely build a ship this size is amazing.)

It was 10,500-ton, 455 ft long, beam of 62 ft, and draft of 28 ft. It had a speed of 16.5 knots.

After the war, 1945-47 the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration and Church of the Brethren sent livestock to war torn countries. These “Seagoing Cowboys” made 360 trips on 73 different vessels.  In 1949, the SS Carroll Victory arrived in Mobile, Alabama and served with the U.S. Coast Guard. It was later sent to the James River in Virginia as part of the National Defense Reserve Fleet. In the Korean War it was used to bring supplies to the troops serving there. It was scrapped in India in 1994.

 Pvt. Willie S. Cook

Born: 4 Feb 1924 in Evergreen, Ala. 

Died: 2 Jun 1944 in Italy   

Burial: 12 Aug 1948, Magnolia Cemetery, Evergreen, Alabama

According to his draft card, before joining the Army he was employed by the L.D. King Lumber Co., and lived on Pecan St., in Evergreen, Ala.  He was 5’11” and weighed 135lbs.

Died during the battle to take Rome.

 

Seaman 1^st Class, Ernest Kelly

Article stated his body was being returned to Atmore, Ala., but I cannot find any further information about him.

 

Pvt. William L. Money

Born: 9 Dec 1919 in Alabama, (possibly Andalusia)

Died: 11 Jul 1943 in Sicily.

Buried: 1948, Magnolia Cemetery, Andalusia, Covington Co., Alabama

 

William Money enlisted in the U.S. Army 25 Nov 1940, and was trained in Field Artillery.

At the time of his death, he was assigned to C Battery, 376^th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion, 82^nd Airborne Division.

 

Gen. Patton wanted to reinforce his battle-weary force with 2,000 additional paratroopers from the reserves located in North Africa. He ordered that the 1^st, and 2^nd Battalions, 504^th Parachute Infantry Regiment, (PIR), the 376^th PFAB, and Company C from the 307^th Airborne Engineer Battalion be dropped near Gela on the night of 11 July 1943. On that night, the above-mentioned units were ordered to jump on Farello Airstrip, which was held by Americans. When the C-47 Transport aircraft over the beaches in the wake of a German air raid, nervous anti-aircraft gunners ashore and afloat opened fire with devastating effect. The anti-aircraft guns shot down 23, and damaged 37 of the 144 aircraft. The airborne force suffered 10% casualties, and was badly disorganized. Investigation revealed that not everyone was informed of the impending drop despite the Seventh Army’s best efforts.

The aircraft that Money was on, crashed in a swamp at Pantano D’Arcia in southern Sicily. All onboard were killed. The dead were buried at the Gela Cemetery.

 

Fireman 1^st Class, William Earl Stone

Born: 29 July 1922 in Phenix City, Alabama

Died: 5 Aug 1943, Sicily

Buried: 1948, Philadelphia Church, Lee Co., Ala.

His draft card from 30 Jun 1942 shows William at 5’10” tall and 155lbs.

He enlisted 4 Aug 1942.

 

At the time of his death, he was assigned to the USS Shubrick, (DD-639).

The Shubrick was escorting the cruiser USS Savanah, to Palermo. On the night of 4 August, during an air attack, the Shubrick was hit amidships by a 500 lb. bomb which caused flooding of two main machinery spaces and left the ship without power. Nine were killed and twenty wounded during the attack. The ship was returned to the U.S. for extensive repairs.

 

Pfc. Albert Bryant

Born: 8 Mar 1924 in Holmes County, Florida

Died: 1 Feb 1944 in Italy

Buried: New Ponce DeLeon Cemetery, Holmes Co., Florida

 

Albert enlisted 1 Mar 1943 and Camp Blanding, Florida. He was 5’5” and 124 pounds.

At the time of his death, he was part of the 15^th Infantry Regiment, 3^rd Inf. Division. The 15^th Inf. Division was where Audie Murphy later established his bravery to become the most decorated soldier of WW2.  During the war the 15^th had 1,633 killed, 5812 wounded, and 419 missing. They also had 16 Medals of Honor.

 

Pfc. Bryant was killed during operation Shingle, the landing, and battle at Anzio.

 

Pfc. Arthur L. Carmichael

Born: 17 Sept 1923 in Chipley, Florida

Died: 7 June 1944 near Rome, Italy

Buried: Damascus Baptist Church, Graceville, Jackson Co., Florida

 

Draft Card from 5 May 1942, 5’11”, 154lbs.

Employed at J. Roy Camp Plumbing Co., Dothan, Alabama

 

Member of 339^th Inf. Regt., 85^th Inf. Division

Unit was pursuing the Herman Goering Panzer Division towards Rome, on 2 June the 339^th had seized Mount Fiore.

 

Pvt. Francis Harry Davis

Born: 22 Nov 1922

Died: 1 June 1944 in Italy

Buried: Ft. Barrancus National Cemetery, Pensacola, Escambia Co., Florida

 

141^st Infantry Regt./ 36^th Infantry Division

The “Alamo Regiment”

Killed in Action during Anzio operation, assault on Velletri, 1 June 1944.

 

Davis was previously wounded on 11 February, but had returned to duty recently. He had two brothers also in military service.

 

Pvt. James Norman Hayes

Born: 14 Sept 1915 (Draft card states 1913), Washington Co., Florida

Died: 2 Feb 1944, Anzio, Italy

Buried: Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church, Hinson’s Crossroads, Washington, Florida.

Married Marie Hendricks in Holmes Co., Florida on 29 June 1940

Registered for draft 16 Oct 1940, 5’10”, 140 lbs.

Enlisted 20 May 1943 at Camp Blanding, Florida

 

Co. G/ 157^th Inf. Regt./ 45^th Infantry Division

KIA during Anzio operation.

 

Pvt. Curtis Kelley

Born: 14 June 1916 in Okaloosa Co., Florida

Died: 6 June 1944 near Rome, Italy

Buried: Magnolia Cemetery, DeFuniak Springs, Walton Co., Florida

Reg. for draft on 16 Oct 1940

Married Annie Rushing 31 Dec 1940 in Walton Co., Florida

Enlisted: 10 July 1943 at Camp Blanding, Florida

 

Co. A/ 135^th Inf. Regt./ 34^th Inf. Division

Killed in Action near Rome, Italy

 

SSgt Allen William Lundy

Born: 13 Sept 1920 in Laurel Hill, Okaloosa Co., Florida

Died: 23 May 1944 in Lazio, Italy

Buried: Almarante Cemetery, Laurel Hill, Okaloosa Co., Florida

 

Could not find a draft card.

Enlisted 5 Sept 1940

 

36^th Engineer Regt.

KIA during landing support, Operation Shingle, Anzio.

 

Note: His grandfather was Bill Lundy, one of the last few surviving veterans of the Army of the Confederacy who died at 109 years of age in 1957.

 

Pfc. Omer Wilson Page

Born: 9 Dec 1912 in Bay Co., Florida

Died: 31 May 1944 in Italy

Buried: Bayou George Cemetery, Bay Co., Florida

 Enlisted: 24 Apr 1943 at Camp Blanding, Florida

 

Co. K/ 135^th Inf. Regt./ 34^th Inf. Division

 Received a (posthumous) Distinguished Service Cross for action occurring on 3 Feb 1944.

 

PAGE, OMER (KIA)
Synopsis:
The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Omer Page (34783289), Private First Class, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving with Company K, 135th Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division, in action against enemy forces on 3 February 1944. Private First C

lass Page's intrepid actions, personal bravery and zealous devotion to duty at the cost of his life, exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, the 34th Infantry Division, and the United States Army.
Headquarters, Fifth U.S. Army, General Orders No. 155 (1944)
Home Town: Bay County, Florida

 

Pfc. Wiley M. Taylor

Born: 1 May 1922

Died: 26 March 1944 at Anzio

Buried: Attapulgus Methodist Church, Attapulgus, Decatur Co., Georgia

Enlisted: 10 Oct 1942

 

Battery C./ 451 AAA/ AW Battalion

Coast Artillery; Anti-Aircraft unit

 

Killed in Action by bomb fragments during action at Anzio.

 His body was returned to Quincy, but he was ultimately buried across the state line in Decatur Co., Georgia.

 

Since most of the young men mentioned here enlisted at Camp Blanding, in Starke, Florida, I thought I would add the Wikipedia entry.

 

Camp Blanding was established in 1939 on 30,000 acres (12,000 ha) as a training facility for the Florida National Guard after its previous training base (Camp Foster) on the St. Johns River near Jacksonville had been taken over by the Navy for Naval Air Station Jacksonville. The new camp was named for Albert H. Blanding, who had been commissioned in the Florida National Guard in 1899, and was then a Major General and Chief of the National Guard Bureau. In 1940, as the threat of war increased and the United States Army was built up, Camp Blanding became a Federal facility housing two infantry divisions plus auxiliary units. Between 1940 and 1943, nine US Army infantry divisions trained at Camp Blanding, including: 1st Infantry Division, 29th Infantry Division, 30th Infantry Division, 31st Infantry Division, 36th Infantry Division, 43rd Infantry Division, 63rd Infantry Division, 66th Infantry Division, and 79th Infantry Division. In 1943, Camp Blanding became an Infantry Replacement Center, training soldiers to be sent to existing infantry divisions as replacements, providing a high percentage of the replacements sent to Army combat units.^[2][3]

The base was a holding center for 343 Japanese, German, and Italian immigrant residents of the United States.^[4] A small cemetery is located on the grounds of the former POW camp.^[5] In 1946 the actual bodies were removed to the Ft. Benning however the grave markers remaine.^[6] Additionally five settler era cemeteries are located on Camp Blanding property. Most are not maintained and are heavily overgrown.^[7]

 

At one point during the war, the camp contained the population of the fourth-largest city in Florida. It had 10,000 buildings, 125 miles (201 km) of paved roads, and the largest hospital in the state. It was one of the largest training bases in the country.^[8]

An expeditionary airfield consisting of two gravel runways capable of accommodating C-130 Hercules aircraft has been added.

From 2001 until 2008, Camp Blanding was used by the Southeast Region of the Civil Air Patrol to host their Southeast Region Encampment for cadets. The Florida Wing of Civil Air Patrol continues to use Camp Blanding for their wing-level summer cadet encampments.

From Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Blanding

 

Since these brave young men died during intense fighting in Italy, here is the Wikipedia entry for Anzio.

 

Battle of Anzio

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Battle of Anzio was a battle of the Italian Campaign of World War II that took place from January 22, 1944 (beginning with the Allied amphibious landing known as Operation Shingle) to June 5, 1944 (ending with the capture of Rome). The operation was opposed by German forces in the area of Anzio and Nettuno.^[a][4]

The operation was initially commanded by Major General John P. Lucas, of the U.S. Army, commanding U.S. VI Corps with the intention being to outflank German forces at the Winter Line and enable an attack on Rome.

The success of an amphibious landing at that location, in a basin consisting substantially of reclaimed marshland and surrounded by mountains, depended on the element of surprise and the swiftness with which the invaders could build up strength and move inland relative to the reaction time and strength of the defenders. Any delay could result in the occupation of the mountains by the defenders and the consequent entrapment of the invaders. Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, commander of the U.S. Fifth Army, understood that risk, but he did not pass on his appreciation of the situation to his subordinate,^{[citation needed]} Lucas, who preferred to take time to entrench against an expected counterattack. The initial landing achieved complete surprise with no opposition and a jeep patrol even made it as far as the outskirts of Rome. However, Lucas, who had little confidence in the operation as planned, failed to capitalize on the element of surprise and delayed his advance until he judged his position was sufficiently consolidated and he had sufficient strength.

While Lucas consolidated, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring, the German commander in the Italian theatre, moved every unit he could spare into a defensive ring around the beachhead. His artillery units had a clear view of every Allied position. The Germans also stopped the drainage pumps and flooded the reclaimed marsh with salt water, planning to entrap the Allies and destroy them by epidemic. For weeks a rain of shells fell on the beach, the marsh, the harbour, and on anything else observable from the hills, with little distinction between forward and rear positions.

After a month of heavy but inconclusive fighting, Lucas was relieved and sent home. His replacement was Major General Lucian Truscott, who had previously commanded the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division. The Allies broke out in May. But, instead of striking inland to cut lines of communication of the German Tenth Army's units fighting at Monte Cassino, Truscott, on Clark's orders, reluctantly turned his forces north-west towards Rome, which was captured on June 4, 1944. As a result, the forces of the German Tenth Army fighting at Cassino were able to withdraw and rejoin the rest of Kesselring's forces north of Rome, regroup, and make a fighting withdrawal to his next major prepared defensive position on the Gothic Line.

 

This is just an overview. Wikipedia has the in-depth account of the whole operation.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Anzio

A Killer on the Road

 The Crime

Apparently, on a whim, and desiring to get his hands on some quick cash, Harvey McGraw, 20, decided to rob Jaxon’s Filling Station, just south of Georgiana, Alabama. On the evening of March 16, 1939, he killed some time loitering at the station, claiming he was waiting on a bus, as Jaxon’s was also a Greyhound bus station. As the hour neared midnight at the all-night station, two men from the Montgomery area arrived at the station. One report states that the two men, Clifford T. Mann, 28, and Charles Wilkinson, 23, were in the station drinking a glass of milk, and they intended on renting one of the available cabins for the night. McGraw asked the attendant, Dennis Moore for change for a quarter. When Moore opened the register, McGraw produced a weapon and demanded the money. Different descriptions of the robbery say it was either $24, or $37. He then forced the two men into their car at gunpoint. Getting into the back seat, he told Mann to head south.

McGraw had the misfortune of choosing a target for his robbery that was equipped with a Police Transmission Radio Set. The State Patrol had strategically placed these in locations around the state. Dennis Moore immediately transmitted a call alerting Patrolmen Thigpen, and Sawyer in Georgiana of the robbery, and kidnapping. Calls went out to Mobile, and Pensacola, and a net was spread through southern Alabama.

McGraw was smart enough to keep away from the larger towns. He later was heard to say that he made Mann drive at speeds of 70 to 90 miles per hour. From the Greenville Advocate, March 30, 1939, “He had them leave U.S. 31 at McKensie, 6 miles south of the robbery site. At Red Level he left the McKensie-Andalusia highway and took a short cut over to the Andalusia-Brewton highway. At East Brewton he switched to the Brewton-Milton highway.”

By taking this route he was able to avoid officers watching the towns of Evergreen, Andalusia, and Brewton. The car ran out of gas about 8 miles north of Milton, near the Allentown community.

He made Mann, and Wilkinson get out of the car and began to tie them together, when according to McGraw when telling the story later, one of the men made a grab at the pistol. He shot him, and then shot the other one for trying to intervene in the struggle. It should be noted that both men were shot several times in the head, chest, and the back.

About a half of a mile away, farmer Turpen Wiggins, (the news paper articles use Williams, but no Turpen Williams can be found), heard what he thought was a series of automobile backfires around 3:30 am. Later around 8:30 he saw a vehicle parked about 200 yards off the road and walked over to investigate, where he found the two bodies tied together.

Who Was Harvey McGraw?

Harvey was the son of Elmer McGraw, a well-known resident of the Appleton community which lies north of Brewton. He was on parole from the Atmore prison after serving 6 months of a 1-to-5-year sentence for attempted burglary. He twice in one night tried to enter the home of W.F. Dantzler on the Appleton road, but was frightened away both times. He was convicted in October 1937. Harvey was known in the Brewton area, and had once worked in the Box Factory of the T.R. Miller Company.

The Victims

Clifford T. Mann was originally from Elmore County, Alabama, but moved to Montgomery to engage in the Real Estate business. About four years before his murder, he became associated with the Praetorian Life Insurance company. He later became the General Agent, and office manager for the district.

Charles Wilkinson was a native of Montgomery, and currently unemployed. Previously he was a traveling salesman. He was accompanying his friend on his business trip at the time of the abduction.

The Capture

A cab driver named Dick Carpenter, had a radio in his taxi. He heard a broadcast of the wanted murderer/kidnapper, and thought of a fare he had earlier driven from Milton to the L&N depot in Pensacola. He remembered the fare because the guy said he was going to catch a train heading east, which would have passed back through Milton. Carpenter alerted the police who contacted Sheriff Harrell in Chipley, Florida.

Sheriff Harrell boarded the train when it reached Chipley with a description of the wanted man. He approached McGraw and took him into custody. McGraw did make an attempt to use his pistol, but the Sheriff disarmed him and removed him from the train.

After the Arrest

McGraw immediately confessed to the kidnapping, and killing of Mann, and Wilkinson. Alabama could have tried him for armed robbery, which at the time, could have resulted in the death penalty. The Federal Government, also, could have tried him for kidnapping under the Lindbergh Law which could have resulted in a death sentence. Both Alabama, and the Feds were content to let Florida handle the trial, and punishment.

He quickly became known as a happy-go-lucky young man who liked to sing and play guitar. He had an abundance of talent and people would visit to listen to him perform. On May 3, a routine cell inspection found a pistol, fashioned from a bar of soap, was discovered. There was one humorous report that he tried to break out of jail and when he brandished his soap gun at a guard, the barrel fell off exposing his ruse. Sheriff Joe Allen denied that that had happened. He said it was found in the search.

At the end of May an arraignment was held with Circuit Judge L.L. Fabisinski and McGraw pled guilty to two counts of first-degree murder, throwing himself on the mercy of the court. The proceeding had to be delayed for a few hours because McGraw was under 21 so his father, Elmer, had to be retrieved from the Castleberry, Alabama area to attend the arraignment. His court-appointed attorney, Woodrow Melvin had a conference with the McGraw’s to give them options, but Harvey insisted on the guilty pleas. He was heard to say, “What’s the use? I’m going to burn anyway”.  The following day Judge Fabisinski sentenced McGraw to death.

Either, just before, or just after his court appearances, Harvey McGraw was baptized in Pond Creek on Highway 90, west of Milton. His grandfather, Sherman McGraw was a Holiness Minister, and had visited Harvey in jail. When the Judge was asked if he could be baptized, he said it was up to Sheriff Allen.  The Sheriff, at least two deputies, and about 30 Holiness preachers led by E.G. Holley, met a Pond Creek. Harvey wearing a white shirt, and dungarees, and handcuffed to Deputy Purvis Baxley, Sr., (whose son Purvis, Jr. years later was the first principal of King Middle School), stepped into the water and was baptized. “I feel saved now”, was all he had to say.

On June 17 it was reported in the Pensacola Journal that Harvey gave a statement through his attorney, Woodrow Melvin, for publication in the area newspapers.

“I wish to express my extreme regrets for the crimes I have committed, trusting that the public will realize that I KNOW what a terrible deed it was. I trust that folks who think that the only reason I am grateful is because I was caught and sentenced, will change their views on the matter. Everyone knows that I entered pleas of guilty at my trial in circuit court here last month, which proved that I wasn’t seeking to evade justice.”

Harvey McGraw

On September 4, 1939, approximately 6 months since he committed the crimes, Harvey McGraw was led to the execution chamber at Raiford prison. At 10:06 am, Sheriff Joe T. Allen “turned the rheostat” which sent the current through his body. McGraw made no final statement to the 38 witnesses but he did silently mouth the Lord’s Prayer while it was recited by Prison Chaplain, Rev. Leslie Sheppard.

McGraw’s father and uncle were at the prison but did not go to the death chamber. They were there to take his body back home for burial. The paper claimed he was going to be buried at the Center Grove cemetery, north of Brewton. Actually, his remains, along with other family members are located at the Zion Hill Baptist Church cemetery.

 

Clifford T. Mann left a widow. He married Eva Louise Glover in Montgomery on April 18, 1936. She also worked for the same Insurance Company, and they had no children.

Charles Wilkinson also left a widow, but no children. He married Mary Lou Hughes on Jun 21, 1938 in Montgomery.

The two friends who were just in the wrong place, at the wrong time are both buried in Section One at the Greenwood Cemetery in Montgomery.

Jaxon’s Service Station was a well-known establishment in southern Alabama. It was located on Highway 31, about one mile south of Georgiana. It was also a Greyhound Bus station, and had tourist cabins to rent by travelers.

 

Williams-or-Wiggins

I could not find through census records, or marriage and death records, anyone named Turpen Williams. I did find, however, a farmer in the Allentown census record of 1940, named Turpen Wiggins. Since Turpen is an uncommon name, and Wiggins could have been misunderstood as Williams, I believe Wiggins was the actual name.

1940 FL / Santa Rosa / 57-15 (Allentown)

Wiggins, Turpen   48 Alabama   Farmer

                Claudie 35 Alabama, wife

                Vernell 17 Florida, daughter

                Joseph T. 15 Florida, son

                Dewey    12 Florida, son

James Dewey Wiggins b. 7 Dec 1927

Joseph Turpen Wiggins b. 24 Feb 1926

Dora Vernell Wiggins b. 15 Oct 1924, md Rassie Thrash (1911-2006) 19 Sept 1942 in SRC.

From The Milton Gazette, 23 March 1939

Pensacola Journal 18 March 1939

Burden of Guilt

 

The Crime

            At 2 am on 1951’s Easter Sunday, a truck driver from Chickasaw, Alabama named J.W. Kitchens, stopped to refuel at Joe Guidry’s Standard Oil Service station, at the intersection of Hwy 98, and State road 85, near the Indian Mound in downtown Ft. Walton Beach. Upon entering the station, he found the body of the attendant, Romeo A. Beaudry, a crippled ex-pilot who was working there on his scheduled night off.

            Kitchens spread the alarm, and soon was joined by night-policeman Buck Burnham, and Constable Oscar Bengtson. The victim had been shot 4 times, twice near the heart, once in the throat, and once above the left eye. There was no evidence of a robbery. The next morning Paul, and Arthur Bond, children of the Spanish Villa operator, discovered a .32 caliber pistol hidden beneath a piece of tin, on the Indian mound, and turned it over to the police.

 

The Victim

            Romeo Albert Beaudry was almost 50 years old the night he died. He lived in the Santa Rosa Community about 15 miles east of Ft. Walton Beach. His background is not well documented. He was born in Baltimore, Maryland 30 March 1901. He was in the U.S. Army as a Private in the 38^th Infantry from Nov. 1923 to April 1927. His WW2 draft registration shows him living in Washington Co, Mississippi in Feb. 1942. He had worked for a time at Nowak Radio and Appliance Service in Warrington, Escambia Co., Florida off and on for a few years, and had left there in mid-February, shortly before beginning his job at the Standard Oil Station at the highway 90 intersection in downtown Ft. Walton Beach.

            On early Easter morning when he was killed, he was wearing a red jockey hat with Army Air Corp wings. It is unclear when he would have earned them unless it was during his time in the Mississippi National Guard. In WW2 he was in Norfolk, Virginia as a radioman working in a shipyard. A couple of nights before he was killed, he talked to a local reporter, Jane McCreary, of the Playground News. He told her he had been injured in a crash during his service. “There’s hardly a part of me that hasn’t been patched up”. Injuries kept him in hospitals for years, and got him a disability pension from the government. He told the reporter that he had lived in Jackson, Miss., where he met and married his wife and operated a radio shop. He was a member of the Miss. National Guard, and had piloted a crop duster, spraying cotton fields for the boll weevil. He was an honorary game warden and an insomniac who sometimes wandered the streets at night. He spoke fluent French, and also drove an ambulance for the McLaughlin Funeral Home in Ft. Walton Beach.  He told the reporter, “Civilization is nothing but refined barbarism”.

                                                    

 

 

The Investigation

            There were no obvious clues left at the scene. Beaudry wore braces on his legs that had to be adjusted before he could stand. Since there seemed to be no attempt to stand, and a partially eaten sandwich on the desk, it was then assumed that the murder was committed by someone known to the victim. The gun found by the Bond children was traced to a shop in Pensacola. It had been purchased on 13 February, but there was no record of the buyer. Beaudry had started working at the station around that same time, and Constable Bengtson learned that Beaudry’s wife Cora, had taken out an insurance policy on the 2^nd of February. By April 1, a reward of $1200 had not been claimed, and “all leads were exhausted”. Then in walks 19-year-old William Whoolery.

           On July 31, 1951, Constable Bengtson announced the arrests of William Dickson Connerly, a Pensacola radio repairman on a murder charge. Also arrested was the victim’s wife Cora Beaudry as an accessory. Also held was a 19-year-old Destin fisherman named William Homer Woolery.

            Constable Bengtson said that on Sunday, July 29, William Whoolery came into his office and claimed that he knew who killed Beaudry, because the victim’s widow had told him. Bengtson then began using Whoolery as an undercover investigator because he lived near the Beaudry home. The 19-year-old claimed that Mrs. Beaudry had tried to kill herself, by taking pills, and while being driven to the White Clinic in Ft. Walton Beach, tried to jump out of the moving vehicle. Dr. White, at the clinic later told Bengtson that he thought Mrs. Beaudry had swallowed about 20 aspirin tablets, and about 8 phenobarbital pills. He said when she was brought into his clinic she was in a, “highly nervous, and excited condition.” When asked if he could tell if she had ingested phenobarbital, the Doctor said, “I don’t think it was anything else.”

            Whoolery claimed that while at the clinic, Mrs. Beaudry told his parents to “Go get Willie”, because she wanted to tell him who did it.

 

            Bond was set at $5000 for Connerly, and $2500 for Mrs. Beaudry. Whoolery requested to remain in jail for the time being.  From his cell, Connerly, a Pensacola Naval Air Station Radio Mechanic, and former vocational school instructor said, “It was the greatest shock of my life when ‘Lou’ Beaudry was killed”, then a greater shock when he was arrested. “I’m charged with the murder of my best friend.”  Connerly said he and Beaudry met in Jackson, Mississippi in February of 1942 when both were members of the state guard.  When the two families moved to the Panhandle, they remained in touch. “I can prove I was attending a wake, and a funeral the night Lou was killed”.

            In her cell, Mrs. Beaudry said she did not believe Connerly killed her husband. She also denied attempting suicide. “I’ve got two children; I’m not going to do anything that will bring shame to them”.  She said she asked the Whoolery’s to take her to the hospital when she had a gall-bladder attack, and had taken 4 to 5 aspirin. She also said she had discussed her husband’s death with Whoolery, and had mentioned Connerly, but had never accused him of the murder.

            On the 3^rd of August, the Pensacola Journal reported that Connerly had been released from jail on a writ of habeas corpus filed his Pensacola attorney, Richard Merritt. The finding was that there was insufficient evidence. In the same hearing, Mrs. Beaudry was to remain in jail due to testimony from Whoolery, and his mother, who both said they had heard her say she knew who did it. The charges against Connerly were dropped.

            Mrs. Cora Beaudry was released 30 August when an Okaloosa Grand Jury refused to indict her. She eventually remarried and passed away in 2001 while living on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska.

            There was another man detained by Constable Bengtson named William Floyd Carnley. He was questioned for a few hours, and released. This was done without a warrant. Of course, his name was later listed in the local newspapers as a suspect in the killing. In 1952, two $50,000 lawsuits for malicious prosecution, and false arrest were brought against Bengtson, by both Connerly, and Carnley. Both suits were thrown out in July.

 

Mr. X confesses to a Cold Case

 

            On March 7, 1963, a married construction worker with three children living in Johnstown, NY confessed to his priest about killing a crippled man during a botched service station robbery in Ft. Walton Beach, Florida early on Easter morning back in 1951. Easter was approaching and the christening of his 8-month-old child was to be held Sunday. The priest talked him into going to a local attorney, Mario Albanese. The attorney called Ft. Walton Police Chief Ralph Hendrix and said a client had told him he knew something about the Beaudry case.  His confession was due to a heavy burden of guilt with the possibility that some innocent person had been punished for the crime.

            Reporters from the Pensacola Journal, learned of the confession and the man’s name, and location. They called Attorney Albanese, and he confirmed the name of his client. The reporter then called his client and he was more than willing to tell the Journal his story. He claimed he and a companion were involved in the killing, and he had let the authorities know the name of his accomplice. He also said that he could not remember exactly if he had pulled the trigger. He claimed they had been drinking at The Spanish Villa shortly before they decided to rob the gas station.

            The Journal referred to the man as “Mr. X”, because he hadn’t been arrested, or charged at the time they talked to him.  Mr. X revealed that at the time of the murder, he, and his companion were Air Policemen at Eglin, AFB in Ft. Walton.  After the killing, they went AWOL and were both arrested for robbery in Maryland. He served one year of a three-year sentence and stayed out of trouble, getting married and having three children before his confession.

            In the Saturday issue of the Pensacola Journal, Mr. X was revealed to be Anthony F. Glionna, of Johnstown, New York. He was being detained in New York. Sheriff Ray Wilson, and State Attorney William Frye were in Baltimore to arrest Glionna’s alleged accomplice.

            There were extradition hearings in both New York, and Baltimore for the two suspects, and on April 5, 1963, it was reported that Deputy Reubin Hendrix departed for Johnstown, NY to return Glionna to Crestview for trial. A hearing to return Glionna’s alleged accomplice, Walter Richard Allen was scheduled, but Allen waived extradition and was transported to Okaloosa County. Glionna’s extradition papers were signed by New York Governor Rockefeller and he was turned over to Okaloosa Deputy Driscoll Oglesby on April 5. They both arrived at the Okaloosa County Jail within hours of each other. On 10 April they were both arraigned and entered pleas of innocence.

            On May 3, an Okaloosa Grand Jury returned a true bill indicting Anthony Glionna with First Degree murder in the death of Romeo Beaudry. Since April 29, Glionna had been at the State Mental Hospital in Chattahoochee when court-appointed psychiatrists found that he was not capable of assisting with his defense. Walter Richard Allen had been granted immunity by State Attorney Bill Frye, and was to be used as a prosecution witness.

 

Walter Richard Allen’s Story

 

            Allen sat for a two-hour interview after his testimony at the Grand Jury proceedings. This is from the Pensacola New-Journal, Sunday, May 5, 1963.

            “Glionna and I were both stationed in the Air Police Squadron at Eglin Field. We were the best of friends, where one went the other went. We just seemed to be compatible, and in fact, he was the only person with whom I had ever been close until that point in my life.

            “Glionna was a three-striper at the time and I was a one-striper. I had been at the base for about a year and Glionna had been there for two years. On the night of the slaying, we did not go into town together, although I’m not now sure of the reason. It could have been one of us had a date, or one had late duty or some other reason. We first met that night in town, and this is not hard to do in Fort Walton Beach in 1951 because the entire community was centered in just four blocks along Main Street.

            “At first sight it was apparent that Tony was different than I had seen him before, because he showed me a pistol and said he intended to do away with the town constable, (The late Oscar Bengtson), with whom he had been involved in an altercation much earlier. He was heading toward the constable’s office on Main Street and I talked long and hard and pulled at him to keep away from completing his mission. We walked on past after a delay in front of the office and continued the argument about doing away with the constable and then we entered the Hi Hat where we ordered a drink.

            “Tony produced the gun below the level of the bar and threatened to kill the owner and his wife and I quickly pushed him toward the door. I didn’t feel that I was in danger myself because throughout the arguments he acted as though he needed me. We started the argument again about his intention of killing someone and after we passed the Spanish Villa, I finally left him and returned either to the bar or café portion of the Spanish Villa. I was tired of arguing and told him he was on his own.

            “It was only a short time later, maybe 10, or at most 15 minutes, when he came in and said he had shot the service station attendant and threw the gun away. He told me that I was in it with him and asked what we should do. The only thing I could think was to get back to the base. We hailed a taxi and made the trip to the base in complete silence and that was the last time that we ever talked of the murder until we met again in the Crestview jail. It seemed to build a barrier between us, and at the same time it caused a kinship to develop that I couldn’t seem to shake.

            “We both remained at Eglin for a period of five months and contrary to some reports, I did not go AWOL, (Absent, without Leave), from Eglin. I worked for a transfer and finally got shipping orders to the west coast and Tony decided that we should not be separated and he decided to go AWOL and returned to Baltimore with me on my delay leave. We ran out of money on the way and decided to hold up a grocery store, along with another boy that had joined us. We pulled the job and got caught and after being sentenced and while in jail I was declared AWOL.

            “After we finished our time on that sentence and were paroled, I remained in Baltimore and Tony went back to his home in New York. I saw him only one time before being returned to Crestview and that was about a year after we were released from the Maryland reformatory. He came to Baltimore and suggested that I should join him on a trip to Miami. We spent several weeks in Miami and in New Orleans and at the result of breaking our parole. I felt that someday Tony would tell about it but all those years I just kept trying to disappear.

            “When I learned of Glionna’s statement implicating me, I felt he had done it to prove a reason for the slaying, but after talking with friends in Baltimore I decided to turn myself in and face the consequences, although with my record I felt it was five-to-one against me. After I stood in the Baltimore Police Station for a few minutes, I walked on out another door without talking to anyone. Then I decided to return and went straight to a telephone and called my friend before asking for Sgt. Callahan of the fugitive squad. Callahan had been the officer that visited my friends and I’ll have to admit that he played fair with me and kept me posted on the case. In fact, it was his information about Glionna being extradited that led me to agree to waive extradition and head for Okaloosa County to have the thing over with.

            “I saw Tony soon after I arrived in Crestview, and although we exchanged greetings and shook hands in the lobby of the jail we didn’t really talk. It was one of those things like, ‘Hi, Al, how are you?’ ‘I’m fine and you, Tony?’ Even after they moved Tony into a cell by himself, a cell next to the one in which I was being held we still didn’t really talk except for Tony asking for cigarettes.

 

            “It’s hard to explain what I felt I would find when I was brought back here, but it was pretty rough territory when I left and there didn’t seem to be much possibility that it had changed. Since we’ve been in Crestview, I’ve spotted several people that I’d known while stationed at Eglin. It seems that a great many of them are either still here or have retired or settled in the Eglin area.”

            Allen became a trusty during his time in the Okaloosa County jail after being granted immunity by Judge Charles A. Wade on a petition filed by State Attorney William Frye. The state wanted to use him in Glionna’s prosecution.

            Allen soon was released with the promise to return when, and if, Glionna stood trial. In the Sacramento Bee on Feb 15, 1964, there is a report of Walter Richard Allen charged with the burglary of the West Sacramento Post Office on November 27. Charged with theft of government property, and bail was set at $5000. I haven’t been able so far to find any further information about Allen.

 

Glionna

            Over the next few years Anthony Glionna was returned to Okaloosa County periodically for examination to determine if he was mentally able to stand trial for the Beaudry murder. In 1966 during one of his examination periods, Glionna went on a hunger strike in the Okaloosa County jail. Sheriff Wilson returned him to Chattahoochee.

            In February 1974, the murder charges were dropped. Glionna had been committed to the State Mental Hospital in Chattahoochee since 1963 when it was determined that he exhibited Schizophrenic, and psychotic behavior. While dropping the charges Assistant State Attorney Walter Anderson notified the court that the chain of evidence was “hopelessly broken”. He cited the deaths of material witnesses, including some investigators, and the fact that Glionna did not have council before he confessed and the possibility that he may have been insane at the time.

            Anthony lived until 26 March 1998 when he passed away in Camillus, Onondaga County, New York.

 

            An interesting sidebar to this case is the State Attorney William Frye. When the original crime was committed in 1951, he was a member of the same Air Police unit that Glionna, and Allen were members of. In 1963 he was the State Attorney who traveled to New York to investigate the claims of guilt made by Glionna, and would have prosecuted him if he went to trial. In 1972, Frye was the District Circuit Judge where Glionna was released.