Obituary of Vernie Nelson, Clay Co, AR *********************************************************** Submitted by: Melissa Haley Date: 21 Sep 1999 Copyright. All rights reserved http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm *********************************************************** From unknown newspaper, unknown date (must be from sometime around 4/15/1911, either Piggott paper or Rector) Vernie NELSON, son of Mr. and Mrs. T.H. NELSON, was born April 15, 1911 in Clay County, Arkansas. Departed this life at Flagstaff, Arizona, on March 4, 1945. He was converted in 1929 and joined the Purcell General Baptist Church. He enlisted in the Navy, in the service of his country, January 25, 1942, soon after Pearl Harbor. He wore stars indicating 8 major battles, 5 silver starts and 3 gold ones. He saw action in the Aleutian Islands, and a great deal of action in the South Pacific. Before his furlough in October he had been in 13 different battles and since that time he was in the invasion of the Philippine Islands. On Christmas day he was near Luzon. On December 18, 1944, after the battle in the Philippines, he was in a convoy at sea which was in a big storm. There were 8 ships in the convoy of which only 3 came through the storm. Nelson was Second Class Watertender on the Destroyer USS Dewey. At the time of his death he was enroute to Philadelphia, PA, for advanced schooling. He left San Diego, Calif., Saturday, March 3, and died aboard train near Flagstaff, Arizona, sunday, March 4. The oly information we have is that he fell forward out of his seat, evidently with a heart attack. He leaves to mourn his passing his daughter, Miss Belva Lafay NELSON; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. T. H. NELSON; five brothers, Murry, Henry, Connie and T.J., all of Rector, and Chief Commissary Steward Avery NELSON of the Coast Guard, who is stationed at New Orleans, LA; four sisters, Mrs. L. A. WALKER and Mrs. Marvin FISK of Detroit, Mich., Mrs. W.N. HOLIFIELD of St. Louis, MO, and Mrs. Bob PHILLIPS of Rector Route One. Storekeeper Second Class Gordon MARTIN of the U.S. Navy, of Flagstaff, Arizona, was naval escort for the body. Funeral services were held Saturday afternoon, March 10, at the Irby Funeral Chapel, conducted by Chaplain C.E. THOMPSON of Malden Army Air Base and Rev. Martin BIERBAUM, pastor of the First Methodist Church of Rector. Flower girls were Joyce June YANCEY, Carolyn FUTRELL, Jo Ann MCCORD, Mary Ellen MCCLUNEY, Nell WHITAKER, and Earline EATON. Interment was in the woodland Heights Cemetery, with Chaplain Thompson and 17 solders from Malden Army Air Base conducting military ceremonies at the grave. Irby Funeral Service in charge.