Glynn County GaArchives Obituaries.....King, Edward P. Jr. August 31, 1958
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Amy Hedrick http://www.genrecords.net/emailregistry/vols/00013.html#0003209 November 4, 2005, 6:29 pm

1 September 1958; The Brunswick News; pg. 12 cols. 1&2

Gen. King Dies at 74; Funeral To Be Tomorrow

        Major General Edward P. King, Jr., died at the Brunswick hospital at 
10:45 o'clock last night after having suffered a heart attack at his home on 
St. Simons Island the previous night.  He had observed his 74th birthday on 
July 4.
        Survivor of 41 months in a Japanese prison camp during World War II, 
Gen. King, a native of Atlanta, retired to Sea Island in 1947.  His late aunt, 
Mrs. Louisa Young, was a St. Simons resident.
        He was in command of U.S. troops on Bataan in the Philippines at the 
time of the surrender to the Japanese in 1942.  He had been promoted to the 
rank of major general a few weeks after the Japanese attacked at Pearl Harbor 
in December 1941.
        The official Defense Department history of World War II said of him:
        "Soft-spoken, modest, innately courteous to all ranks, King had 
achieved a reputation as an extremely able soldier of high intellectual 
calibre.
        "His assignment to command the Luzon force, while a recognition of his 
ability and reputation, was destined to end tragically.  On him fell the 
terrible responsibility of making a hard decision, less than three weeks 
later, to surrender his starved and defeated troops to the enemy."
        His strength regained after freed from the Japanese camp, Gen. King in 
his period of residence here became a leader in civilian affairs.  In demand 
as a speaker, he developed great popularity from his kindly demeanor and 
accepted a number of important posts.  Organizations which enlisted his 
participation learned their projects were virtually assured of success by his 
presence.
        Gen. King received a law degree from the University of Georgia.  He 
served in the Georgia National Guard until commissioned an artillery second 
lieutenant in the regular Army in 1906.
        He served in the Philippines in World War I, rose steadily in rank, 
attended and later taught at the Army's Command and General Staff School, and 
was an authority on artillery when assigned to the Philippines in 1941 to help 
train the Philippine Army.
        He was chief of artillery for Gen. Douglas MacArthur.  When MacArthur 
and Army commander Gen. Jonathan Wainwright moved to the island fortress of 
Corregidor after the Japanese invaded Luzon, Gen. King was placed in command 
of the forces remaining at Bataan.
        Funeral services are to be held tomorrow at Christ Church, Frederica, 
conducted by the Rev. Junius Martin, rector.  Burial will take place at St. 
John's-in-the-Wilderness Cemetery, Flat Rock, N.C., near his summer home, 
Saluda.
        The simple island services will be at 11 a.m.  No military guard is 
planned.  Immediately afterwards the procession will leave for Flat Rock.
        Pallbearers will be Albert Fendig, Alfred W. Jones, E.R. Sherman, Dr. 
Ira G. Towson, Lucian Whittle, T.M. Baumgardner, J.D. Compton, and W.H. Backus.
        Gen. King's first wife died in 1954.  He was married in 1956 to Mrs. 
Pauline King Beutell of St. Simons, who survives him.  His only other survivor 
is a sister, Miss Mary King, Savannah.
        After taking up residence here, Gen. King became active in the 
Brunswick Rotary Club and the Glynn County Chapter of the Red Cross.  He 
accepted leadership of fund campaigns for the Red Cross after a period of 
years when drives had failed to reach goals.  Under his command the drives 
regularly surpassed quotas.  The chapter has been renamed in honor of him.
        Gen. King was a member of Christ Church and was serving as senior 
warden at the time of his death.

Additional Comments:

More Glynn County Genealogy & History can be found at www.glynngen.com or the 
sister site at www.rootsweb.com/~gaglynn/

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