HARRELL, Elmas Wilson, St. Helena Parish, Louisiana
File prepared by D.N. Pardue and submitted by Inez Bridges Tate.
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Submitted to the LAGenWeb Archives
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From "St. Helena Vets Remember World War II: Personal Interviews
With World War II Vets", published by St. Helena Historical
Association, 1995.  Compiled and edited by Inez Bridges Tate and
reprinted with permission.

     Elmas Wilson Harrell (Wilson) was born and grew up in the
Red Bluff Community.  He attended Oakland School.  Wilson worked
on his parents' farm and worked in Baton Rouge for Park View
Dairy for a year.

     He was drafted on January 7, 1942 and left Greensburg with 
several guys on a bus as the war effort was beginning to build.
Sworn in at Camp Claiborne, near Alexandria, La., he reported to
Camp Wheeler near Macon, Ga. for basic training.  At the end of
this training, Wilson was sent to Indian Gap, Pa. where he was
assigned to Co L 148th Inf., 37th Inf. Division.  Traveling
across the United States, they embarked for the South Pacific,
to the Fiji Islands where they had a little additional training.

     Next assignment was on Guadalcanal where he saw his first
action.  The Marines landed first on Guadalcanal, then Wilson's
Infantry Division followed.  When Guadalcanal was secured, his
Division went on to New Georgia which is part of the Solomon
Islands.  Wilson sustained a head wound and was transported to
a Naval Hospital on a nearby island for treatment.  Through a 
foul up, he was pronounced dead in the hospital and his mother
was notified he had died.  He remained at the hospital about a
month.  He was "patched up" and rejoined his outfit on New
Georgia.  He was awarded a bronze star and a purple heart for
his part in the invasion of this island.

     From New Georgia, they went to Bougainville where Wilson
was wounded in his leg.  Fortunately, it was a flesh wound,
going through his leg but missed the bones.  For this he was
awarded a seconded purple heart.  They stayed on Bougainville
a good while where the Division was refitted and drew replace-
ments as many were lost on earlier action.

     Wilson's Division made the initial landing on Luzon,
Manila, the Philippines.  He said that he walked across the
island as part of the force that took the island.  He was
awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in the Philippines.  He
was on the front line in the Philippines when the war ended.
Altogether, he was overseas 42 months.

     Returning to the United States, Wilson was discharged at
Camp Fannin, Tx. in October, 1945.

     Since returning to St. Helena, he has worked construction
work.  He and Miss Dorothy Cockerham were married June 28, 1959,
and have one daughter, one grandchild and one great grandchild.

     Wilson retired in 1981 and now stays busy maintaining his
yard and growing vegetables in his garden.  Their home is
located in the Red Bluff Community.  His medals from the War
have been carefully placed in a shadow box and are proudly dis-
played on their living room wall.  Next to the medals are framed
certificates attesting to the receipt of the purple hearts and
bronze star.  His house burned several years ago and he has
been able to have the medals replaced.  In the ashes of the
house, they found his dog tags.  These are a part of the dis-
play.  Wilson, on reflecting on his service during World War II,
said that few can understand what actually took place, the day
to day combat and the real horrors of war they saw.

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