Ex-Greenwood mayor ‘dodged a big bullet’
during his service

May 5, 2005

By MEGAN VARNER
Index-Journal staff writer

After a rough landing in his C-47 during World War II, Greenwood resident and former Mayor John Nave, an Army Air Corps veteran of the Pacific Theatre, thought he was going to be reprimanded for the accident that left his plane damaged.
But when he reported to his squadron commander to discuss his punishment, he instead received a promotion. Nave was selected to be the pilot for a three-star Army general.
Nave, now 83, was born in Mountain City, Tenn., a rural town in the northeastern part of the state.
After he graduated from high school in 1940, Nave enrolled at East Tennessee State College – now University – which was known as a teachers college at the time. Nave said he wanted to enter the education field, and, after two years at the college, he transferred to the University of Tennessee.
One summer between semesters at school, Nave said he was declared 1-A in the military draft.
“It meant I was mentally and physically qualified to serve. In the summer of 1942, I received my letter that told me I would be notified where and when I would be inducted,” he said. “Being from the Volunteer State, all of my brothers and I volunteered. I hitchhiked (200 miles) from Mountain City to Knoxville.”
There, Nave took the aviation cadet exam to enter the U.S. Army Air Corps.
“I made the decision that I wanted to be in a service (branch) where I could use my education to the maximum degree. I also didn’t think that at 120 pounds I would be a very physical combat person,” he said, laughing. “I really had it in the back of my mind that there was a good chance that I might not be coming back. I felt that if I had to get killed, I’d rather get it over with quickly than be involved in a drawn-out situation. I had never flown before – I’d never even been close to an airplane – but it sounded like a good situation.”
After the exams, Nave was placed on an Air Corps reserve list. He was called into active duty in April 1943.
His first stop was basic training in Biloxi, Miss., followed by several weeks in college training in Tennessee, where he studied geography, physics, military history and other topics.
Nave soon found himself at a classification center in Nashville, Tenn., where, after strenuous rounds of psychological and physical testing, he was identified as a candidate for pilot school.
In the fall of 1943, Nave entered pre-flight school for the first stage of pilot training. At primary flight school in Arkansas, Nave said he saw first-hand how seriously honor and integrity were taken in the Air Corps.
“One night, they drummed out a cadet that was caught cheating, and they called the whole unit out at 2 o’clock in the morning. You had to dress in Class-A uniform, not speak to anyone, and fall out into formation,” he said.
“They announced that this person had been drummed out of the cadet corps, and that his name was never to be mentioned again. That was impressive to me.”
In Greenwood, Miss., Nave clocked about 60 hours of flying time for basic training, and because of his height and weight, he was told he would have to be a fighter pilot.
“I had not had any acrobatic flying to speak of, so I was concerned that if I went into a single engine (fighter) plane that I would wash out because of that lack of training,” he said.
But thanks to good fortune, Nave did not have to become a fighter pilot. Instead, he was placed in a larger twin-engine plane, and, after advanced training in Illinois, he finished up his pilot courses in the spring of 1944.
Nave was issued a footlocker full of winter clothing and was ordered to report to Camp Stoneman, Calif., where he boarded a converted banana boat with 1,100 enlisted men.
“They just sent us out across the Pacific. We wondered where we could be going with winter clothing across the equator,” he said. “The worst thing about something like that is that you don’t know where you’re going or why you’re going, and you’re out there in the middle of the ocean without any protection.”
During the 32-day trip, the men found creative and humorous ways to pass the time.
“After we crossed the equator, we had to be initiated into King Neptune’s Royal Order of the Briny Deep,” he said, laughing. “One of the things I had to do was to stand on the bow of the ship with a roll of toilet paper to welcome King Neptune in case he came aboard. He never did show up.”
The men wound up in Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea, in August, and were assigned as replacement soldiers with the 317th Troop Carrier Group of the 40th Squadron.
While on the island, Nave’s duties included censoring outgoing troop mail and piloting a twin-engine C-47, transporting paratroopers, supplies and weapons to soldiers on the ground. One of the most emotionally draining parts of his job as pilot was evacuating injured troops – and those who had “flipped their lids” from the mental stresses of the war – from the front lines.
“Those were the kinds of sad situations that you saw,” he said. “You tried not to think about (the men you were transporting) – you were just doing your job. To keep from becoming one of them, you had to just isolate yourself from it. For some people, it was a lot of stress, but it never seemed to really bother me.”
In January 1945, Nave and the men moved to Clark Field on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. To his surprise, and with only about 40 hours of total pilot time, Nave was made a first pilot, meaning he would be flying planes on his own.
When the men were on the ground, Nave said he and his tent mates – four men from Pennsylvania – used the extra time to remodel their small hut. Using rainwater from the tent’s gutter and a basin from a C-47, the troops were able to fashion a working sink in the corner of the tent, making them the “envy of the group,” he said, laughing. In the air, life was a little more dangerous. On one mission, Nave and his co-pilot were instructed to take off in a C-47 loaded with cargo and troops to be dropped on Luzon.
Because there was no way to weigh the plane, Nave said he judged the cargo weight by checking how close the fuselage sat to the tail wheel of the plane. If the two were too close, it meant the plane was too heavy, and may not be able to fly if it lost an engine during flight.
“I looked at that plane and told them that it was too heavy,” he said, but his warnings were unheeded. “I went over and rode on (another plane). That airplane took off and we never found it. That was the one I was supposed to be on. I dodged a big bullet on that particular situation.”
During a mission to load and drop supplies behind Japanese lines, Nave said a collision with an enemy jeep upon landing tore a hole in his plane. Using adhesive tape to cover the jagged wound, he was able to safely pilot the plane back to his base. Nave said he was reprimanded for the incident, but while he was visiting the squadron commander to protest his punishment, the commander’s telephone rang.
It was a call that would change his military career.
“The squadron commander looked at me and said ‘Would you like to go fly for a general?’” Nave said. “I said that I’d give it a go. I didn’t know what it was, but it sounded like a step in the right direction.”
He was transferred to the Far Eastern Air Force at a base in Manila. There, at the age of only 23, he became a pilot for Maj. Gen. O.W. Griswold, a three-star general and commander of the XIV Corps of the 8th Army.
“He was loved by everybody I knew,” he said of the general. “He never called me by my rank (of lieutenant). He always called me ‘Skipper.’”
After the war ended, Nave and his unit moved into Japan, where he was stationed until he returned home. He was discharged from service in January 1946.
After graduating from college, Nave returned to active duty for seven years, and during that time, he attended graduate school in North Carolina. He moved to Greenwood in 1956, where he flew a passenger plane for Abney Mills for 23 years, and eventually became mayor from 1967-71, and again from 1986-94.
“I have had an interesting military career. To me, World War II changed my whole life in that I learned a profession that I had not anticipated learning,” Nave said. “My experience was basically a controlled adventure.”

EHS strikes quick

Lady Vikes score early, often and beat Gilbert

May 5, 2005

By RON COX
Index-Journal sports writer

It took the Emerald High School girls soccer team slightly more than 13 minutes to pick up their first goal Wednesday night against Gilbert.
But the Lady Vikings scored three goals over the next 13 minutes en route to an 8-2 win over the Lady Indians in the second round of the Class AA/A playoffs.
“We came off of five good days of practice and we knew what was expected, but I think we may have been a little bit too excited to start out because it’s playoff time,” Emerald assistant coach Gary Winchester said.
“I think we needed that first goal to settle us down a bit. From that point on, we played little bits and pieces of some great soccer.”
That first goal came in the 13th minute when junior forward Kasie Sears took a centering pass from sister Kayla, and then kicked it out to Erika Bishop, who blasted the ball past Gilbert keeper Katie Lambries.
“It was a big relief,” said Kasie Sears, about getting the first goal.
Less than a minute after that score, Sears picked up the first of her three goals, with a header off an Alex Bishop corner kick, putting Emerald up 2-0.
This was the Emerald’s third win over Gilbert this season, with the previous two coming by a combined score of 20-0.
With the win, the Lady Vikings (16-3) help the team advance to Friday’s Class AA Upper State semifinal game where they will travel to Woodruff. The Lady Wolverines knocked off Ninety Six, 5-1, Wednesday.
Emerald and Woodruff split their two games this season, with the home team winning each time.
“We know how they’re going to set out and we know what to expect from them,” Winchester said.
“We know we match up well with (Woodruff). We’re going to work hard at practice tomorrow, and we’ll just see what happens.”
Emerald freshman Corinne Burdette gave the Lady Vikings all the scoring they would eventually need in the 26th minute.
Midfielder Lacy Hastings, who just minutes earlier took off her knee brace and threw it to the sidelines, lofted a high centering pass from the right corner. Burdette found the pass and headed the ball past Lambries.
On the play, the Gilbert keeper slammed into the left post, injuring her leg.
Lambries, who finished with eight saves, lasted five more minutes before being pulled for Elizabeth Killen.
Sears picked up her second goal in the 36th minute. The junior forward stepped in front of a goal kick and drove in to the penalty box, but she was taken down before taking a shot, earning her a penalty kick.
Sears drilled the PK past Killen to give Emerald a 4-0 at the half.
“I was pleased with what I did out there today,” Sears said. “I could have done a couple of things better, but overall I’m happy.”
The Lady Vikings struck quickly in the second half, scoring a pair of goals within the first 10 minutes.
Erika Bishop opened the scoring by driving in from near midfield and blasting a 15-yard shot into the right corner of the net.
Three minutes later, Hastings knocked in a rebound from the top of the penalty box for a 6-0 lead.
The Sears sisters each added a goal to finish out Emerald’s scoring. Kasie’s 42nd goal of the season came in the 59th minute and Kayla’s less than 60 seconds later.
Emerald coach Paul Dodd pulled all of his starters but two (Patterson and Burdette) with 15 minutes remaining.
The Lady Wolverines managed a pair of goals against the Lady Vikings’ second team.

Opinion

Joy commands spotlight as soldiers return home

May 5, 2005

There were a lot of hugs, smiles and indeed tears of happiness Tuesday when soldiers of Companies A and D of the 111the Signal Battalion came home to Abbeville and Hodges from a year in Iraq.
Families and friends greeted them at Abbeville High School’s Hite Statium with joy the order of the day. The interruption of their normal daily lives was over. They were home.
Signs of welcome and thanks for a job well done told them how much their dedication and sacrifices were appreciated. Perhaps the most poignant expressions of the day, though, were the yellow ribbons of welcome seen around town, a symbol made famous more than three decades ago by the song, “Tie a Yellow Ribbon ‘round the Old Oak Tree,” as recorded by Tony Orlando and Dawn.

AS VETERANS WHO RETURNED home from World War II, Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War remember, life will be different, if for no other reason than the geography has changed. Most of all, though, conditions have changed and they won’t have to worry about a car bomb or some fanatic threatening their lives.
We all owe them and, hopefully, each of us will do our best to make homecoming the positive event it is supposed to be, now and for months to come.
There is one other thing we can do, though. We can pray that they and their families will have little difficulty adjusting to life back home, out of the line of fire ….. and help them in any way we can. For what they have given us, that’s the least we can do.

Editorial expression in this feature represents our own views.
Opinions are limited to this page.

Obituaries

Minnie Baker

WINNSBORO – Funeral services for Minnie Lee Marthers Baker, 88, will be held at 2:00 p.m. Friday, May 6, 2005, at the Winnsboro Church of God, conducted by The Reverend Wesley Baker, Bishop Darrell Croft, Bishop Martin Baker, and Bishop D. L. Sellers. Burial will follow at Oaklawn Cemetery. Visitation will be held at Pope Funeral Home on Thursday, May 5, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. Memorials may be made to the Winnsboro Church of God or to a charity of one’s choice.
Mrs. Baker, widow of the late Leroy Baker, died on Tuesday,May 3, 2005. Born in Fairfield County June 21, 1916, she was the daughter of the late Jack and Maggie Marthers Howell and reared by the late John Wesley and Minnie Dove Marthers. She was a long time member of the Winnsboro Church of God where she taught Sunday School for 27 years.
She is survived by four sons, Charles Lindsay Baker of Abbeville, Lt. Col. Franklin D. Baker of Washington, DC, Harold Douglas Baker of Goose Creek, and The Reverend Wesley L. Baker of Winnsboro, and five daughters, Carolyn Jacobs of Winnsboro, Louise Rambo of Laurens, Mary Croft of Lexington, Juanita Powell of Florence, and Rachel Hogue of Ballground, Georgia; 16 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.
Pope Funeral Home is assisting the Baker family.
PAID OBITUARY

Richard E. Brown

ABBEVILLE — Richard E. Brown, 74, of 1350 Klugh Road, died at his home.
Services will be announced by Harris Funeral Home, Abbeville.

Thelma Fleming

GREER — Thelma Fleming, 84, of 101 Chandler Road, formerly of 349 Joe Lewis Boulevard, Greenwood, widow of Sylvester Fleming, died Tuesday, May 3, 2005.
Born in Saluda County, she was a daughter of the late William Butler and Annie Culbreath Butler. She was a member of Antioch Baptist Church in Saluda and the Women’s Aid Society No. 98.
Survivors include a sister, Rosetta Palmore of Atlanta; a granddaughter of the home, Sandra Wright of Greer; five grandchildren; 11 great-grandchildren; and 5 great-great grandchildren.
Services are at 1 Saturday at Robinson & Son Mortuary Chapel, conducted by the Revs. John A. Duncan and Betty A. Duncan.
Honorary escorts are Women’s Aid Society No. 98.
Visitation is from 9-12:45 Saturday at Robinson & Son Mortuary.
The family is at the home.
Robinson & Son Mortuary Inc. is in charge.

Bill Gold

Willis North “Bill” Gold, 57, of 103 Attaway Way, died Thursday, April 28, 2005 at his home.
Born in Hennepin County, Minn., he was a son of the late Minor Bidwell and Helen North Gold. He was a graduate of Ripon College in Ripon, Wis., where he received a bachelor’s degree in economics. He was employed as a sales associate by America’s Homes in Greenwood.
Survivors include a daughter, Tracy G. Bublitz of Hartland, Wis.
A memorial service will be at a later date in Hartland, Wis.
Blyth Funeral Home is in charge.
Online condolences may be made to the family at www.blythfuneralhome.com.

Ethel Hudson

PLUM BRANCH — Services for Ethel Lee Morgan Hudson of 101 Old Augusta Road, wife of Ernest Hudson, are at 1 Friday at Pine Grove AME Church, conducted by the Rev. W. O. Vance. Burial is in the church cemetery. The body will be placed in the church at noon.
Pallbearers are Curtis Houston, Mac Wells, Tony Morgan, Eric Reid, Rodney Wells and Earnest Morgan.
Flower bearers are cousins.
The family is at the home.
Walker Funeral Home, McCormick, is in charge.

Ruth Sisson

Ruth Brunner Sisson, 78, of 109 Valley Road, wife of Max E. Sisson, died Wednesday, May 4, 2005 at her home.
Visitation is from 6-8 Friday at Blyth Funeral Home.
The family is at the home in Spring Valley.
Services will be announced by Blyth Funeral Home.

Jesse Walker Jr.

Services for Jesse Walker Jr. of Lorenzo Road, are at 2 Friday at Salem Baptist Church in Abbeville, conducted by the Rev. Tony Blackmon, assisted by the Rev. James P. Williams. Burial is in The Evening Star Cemetery. The body will be placed in the church at 1.
Pallbearers are nephews and friends of the family.
Flower bearers are nieces and friends of the family.
Visitation is from 7-8 tonight at Robinson & Son Mortuary. The family is at the home.