Sgt Dpn Craven
Saw Much Action
WAVES One Year Old: Need More Women Patriots
On Guadalcanal
V
Local Youth Was Member of Marine Air
Forces On Guadalcanal During First Sol
omons Offensive' Saw Japs Aplenty.
^^
Sgt. Don Craven, marine veteran> of the Guadalcanal
campaign now home on leave, tells of how Japs were kill
ed in such great numbers on Guadalcanal that they buri
ed them by blasting holes on the beach and pushing the
dead Japs in with bulldozers.
* Sgt. Don Craven, a son of Mr.
In Oregon
and Mrs. S. J. Craven, of this city,
enlisted in the marine corps on
Sept. 21, 1941. In August last
year he sailed and after being at
South Pacific outposts for some
lime wra sent to Guadalcanal
Hero of Air Combat In Solomons Tells Lions
Club Here About War In the South Pacific
Area; Urges Action For Local Airport.
V-
group ■ reinforcing
Women Appointed for Tolimtary Emergency Service recently celebrated their first birthday*ss a drive
was begun to double their nomber. Some of their activities are pictured above. Lefh Seaman Janet Croot tclin
our ! _ .teaman Rlanrh» DmiIv watnhM the iner: linsr nlane as ther
Capt. Richard Johnston, here on leave after more than
a year as a fighter pilot in the South Pacific airea of war
operations, told the North Wilkesboro Lions Club Friday
I evening that North Wilkesboro must have an airport.
Capt. Johnston, who held an executive position with
American Furniture company here, was president of the
Lions Club when he volunteered for service in the army
air corps almost a year prior to Pearl Harbor.
Commenting on the need of an* ^
airport' for North Wilkesboro,
C«nral Reeves, of f'ainp
Wliite, Oregon, who entered tlie
army on October 17. 1!)42. I’vt.
Rwyt-s’ wife, the formt'r Miss
T.clia Shumate, and daugliter,
Julene, live on Xorth Wilkes
boro route one. I’vt. Reeve.s
spent a furlough at liome in
June.
-V
Board No. 1
listMenSent
Forinduction
troops there during the height of
the Jap drive to recapture Hen
derson field in October.
Sgt. Craven, a member of the
around crew with marine' air
forces, saw action by the time he
hit the beach as Japs were drop
ping bombs, and during his first
night on Guadalcanal he hugged
the ground while Jap naval ves
sels poured 11-inch shells into i
American positions on the island
tor nearly four hoars. A marine
near him lost an arm.
Jap snipers were all around
^ .a ihii^
very pboi* shots, and tnelr inac
curacy was something to be
thankful tor.
Sgt. Craven’s executive officer
on Gurdatcanal was none other
than Oapt. Joe Foss, who holds
■he record of Jap planes shot
down. Cupt. Foss, Sgt. Craven j
said, had 28 to his credit when he !
left. His squadron downed over
100 Jap planes in six weeks. One
flight group of eight planes,
which they called the “Flying
Circus", shot down 75 Jap planes.
"It was t'vn to see Jap planes
shot down," Sgt. Craven said,
‘‘parts of Jap Zeroes and bombers
would fall sometimes for 15 min
utes after air battle.”
Being with the marine air
forces. Sgt. Craven did not get
much ground fighting against the
Japs, but he was nearby during
'the battle of “Bloody Ridge,”
j whpii 1.000 Japs were killed in a
single night, and he saw great
(numbers of dead Japs. So many
'were killed alon.g the beach that
the stench was very bad' and
S rvice buried them in great
oegUD (0 aouDie ineir namDer. some oi luci*
> pilot to land through a radio microphone while Seaman Blanche Deady watches the incr; ting plane as they
operate a control tower at the giant Floyd Bennett air field naval base in New York. Inset Cpper Center; Store
keeper Gwendolyn O’beill rides to a blimp hangar at Lakebnrst, N. J. Bigbi: Seaman Mardell Feiser check*
parachntes in the “dry locker*’ at the parachute school at Lakehnrst-
Schools
Pass State Board
Miss Margaret McLean Faw,
daugliter of Mr. and Mrs. C. C.
Faw, of this city, and Hayden
litii'ke Hayes, son of Judge and
Mrs. Johnson J. Hayes, of
Wilkesboro, have passed tlie
Nortli Carolina bar examina
tion and each will soon he
granlcvl license to practice law
In .N'ortli Carolina.
Miss Fiiw anl, Mr. Kaye's re
cently completed their law
courses at the t mversity or
Xorth Carolina.
-V
IFew Teacher
Vacancies In
I
ICounty Now
Dr. Ralph McDonald
In City Last Friday
Dr. Ralph McDonald, an
nounced and active c^idldate
for the governorship of Nortli
Carolina, was in the dty Fri
day sliaking hands nitli old
friends and making new ae-
quaiiitanees.
V
holes and
Wilkes Selective ..erv.ee
board number 1 is sending bulldozing them in.
the following men to the in-, When asked if he 3>aw' many Jap
duction center for examine-' PHsoners Sgt. Craven grinned
. . . 1 .• • . grimly and said no.
tion and mduction into the
armed aervices:
Ciiarlie Guy .XIcfHaniei^.
James Joseph Davis.
Clyde Woodrow Brown.
HiUery June Minton.
Hinder Betage.
Verlin Glenn Blankenslilp.
Richard Bullis.
Marshall Klmore EUer.
Willard Easter MlchaeL
James .Andrew Elmore.
Jolin Robert LYazier.
Thoinas Henry Steelman
Edd Junior Brooks.
Noah lee Call.
Claude FVed, Bentley.
Wesley Shelton Anderson.
Glenn Ray Walsh.
Pistel OharteB Woodle.
Xumer Abbott Faw.
James WUson Fenneil.
Uoyd George Mayberry.
Waiter Ralph Miller.
Jo«et»h Monroe Woodle.
Richard Bynum Price.
Oliver Franklin Davis.
Otto Wuttner Whittington, Jr..
volunteer for army air corps.
Baddy Staley.
,, JUU ffiueher.
L Kvade Hampton Palmer.
Wjamtm VnmfcUn Anderson.
Arnold Qntace Jarvis.
WlHlaa Harvey Hayes.
Arthur Kdwnrd* Parller,
/ohs HioBMin Mertamery,
Hayuard Iiee fiOner.
Bob FUffca.
iyilljaai Martin Moore,
J' jiamvence Qnflford Ckdteher,
^■ateer M^^***-
' ■—V"
Marines at the airfield w'ere a
bit chagrined one day to find that
a Jap sniper had hidden in an old
American tank at the edge of the
field. And they were surprised” to
find that, he ha‘d an American ri
fle and was eating American
food. They didn’t learn that by
talking with the Jap. however, be
cause after a marine had started
to loo’- into the old amphibious
tank he sa-w the Jap. closed the
hatch and did not investig>ate any
more until bullets had been sent
thron.gh the old tank from several
directions. Needless to say, the
sniper was not taken prisoner.
Sgt. Craven said he would not
forget “Zero Sunday.’’ when the
airmen thought Henderson
had been retaken and
Rev. J. C. Canipe
At Mt. Pleasant
Rev. J. C. Canipe, pastor of
Boone Beptfst church, is preach
ing in a revival this week at
Mount Pleasant Baptist church
near Champion.
The pastor. Rev. A. W. Eller,
announces that services are being
held at 10:30 a. m, and eight p.
m. The public is cordially Invit
ed to the services.
V-
Five From Wilkes
Go into the Navy
Specialist first class J. C.
Huffman, navy recruiter who is
in North Wilkesboro three days
each week, announces that five
more Wilkes county youths hove
been sent to Raleigh for final phy
slcal examination and enlistment.
The five are; Wallace Dick 3e-
graves route two Wilkesboro:
Dwight Staley, route two, Wilkes
boro; Lester Lee Miller, Clifton
Tytle Brown, and Bobby Edward
Equipment Placed In
Good Condition
For Opening
Schools of Wilkes county
will open on Monday, Aug
ust 16.
All schools of the county
system will open on that
date with' the exception of
Mulberry, which will not
open until August 30.
Reason for the later opening of
Mulberry school is that it has in
terlocking transportation facili
ties with North Wilkesboro city
schools, which ndll not open un
til August 30.
C. B. Eller, county superintend
ent of schools, said today that a
few teacher vacancies remtain to
be filled before school opening.
The teacher list was not com
plete and several who had decid
ed to teach had not taken final
choice of the vacancies which
exist. He expressed a hope, how
ever, that all vacancies oan be
filled this week.
Republicans
In Meeting
I Sim DeLapp, of Lexing-
rton, chairman of the Repub-
I Bran Ex“cutive committee in
' North Carolina, met with
^ several Republican leaders
i of Wilkes and Alc’tADtJ®*'
i counties at a conference
I Thursday at the Wilkes
courthouse.
j The conference was called on
'short notice and many in rural
' communities were not notified
However, those attending repre
sented several townships.
I T. E. Story, Wilkes represen
tative in the legislature, presid
ed. State Chairman DeLapp made
a brief talk which contaliled much
encouragement for Republican
leaders.
Others who spoke Included
ri-.-ence L. Fisher, of Clinton,
who was recently employed by ed
the ab-’te executive committee .as
Capt. Johnston said that air trans
portatlon will be the mode of
travel after the war and towns
without airports will be off the
map. He urged early action to
see what federal aid oan be ob
tained for airport construction.
A large .attendance of members
and many guests were present
Friday evening to hear the club’s
former president tell of his ex
periences in combat with Japs on
Guadalcanal during the first days
of the American offensive.
Capt. Johnston said that he was .
a member of the first army fighter
squadron to reach Guadalcanal
lanjhio* had
'^rson field. After flying a few
hundred miles over thte Pacific,
they sighted their destination and
approaching the field but saw no j
signs of life, they circled and still
saw nothing. They feared the
Japs had retaken the field but
they had no choice _but to land.
After landing they waited about
five minutes and still saw no one.
Finally, a mari ie raised fits head
from a foxhole and said: ‘‘You
park down at that end.” They
learned within a few minutes that
n air raid was on and after fill
ing up with gas they took to the
air to beat off the Jap raiders.
But luckily it was only patrol
planes.
On Sunday, Captain Johnston’s
group with only seven planes
made their first contact with the
enemy raiders, 21 of them, and
Capt. Johnston shot down a plane
in that engagement. Major John
Smith’s famous squadron joined
in the fight before it ended and
took heavy toil of Jap planes and
pilots. Major Smith himself get
ting three Zeros.
Capt. Johnston told of their po
sitions on the ground being bomb
ed by day and shelled by night
until sleep or rest was next to im
possfole. On one occasion Cap:
Johnston was in the tent and un
able to get to his foxhole in time
when shelling began and he hug
ged the ground and heard shrap
nel whizz through the tent all
around and over him.
The speaker told many oth-r
interesting incidents, includln
nrrrow escapes from death or se
rious Injury.
In addition to recounting his
experiences. Capt. Johnston stat-
anpreclation for support of
Now a Corporal
Cpl. Haggle W. Faw, wlio en
tered the army three months
ago, ha-s been promoted to rank
of Corporal at Camp Huleii,
'rexa.s. where lie received his
basic training and is now sta
tioned. Cpl. Faw, who held a
position at 'Wilkes Ho.sierj- Mills
company, Is a son of Xir. iuul
.Mrs. .Xlonroe Faw, of Millers
t/Teek. His wile, .’>lrs. .Angie
Faw, makes iier home at Xlillers
Creek.
Veterans Of
War Hear Air
Corps Capt.
^ay* Wilkes County
Best Place He
Has Seen
organizer; A. I. Ferree, of Ashe-
uoio, i.iiiic., v-inLun boro, Randolph representative and
Tytle Brown, and Bobby Edward Drivers have been employed for minority leader in the General ly for furnishing recrea 'of World War, their
Andrews, all of North Wilkesboro. ^all school bus routes and equip- Assembly: Representative Hayden cllltles and diversion or g * vfive*, friend* and guests at
A..... ......1.na Kaan n,iil In trnnA nnnUi. TX09I unit AHOI-kiev ROV JenUlUgS, meU fi.brOad, -IkL—-..A I#
people at home in the war pro
gram, especially mentioning the j ^
Red Cross, which he praised high- before the veterans
ly for furnishing recreational fa-? - - - • •
f'ant. Richard Johnston
told the American Legion
and Auxiliary Friday night
that he had seen much of
the world since he entered
the service but he still pre
ferred Wilkes county.
Capt. Johnston was guest
Jap
field
a
flight of Zeros and Jap bombas
' r me down as if to land. , A
bomber which got within 100 feet
of the field never got any higher.
Ground forces shot it down with |
antiaircraft guns "iqchlne guns,
rifles and automatics, anything'
that would shoot.
I -Sgt. Craven said the mrrlnes
a thriving business selling
Andrews. all of North Wlllcesboro. 'ail scnooi ous routes ana equip- Asseiuui.v.
The first two youths have already ment has been put in good condi- Deal and Attorney Roy Jennings,
passed their final examinations, tlon for school opening. of Taylorsville; C. C. Hayes,
and are now stationed at Great Teacher allotment for the coun- Wilkes plerk of court; and John
Lakes Naval Training station, ty this year is seven less than_the R. Jones, local attorney and for-
Great Lakea, 111. number during the 1942-43 term, mer solicitor for the 17th district.
Allies Gain On Many Fronts
BCnr ifORB WAR BONDS
did a thriving business selling I Latest report* from all the Sicilian campaign. American
souvemirs to army and navy men | ^f vvar today were had taken four moc«‘
'iHien they arrived after the main favorable to'the Allie*. strategic towns and were advanc-
I —Tt of the Job of taking Guadal- j There were indieation* to- defense lines,
canal was over. Marines had day that the Italian people, TO TAKE KHARKOV—
Uken many objecU from dead hy week-end bomb- artillery of the Red
*Jap*. and these *ouvenlr* were in . ' ---u. army today was pouring shells in-
■ demand. Tliej eapeclrlly Hked to ^ and military men
,buy Jap flags After all the that Khar
iflaea were sold- sonfo marlBM mUBediate peace,
with an eye for 'busine** tbokj CAINS IN SICILY—
parts of old parachatefi.and'pslnt-
ed the Hstng sun o^tbeap
4Conttaned.;ao I
•d in the most recent battles.
JAP POWER BROKEN—
, From the South Pacific came
more encouraging news rnd
I American airmen since the cap
ture of Mundfi have snnk several
men abroad.
'When asked what was the re-
pction on the part of fighting men
to news of strikes and political
bickering In the United States,
Capt. Johnston said: “It was
sometimes hard to keep spirits up
We would lie In foxholes, trying
to dig a little deeper, as the ene-
mv drooned bombs all around. Af
ter so long we could get ont and
hear the news by short-wave n-
dlo. It hurt to hear of workers
striking, holding np produetloT’
of the equipment we needed then
to get up there *nd_shoot the Japs
wives, friends and yuests at
the Legion clubhouse. It
wa* one of the most^ 6v*~
latanding meeting* in history
of the Wilke* post.
I W. C. Grier, comander, pre
sided.
Capt. Johnston gave many In
teresting experiences, especlaliv
those during his two periods of
air combat service with the Japs
in the Solomon Islands, where he
shot down a Jap Zero in the first
air battle in whiek be participat
ed. He gave a nioat Intsreatlne
aoeonnt of that battle, saying that
tha Awre of planes Kwt by bnth
agreed that Kharkov would' fail
from the skies. —.. . .
Capt. Johnston said the tpen at sidds wru ev^vtat that .in. the
Jananese ships Iholndlng four the front we» looking fwward n«c|. eng^me^ the Americans
?d^n ”itS troop, and a number to returning to a land of freedom dhj y t pl^. Seven of the
r.f nr veaaels ' and democracy. . ' S v “
Oenerar. MacArthuf deciiire'’. Vernon Deal and W. O. Aheher the
uenerai nrpgraip. ,Ionr mlaetag plumo gliowei} up a.
- *;|wifchMrs lator,;,fi«U>|^t baled ■
''''''' 'four ■tBaa'^ykMa^ -.the Jap
'OSlPspt.’.ewirj,^’'