GATES COUNTY INDEX
The °nly Newspaper Published in and for Gates County
Volume 13, No. 4 GatesvlUe, N. C„ Wednesday, September 27, 1944 (One Week Nearer Victory) ~Pages This Week
IT"*———...'"ir ' in-n-1 i mi — _
YANK AIR FORCE FIRES PALAU -7- Smoke rises from
Palau as planes of the Third fleet soften up Jap base. Thick
columns of smoke mark bomb hits in Molokai harbor as navy
planes from carriers, under command of Admiral Halsey, blast
the way for the invasion which opened with the landing of
marines.
P^t. Long 4 Months
In English Hospital
Advised a few days ago that
-their son, Pvt. Ralph S. Long,
has been wounded in action in
France, Mr. and Mrs. Nick Long,
Sr., of Roduco, learned in a
letter from him this week that
his right arm was broken and
that he lost his left foot in
battle.
Their original notice was in
the form of an official message
from the adjutant general,
stating simply that Pvt. Long
was wounded in France on Au
oust 24.
Their son’s personal letter
JKp- l that he has been in a hospi
P^ in England for one month and
it ^iat he will be there for another
three months..
Piland Funeral
Services Saturday
At Cool Springs
Funeral services for William
E. Piland of Roduco, who died
Thursday of penumonia after a
three months’ illness, were held
Saturday afternoon at the Cool
Spring Baptist Church. Burial
was in the church yard cemetery.
Mr. Piland is survived by his
wife, Mrs. Ada Eure Piland; six
children, Mrs. Archie Ramsey
of Rocky Mount, Mrs. Hilton
Babb of Suffolk, Robert A.
Piland of U. S. Navy, Mrs.
Rainey Hoggard of Norfolk,
Mrs. James Hamilton of Dallas,
Texas and Thurman E. Piland
of Portsmouth; three brothers,
Richard E. Piland and Luke Pi
land of Portsmouth and Junnie
Piland of La Cross, Va.; three
sisters, Mrs.. Rufus Smith of
Rocky Mount, Mrs. Will Hudson
and Mrs. Annie Ward of Tar
boro.
Active pallbearers were Hor
Hudson, Elbert Piland, Her
'>■ Piland, Elbert Williams,
rdon Eure, and Jack Piland.
Legion and Wives
To Meet Thursday
Legionnaries and their wives
will hold their quarterly meet
ing Thursday night, September
28, at 8 o’clock at the Legion hut.
The one item of business to be
considered, according to P. L.
Hofler, commander, is plans for
the annual Armistice Day supper
meeting.
Short Illness Is
Fatal to Glenwood
Boyce, Age 15
Ryland.—Funeral services for
Glenwood A. Boyce, Jr., age 15,
who died after a short illnes in
•a-J&ostolk -hospital, late Sunday
afternoon, were conducted Tues
day afternoon at 3 o’clock at
Ballards Bridge Baptist Church.
Burial was in the church ceme
tery. The Rev. J. T. Byrum of
ficiated.
He is survived by his father
and mother, Mr. and Mrs. Glen
wood Boyce, Sr.; one sister, Miss
Sarah Jane Boyce; his grand
mother, Mrs. Julia Boyce of Ry
land, and grandfather and grand
mother, Mr. and Mrs. T. R. Ellis,
of Sunbury.
Active pallbearers were John
Butler Byrum, Rudolph Ward,
Wiliam Ward, David Ward,
James Copeland and W. T. Ea
(Continued on Page 3)
Gin Buys 50,000
Lbs. Cotton For
Single Day Record
Sunbury. — Reports from the
Sunbury Trading Company cot
ton Ngin on t}ie amount of cotton
bought and weighed on a certain
day takes precedent over all oth
er records. In one single day it
was reported that fifty thou
sand pounds were bought and
weighed.
William H. Lassiter, promin
ent farmer living near Sunbury,
reports a unique structure re
garding his cotton. He states that
instead of the usual five lock
boll, he has found much of his
to have six locks, and unusually
large.
Brother of Mrs.
Bunch, Sunbury,
Killed in France
'Pvt. Elsbury P. Chappell of
Tyner, brother of Mrs. Hillard
Bunch of Sunbury, was killed in
action in France on August 25,
according to a telegram re
ceived by his parents from the
War Department.
A member of the field artil
lery, Pvt. Chappell entered the
Army in 1942 and received his
basic training at Fort Knox, Ky.
Before entering the service, he
worked for Johnnie Whaley of
Elizabeth City for several years
and had many friends there as
well, qs- in-Gates cSffcfty.
been overseas since December,
1943.
Besides his parents, Mr. and
Mrs. C. C. Chappell of Tyner,
he is survived by Mrs. Bunch,
two other sisters, Mrs. James
Scherer of Kalamazoo, Mich.,
and Miss Edith Chappell of Nor
folk; and a brother, Sgt. Gil
bert Chappell now stationed in
New Guinea.
ATTENDS COMMISSIONING
Mrs. T. L. Carter returned
Wednesday from Philadelphia
where she visited her daughter
in-law, Mrs. T. L. Carter, Jr.,
and attended the commissioning
of the U.S.S. Guam.
Ward, HoflJpH ome
Again AftcVMany
Months Oh There
Cordie J. Jones
Funeral Services
Held at Parker’s
Corapeake.—Funeral services
for Cordie Jacob Jones, 59, who
died at his home Monday after
noon were conducted at Park
er’s Meth6dist church Wednes
day afternoon. Burial was in the
church cemetery.
The services were conducted
by the pastor, Rev. T. J. White
head, assisted by the Rev. Harry
W. Craven of the Elm Avenue
Methodist church of Portsmouth,
Va.
He is survived -by three broth
ers, Sidney, Hurley and Wiley
Jones of Portsmouth, Va.; two
half-brothers, Henry Jones of
Portsmouth, Va., and J. B. Jones
of Ivor, Va.; one sister, Mrs. H.
T. Taylor of Corapeake.
Active pallbearers were J. C.
Vann, Herbert Jones, Floyd
Jones, G. C. Hobbs, Tommy
Jones and Grover Hollowell.
Honorary pallbearers were
friends of the family. The body
was removed to the Rountree and
Hofler funeral home, Gatesville,
where it remained until the hour
of the service.
Splendid Enrollment
At SunKury School
Sunbury.—The - Sunbury high
school opened Monday with “a
splendid enrollment.” J. W.
George newly elected principal
states that he is pleased with the
outlook for the year’s work.
The lunchroom was opened
Monday, serving almost the en
tire student body... Miss Lucy
Lassiter is supervisor, Mrs. Sam
Pierce, and Mrs. Phillip Jackson
are assistants.
Paul Long Sees Much of World In
Two Years Duty Over Europe, Asia
By Margaret C. Riddick.
Sunbury.—Gates * county has
every reason to be proud of an
other illustrious son in Captain
Paul Long, who wears the fol
lowing awards for outstanding
citations of service beyond re
quired duty: an Air Medal with
six Oak Leaf Clusters, the Dis
tinguished Flying Cross, the
Presidential Unit Citation. On his
two foreign service ribbons he
wears three stars "showing he
supported two major campaigns
in Eurqpe and one in Asia.
His unit was the second to be
cited by the President of the
United States. Serving as a flight
pilot he has xc'ompleted 63 suc
cessful missions oyer enemy ter
ritory in his B-25 Mitchell plane.
Captain Long will be remem
bered by many in Gates county
as the lad who was left an or
phan at the age of 12. He was
fostered by his aunts, Misses
Annie and Lucy Lassiter, and his
uncle, William H. Lassiter.
He attended SunBury high
school and upon graduation en
tered Elon College. He studied
there for two years until he was
ordered to Maxwell Field at>the
outset of the war as an aviation
qadet for his basic training. Later
he graduated from Aurner Field,
Albany, Ga., as a second lieu
63 MISSIONS. Captain Paul
Long of the 12th Bomber group
has ' recently returned to the
States after two years of active
combat duty in Europe and Asia.
tenant air pilot. After taking
combat training in Columbia, S.
C., he immediately left for com
bat duty in North Africa.
Captain Long states that of the
campaigns in Sicily and Italy the
latter to him was the harder. His
six months duty in Burma gave
him a deeper insight into the
needs and hardships those people
are undergoing. He spoke at
length of the beauty of the pyra
mids and the sphinxes of Egypt,
the Taj Mahal of India, the Isle
of Capri, and many other places.
As he says: “I have seen and
been to places I never expected to
see and I was greatly impressed
by them all; however, I have no
desire to travel after this war is
over. America is good enough for
me. One cannot understand how
in lands of such beauty there can
exist the awful scenes of war;
how nations would want to de
stroy the beautiful that it has
taken God and man ages to con
struct.
“After seeing the horrors of
this war it’s hard to believe that
anyone here in the good old U.
S. A. can complain over anything
(Continued on Page 3)
ry L. Ward and Ralph
Hofler are back in the
United States after many months
overseas. Ward was in New
York Sunday night and Hofler
is dividing his time between
Gatesville and Belhaven.
Mrs. Ward received a tele
phone call from her husband
Sunday night saying that he
'expected to be in Gatesville
either Monday or Tuesday. First
Class mail specialist, Ward has
spent the last 22 months in
Africa. He is the son of the late
O. E. Ward and the late M^s.
A. L. Hobbs. He arrived in
Gatesville Tuesday.
Ralph H. Hofler, warrant of
ficer, arrived here Sunday to
spend a 21-day furlough with
his mother, Mrs. J. L. Hofler of
Gatesville, and with his wife
who lives in Belhaven. He was
in England for nearly two and a
half years and now will be sta
tioned here in the United States.
Both young men have a host
of friends in Gates county, all
of whom are anxious to see them
again.
Mills P. Ellis
Gates.—Funeral services for
Mills Parker Ellis, age 64, who
died at his home here Sunday
afternoon, were conducted at
Reynoldson Baptist Church
Tuesday afternoon at 4 o’clock.
Burial was in the church ceme
tery. The services were conduct
ed by the Rev. Sidney S. Cobb,
pastor.
He is survived by his wife,
Mrs. Nina Edwards Ellis; three
brothers, George T. Ellis,
Whaleyville, Va., W. John Ellis,
Norfolk, Va., and W. Cohen Ellis,
Gadsden, Ala.; three sisters, Mrs.
W. L. Matthews, Winton, Mrs.
Charles Akens, Hopewell, Va.,
and Mrs. Maude Earley, Rich
mond, Va. He is also survived by
a large number of nieces and
nephews.
The body was removed to the
Rountree and Holfer, funeral
home, Gatesville, N. C. where it
remained until Tuesday morn
ing.
Active .pall bearers were T.
Beaurie Parker, W. T. J. Ellenor,
John Lee Smith, John Langston,
Ben Goodman and Lloyd Free
man.
Armstrong Wins
Infantry Badge
Corapeake.—Pvt. W. D. Arm
strong, j'r., of Corapeake, with
the 361st' Infantry, 91st Division,
somewhere in Italy, has been
awarded the Army’s newest
award for infantrymen, the
Combat Infantryman’s Badge,
awarded for “exemplary con
duct in combat action or in a
major operation.”
The new medal is a silver
rifle on a field of blue with a
silver border imposed on a silver
wreath.
Pvt. Armstrong is the son of
Mr, and Mrs. W. D. Armstrong
of Corapeake.