Written And Compiled By Waukesha Lowe Sammons
Daughter of Daskum Combs (1917 - 2005) and Technical Sergeant, Albert Roy "Jake" Lowe (1917 - 1944),
who was awarded a Silver Star Medal for Action Taken on The Fourth of July 1944 in France,
and who was Killed In Action on September 16, 1944 in World War II.
Copyright 2017 ~ info@perrycountykentuckymilitarylegacy.com ~ All Rights Reserved
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
WORLD WAR II (1941 - 1945)
PERRY COUNTY, KENTUCKY SOLDIERS, SAILORS, AIRMEN, MARINES
REMEMBER AND NAME, L
A World War II Introduction With Medal Of Honor, Distinguished Service Cross And Silver Star Medal Recipients Were Placed In The A Section.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
LANDRUM
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
LANDRUM, ROBERT (1923 – 1943), U. S. ARMY, MILITARY PASSENGER ON TROOP SHIP, USAT DORCHESTER, WHEN SHE SUNK IN A TORPEDO ATTACK ON THE LABRADOR SEA NEAR GREENLAND, MISSING IN ACTION, LOST AT SEA, WORLD WAR II.
ARTCLES, BOOKS AND MOVIE SUBJECTS: THE FOUR CHAPLAINS ON USAT DORCHESTER, who handed out life jackets and gave their own life jackets to others, while standing on the deck of the sinking ship. They were last seen praying together on deck, as the ship slipped down into the sea: First Lieutenant George Lansing Fox, First Lieutenant Alexander David Goode. First Lieutenant Clark V. Poling and Lieutenant John P. Washington.
HOMETOWN: Napfor, Perry County, Kentucky, USA.
OTHER RESIDENCE: Kodak and Happy Coal Camp in Perry County, Kentucky. Frankfort, Franklin County, Kentucky.
DATE OF BIRTH: 15 November 1923 in Kodak, Perry County, Kentucky, USA.
PARENTS: Sherman Landrum and Laura Spurlock, married 17 June 1922 in Perry County, Kentucky.
GRANDPARENTS: Rozella “Ella” Wooton and William Landrum.
GRANDPARENTS: Julia Juda Lewis and John Buel Spurlock.
DRAFT REGISTRATION DATE: 30 June 1942, Kentucky.
ENTERED SERVICE FROM: Kentucky.
ENLISTMENT DATE: 20 August 1942 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
DISCHARGE DATE: 3 February 1943, Killed In Action, Missing In Action, Lost at Sea, World War II.
SERVICE NUMBER: 35469904.
RANK: Private.
BRANCH OF SERVICE: U. S. Army.
COMBAT ORGANIZATION: U. S. Army, World War II.
BATTLES, CAMPAIGNS, THEATRES: Labrador Sea, North Atlantic Ocean.
DATE OF DEATH: 3 February 1943, Killed In Action, Missing In Action, Lost At Sea, German Submarine U-223, Torpedo Attack on SHIP, USAT DORCHESTER, U. S. Navy Convoy SG-A, World War II.
PLACE OF DEATH: Labrador Sea, off the Coast of Greenland.
CAUSE OF DEATH: Torpedo Attack from German Submarine U-223.
STATUS: Killed In Action, Missing In Action, Lost At Sea, World War II.
DISPOSITION: Non-recoverable.
MEMORIALIZED: Tablets of the Missing, East Coast Memorial Cemetery, Battery Park, New York City, New York.
U. S. AWARDS, CERTIFICATES, MEDALS: Purple Heart.
SOURCES: Census. Dorcester; uboat.net. Findagrave. Greater Love: The Four Chaplains and the Sinking of the Dorchester; americanveteranscenter.org. George Duncan’s Maritime Disasters of World War II. Kentucky Birth Index. Kentucky County Marriage Records. U. S., Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Unaccounted Remains, Group B (unrecoverable), 1941-1975. U. S. Headstone and Interment Records. U. S. Rosters of World War II Dead, 1939-1945. U. S. World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946. U. S. World War II and Korean Conflict Veterans Interred Overseas. WWII Draft Registration Cards.
NOTE: I placed Robert Landrum on my ~ Combs Collins Sumner Adams Holbrook Caudill Kelley Mullins; Brashear Young Campbell Cornett Woods Dorton Asher Bowling Sizemore ~ Maternal Family Tree, that I created on Ancestry.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
LAY
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
LAY, HAROLD L. (1922-1944), DIED NON BATTLE, ITALY, WWII.
Hometown: HAZARD, Perry County, Kentucky, USA.
Date of Birth: 27 October 1922, Perry County, Kentucky, USA.
Parents: Mary A. and Lloyd Lay.
Grandparents: Merryan and James.
Grandparents: Mattie Love Richardson and Andrew Calvin “Andy” Lay.
Step-mother: Opal, who married Lloyd Lay.
Spouse: Ethel Alene Wilson.
Entered Service From: Kentucky or Indiana.
Service Number: 15335701.
Rank: Staff Sergeant.
Branch of Service: U. S. Army.
Combat Organization: 98th Bombardment Group, 15th Army Air Force, WWII.
Date of Death: 17 June 1944.
Place of Death: ITALY.
Status: DIED NON BATTLE, WWII.
Disposition: BURIED.
Burial: First Burial Unknown.
Repatriated: Yes.
Cemetery: Riverside Cemetery, Hazard, Perry County, Kentucky. Memorial Plaque: WWII Memorial Plaque, first displayed at the Bobby Davis Living Memorial; currently displayed at Memorial Gym in Hazard, Perry County, Kentucky.
Monument: HAROLD L. LAY carved within the WWII military section on PLACE OF THE PATRIOTS, a memorial located in Hazard, Perry County, Kentucky.
U. S. Awards: Air Medal (two). Oak Leaf Cluster (one)
Note: “In November [1943] the 98th moved to several bases in the ‘Boot Heel’ area of Italy and in early 1944 it settled at Lecce ... On November 1, 1943 the unit was assigned to the 15th Air Force (15th AF) where they remained until April 1945.” Source: 98th Bombardment Group: 1942-1946, B-24’s. website: thepyramidiers.com.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
LEWIS
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
LEWIS, THOMAS H. “TOMMY” (1924-1944), LEYTE, KILLED IN ACTION, WWII.
Hometown: BRIAR FORK, Perry County, Kentucky, USA.
Date of Birth: 25 October 1924, Perry County, Kentucky.
Parents: Eva Campbell and John H. Lewis.
Entered Service From: Kentucky.
Enlistment Date: 10 September 1941.
Service Number: 35129424
Rank: Private First Class.
Branch of Service: U. S. Army.
Combat Organization: 34th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division, X Corps, Sixth Army, WWII.
Date of Death: 21 October 1944.
Place of Death: LEYTE, PACIFIC, WWII.
Status: KILLED IN ACTION WWII.
Disposition: BURIED.
Burial: Temporary Cemetery 7740. Permanent Cemetery 7701.
Cemetery: Manila American Cemetery And Memorial, Fort Bonifacio, Manila, Philippines. Memorial Plaque: WWII Memorial Plaque, first displayed at the Bobby Davis Living Memorial; currently displayed at Memorial Gym in Hazard, Perry County, Kentucky.
Monument: TOMMY LEWIS carved within the WWII military section on PLACE OF THE PATRIOTS, a memorial located in Hazard, Perry County, Kentucky.
U. S. Awards: Purple Heart Medal.
Note: “After occupation duty in the Hollandia area, the 24th Division landed on Red Beach on Leyte, 20 October 1944, as part of the X Corps, Sixth Army ...” Source: 24th Infantry Division WWII, Campaign Chronicle. Website: army.mil.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
LOWE
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
SONS OF MARRYLE LEVISA LITTLETON AND JAMES FRANKLIN LOWE:
ALBERT ROY "JAKE" LOWE (1917-1944), SILVER STAR, KILLED IN ACTION IN FRANCE, WORLD WAR II.
ARTHUR FLOYD LOWE (1925-2014), U. S. ARMY, WOUNDED IN ACTION, WORLD WAR II.
ARTIE WAYNE LOWE (1922-2002), U. S. ARMY, WOUNDED IN ACTION, WORLD WAR II.
JAMES WILLIS LOWE (1916-1978), U. S. ARMY, WORLD WAR II.
LOWE, ALBERT ROY “AB” “AL” “JAKE” “LEFTY” (1917-1944), SILVER STAR MEDAL, BRONZE STAR MEDAL, FRENCH CROIX DE GUERRE WITH BRONZE STAR, COMBAT INFANTRY BADGE FIRST AWARD, WORLD WAR II VICTORY MEDAL, PURPLE HEART, KILLED IN ACTION, FRANCE, WWII. Hometown: KODAK and VICCO, Perry County, Kentucky, USA.
Other Residence: Riverton, Franklin County, Nebraska. Lookout Coal Camp, Nutall, Fayette County, West Virginia. Kenmont Coal Camp, Jeff, Perry County, Kentucky. Yellow Creek Coal Camp, Yellow Creek, Knott County, Kentucky. Meem Haskins Coal Camp, Kodak, Perry County, Kentucky. Vicco, Perry County, Kentucky. After marrying Daskum Combs, they lived in a basement apartment under the Combs Cafe in Vicco from October 1941 until he entered military service in June 1942, returning home only on furloughs and on an emergency leave for the birth of his daughter.
Date of Birth: 7 July 1917, Riverton, Franklin County, Nebraska.
Parents: Marryle Levisa “Louisa” “Vicie” Littleton and James Franklin “Jim” Lowe.
Grandparents: Rosanna Caudill and George Washington Littleton, Jr.
Great-grandparents: Mary Polly Salisbury and George Washington C. Littleton, Sr., Union Soldier, who Died in the American Civil War.
Great-grandparents: Katherine “Katy Ellen” Wiley and Pleasant Caudill, Union Soldier, American Civil War. Great-great-grandparents: Elander Nellie Skidmore and John Jesse Littleton, War of 1812.
Great-great-grandparents: Mary Polly Crace and Abel Caudill, Union Soldier, American Civil War.
Great-great-grandparents: Nancy Avelena Tackett II and Andrew Jackson Wiley, Union Soldier, American Civil War.
Great-great-great-great-grandparents: Virginia Jane "Jenny" Sellards Wiley, who became more famous when the Jenny Wiley Kentucky State Park was named in her honor, and Thomas Wiley, an American Revolutionary War Soldier.
Brothers: James Willis, Arthur Floyd and Artie Wayne Lowe, who served in World War II.
Spouse: Daskum Combs, married 27 September 1941 in Whitesburg, Letcher County, Kentucky.
One Child, a Daughter: Waukesha Lowe, who married Calvin Ray Sammons.
One Grandchild: Kevin Harold Sammons.
BASEBALL, Industrial League, 1935-1942: Concerning baseball, Albert was known as Jake or Lefty Lowe. He played at a time when local companies sponsored amateur teams for their employees. From 1935 to 1942 Jake played on coal company teams in the Kentucky River League: Meem-Haskins, Blue Diamond, Hardburly, Defiance, Kenmont, Tribby and Carrs Fork. September 1941, National Amateur Championship Games, Battle Creek, Michigan: For his pitching expertise, Jake Lowe was awarded a 1941 American Baseball Congress Medal.
Entered Service From: Vicco, Perry County, Kentucky.
Inducted: 27 June 1942; Bused from Hazard, Perry County, Kentucky to Fort Thomas, Kentucky.
Service Number: 35459989.
Rank: Technical Sergeant.
Branch of Service: United States Army.
COMBAT ORGANIZATION:
1942, Alabama: Private, Co D, 9th Training Battalion, Branch Infantry Replacement Training Center (B.I.R.T.C.), Fort McClellan, Anniston, Alabama.
October 10, 1942, Battalion Baseball Championship Game, Fort McClellan, Alabama. Private Albert Lowe wrote to his wife. “Sugah, This afternoon my Company D played our final baseball game. I hit a home run. In the last inning, I walked 3 men. Then I struck out the next man. We won the Battalion Championship, 3 to 0. Love & Kisses, Ab.”
In a newspaper article, The Fort McClellan Leader covered the Championship game and declared Albert “Lefty” Lowe the winning pitcher. “The baseball teams from Company B and Company D tangled on the diamond for the Battalion Championship, and Company D easily emerged the victor by a score of 3-0 behind the masterful pitching of Pvt. ‘Lefty’ Lowe. In his sparkling performance, Lowe struck out fifteen batters and allowed but two hits, both of these coming in the last inning. Company D was never in trouble until the last inning when the first two batters of Company B slammed out singles, and then Lowe, becoming a little nervous, hit the batter, but he lost no time in settling down and easily struck out the next three men in order.”
18 November 1942, Fort McClellan, Alabama: After being on furlough for the birth of his daughter and returning to base, Corporal Albert Lowe wrote to his wife, “Honey, it’s nice to have a little girl. I only hope I’m the kind of daddy she wants. I study a lot about that. I wonder what she will think of me. If she doesn’t see me for a long time, reckon she will like me? Do you think she will know me, when I come home again? At least I had the chance to put a few diapers on her and hold her. When she gets big enough, you tell her about me, if I don’t get to be home for awhile, so she will know me when I get back. I would feel awful, if she didn’t remember me. Love & Kisses, Ab.” 28 February 1943, Fort McClellan, Alabama: When a platoon, that Corporal Lowe had been training, received orders for immediate departure, they were unable to find him. The respect for him was evident in a hand written letter signed by forty-six men. “Dear Corporal Lowe: All of us of the Third Platoon were extremely sorry we didn’t have an opportunity to say good-bye to you the other day, so a letter will have to suffice. At any rate, the men want you to know, that we consider it a privilege to have served with you and only hope that during the remainder of our army service, we have the good fortune to meet leaders with the same ability and fairness. The Damn Yanks and Rebels of the Third Platoon wish you the very best luck.”
6 August 1943, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland: Sergeant, Co A, 5th Replacement Battalion, 3rd Platoon, 2nd Replacement Regiment Infantry, American Ground Forces Replacement Depot # 1, (A.G.F.R.D. #1), Fort George G. Meade Military Base, Maryland.
23 November 1943, Tuesday, two days before Thanksgiving, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland: Instead of being on his way home on furlough as promised, Sergeant Albert Lowe had received notice, that his leave would be delayed until after Thanksgiving Day. He wrote to his wife, “... save me a piece of cake.” 21 December 1943, Fort Meade, Maryland: Sergeant Albert Lowe wrote to his wife. “Sugar, This morning I was again placed On Orders for being shipped out and given the rest of my clothes. This will be our 2nd Christmas apart. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. I want you and our daughter to have the best of everything. The [heart-shield, metal cover, pocket] Bible, that you gave me for Christmas for protection in combat, was the nicest present ever. You may think I’m soft-hearted, but I’m gonna ask you to do something for both of us. I hardly know how to say it. I think our baby should be taught to say her prayers every night. She should be started while she’s young. I remember one I used to say. ‘When I lay me down to sleep.’ Love & Kisses & Christmases, Ab.”
January 1944, England: Sergeant, 310th CO, 41st Replacement Battalion, APO 15103, England.
June 1944, Combat Organization, France: Sergeant, Promoted to Staff Sergeant, Promoted to Technical Sergeant, Squad Leader of 1st Rifle Platoon, Company G, 359th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division.
18 June 1944, France: Although the day that Sergeant Lowe first stepped on to French soil is currently unknown, he had taken part in the Normandy Campaign and had been unable to write home every day as usual. On the 18th of June, Lowe penned a V-mail to his wife, with no details of his war time situation. “Dear Sugar, I’m sorry that I haven’t written before, but I’ve been kinda busy. I’m in France. Tell mom not to worry, because I’m O. K. I love you and miss you. Love & Kisses, Ab.”
The Fourth of July 1944, Ste. Suzanne, France: Sergeant Albert Lowe, Co G, 359th, 90th Infantry Division, For Gallantry In Action Taken On July 4, 1944: The Award Of The Silver Star Medal.
22 July 1944, France: Staff Sergeant Albert Lowe, Company G, 359th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division, France wrote a letter to his wife. “Dear Sug, I received my first letter from you yesterday, and it sure was welcomed. Remember, I love you and the baby and will be home with you soon. So until that day comes, I’ll keep praying. Love & Kisses, Ab.”
23 July 1944, France: Staff Sergeant Albert Lowe wrote a letter to his wife. “Dear Sug, I sit here in My Old Kentucky Home, that’s what I call my foxhole. My 90th Division is the best outfit! We talk a lot about the things we are gonna do when we get home. As for me, I want to walk down the aisle of the white, Presbyterian Church on the hill in Kodak and help sing a hymn. I guess I’ve changed quite a bit for the better and look at things different than I used to.”
“Let me know how much the baby has grown and how much she weighs. I want to keep up with her, so I’ll know just what to expect, when I see her again. Say hello to the family for me. Tell them that I hope to see them soon. Did the car ever get fixed? I’ll not care a thing about walking, when I come home. Remember, I’m doing fine. Love & Kisses, Ab.”
July 25th – September 16, 1944, France: Technical Sergeant, Platoon Sergeant (MOS 651) of the 1st Rifle Platoon, Company G (Heavy Weapons), 2nd Battalion, 359th Infantry Regiment (Assault Regiment), 90th Infantry ‘Tough Ombres’ Division.
June - July 1944: General Omar Nelson Bradley’s First Army, VIII Corps.
August - September 1944: Lt. General George Smith Patton’s Third Army, XV Corps.
Date of Death: 16 September 1944, WWII.
Place of Death: Mance Ravine, Gravelotte-Metz Highway, France, Killed In Action, WWII. Status: KILLED IN ACTION, WWII. September 16, 1944, France, After Action Reports: “359th Inf 2nd BN continued its attack to clean out the draw E of GRAVELOTTE. The Boche were exceedingly well dug-in and progress was slow and costly. By nightfall the enemy had been liquidated as far S as the road E from GRAVELOTTE, but the price had been high, as a continual hail of morter and artillery fire fell on this Battalion."
The Company Morning Report: on September 16th for Company G, 359th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division stated: the weather was cool, moral was fair, casualties were very heavy and Tech/Sgt Albert Lowe, Platoon Sergeant, was killed in action at Gravelotte, France.
Death Details: Critical information pertaining to Technical Sergeant Albert Lowe from Vicco, Perry County, Kentucky was on pages 181 and 182 in The Lorraine Campaign by Hugh M. Cole. He wrote, “The morning of 16 September opened with a heavy fog which clung to the ground through the forenoon…In the 359th area the 2nd Battalion resumed the effort to shake the Germans loose from the Mance ravine east of Gravelotte. This time the battalion turned its attack south, down into the draw. The enemy reacted at once with furious fire from mortars and automatic weapons concealed on the wooded banks and scattered the length of the ravine. By nightfall the battalion had advanced about two hundred yards and reached the Gravelotte-Metz highway, which here crossed the draw. This slight gain was made at the cost of severe casualties: 117 men and 15 officers (nearly half the officer complement of the battalion)." Note: Notification of a soldier’s death was slow to arrive at his family’s home. Unaware of their tragedy, Daskum continue to write to Albert. Eleven days after his death, she marked their third anniversary, not knowing that she was a widow. Nor was I aware, that I had lost my father seven weeks before my second birthday. September 23, 1944, Kentucky. “Dearest Ab, I got ready for bed and Waukesha grabbed me by the pajama leg and hollered, write letters! I have a fire in the grate in the living room. I’m sitting on the davenport with Waukesha’s feet in my lap. She’s almost asleep. The Hit Parade has just now started. The program is going to be cut short tonight so Roosevelt can make his first campaign speech. Hon, I’m so proud of you. I love you more each day. I miss you. Gee, if you and all the boys could come home. I would be so happy. Hon, be careful. Love Daskum. P.S. No. 1 on the Hit Parade is, I’ll Walk Alone.”
October 3, 1944: The dreaded telegram arrived at the Vicco Depot. When it was delivered to Daskum, cries of denial bounded from her beauty shop into the attached Combs restaurant and filtered out into the street, alerting the village that one of their own would not return.
17 October 1944 aboard the USS OAHU, Pacific War Theatre: U. S. Navy Sailor, Machinist’s Mate 3C, Vernon Combs had received a letter from his sister, Dixie, announcing that their brother-in-law, Technical Sergeant Albert R. Lowe had been Killed In Action on 16 September 1944 in France. Vernon wrote a letter to Daskum, “My Dearest Sis, The hardest job that I have ever tried to do is write you this letter. I will always remember Albert as a boy, who was clean and decent, who loved to play baseball. And he would always play a little better [than others] and with more determination to win, without arguing or trying to cheat.”
Disposition: BURIED.
Battlefield Burial: Unknown.
Second Burial: United States Military Cemetery # 1, Plot G, Row 9, Grave 205 in Andilly, France.
Repatriated: December 1948.
Wake: About the 19th of December 1948, Levisa and James Lowe’s rented Meem-Haskins’ coal camp house, Kodak, Perry County, Kentucky.
“During the unusual month of December 1948, all my thoughts of Christmas had vanished. I had recently turned six-years-old and was in the first grade at Vicco Grade School. My father, Albert Roy Lowe, had been Killed in the War in 1944, shortly before my second birthday, leaving me with no memory of him. For the past four years, he had been across the Atlantic Ocean in United States Military Cemetery #1, Plot G, Row 9, Grave 205 at Andilly, France. My life had shifted into the unknown, because my father was returning home.”
“During his wake, I was led into my Mamaw and Papaw Lowe’s tiny living room. I saw a flag draped closed casket with my father’s photographs displayed on top, two floor lamps, large baskets of flowers and rows of hard chairs for visitors. Throughout the wake, adults spoke of opening his coffin, because his mother had never accepted his death. She had written letters to the military, asking them to find her son, who might have amnesia. She wondered if a mistake had been made and another mother’s son had been delivered to Kodak by the authorities. She refused to give up hope, believing that he was still alive and would someday make his way home to us. She needed absolute proof that her son had finally returned home for another burial. But she was not able to be in the room for the lifting of the lid. Other family members viewed the remains in her stead and identified my father by his identification tag, his unusual teeth and by the evidence of a neck wound.” “In nervous anticipation, I had awaited the moment, when I would look upon my father’s face. When the time was near, no matter how hard I pleaded, my mother refused to allow it. With me in tow, she removed us from the situation by leaving the house and driving away. Because I was desperate to see my father, I begged her to turn the car around and refused to obey her command to be quiet. Exasperated and angry at me for crying, my mother declared that I would never see my father, because the coffin would contain only a skeleton in a military uniform, who most likely was an unknown soldier. She wished that his parents had left him in a cemetery in France." ~~~~ Waukesha Lowe Sammons. Funeral: 22 December 1948, Presbyterian Church, Kodak, Perry County, Kentucky.
“My father’s World War II wish to return home and attend a service in the white Presbyterian Church on the hill in Kodak was granted, but others sang the hymns.” ~~~~ Waukesha Lowe Sammons.
Third Burial: 22 December 1948, Englewood Cemetery, Christopher, Perry County, Kentucky.
“A military service for my father was performed at the gravesite in the Englewood Cemetery at Christopher. The firing of a military gun salute, burned into my memory as I recoiled from the sound and shook with fright. Adults held my hands tight, so I could not run away. From that day forward, whenever I heard a rifle salute or the playing of “Taps,” I flashed back to the image of my Grandmother Lowe, weeping and clinging to the folded American flag that had been placed in her hands by an honor guard.” ~~~~ Waukesha Lowe Sammons. “As years went by, I lived in a house, where my father’s name was seldom spoken. There were no photographs of him on display. Because of unkind words from the past, I was left with an unwanted image of him. He had become a skeleton in a uniform, buried in a single plot without another place available for a family member, forever alone. The front section of the graveyard was groomed with care. He was in the left-back-section of the cemetery, which received no upkeep, allowing nature’s overgrowth to make it hard to find his military headstone. His grave was often used as a dump for discarded flowers, wreaths, vases, fallen tree limbs and trash. Respect for his sacrifice had vanished.” ~~~~ Waukesha Lowe Sammons A Mother’s Devotion: "In World War II Marryle Levisa Littleton Lowe had a glowing, electric light, shaped like a candle, in a window in her rented coal camp house in Kodak. It was her guiding light of hope, as she prayed, that her four sons, Willis, Albert, Arthur and Wayne, who were serving in the military, would find their way home from the war. Her son, Albert was killed in action in 1944, but she refused to believe that he was dead. The devastation of world war ended in 1945. Even after she was reunited with three of her four sons, the light stayed on. Albert was repatriated in 1948 and brought home to the mountains of Kentucky, where he belonged. His funeral service was held in the Presbyterian Church, located on the hillside in Kodak. On the 22nd of December 1948, he was buried in the back-left-section of Englewood Cemetery at Christopher on land considered owned by the railroad. On New Year’s Day of 1949, she turned off the light and removed it from view. At last, all of her boys had returned home.” ~~~~ Waukesha Lowe Sammons. Source: Arthur Floyd Lowe.
Memorialized: Memorial Coliseum, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Fayette County, Kentucky. “Names of the 9,265 Gold Star Kentuckians have been lettered on permanent plaques, which occupy recessed wall panels in the Coliseum entry ramps.” Source: Bulletin of the University of Kentucky (Volume 42, Number 9, September, 1950), which was printed for the War Memorial Coliseum dedication. I attended the opening dedication on 13 May 1950, when I was 7 years old, and my uncle, Ralph Miller, a WWII Veteran, helped me find my father’s name.
Memorial Plaque: WWII Memorial Plaque, first displayed at the Bobby Davis Living Memorial; currently displayed at Memorial Gym in Hazard, Perry County, Kentucky.
Monument: ALBERT R. LOWE carved within the WWII military section on PLACE OF THE PATRIOTS, a memorial located in Hazard, Perry County, Kentucky.
Campaigns: Normandy, Northern France, Moselle-Saar and Lorraine.
Battles: Sainte-Suzanne, Foret De Mont Castre (Hill 122), Mahlman Line, St. Germain-Sur-Seves aka Seves Island, The Falaise Gap, Chambois and Gravelotte-Metz.
Theatres: American Theatre. European Theatre.
U. S. Awards: Silver Star Medal. Combat Infantry Badge First Award. Bronze Star Medal. Good Conduct Medal. Honorable Service Lapel Button WWII. European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal & Bronze Star Attachment. World War II Victory Medal. Purple Heart Medal. The Purple Heart survived, but if a bar and button pin had been included in the box, they disappeared. The Silver Star with bar, button pin and box survived. Other medals were received at my request nearly half-a-century after my father’s death.
French Award: French Croix de Guerre with Bronze Star. If the medal was received by his family, it disappeared. The Citation survived. Photograph Courtesy of Waukesha Lowe Sammons.
NOTE: "During my senior years, I made a journey into my father's past. Fate allowed me to rescue his World War II letters, shortly before they were to be destroyed. After reading his letters, I began to interview people, who had known him. Their sharing of memories and his written words, allowed me to discover a man worth knowing. Like a weaver at a loom, I used golden threads of memories and silver threads of sacrifice to reconstruct the fabric of my father's life." ~~~~ Waukesha Lowe Sammons.
NOTE: I placed my father, Albert Roy “Jake” Lowe on my ~ Lowe Stephenson Rose Burchfield Murphy Whitt; Littleton Caudill Salisbury Crace Adams Wiley Webb Boone ~ Paternal Family Tree, that I created on Ancestry.
NOTE: I placed my father, Albert Roy “Jake” Lowe on my ~ Combs Collins Sumner Adams Holbrook Caudill Kelley Mullins; Brashear Young Campbell Cornett Woods Dorton Asher Bowling Sizemore ~ Maternal Family Tree, that I created on Ancestry.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
LOWE, ARTHUR FLOYD “Buck” “Buster” “Buzz” (1925-2014), WOUNDED IN ACTION, EUROPEAN THEATRE, WWII.
Hometown: KODAK, Perry County, Kentucky, USA.
Other Residence: Kenmont Coal Camp, Jeff, Perry County, Kentucky. Yellow Creek Coal Camp, Yellow Creek, Knott County, Kentucky. Meem Haskins Coal Camp, Kodak, Perry County, Kentucky. Barridge, Perry County, Kentucky. Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky. Jennings, Hamilton County, Florida and Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky.
Date of Birth: 18 March 1925 in Kenmont Coal Camp, Jeff, Perry County, Kentucky.
Parents: Marryle Levisa “Louisa” “Vicie” Littleton and James Franklin “Jim” Lowe.
Grandparents: Rosanna Caudill and George Washington Littleton, Jr.
Great-grandparents: Mary Polly Salisbury and George Washington C. Littleton, Sr., Union Soldier, Died in the American Civil War.
Great-grandparents: Katherine “Katy Ellen” Wiley and Pleasant Caudill, Union Soldier, American Civil War.
Great-great-grandparents: Elander Nellie Skidmore and John Jesse Littleton, War of 1812.
Great-great-grandparents: Mary Polly Crace and Abel Caudill, Union Soldier, American Civil War.
Great-great-grandparents: Nancy Avelena Tackett II and Andrew Jackson Wiley, Union Soldier, American Civil War.
Great-great-great-great-grandparents: Virginia Jenny Sellards, who became more famous when the Jenny Wiley Kentucky State Park was named in her honor, and Thomas Wiley, American Revolutionary War.
Brothers: James Willis, Albert Roy and Artie Wayne Lowe, who served in World War II.
Spouse: (1) Mildred Midkiff. (2) Margaret May Montgomery.
Entered Service From: Kentucky.
FIRST ENLISTMENT WWII: 15 July 1943. Released: 9 December 1945 at Fort Lewis, Washington.
Service Number: 35805806
Rank: Private First Class.
Branch of Service: U. S. Army.
Combat Organization: 4l4th Infantry Regiment, 104th Infantry Division, Company G.
1943: Fort Carson.
Military Occupation: Gunner First Class. Mortar Section for Artillery Company. Either road on top of tanks or walked behind tanks.
27 August 1944, Departure Date: Boarded a train at Camp Horn, Arizona, to New York. Embarkation from New York Port, New York on the USS GEORGE WASHINGTON. Sailed the Atlantic Ocean for 16 days. Debarkation Date, 7 September 1944 in Cherbourg, France.
Returned to American on the USS GENERAL PATRICK to New York. From Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, he was given a 30-day leave to go home.
21 October to 8 November 1944: Attached to First Canadian Army/ I British Corps.
WOUNDED IN ACTION: 25 March 1945. Recipient of the Purple Heart for wounds received in action in Germany on 25 March 1945. General Orders Number 91. After crossing the Rhein River, the outfit stopped at a cross road. He was riding on a 3rd Army tank, which was the spear head (first tank out in front). Three men were killed by machine guns. He was hit in the thigh and knee with a bullet and went into the cellar of a building to get aid. He traveled one-and-one-half hours by ambulance to arrive in Cologne, Germany. Then he was sent to the 108th General Hospital in Paris.
Battles, Campaigns, Theatres: American Theatre. Northern France. Rheinland. Holland. Belgium. Central Europe. European-African Middle Eastern Theatre.
U. S. Awards: Bronze Star for exemplary conduct in ground combat against the armed enemy for action taken on 8 December 1944. Purple Heart. Combat Infantry Badge. Good Conduct Medal with Bronze Clasp and Three Loops. American Campaign Medal. European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal. WWII Victory Medal. The Army of Occupation Medal (Germany). National Defense Service Medal.
POST WWII, ENLISTMENT DATE: 4 August 1948. Retired: 1 April 1966.
Post WWII: Career Soldier. Squad Leader, Company D, 14th Infantry Battle Group, Germany.
Military Organization: Squad Leader, Company D, 14th Infantry Battle Group, Germany. 25th Infantry Division, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Instructor, 4th Training Brigade, U. S. Army Training Center, Armor, Fort Knox, Kentucky. HQ CO COM GP USATC ARMOR 1st US ARMY.
Entered Service From: Kentucky.
Service Number: 35 805 806.
Rank at Retirement: Sergeant First Class.
Branch of Service: U. S. Army.
Date of Death: 15 July 2014.
Place of Death: Kentucky.
Cemetery: Camp Nelson National Cemetery, Nicholasville, Jessamine County, Kentucky.
NOTE: I placed my paternal uncle, Arthur Floyd Lowe on my ~ Lowe Stephenson Rose Burchfield Murphy Whitt; Littleton Caudill Salisbury Crace Adams Wiley Webb Boone ~ Paternal Family Tree, that I created on Ancestry.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
LOWE, ARTIE WAYNE (1922-2002), COMBAT MEDICAL AIDMAN, NORTH AFRICA, SCICILY, ITALY, EAME THEATRE, WOUNDED IN ACTION, WWII.
Hometown: KODAK, Perry County, Kentucky, USA.
Other Residence: Kenmont Coal Camp, Jeff, Perry County, Kentucky. Yellow Creek Coal Camp, Yellow Creek, Knott County, Kentucky. Meem Haskins Coal Camp, Kodak, Perry County, Kentucky. Cincinnati in Hamilton County and Dayton in Montgomery County, Ohio. Grayslake, Lake County, Illinois. Pennsylvania.
Date of Birth: 28 July 1922, Kenmont, Jeff, Perry County, Kentucky.
Parents: Marryle Levisa “Louisa” “Vicie” Littleton and James Franklin “Jim” Lowe.
Grandparents: Rosanna Caudill and George Washington Littleton, Jr.
Great-grandparents: Mary Polly Salisbury and George Washington C. Littleton, Sr., Union Soldier, Died in the American Civil War.
Great-grandparents: Katherine “Katy Ellen” Wiley and Pleasant Caudill, Union Soldier, American Civil War.
Great-great-grandparents: Elander Nellie Skidmore and John Jesse Littleton, War of 1812.
Great-great-grandparents: Mary Polly Crace and Abel Caudill, Union Soldier, American Civil War.
Great-great-grandparents: Nancy Avelena Tackett II and Andrew Jackson Wiley, Union Soldier, American Civil War.
Great-great-great-great-grandparents: Virginia Jenny Sellards, who became more famous, when Jenny Wiley Kentucky State Park was named in her honor, and Thomas Wiley, American Revolutionary War.
Brothers: Albert Roy and Arthur Floyd Lowe and James Willis, who served in World War II.
Spouse: Mabel Darlene Perkins (1924-1992).
Enlistment Date: 10 December 1942 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Seperation Date: 14 December 1945.
Service Number: 35676879. Rank: Private. Sergeant. Private. Medical Aidman 657. MD.
Branch of Service: U. S. Army.
Combat Organization: 85th Custer Division, 339th Infantry, Company B. Transferred to the 34th “Red Bull” Infantry Division, 109th Medical Battalion, Company A.
Battles, Campaigns, Theatres: Rome-Arno. North Apennines. Po Valley.
Service Outside Continental U. S. And Return:
~Date of Departure: 24 December 1943. Destination: NATO. Date of Arrival: 2 January 1944.
~Date of Departure: 10 March 1944. Destination: ETO. Date of Arrival: 14 March 1944.
~Date of Departure: 30 November 1945. Destination: USA. Date of Arrival: 8 December 1945.
24 December 1943: The 339th Infantry boarded the USS General Alexander E. Anderson at Hampton Roads Port of Embarkation, headed for North Africa.
5 June 1944: The 339th Infantry march into Rome, Italy.
6 June 1944: D-Day, Invasion of Normandy, France.
September 1944: WOUNDED in Italy.
27 September 1944: A letter written by Wayne to his sister-in-law, Daskum. Neither Daskum nor he knew that her husband and his brother, Albert “Jake” had been killed in action on the 16th of September 1944. “... Guess Mother has told you I got hurt, but not too bad. I got shot through the arm. I hope you have heard from Jake. I have not for a long time... Maybe this will soon be over & all the boys come marching home.”
27 October 1944: From 2628 Hospital Section APO 790, Wayne wrote a letter to his sister-in-law, Daskum. “... Sending you a picture ... the boy in the picture is Glenn Dixon. If you see his people, show it to them... I will be going back to my company. I hate to go back. Some of my friends won’t be there.” [Glen Dixon (1922-2014) WWII Veteran, son of Lutisha Brown Dixon and John Russel Dixon of Letcher and Knott County.]
19 December 1944: A letter written by Wayne to his sister-in-law, Daskum. “Does Mother worry very much about us boys? Tell her not to. I sent her and Dad $50 each for Christmas. That was all I could do for them. There’s not anything here to buy that is worth very much.”
Battles, Campaigns, Theatres: Rome-Arno. North Appennines. Po Valley.
U. S. Awards: American Theatre Ribbon. EAME Theatre Ribbon with 3 bronze stars. Good Conduct Medal. Rifle Sharp Shooter. Medical Badge. WWII Victory Medal. Purple Heart. Medical Battalion Meritorious Service Unit Badge.
Date of Death: 17 April 2002.
Place of Death: Condell Medical Center, Libertyville, Illinois.
Cemetery: Mount Airy Cemetery, Natrona Heights, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.
NOTE: I placed my paternal uncle, Artie Wayne Lowe on my ~ Lowe Stephenson Rose Burchfield Murphy Whitt; Littleton Caudill Salisbury Crace Adams Wiley Webb Boone ~ Paternal Family Tree, that I created on Ancestry.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
LOWE, JAMES WILLIS (1916-1978), U. S. ARMY, EUROPEAN THEATRE, WWII.
Hometown: KODAK, Perry County, Kentucky, USA.
Other Residence: Breathitt County, Kentucky. Riverton, Franklin County, Nebraska. Lookout Coal Camp, Nutall, Fayette County, West Virginia. Kenmont Coal Camp, Jeff, Perry County, Kentucky. Yellow Creek Coal Camp, Yellow Creek, Knott County, Kentucky. Meem Haskins Coal Camp, Kodak, Perry County, Kentucky. Marion, Grant County, Indiana.
Date of Birth: 16 March 1916 in Breathitt County, Kentucky on birth record. Born in Morehead, Rowan County, Kentucky, in family Bible and on military documents.
Parents: Marryle Levisa “Louisa” “Vicie” Littleton and James Franklin “Jim” Lowe.
Grandparents: Rosanna Caudill and George Washington Littleton, Jr.
Great-grandparents: Mary Polly Salisbury and George Washington C. Littleton, Sr., Union Soldier, Who Died in the American Civil War.
Great-grandparents: Katherine “Katy Ellen” Wiley and Pleasant Caudill, Union Soldier, American Civil War.
Great-great-grandparents: Elander Nellie Skidmore and John Jesse Littleton, War of 1812.
Great-great-grandparents: Mary Polly Crace and Abel Caudill, Union Soldier, American Civil War.
Great-great-grandparents: Nancy Avelena Tackett II and Andrew Jackson Wiley, Union Soldier, American Civil War.
Great-great-great-great-grandparents: Virginia Jenny Sellards, who became more famous when the Jenny Wiley Kentucky State Park was named in her honor, and Thomas Wiley, American Revolutionary War.
Brothers: Albert Roy, Arthur Floyd and Artie Wayne Lowe, who served in World War II.
Spouse: Sillar Morgan.
Sports: Baseball Catcher, Meem Haskins Coal Mine Company Team, Kentucky River League, Kodak, Perry County, Kentucky.
Entered Service From: Kentucky.
FIRST ENLISTMENT DATE: Unknown, but on 5 October 1937, Willis wrote a letter from Station Hospital, Fort Howard, Maryland.
SECOND ENLISTMENT DATE: 27 October 1943, Fort Thomas, Kentucky. DISCHARGE DATE: 17 September 1945 at Separation Center, Camp Atterbury, Indiana.
Service Number: 6897285
Rank: Several times Willis would advance to Sergeant, just to be busted back down to Private.
Branch of Service: U. S. Army.
Combat Organizations: Company B, 68th Signal Battalion. 153rd Armored Signal Company, 13th Armored Division. Service Unit Battery, 752 Field Artillery Battalion. Headquarters Battery, 752nd Field Artillery Battalion.
Battles, Campaigns, Theatres: Service Unit Battery 752 FA BN, Northern France-Rhineland-Ardennes Campaigns. European Theatre, WWII.
Awards And Medals: Marksman with Carbine. Sharpshooter with Pistol. European-Middle Eastern-African Campaign Medal with 3 bronze service stars. Good Conduct Medal. Honorable Service Lapel Button. World War II Victory Medal.
9 May 1943: Private Willis Lowe, a Soldier at Camp Beale, California wrote a letter to his sister-in-law, Daskum Combs Lowe. “Hi, Daskum, ... I got on one of my usual drunks and had a fight with the M. P.’s. I looked like a hamburger the next morning. They made me a private again. ... I hope Jake can get a couple of days off to come home while I am there. ... Willis.” His brother, Albert “Jake” Lowe was in service at Fort McClellan, Alabama.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
LOWRY
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
LOWRY, LEE OTIS (circa 1922-1945), KILLED IN ACTION, GERMANY, WWII.
Hometown: COMBS, Perry County, Kentucky, USA.
Date of Birth: about 1923.
Parents: Lyda Phillips and John E. Lowry.
Brother: Holaus Lowry.
Entered Service From: Kentucky.
Enlistment Date: 23 October 1940.
Service Number: 15047002.
Rank: Private First Class.
Branch of Service: U. S. Army.
Combat Organization: 2nd Armored Medical Battalion, 9th Armored “Phantom” Division, WWII.
Date of Death: 12 April 12, 1945.
Place of Death: GERMANY.
Status: KILLED IN ACTION, WWII.
Disposition: BURIED.
Burial: Temporary Cemetery 4650. Permanent Cemetery 1202.
Cemetery: Ardennes American Cemetery, Neupre (Neuville-en-Condroz), Belgium. Memorial Plaque: WWII Memorial Plaque, first displayed at the Bobby Davis Living Memorial; currently displayed at Memorial Gym in Hazard, Perry County, Kentucky.
Monument: LEE O. LOWRY carved within the WWII military section on PLACE OF THE PATRIOTS, a memorial located in Hazard, Perry County, Kentucky.
U. S. Awards: Purple Heart Medal.
Note: “Command Posts, 12 April 1945, Steigra, Halle-Messenburg, Germany.” Source: 9th U. S. Armored Division “Phantom”, website: unithistories.com.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
MILITARY LEGACY OF PERRY COUNTY, KENTUCKY AND BEYOND
GENEALOGY ~ PHOTOGRAPHS ~ LETTERS ~ HISTORY