Letter From Freed POW Shared With Herald Readers
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As the country paused Monday to solemnly honor the men and women who paid the ultimate price for our country’s freedom, it is fitting to share news from the Herald archives 80 years ago, as World War II was winding down.
As originally printed 70 years ago, in the May 24, 1945 edition of the Herald, relatives and friends were anxiously awaiting news from service men who may have been imprisoned in German POW camps. The war in the European Theater had just ended and news from the soldiers liberated was starting to trickle in. A letter written by Lt. Howard White, brother of county superintendent Herman H. White, was shared with Herald readers. He had been freed on April 29:
Dear Mother and Dad:
I am well, however at the present time I am so stuffed from overeating that I am almost sick. I have come through without being injured in any way. On Sunday we were made free men. It was a very good sight to see the American Flag flying from the town flag pole.
There is no way of knowing how soon I will be home but they will try to get us out of here as soon as possible, so please have those old uniforms of mine ready to mail to me when I get to the states.
This will be the first letter written in over two years that will not have to be dated two days in advance, and I will be glad to write with a pen which the Goons would not allow us to use. I don’t have any love for these people over here and I wish I were going to be able to repay a few debts I owe them. They have never kicked or beaten me and perhaps they gave the best they had. Well that wasn’t good enough.
Tell all the folks hello for me. I will write all of them as soon as a I can. It will be wonderful to see all of you again. A short time ago I had to do a little work which let my supper settle so I am ready to eat again and I feel good.
Your son, Howard White.
• 60 Years Ago, May 27, 1965 – Baseball fans in this area will be in for a treat Friday afternoon of this week when one of the State BB baseball play-off games will be played on the Water Valley field. The game, slated to be played at 3 p.m., will be between the South Mississippi Championship winner, Beulah-Hubbard and the North Mississippi Championship winner, the Coffeeville Pirates.
This was the second of a three-game series. Beulah- Hubbard won the first game. In the next edition, it was reported that Pirates won the second game. In the third game, played in Winona, the Pirates narrowly edged out the southern team, 2-1, described as an extra inning thriller. In the third game, Coffeeville’s Rickey Denley smashed a single to drive in Mike Jones in the bottom of the eighth inning. Allen Parker, the ace right-hander from Coffeeville, tossed a two-hit ball game and allowed only one run, which was unearned.
• 70 Years Ago, June 2, 1955 – Farmers near Water Valley suffered damages that will probably pass $100,000 as a result of the heavy downpour of rain which fell in this vicinity Saturday night.
According to Rudolph Erickson, a total of 3.26 inches of rain feel between 7:30 and 12 o’clock. The heaviest part of the rainfall came around 10:30, and at that time water covered Main Street of Water Valley, coming into some of the stores on the upper part of the street.
Much of the farmland in O’Tuckolofa bottom, from Highway 7 eastward, was covered by overflow waters and young cotton was either buried by the silt carried by the waters or washed away. Tributary creeks also overflowed their banks, causing similar damage to farm lands. Meetings were held in Water Valley to discuss the possibility that the impounded waters in Enid Reservoir might have contributed to the flood of the farmlands by preventing the quick drainage of the lands affected.
Ten 4-H boys from Yalobusha County will enter the statewide judging contest. The following teams and members will participate: General Livestock – Mike Boone, Doug Person, Danny Ross Ingram and Harry Duvall; Junior Diary – Johnny Perkins, Van Perkins and Ross Cardwell; Junior Poultry – Herman Champion Jr., J.W. Goforth and Jerry Tate. The boys earned the right to partici- pate by placing in the top three teams in their contest at Batesville in March.
• 90 Years Ago, Friday, May 24, 1935 – The Water Valley High School Class of 1935 was set to graduate Friday night, with a membership of 17 boys and 17 girls. The class was reported as one of the largest and best to graduate in years.
Through the efforts of Mrs. C.R. McLavey, a Yalobusha County History will be placed in Public Schools and ERA libraries throughout Yalobusha County. The ERA Historical Project, supervised by Mrs. Sara McCorkle, had compiled accurate data under the direction of Mrs. C.R. McLavey of Coffeeville, as regards Indian Lore, the founders of towns and villages of the county, activities of the towns and the principal personalities from antebellum days until the present era.
Combining facts and flavored with Southern humor, the project was certain to prove one of the leading supplementary scripts of county school and ERA libraries. Both photos and illustrated drawings are to be found, with the illustrating being handled by Miss Clyde Beadles of Coffeeville.
The publishing of this script was financed through the ERA Recreation Department endeavors along with the aid of local clubs.
