WWII M-P

Mackey  2014-51 Tb 119R8Sa2

Burkley McKey left 2014-51-1c (2)

 Berkley Moreland  Mackey Jr. ( April 24, 1916-24 Feb 1987), a Valdosta native,  was the son of  Berkley and Doma Mackey and grandson of John Newton Bray and Corranette Brinson Bray.  He enlisted in the Army March 3,1942 and was honorably discharged February 24, 1946. After the war, he returned home to work at the J. N. Bray Company. He met Dorothy Evans Morgan and they were married in Henderson, N.C. on the 22nd of March 1947.  In 1957 he became 1st  Vice President of the J. N. Bray Company  and  president of J. N. Bray Company from 1962-1977.

His Ike jacket housed at the museum still contains his honorable discharge patch, US collar disk, aviation disk, and awarded ribbons including the  Army Good Conduct, Asiatic Pacific Campaign, American Campaign, WWII Victory Ribbon.

 Milam  1987-498,504 Tb 36R10Sa1

87-498-01a

Ralph Milton  Milam  (b.1923- d.2010)  enlisted June 9, 1943. At the time of his enlistment he was married to Margaret Kearns. His four pocket full jacket with belt and pants Georgia State Guard Uniform features a Georgia collar pin and US collar disk, and a Georgia State Guard Patch on the sleeve. His shoulder bars and his garrison cap indicate he was a captain.  From 1945-1987, he owned the Milams Furniture Store in Valdosta, Georgia. He moved to Atlanta and married a second time to Betty P. Milam. He is buried in Riverview Memorial Gardens in Valdosta, Georgia.

Miller  89-580 TB 95R8Sd4

 Kenyon Orville Miller (15 July 1922-12 May 1944)Kenyon Miller purple heart 001 loved planes and  like so many other boys he made many model airplanes. However, it was his first flight that fueled his interest in airplanes.  Wiley Post and Harold Getty, who had flown around the world, visited Valdosta in 1931 in the Winnie Mae. They took R.E. Miller,  Kenyon”s father; a County agent for Lowndes County, and Kenyon on a flight in the Winnie Mae. Kenyon learned to fly as a teen at the Valdosta Airport. He first enlisted with the National Guard in 1939. At the end of his service he attended Valdosta High School before enlisting in the Army Air Corp January 1942. Sadly, he could not be a pilot in the US Army because he was unable to pass the eye exam, but he did become first a navigator and then earned his gunner wings at Ft. Myers, FL. He was stationed at Air Service Command in England. He wrote to his mother that he had shot down 3 Nazi planes on his first mission over enemy territory. Not quite two months after he was stationed in England, Sgt. Miller was killed in a raid over Germany, his body and the plane went down in the English Channel. He had paid the supreme price for his country.  His tomb stone is at the Sunset Hill Cemetery in Valdosta, Georgia.

For more information on Wiley Post and Harold Getty’s visit to Valdosta see https://valdostamuseum.com/exhibitions/online-exhibits-2/transportation/aviation/

Note: See also Kenyon Miller’s VHS belt buckle under a future link within this web site collections/ textiles/ Valdosta High School

 The book  National Guard of the United States: State of Georgia  Book  1939 contains a brief history of Company G, 1st Battalion, 121st Infantry of the Georgia National Guard the “Valdosta Videttes” and a photo of Kenyon Miller in this company. A copy of this book is housed on the main floor of the museum library named for  Hugh L. Vallotton  (UA 150.A3).

 

 

Morrow  2010-2 TB 119R8Sa2

Morrow, Dr William 1969 PineconeWilliam (Billy) Mack Morrow (b. Aug 21, 1924-d. Jan. 17, 1985) was born in Nashville, Tennessee. He enlisted in the Army at Fort McClellan in Alabama November 3, 1943.

His U.S. Army green Ike jacket  with pants was donated by his wife Fay M. Schartel still contains his 8th Army patch 100th Division, his Army infantry collar pins, US pins, honorable discharge patch, and awarded ribbons including the  Bronze Star, Good Conduct, American Theatre Campaign, European African Middle Eastern Campaign, WWII Victory, Army of Occupational Medal, and National Defense Service. His shoulder bar indicates that he was a captain.

He moved to Valdosta in 1967 as a professor at Valdosta State University in Political Science. William Morrow died January 17, 1985 in Valdosta, Georgia and is buried in Franklin, Tennessee in the Evans Cemetery in Williamson County, Tennessee.

See also Fay Schartel Morrow’s dress in TB119 (same acq #)

Plair 2019-102 TB 14

 

Ivey W Plair Sr. (b. 1921 d. 2011) a Valdosta native, according to his obituary, served in the 165th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army during WWII. He was assigned to the Central Pacific Islands including Makin Island-the most northwest island  in the Giberts, Caroline Islands, Canton Islands,  Parry Islands in Eniwetok Atoll (Operation Catchpole) and lastly Okinawa. During his occupancy, he obtained some textile items which became artifacts documenting the location of his services. Meanwhile, the 7 stripes of his arm document 3 1/2 years oversees, 3 year hashmark, and raise to technical sergeant and confirms the 27th Infantry Division by the patch shown here with the stars. Other divisions on his shirt include 43rd Infantry Division (red with black leaf), 10th Pacific (red triangles one upside-down), and the 48th Infantry Division (red and white star).

He returned home November 1945 and married Clyde Elizabeth Donaldson. He bought and ran a men”s shop  the Ivey’s (The Men’s Shop) and together were very active member of the community and church. Amongst his accomplishments was be part of the Red Carpet Committee welcoming new comers to Moody Air Force Base and  extensive work in the Lion and Lioness Club.

His collection is unusual in that it not only includes his uniforms shirts, hats, blanket, overcoat and canteen but also an unbleached muslin square cloth possibly for a card table showing a “map” “Hawaii Paradise of the Pacific, a cloth napkin  with “Okinawa Josio Karnaai” embroidered in green and white in chain stitch, a
table cloth and 4 napkins  with“ Aloha Hawaii” painted in brown on unbleached muslin, a silk yellow scarf with the words “ Hawaii Sunshine at the crossroads of the Pacific South,” and lastly a pillow cover in silk with an American flag, the Stars and Stripes, and “Forever with Sweetheart” poem finished with blue and gold fringe.

Irvin Cohen 2019-75-55 is place here as part of the Plair acqusition

Another story in this same Plair acquisition was very touching. When Ivy Plair came home, he bought the men’s shop from Samuel Levy Cohen (1893-1966). Samuel had opened  the shop in September 1939 and named his men’s shop Irvin after his son Irving Samuel Cohen born 12 October 1920. The shop was located on 122 N Patterson Street in Valdosta. Irvin was to return home after serving his county in WWII to run the shop. His father, a WWI veteran, kept a portrait of his son in uniform on the wall at the shop.  Lt. Irvin S. Cohen, while serving as a navigator with a bomber group flying from England was lost in action over German territory July 26, 1943. When the shop was sold to Ivy Plair, Ivy kept the portrait hung on the wall to honor Irvin’s memory and service. When the store closed the portrait was taken down and came to the museum.  Though his portrait is not a textile, it is included here since he was to run a men’s clothing shop and to continue to honor him for his heroic service for our country.

The Plairs also continued to support and honor other US military efforts. See more of this acquisition in the Vietnam section of this website by clicking here https://valdostamuseum.com/collections/textiles/military/korea-and-vietnam-eras/   and their modern support by clicking here https://valdostamuseum.com/collections/textiles/military/present-military…vice-1990s-today/