Military and Veteran News - Tipton County, TN

The First Tennessee regiment, which has been serving on the border in Texas, arrived in Memphis Sunday morning, after an absence of nine months. The soldiers marched to the Lotus building, where they will be quartered until mustered out.

Messrs. Edwin Sanford, Jesse and Robert Hunt, from this county, belong to this regiment and returned with the other soldier boys. Mr. Jesse Hunt came out the first of the week on a visit to the family of his father, Mr. W. N. Hunt.

Conrad Roberts, of this city, son of Mr. C. E. Roberts, joined the U. S. Navy Tuesday at the naval recruiting station in Memphis.

That veteran of the Civil war and Nestor of our county court, Esq. S. R. Shelton, was ninety years of age last Sunday, his birthday having been on Sunday, April 15, 1827, and the place near Guilford courthouse, in Guilford county, back in the "Old North State".

Esq. Shelton had a number of friends to call on him at his home on Elm street during the day, extend congratulations and express the hope that he may be spared to many more years of life and usefulness. These people voice the sentiments of many other people throughout our county and West Tennessee.

While the 'Squire is a little feeble from the effects of rheumatism, his eye is as bright and his heart is as young as yore, when he used to "stick" type on the Memphis and Alabama papers back in the forties and fifties. He is proud of being a "tar heel" and up until a few years ago was one of the strongest and most active men in our county, being able to tussle with the best of 'em, and could jump up and crack his heels together three times.

The First Tennessee regiment is expected to be called to Nashville now any day to go into camp and begin drilling. Messrs. Edwin Sanford, Robert and Jesse Hunt, of this county, are members of the Memphis battalion of the above regiment and are in Memphis and are expecting the every day. The Nashville battalion is already encamped and drilling regularly. Many more Tipton county boys have lately attached themselves to the National Guard and have also enlisted in the Navy.

Sergeant James Welch, a recruiting officer for the U.S. Navy, has been in Covington, with headquarters at the Huffman House, since Saturday and will remain over here until Saturday, April 28. Sergeant Campbell, who is seeking recruits for the Unites States Marine Corps. also spend Wednesday and Thursday here. Both come from the recruiting offices in Memphis. Sergeant Welch reported this morning that so far only a very few people had offered as recruits, and all of these were colored. Anyone wishing to confer with Sergeant Campbell on the matter of enlistment will find him at 260 South Main street, Memphis.

Five boys of this vicinity have joined the army for war against Germany -- Messrs. Bruce, Robert and "Tony" Tinkler and Messrs. John Moore and Ralph Strong.

Tipton County's Quota of 250 Men Will Be Selected From 500 Registrants Examination, August 6-7-8

The local exemption board, acting under instructions from the war department, has summoned through the mails 500 registrants in this county to appear before it for examination on August 6, 7 and 8. From this number the board will select 250 men, which is Tipton county's quota.

Any claim for exemption or discharge must be made on forms which may be procured, or the form of which may be copied at the office of the local board, and must be filed at the office of the local board on or before the 6th day of August.

The registrants will be called in the order they were drawn. The order numbers are consecutive from 1 to 2,681, the total number registering in Tipton County. Registrants may inform themselves of the order in which they were drawn by examining the official list. The first 500 drawn, and the first to be called into service from Tipton county, have been ordered, as stated above, to report on August 6, 7 and 8.

Written Graphic Account of Torpedoing and Sinking of Transport on May 31 - Was an Officer on the President Lincoln

Langston E. Miller, son of Mr. and Mrs. A. S. Miller, of this city, who was an officer on the U. S. transport President Lincoln, recently torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine, was afterward safely rescued and returned to France. Thence he crossed the Atlantic again, reaching New York on June 13. He reached Covington on a visit to his parents Sunday night, and will remain here until July 8. By request he has written the following account of the sinking of the President Lincoln:

Have been asked by many friends to given an account in the Leader of the loss of our transport, U. S. S. President Lincoln.

We were returning from our fifth trip across, and were 500 miles off the French coast, when at 8:57 a.m. Friday, May 31, we were attacked by this submarine.

We were steaming along with three other transports in convoy formation, when one of our officers who was out on deck saw the wake of the torpedoes, and instantly knew they were headed for the Lincoln. He yelled to the bridge torpedo and for the helmsman to give her hard right rudder so as to try and get out of the way of them. The torpedoes were then only about 75 yards away, and it was impossible to get out of the way.

I was at the time below decks, and when I heard the explosion of the torpedoes forward I knew what had happened and ran to my station, all others doing likewise. Before we had hardly recovered from the two torpedoes striking forward another struck aft and exploded.

Within three minutes from the time we were torpedoed the ship's crew was at their station, excepting those who were killed, injured or shut off by the water below deck and couldn't get out. When we arrived at our stations orders came from our captain to lower life boats, life lines and ladders. After we had completed this he found out that the ship would not stay afloat, and immediately gave orders to abandon the ship. Each man was then for himself. Some went over like frogs from a river bank, and others went down the lines and ladders into the water and swam to the life boats and rafts we had put over the side.

Everyone had sufficient time to abandon ship, as it was 18 minutes from the time the first torpedo hit until she went down.

In the meantime, the submarine that fired the torpedo had gone out 1500 or 2000 yards and was submerged, awaiting the return of some one of the three transports to get the survivors.

Fifteen or twenty minutes after the ship had gone down this submarine came up and cruised around among our boats and rafts, looking for the captain of our ship or some of the senior officers. after searching for some time and being unable to find our captain, as he had disguised himself, they took our first lieutenant prisoner, and also took many pictures as evidence of getting the Lincoln. While cruising around among the life boats, the German sub captain recognized one of our officers as an old schoolmate at Yale -- Mr. Cupid Black, Yale's football star. When Mr. Black's boat was alongside the sub and the sub captain looked the boat over, he said, "Shove off, Black, I don't want you."

At another time, the submarine cruised out about two miles away and picked up one of our men who had drifted away from us on a raft, and would have probably been lost, gave him hot coffee and cognac and then put him back in a life boat.

This submarine was about 200 feet long and about 30 feet wide, had two three-inch guns, one forward and one aft of the conning tower. There seemed to be a crew of 20 or 25 men on her. It was said the number of the boat was U-1011.

After about four hours' stay the submarine cruised off for fear of getting sunk by the destroyers, who had received our wireless and were coming to our rescue. After the sub left we got the rafts and boats together, and that night burned distress signal lights so they could find us upon their arrival. At 12 o'clock that night one of the two destroyers picked up 400 of the men, that number being all she could carry, and went out searching for the other destroyer. At 2 a.m. the other destroyer picked up the remaining 250 men, and we started out for the shores of France. After two nights and a day we reached France again, and there we went on board the U. S. S. Great Northern, another transport, for transportation to the United States.

Am very sorry indeed to state that out of our crew of 650 men we lost three officers and 23 men, who were killed or injured below decks by the explosion.

Mother of Missing Flyer Gets Awards

The Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal, awarded to Lieut. John Kelley of the Army Air Corps, before he was reported missing in action over Burma Nov. 17, 1943 were received Saturday by his mother, Mrs. A. A. Kelley, from the War Department.

The DFC was awarded “For extraordinary achievement by participating in combat missions totaling more than two hundred hours during which exposure to enemy fire was probable and expected. These flights, in which (he has) flown from bases in India and China, over Burma, Thailand and the Andaman Islands, have been eminently successful. By diligent attention to duty and superior execution of his assignment as member of a combat team in heavy bombardment aircraft, (he has)…contributed much to the success of many missions. The operations in which (he has) flown constitute acts of extraordinary achievement in aerial flights and reflect the highest credit on the military forces of the United States.”

The air Medal was awarded to Lieutenant Kelley “For meritorious achievement totaling more than one hundred hours, during which exposure to the enemy fire was probable and expected.” The awards were made while he was a second lieutenant. He was later promoted to first lieutenant, the rank he held when his plane crashed.

Lieutenant Kelley wrote his mother several months ago about releasing bombs that sank a large enemy vessel in Rangoon harbor, off South Burma.

Mrs. Kelley received a letter a few weeks ago from the pilot of one of the planes in Lieutenant Kelley’s formation on the ill-fated mission in which he stated that he saw the latter’s plane go down under control and that it appeared to have landed in a dry lake bed.

No other information has been received concerning the missing bombardier since that time.

(Published July 13, 1944 (newspaper unknown). Submitted by Susan Krall and Leslie Roane)