Scott County the Beginning
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PFC, AV Stanley,
German POW
A.V. Stanley was born in Oklahoma on January 13, 1916, his parents were John W. and Lucille (Acres) Stanley. He had five brothers; Hester, Dee, Alonzo, Harold and Goldman, one sister; China. PFC, Stanley served in the 1st Calvary from 1935 to 1938 before America joined the war. He served in the 106th Infantry Division in the United States Army during WWII. He was captured while participating in the Battle of the Bulge on December 21, 1944 and was held as a POW with PFC, Joe Chambers in the Stalag 4b POW camp. He was one of the 7,500 Americans who were brought to this camp in December of 1944 where they were held captive until after the Russian, Red Army liberated the facility on April 23, 1945 but held the Allied prisoners captive until June.
AV Stanley, was released on June 14, 1945. He was married to Dorothy (Reed) Stanley and they had a son; Jack Stanley and a daughter; Linda Sue (Stanley) Owens. He was a member of the American Legion Post #136. Rev. PFC, AV. Stanley died April 25, 1999 and was buried at the Pine Hill Cemetery in Scott County, Tennessee.
Sgt. James W.
Burchfield,
German POW
James W. Burchfield was born September 13, 1925 and was the son of Esau and Cora (Patton) Burchfield. James was a Staff Sgt. during WWII and saw action in the European Theatre and was wounded and captured by the German Army in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge on January 13, 1945. He was released from captivity on August 22, 1945 After returning home he worked as a mechanic with the Burress Brothers Garage, was an employee of Tennier Industries and a school bus driver in Scott County for many years. Sgt. Burchfield married Imogene (Ellis) Burchfield, they had three children; James, Susan and Sandra. He died November 3, 2008 and is buried in the Black Creek Crossroads Cemetery in Scott County, Tennessee.
Pfc. Odus Lowe,
German POW
Odus Lowe was born in Scott County, Tennessee on December 18, 1924 and was the son of WWI Veteran, Alfred and Kizzie Lowe. He served as a Private First Class in the US Army Infantry. Pfc. Lowe was wounded and captured in Europe on July 30, 1945 and was released on September 12, 1945. He was married to Wanda (Carroll) Lowe and had five sons; James, Oscar, Lonas, David and Johnny four daughters; Parthina, Faye, Dessie and Karen.
Pfc. Odus Lowe died March 10, 1977 and is buried in the Lowe Cemetery in Scott County, Tennessee.
William Edwin York, Jr, survivor; Bataan Death March
William E. York was born in Scott County, January 13, 1916. His parents were WWI veteran William, Sr and Ella (Jeffers) York. He graduated Huntsville High School and Draughn’s Business College and attended Lincoln Memorial University. He found himself in the Philippine Islands when the Japanese invaded with the 803rd Company B Engineer Aviation Battalion and was one of 60,000 prisoners forced to march in the Bataan Death March on May 7, 1942. He was held captive for three years and four and a half months at Tokyo POW camp, Shinjuku Bay Area 3, he was released on September 27, 1945. After his return home he was elected to four consecutive terms as Scott County Trustee, worked 11 years for the First National Bank of Oneida as a loan officer.
He worked as Postmaster of the Huntsville Post Office for 25 years until his retirement, he was 74 years of age. Bill was a member of American Legion Post#136 was a member and the treasurer of the Disabled American Veterans Chapter #91 and helped establish the Scott County Veterans Memorial Wall. He was married to Wilda (Sexton) York and they had five children; Ellen, Linda, Billie Jean, Sarah and William Andrew York. William Edwin York died July 8, 1999 and is buried in the Mossup Cemetery in Scott County, Tennessee.
Pvt. Billie B. Carroll, KIA in France
Billie Carroll was born April 30, 1918 in the Smokey Creek community of Scott County and was the son of Hugh and Lottie (Lowe) Carroll. Billie was one of 17 children of Hugh Carroll. After being drafted to the Army he was assigned to Company F, 41st Armored Infantry. This unit was a tank support unit and was assigned to the 2nd Army Division of General, George S. Patton. Pvt. Carroll was with the 2nd Armored Division when they landed at Omaha Beach, three days after the initial wave of the Normandy invasion on June 9, 1944. As the 2nd Armored Division made their push through Europe, Pvt. Carroll was in battles such as St. Lo and the Avranches against Germany’s 2nd SS Panzer and the 17th SS Panzergranadier Divisions. As General Patton’s Armored Division swept through the Avranches they crossed the bridge at Pontaubault and into Brittany. On August 6, 1944 after crossing the Pantaubault Bridge into Brittany, Pvt. Billie B. Carroll was killed in action. His body was returned home to Smokey Creek and interred in the Lowe Cemetery in Scott County, Tennessee.
Capt. Ralph Hoffman, 92nd BG, 326th BS
Piloted 26 missions over Europe during WWII
Captain, Ralph Hoffman entered into service on September 26, 1942 and was discharged with honor having been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters.
The accounts of Capt. Ralph Hoffman from the FNB Chronicles in the summer of 2004
Submitted by George Hoffman.
One of the roughest missions I flew was right after the Battle of the Bulge and I was pilot of the lead plane (led 36 planes in formation) as we flew low around 15,000 feet trying to help the front line. Capt. Robert Bennett, Jr. of Maryville, Tn, was reaching_ over me to wipe the windshield with a cloth for me to be able to see because it was fogging up so badly. The bombadier also suffered superficial facial wounds. Other crew members on board administered first aid to them and placed Bennett in a heated sleeping bag. The temperature in the plane dropped drastically and we were about three hours from base. I asked Bennett if he wanted me to land in France for him to get immediate medical attention and he declined, saying that he would rather make it back to base where he was known. As we approached base to land, the wheels wouldn’t release. We frantically tried changing fuses. Didn’t work. I made up my mind that with wounded on board and a crew to protect that all I could do was land, sliding the plane sideways into the grassy area of the air field and hope for the best. As one more try, I told the co-pilot to lay the screw driver across the fuse contacts while I pulled switches to release the wheels. Thankfully, I began to hear the humming sound of the wheels as they were lowered. About this time, we came in sight of the runway and it was iced over from a snow that had fallen during the night. Lucky for us, as I approached touchdown, I saw that the airport crew had the foresight to de-ice that part of the runway and when the wheels of the plane touched down we had immediate traction and a smooth landing after all.
Another memorable mission of mine was being a pilot of a formation of 12 planes that flew over 10,000 British and American prisoners of war to an airfield west of Paris, France on one day. One of the last missions, we flew the entire 8th Air Force over the City of London to show the British what an armada of over 3,000 fighters and bombers looked like.
Ralph Hoffman went into business with his brother in Maryland until he was recalled for Korea duty. After his release he owned a Western Auto Store franchise in Oneida and was partner in two Ben Franklin stores. He is a member of the Oneida Kiwanis Club, County Solid Waste Board, and Scott County Chamber of Commerce.
Submitted by; George Hoffman and Timothy Wilson, Winfield Elementary School