Friday, June 4, 2004

Leaving Their Mark On History
Heroes All, The Six County Survivors Of D-Day Invasion Tell Their Stories

By KEITH STRANGE | G-V Staff Writer

This Sunday, it will have been 60 years since June 6, 1944, a time when the world waited as Allied forces mounted the largest invasion armada - approximately 5,000 ships - in the history of the world.

It was an event that many in German-occupied nations had been silently praying for.

The official name of the attack was "Operation Overlord," but it has become known as D-Day.

F-Company, which included 94 men from Halifax County, landed with the first wave of the invasion.

The eventual assault was focused on five beaches in Normandy, France.

The Allies had lower than expected casualties on all beaches but one, Omaha Beach.

Comprised of 180 men, F Company was in the first group to land on Omaha Beach.

The unit suffered a 44 percent casualty rate.

The figures are staggering:
• 26 killed.
• 39 wounded.
• 11 missing in action.

All told, 84 percent of the men from South Boston and Halifax County who fought with F Company were killed or wounded.

Nine members of F Company are still living, with five still in Halifax County.
H.L. "Pete" Myers.
L.W. "Fats" Osborne.
Jim Adams.
Allen Moorefield.
Melvin Stevens.

The five "adopted" a sixth member, Bill Akers, who joined them in the invasion but wasn't a member of F Company.

They were barely out of their teens - five were 20 years old and the oldest was 29 - when they attacked.

Now they are senior citizens. And heroes.

When asked as a group what it was like to try to invade a heavily-fortified beach, Osborne said it best:

"All Hell broke loose.”.

These are their stories.

Melvin Stevens
"If everyone could see an invasion, there wouldn't be another war," Melvin Stevens, now 90 and a resident at Somerset nursing home, said.

The men of F Company were loaded onto the Thomas Jefferson, a troop ship, several days prior to the invasion.

On the night of June 5, when preparations were complete, the ship turned toward France.

"We knew that action was imminent," he said.

The men were then loaded onto smaller boats in preparation for the attack.

Company F was divided into six boats of about 30 men each.

"I vividly remember that the men in our boat sat quietly, too nervous to speak," he said.

Before they reached the beach, two machine gun bullets pierced the side of the boat "and we knew the war was really upon us."

Once the men got out of the boat and tried to run for the beach, the shelling started.

"Almost immediately, a large artillery shell hit near our vessel, knocking down those of us already in the water," Stevens said.

When they regained their footing, they saw the results of the shelling.

"Several of my friends were dead or injured," he said. "Some of them were horribly mutilated by the explosion."

Through artillery fire, mortars, machine gun and rifle fire, Stevens ran for the beach.

"The barrage was so intense I wonder how any of us made it to the safety of the sandy areas away from the beach," he said.

He was shot in the arm within 20 minutes, but continued to run for safety.
Joined by another wounded soldier, Stevens dug a hole to provide some safety.

They laid in it for 30 hours.

"From our foxhole, we watched the entire invasion unfold," he said.

He has described it as "a spectacular sight and at the same time a scene of unimaginable horror."

"It was a scene I will never forget," he said. "Looking back, I was lucky to get off that beach alive."

He looked away.

"It makes me sick to talk about it now," he said.

H.L. "Pete" Myers
"We got off the ship into the landing crafts and it was the only time I didn't get seasick in the really choppy seas," Myers, 80, and the former owner of a country store, said. "I think it's because I was so scared about what lay ahead."

The men were carrying around 100 pounds of equipment each.

"When the ramp dropped on the landing craft, I was the first one out the right side in four feet of water."

Immediately, German forces began pounding the men with small arms fire, machine guns and artillery.

"They started mowing us down like flies," he said.

Myers made it to the beach.

"I would run a few hundred feet, drop and fire. Get up and do it again," he said.

"They were just blowing us to bits. Bodies and parts of bodies were
everywhere," Myers added. "It's the only time in history where a wounded man was carried into the fire rather than away from it."

The then-20-year-old was hit by shrapnel that Tuesday morning. On Thursday, he was picked up for medical attention.

"I laid on that beach for two days and a night," he said.

Myers recalled his time waiting for help.

"People were crying and screaming all around me," he said. "Then the shells would hit and it would lift you off the ground.

"Bodies and arms and legs would come floating up to the beach.

"You don't ever forget something like that," he added.

Myers was taken off the beach by German prisoners.

"They had stretchers lined up as far as you could see on the beach and I made it to a hospital ship that night," he said. "The invasion was Tuesday and I finally received medications Saturday."

Myers was transported to a field hospital in England and spent 15 months recovering from his injuries.

L.W. "Fats" Osborne
"Lord, just help me get through this," Osborne recalls thinking.

Osborne, now 83, was the platoon Sergeant for F Company.

He remembers everything as normal on that June morning.

"Until we hit the beach. Until the first man went off the boat," he said. "Then all Hell broke loose.

"We were wide open out there where the Germans had been fortifying that beach for three years.

"Those machine guns just murdered us that day," he said.

Osborne said the chaos began when the landing craft's ramp dropped.

"A lot of the men never got out of the water," he said.

German pillboxes were on each side mowing down the men with 88 mm guns.
It took Osborne and his men several hours to make it to the beach.

"What I remember the most is the mass confusion on the beach," he said.

"People were hollering and yelling for help and you wanted to help them but you couldn't help yourself."

Once on the beach, Osborne and many of the men headed for a low rock wall on the beach.

"Thank God for that wall," he said.

From behind the wall, Osborne and his men - the lieutenant had been wounded so Osborne took command - began returning fire to the pillboxes.

But it didn't seem to be doing any good.

They also had to blast their way through barbed wire and a minefield to get to the pillboxes.

They succeeded.

Slowly making their way up the steep hill on the beach, the group took German prisoners from their fortified pillboxes.

"You had one chance to get to them," Osborne said. "Through the little slits they were firing from."

A sniper attack ended Osborne's personal nine-day war on the road to St. Lo.

But the memories remain.

"Never a day passes that I don't think about some part of it," he said.

Jim Adams
Adams, now 81, got hit the first night on the beach.

"I was knocked out," he said. "I'd gotten hit in both legs and couldn't see."

Adams said he still doesn't know how he made it to the hospital ship.

"I went to England for about a month and was back on the front lines in November."

Where he was wounded again.

"Pete (Myers) explained it well," he said. "That first night, it was pure Hell."

Allen Moorefield
The only one of the six who wasn't wounded, it was a day or two before Moorefield, 82, got off the ship.

"I was a cook," he said. "But after we got a foothold, we went out and started picking up the dead and wounded."

By all accounts, it was a grisly job.

"I remember them covering up the bodies on the beach in ditches dug with bulldozers," Osborne said. "We would take one dog tag off and bury them because we'd be coming back to get them later. We just put them in a bed sack and buried them about three feet deep."

"By the second day, you could walk from one end of the beach to the other without stepping on any sand, there were so many bodies," Myers added. "There wasn't anywhere that you could look without seeing dead bodies."

Bill Akers
Looking around the room at his adopted "family," Bill Akers, 80, said that before the invasion he didn't know anything about the men of F Company and what they would do. He only knew the men around him.

"These boys adopted me back in Halifax," he said. "Then we went over on the same boat together."

Akers said he felt woefully unprepared for what he was about to face.

"I'd spent 13 weeks at Fort Bragg carrying a wooden gun," he said. "Then they put me in an outfit connected with the 116th Infantry, 111th Field Artillery."

Because he had to wait about 30 minutes after the infantry before going onto the beach, Akers said he was one of the lucky ones - or maybe one of the unlucky ones.

"They put us into the landing crafts about nine miles off of the English Channel," he said.

About 14 men each on 13 landing crafts started for shore.

"The captain in charge got all upset because there were one or two landing crafts missing," he said.

The ships were being swamped in the choppy seas.

"We dumped all our equip and ammunition," he said.

As they headed for the beach, Akers said daylight was breaking.

"I'll never forget how quiet it was," he said.

Then the landing crafts were within range of the German guns.

"When the Germans opened up on us, it was just Hell on Earth," Akers said.

"They were firing everything at us."

Of the 13 boats that started for shore, the one carrying Akers was the only one to make it. Almost.

"My boat was cut in half by a machine gun," he said. "That's the last we saw of it."

A barge picked up the crew.

"The only gun saved out of 13 was our gun," he said.

While on the barge, Akers witnessed the carnage on shore.

"We saw men unloading equipment and then 'poof,'" he said. "And you knew what happened."

Akers described the beach as "looking up a gun barrel."

"I sat out there all day and watched," he said. "Finally, some of the infantry got in and got the pillboxes silent with a flamethrower. After that, the men began to move up the hill."

At around 7:30 p.m., Akers and his group made it onto the beach.

"But we didn't have any guns," he said. "They gave us a carbine and made us infantry."

On November 27, Akers' war days ended.

"A big shell hit and I flew back about 20 feet," he said. "I woke up nine days
later in a hospital."

Three years later, he was discharged from the hospital.

"I guess I was one of the lucky ones," he said. "Because a lot of the boys didn't come back home at all."

"We had been training for the attack every day," Myers said. "We knew everything there is to know about that beach.

"But all of those plans changed when we hit the actual beach," he added.

Each of the six scoff at the suggestion that they are heroes.

"We aren't heroes," Myers said. "The heroes are still over there. They are the ones who got killed."

"When people ask me if I was scared I tell them only once," Osborne said.

"And that was from the time I left until I got back home."

In a book commemorating the men of Company F, the late John "Buddy" Thaxton described the historic invasion as "murder and mayhem in its highest form."

But through their courage under fire, the men of F Company played a major role in an event that forever changed the course of history.

These men represent the very best Halifax County has to offer.

VDOT Acts To Demolish Bridge
Preservationists Of Clarkton Bridge Stunned By Action

With new orders calling for its destruction, historic Clarkton Bridge’s fate is once again in question.

Citing public safety concerns, Virginia Department of Transportation Commissioner Philip Shucet called Wednesday for the demolition of the historic bridge.

Clarkton Bridge preservationists were stunned by the action.

But the die is not necessarily cast.

“We are working to resolve the issue,” Del. Clarke Hogan said yesterday.

Hogan said he had talked with various officials yesterday.

“I think there is some confusion between VDOT and those supporting the (bridge) project,” he said.

“We are going to take it back to VDOT and see if they will reverse their decision.”

Hogan cited permanent ownership of the bridge as one issue.

Clarkton Bridge Alliance member P.K. Pettus said yesterday that the Virginia Historic Properties Revolving Fund is ready to assume ownership, responsibility and liability for Clarkton Bridge as its interim owner and that their insurers have confirmed the revolving fund can obtain liability insurance.

“The Clarkton Bridge Alliance is actively pursuing several prospects for long-term ownership,” added Pettus. “If VDOT needs to know more about the status of this effort, we are happy to discuss it.”

The Keysville native said the Alliance had concentrated its efforts on the details association with preparing to transfer ownership of the bridge to the revolving fund.

She said she knew that VDOT is eager to terminate their responsibility for the bridge.

“We are working with the revolving fund and local landowners to make that happen as soon as possible,” she added.

But in its announcement Wednesday, VDOT officials cited safety issues.

“Reports indicate that there is major structural damage to the bridge which could result in collapse,” said W.T. Ramey, P.E., VDOT’s Lynchburg District administration.

“Without major rehabilitation, the long-term viability of the bridge is in jeopardy. After extensive efforts to work with citizens desirous of saving the bridge, VDOT must consider the safety of area citizens and visitors to the region and proceed,” he said in a prepared release.

“This is a huge derailment,” said Alliance member Carl Espy of Halifax.

“Clearly, there is support from our elected officials n both Halifax and Charlotte counties,” he added.

The bridge, which spans the Staunton River between Charlotte and Halifax counties, has drawn support from supervisors as a tourism component in a walking and bike trail.

“As a 10,000 square foot wildlife watching platform spanning a state scenic river, Clarkton Bridge will be one of the most talked about, written about stops on the new Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail,” said Pettus.

“Increasingly, rural areas recognize that heritage tourism and nature tourism can be a key element in their economic development strategy,” she added.

“Why use state funds to destroy an asset when those same funds can be used to adapt this bridge to become a key element in pans for regional tourism and recreation?”

Both Espy and Pettus expressed astonishment at the turn of events, citing “shoulder-to-shoulder” efforts with VDOT officials on the project.

“We understand that VDOT attorneys in Richmond have raised new legal concerns,” said Pettus. “We are disappointed that senior VDOT officials acted upon this information without bringing all parties back to the table to discuss these concerns.”

The multi-span metal Camelback through truss structure was built in 1902.

VDOT described the bridge’s 1998 closing as the result of “extensive undermining” of one of the structure’s pier footings.

News Ferry Horse May Have Died From Eastern Equine Encephalitis
Two County Horses Died Of EEE And One Died Of West Nile Last Year

State sources are not confirming a News Ferry horse died in May from Eastern Equine Encephalitis, but a Chatham veterinarian says he is 99 percent sure that it did.

Two confirmed cases of EEE and one of West Nile killed three horses in the county last year.

Mosquitoes generally spread EEE and West Nile and humans also may be infected.

"It my opinion this horse had all the clinical signs of EEE and the blood test was positive for it," Dr. Paul Erwin, Chatham Animal Clinic, said yesterday.

Dr. Erwin, who treated the gelding, said the only challenge he could see is that the horse had been vaccinated for EEE. "Whether the positive was a response to the disease or the vaccination," he added.

"I'm 99 percent sure," he said of the EEE diagnosis.

Elaine Lidholm, state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services communications director, said yesterday the blood test had a low titer for EEE.

"It may have been (EEE), but it also may not have been," she said. "Our lab folks are not convinced on the basis of that blood work. It is certainly a possibility, but I cannot confirm," she added.

Suzie Powell, who owned the gelding, said the horse "suddenly became ill" April 23 at her News Ferry farm.

She said the animal developed neurological systems and ultimately became extremely sensitive to light and sound. The horse was eventually euthanized.

"I am so upset," said Powell. "People need to know this was a vaccinated horse and he had not been off the farm."

Since the gelding's death, Powell said she had given her other horses booster shots for EEE.

Lidholm also urged all horse owners to vaccinate for EEE and also for West Nile Virus.

Generally, EEE is transmitted by mosquitoes, advised Lidholm.

Typical symptoms include staggering, circling, depression, loss of appetite and sometimes fever and blindness.

There is no cure for the disease, but the Agriculture Department advises that generally it can be prevented through vaccination.

Prevention measures include destroying standing water breeding sites for mosquitoes, use of insect repellents such as DEET, and removing animals from mosquito-infested areas during peak biting times, usually dusk to dawn.

In a June 15 press release, the state Agriculture and Consumer Services Department confirmed the first positive case of EEE in Virginia this year in Chesapeake.

Comets Among Elite Eight
The HCHS Baseball Team Will Face Colonial Forge Tonight In Stafford

By JOE CHANDLER | G-V Staff Writer

For the second time in four years, the Halifax County High School varsity baseball team has earned a berth in the Group AAA state baseball tournament and will play for the Northwest Region Tournament title.

The Comets (19-4) will travel to Stafford today where they will face the Colonial Forge Eagles tonight at 6 p.m. in the championship game of the Northwest Region Tournament.

Both teams, thanks to wins Wednesday in their respective regional tournament semifinal games, have earned a berth in next week's Group AAA state tournament.

At stake tonight is a home game in Tuesday's opening round of the Group AAA state tournament.

The Northwest Region Tournament champion will host the second seed from the Northern Region in the opening round of the state tournament.

Tonight's loser will go on the road Tuesday to face the winner of the Northern Region Tournament in another of the opening round games.

Comets coach Kelvin Davis says while tonight's game is important as far as landing a home game in the state tournament is concerned, there is no pressure.

"Knowing we are already going to be in the state tournament takes a lot of the pressure off," Davis said.

"We know we have a good team and we know we have a good shot at winning this game. But, we also know that if we don't win this game we're still fine.

"We're just going to go up there and have fun and let these guys play like they have been playing," he added.

Having no real pressure staring his team in the face in this game is big, Davis said.

"You can't play the game of baseball under pressure," Davis said.

"This game is 90 to 95 percent mental. If you're really pressured and trying to do too much you're not going to perform well.

"Coach (Kenneth) Day, Coach (Ronnie) Duffey and myself try to keep these guys nice and relaxed," continued Davis.

"We know if they get tensed up they won't perform to the best of their ability.

This is what we've been doing all along. I hope the guys will continue to be relaxed."

The Comets reached one of their goals - qualifying for the state tournament - by downing C.D. Hylton 9-3 here Wednesday night.

That win put the Comets in the "Big Dance" and put them among the top eight Group AAA high school baseball teams in the state.

"We said at the beginning of the season this is where we want to be," noted Davis.

"Things are looking good for us right now and we're on our way to the state tournament.

"We haven't been there since 2001," continued Davis.

"I'm very happy for these guys because they have worked really hard this year to try to get back to the state and we're here."

Tonight's game presents an opportunity for the Comets to cash in the Northwest Region Tournament title - something they failed to do in 2001 when they advanced to the state tournament semifinals.

C.D. Hylton, playing at home, defeated the Comets in the regional title contest that year.

Colonial Forge advanced to tonight's regional tournament semifinal game by blanking Stonewall Jackson 9-0.

With the win, Colonial Forge (17-5) earned its first-ever Group AAA state tournament berth.

Colonial Forge shaded GW of Danville 7-6 Monday in the opening round of the Northwest Region Tournament.

Obituaries

Meredith Holderby Harrell

Meredith Holderby Harrell, 84, of South Boston died June 3 at her home.

Mrs. Harrell was the daughter of the late Andrew Roberdeau Holderby III and Clotilde Woods Holderby and was the wife of the late Richard O. Harrell Jr. She was a member of First Presbyterian Church of South Boston.

Survivors include two daughters, Meredith 'Bobbie' Harrell Tayler of Rougemont, N.C. and Caroline Wingfield Harrell and husband, Edwin T. Cramer, of Marshall; one son, Richard O. Harrell III and wife, Frances, of South Boston; seven grandchildren, Meredith Davenport of New York, N.Y., Molly Davenport of Lafayette, La., Marcus Taylor of Roxboro, N.C., Richard O. Harrell IV, Winston Harrell, David Harrell and Parker Harrell, all of South Boston.

Funeral services for Mrs. Harrell will be held tomorrow, June 5, at 11 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Dr. Russell Lee conducting the service. Burial will follow in Oak Ridge Cemetery.

The family will receive friends at the home this evening, from 3 until 5, and from 7 until 9.

Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider First Presbyterian Church, 800 North Main Street, South Boston, 24592, VMI Foundation, P.O. Box 932, Lexington, 24450, or South Boston-Halifax County Museum of History and Fine Arts, 1540 Wilborn Avenue, South Boston, 24592.

Margaret Rebecca Solomon Loyd

Margaret Rebecca Solomon Loyd, 59, of 1018 Dan River Church Road, South Boston, died June 3 at Lynchburg General Hospital.

Mrs. Loyd was born in Halifax County on December 1, 1944, the daughter of Wallace Jordan Solomon and Margaret Frances Chaney Solomon and was married to Bobby Lee Loyd. She was a member of Center United Church of Christ.

Survivors include her husband; her parents of Halifax; one son, Wallace Spencer Loyd of South Boston; one daughter, Margaret LeAnn Loyd of South Boston; one grandson, Zachary Tyler Loyd of South Boston; and one daughter-in-law, Michelle Henderson Loyd of South Boston.

Funeral services for Mrs. Loyd will be held tomorrow, June 5 at 2 p.m. at Powell Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. John Wilder officiating. Burial will follow in Union United Methodist Church Cemetery.

The family will receive friends at Powell Funeral Home this evening from 7:00 - 8:30, and other times at 512 Greenway Drive, South Boston.

Those wishing to give memorials are asked to consider Patrick Henry Boys & Girls Plantation, P.O. Box 1398, Brookneal, 24528.

Fred L. Sydnor

Fred L. Sydnor, 70, of 1132 Lower Liberty Road, Nathalie died June 1 at his home.

Mr. Sydnor was born in Halifax County on September 20, 1933, the son of the late Ed Lee Sydnor and Katie Mosley Sydnor and was married to Nettie Johnson Sydnor. He was a deacon at Ellis Creek Baptist Church.

Survivors include his wife of the home; six Godchildren, Gloria Lee Powell of Roxboro, N.C., Barry Mabins, Wayne Mabins, Darlene Mabins, Kim Stone and Gregory Mabins, all of Nathalie; one brother, Joe Sydnor of Nathalie; two sisters, Katie Coleman of Clover and Sally Bett Coleman of Nathalie; one God sister, Christine Mabins of Nathalie; two devoted friends, Waverly Jennings and Sandra Smith, both of Nathalie; two sisters-in-law, Olivia Sydnor and Mary Liza Johnson, both of Nathalie; three brothers-in-law, Charles Coleman of Clover, Charlie Jennings and Jimmy Coleman, both of Nathalie.

Funeral services for Mr. Sydnor will be held June 6 at 2 p.m. at Ellis Creek Baptist Church with the Rev. Rodney Forest officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.

The family will receive friends at the home.

Virginia Guill Throckmorton

Virginia Guill Throckmorton, 89, of Scottsburg died June 1 at the home of her daughter and son-in-law, Nancy and Bud Countrymen in Rockbridge County.

Mrs. Throckmorton was born in Halifax County on September 1, 1914, to the late Ethan Allen and Florida Virginia Guill, and was married to the late Alton Hagood Throckmorton. She was a member of South Boston Seventh Day Adventist Church.

Survivors include two daughters and sons-in-law, Nancy and Bud Countrymen of Rockbridge County and Doris and James Carter of Virgilina; two granddaughters and husbands, Tammy and Tommy Pool and Deborah and Brock Thomas; one grandson and his wife, Lloyd and Sheila Smith; a grandson, Jamie Carter and his fiance', April Compton; four great-grandsons, Will and Gabe Pool, Alex Carter and Landon Thomas; and one sister, Anne B. Beckedorff of Greensboro, N.C.

Funeral services for Mrs. Throckmorton will be held today, June 4 at 2 p.m. at Powell Funeral Home Chapel with Pastors Garland Day and Jeff Taylor officiating. Burial will follow in Oakland Cemetery at Scottsburg.