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Remembering Pearl Harbor

The USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor is one of the America’s most solemn national landmarks. The assault would sink more than half of the Pacific fleet and lead to monumental change in American’s daily life.

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KNOXVILLE – Friday Dec. 7, 2002 marked the 60th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Special ceremonies were held at the site in Honolulu, Tennessee and across America commemorating the men who lost their lives that Sunday morning in 1941 and launched America into the midst of WWII.
The national historic site is a piece of American history that touches all who see it. Sixty years later the oil still leaks from the USS Arizona, which serves as a tomb for not only those trapped in the ship when it sank, but for men in these later years who request that their ashes be sent into the shipwreck to join the comrades they lost on that fateful day. On the boat ride out to the Arizona Memorial, you see the markers for the other ships lost that day, including the USS Tennessee. The naval officers, who man the boat to the memorial, request that all who step onto the deck of it remove their hats and observe the respectful silence owed brave men.
As you walk along the memorial to the massive wall that bears the names of the men lost, you get a sense of loss that is overwhelming, especially when you think of the other ships that would be lost in the years ahead and the men who would perish in service to their nation as they fought to fend off enemies that literally threatened the shores of America. For me personally, it took on a special meaning as I thought of the men I met growing up who were at Pearl Harbor that Sunday morning and my father, grandfather and uncles who never thought twice about what they had to do as citizens and left their Knoxville home to enlist as soldiers, airmen and, in the case of my grandfather, as an Army instructor.
They are gone now and the other men who survived WWII are passing away at a rate of 1,000 per day in this nation as are the stories of these American warriors who left their homes to take the fight to the enemy at the four corners of the earth and return victorious.
Among those brave men still among us who fought in the Pacific is a South Knoxville native named William W. McGill, who enlisted in the Navy following the attack on Pearl Harbor.
"I was pumping gas at my father’s filling station in South Knoxville when word came over the radio that the Japanese had attacked Pearl Harbor," said William W. McGill, "and couldn’t believe it. The people I told thought I was lying because no one thought any nation would attack America. I was in Young High School at the time and the more I thought about it the more I knew what I had to do and enlisted in the Navy."
McGill didn’t find a receptive welcome at home as he had to get his father to sign a permission note since he was not of age to enlist without it. His father and mother fought him on it, but Wes McGill was determined to join his four uncles who were already in the service. His father relented and the South Knoxville native shipped out to San Diego for basic training. He was your typical East Tennessee boy. He had spent summers on the family farm in Wears Valley, was used to hard work and loved guns.
When he received his first assignment to the fueling ship the USS Kanawha, he was a little more than disappointed as he wanted a real combat assignment. He never expected that his ship would become a piece of history on April 7, 1943 when they would pull in to the Battle of Guadalcanal. McGill, who was serving as a gun captain, saw the skies above him open up with Japanese planes pounding his ship.
"I look back now and remember thinking I was dead," said McGill. " I thought there was no way the ship could take it. I remembered firing and firing until the word came to abandon ship. The one thing they taught you was to never jump into the water in white because it would attract sharks and here I went over the side in my white underwear. I was worrying about sharks and waiting until I was picked up a couple of hours later by a P.T. Boat and the Marines adopted us when we got there and saw that I got some new clothes."
While in the water and fearing sharks, McGill gathered the nerve to pull a bleeding Kentucky sailor to safety and tie him to a floater hose until he was rescued – trying to steer clear to avoid attracting sharks.
The incident on the Kanawha would be later enshrined in the book "Profiles in Courage" when future President and then Naval Lieutenant John F. Kennedy would write about the USS Kanawha and seeing men leaping from the flaming ship into the dangerous waters.
McGill would be picked up and transferred to the USS Colorado where he saw service throughout the Pacific and became regarded as one of the best gun captains on the ship.
"My men may have hated me at times," said McGill, "but I held training sessions every time I could until those guns became automatic to them. On a ship like the Colorado, getting into action fast was primary to surviving an attack from Japanese Kamikaze. My men knew what to do and when to do it. My love of guns and my East Tennessee heritage made me want to be the best and hopefully encourage other gun crews onboard and I may be partial, but I think we were the best."
McGill and the USS Colorado became one of the most decorated ships in WWII – serving at Tarawa, Kwajalein, Eniwetok, Saipian, Tinian and the Philippines. At Tinian, Japanese batteries unloaded on the Colorado blasting it 22 times with eight-inch shells and seriously wounding McGill.
After receiving medical treatment, the Knoxville native remained at his post throughout the war and the Colorado was recognized for firing more ammunition than any other naval ship in WWII – a fact that earned it the assignment of escorting the USS Missouri to Tokyo Bay where the final surrender was signed between the United States and Japan.
McGill, who, among numerous other decorations, holds eleven battle stars from WWII for his service on the Kanawha and the Colorado. He remained in the US Navy until he retired with more than 20 years of service. Following his retirement, he returned to Knoxville and used the G.I. Bill to put himself through the University of Tennessee where he graduated with a degree in history. He carries the scars of a veteran both physically and mentally, but has the unique ability common to warriors of the ages to put them into perspective. His experience is one that he has passed along to many students and interested scholars of WWII and is a stickler for maintaining the dignity owed to the friends and colleagues who didn’t return from the fields of combat.
"I am a believer in getting the story straight," said McGill, "and someone who has lost many friends over the years for calling their hand on medals or decorations from WWII they had for things they never did. Those of us who survived from the days of Pearl Harbor and lasted through WWII owe it to those who didn’t return to keep the facts straight and pass along what we learned to the next generation. It has been and is now the only way this great nation will survive and prosper."
Ed Hooper
TN Online

Courtesy USS Colorado Alumni Association

This is a photograph of the USS Colorado after the Tinian assault, which resulted in McGill being seriously wounded. The ship would go on to fire more ammunition than any other US Navy ship in American history.

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Newfound Gap Road closed until Dec. 22

GATLINBURG – Beginning this past Monday managers at the Great Smoky Mountains National Park announced the closure of Newfound Gap Road to through traffic and say the closure will remain in effect through Dec. 21 to allow for safety-related reconstruction of the two tunnels that carry the road up the Tennessee side to the crest of the Smokies at Newfound Gap.
Although through traffic between Gatlinburg and Cherokee, N.C., will have to take alternate routes, motorists will still be able to travel up Newfound Gap Road from the Park’s Cherokee entrance to gain access to many of the Park’s popular overlooks and trailheads. Motorists entering through Cherokee will also be able to access Clingmans Dome Road until Dec. 1 when it will close for the season.
On the Tennessee side the road will be closed about two miles south of Gatlinburg, but access to other popular visitor destinations including Cades Cove and the Cherokee Orchard Road will remain unaffected.
Work will be suspended from Dec. 22 through Jan. 2, 2002 to permit heavy holiday traffic. During this holiday period the lanes in the tunnel will still be narrower than usual so buses, recreational vehicles and other oversized vehicles will not be permitted.
On Jan. 3, 2002, a second period of full closure will be imposed through Jan. 18, followed by up to two months of alternating single lane traffic through the tunnels.
Park mangers emphasize that during the full closure periods the Tennessee side of Newfound Gap Road will be closed to all public use, including hiking, cycling and horseback riding. In addition to the road closures, four Park trails will be closed as well. Those trails are Chimney Tops, Road Prong and Alum Cave Trails in their entirety, along with the two mile segment of Huskey Gap Trail from Huskey Gap down to Newfound Gap Road.
The closures are being done in the off-season of the Park in order to ensure the work could be accomplished with as little inconvenience as possible to visitors and regular users of the Park.

There is some grumbling among Cherokee workers who regularly cross the mountain on U.S. 441 to get to work and will now have to take longer routes to work, but all agree that the work is necessary and needed in order to accommodate the changing size of RV’s and repair some problem areas of the tunnels.
To keep up to date on the road, you can get current information on Newfound Gap Road construction by calling toll-free 1-888-355-1849 or in the Gatlinburg area by calling 436-1200. On-line information is available at www.nps.gov/grsm.

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TDOT Excavation of Cemetery Outrages
Historical Groups

SEVIERVILLE – Members of local historical groups, city residents and descendants of those buried at the Historic First Baptist Cemetery off Emert Street were outraged last Tuesday when Tennessee Department of Transportation’s contract archaeologists tore open the ground and discovered numerous early American graves.
The graves lay directly in the path of proposed State Highway 448, which would connect Highway 66 to Dolly Parton Parkway.
Officials with TDOT say archaeologists have found more than 50 graves and expect to find more as the excavation continues.
When the bodies were unearthed in the ground opening by the heavy equipment, local Native American Indian Movement spokesman Carl "Two Feathers" Whitaker and other activists gathered at the site to observe the ongoing archaeological surveys being conducted by DuVall and Associates of Franklin, TN.

"What we do in a Phase Two operation like this is trench the site and determine its limits, recover data and preserve any archaeological discoveries," said DuVall and Associates Field Supervisor Chris Hazel. "When we find something, we mark it with one of the colored flags. A Phase Three would include exposing and removing whatever archaeological evidence is found from the site."

While Hazel would not confirm at the time that they had indeed discovered human remains or burial sites, this reporter was asked to cease taking photographs in the city park of the working archaeological teams and leave the work area because "the actions were considered by DuVall and Associates to be a desecration to the burial sites."
Later in the day, however, TDOT officials admitted that gave sites were discovered. They also stated they believe that there are probably no Native American graves in the cemetery, but Whitaker claims there is documented proof that, while no pure Native American grave site may be located on the site, many spouses of the settlers buried in the cemetery were Native American.

"Chuck Bentz of the University of Tennessee has documented proof that many of the early settlers buried here had Cherokee wives," said Whitaker, "and that some earlier samples taken from earlier digs did not rule out a Native American presence prior to this becoming a cemetery. In any event, we know there are Native American remains in this cemetery and we will fight to protect them. This is a piece of property within the boundaries of Sevierville that reeks with early American history and more than one veteran of the Revolutionary War is here as well as many from the War of 1812. It was the very reasons I have been told this place was made into a historic park in the first place."
Representatives of the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution as well as the Daughters of the War of 1812 are expected to join NAIM in filing for an injunction to stop the digging. Whitaker says he has contacted an attorney in Maryville who is going to p rob ably start filing the necessary paperwork after the Christmas Holidays and says he will fight the battle to the end
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"This isn’t just about the Native American Repatriation Act," said Whitaker. "This is about a piece of real American history being destroyed. The people who settled this region were from all walks of life. They were the real pioneers that built this city and East Tennessee into what it is today and the least owed them is the common respect given to the resting places of brave men and women."
Members of the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution expressed similar sentiments.
Helen Allen, who is the Registrar of the Spencer Clack Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and one of Sevier County’s leading historical preservationists, was recovering from surgery when she learned that the graves had been uncovered. According to members of her immediate family, she was "heart-broken" over the desecration of the graves and is looking forward to getting on her feet again and fighting the proposed highway.
"She couldn’t believe they were just plowing up the cemetery," said a family member, "and acting surprised that there were actually graves there. She and every other historian of merit in the county has told these people repeatedly there are numerous unmarked graves in the Forks of the Little Pigeon Cemetery. One not mentioned much is a Captain John Seahorn from Jefferson County who served with John Sevier in the Revolutionary War. There is even a letter in one of the local museums from Sevier asking Seahorn for men to add to one of his Revolutionary campaigns. There is no other property in Sevier County that is so relevant to our history as this cemetery and to see it tore up like it is now is too much to bear."

Other activist were also furious and contacting, newspapers, radio station and local historical groups daily to see how they can lend support to the fight to preserve the cemetery.
"The state has tore into a piece of sacred ground like a bunch of rooting hogs," said one neighborhood resident, "and I was shocked when I looked over and just saw mounds of dirt piled up along the trenches by a backhoe. You can actually look into the trenches and see the outlines of what looks like caskets. The city and the county really need to find a way to reroute around the site and put the cemetery back to the way it was. It falling into disrepair was the very reason the historical groups fought to turn it into a park in the first place and preserve it. What bothers me most is the fact that the city was supposed to hold this in trust for future generations – not wait until they could get away with running a highway through it."

TDOT is expecting to get DuVall’s final report early next year and say they will reassess the project. Local governments they say will also be consulted about any possible changes in the proposed highway route.

For previous story on

Graves uncovered in TDOT excavation
of historic cemetery

 

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East Tennessee soldier killed near Kandahar

T ELIZABETHTON– Flags decorate the yards of Elizabethton and fly at half-mast in the city as memorial services were held at Fort Campbell, KY to honor an East Tennessee Green Beret, who was killed on a special operations assignment in Afghanistan in a "friendly fire" incident.
Thirty-nine-year-old Master Sergeant Jefferson "Donny" Davis of Watauga was one of three U.S. soldiers killed when a bomb missed its target north of Kandahar. The 2,000 pound Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) bomb was dropped from a B-52 and landed around 100 yards from the soldiers position. The munition is directed by a satellite navigation system and considered one of the most accurate weapons in the American arsenal. The JDAM was first employed in Kosovo during 1999 and has an excellent reputation.
The three soldiers were attached to the Army’s Third Battalion, Fifth Special Forces Group, which is based out of Fort Campbell, KY. The other two men were identified as Sgt. First Class Daniel Petithory of Massachusetts and Staff Sgt. Brian Prosser of California.
According to reports, five Afghan fighters were also killed and 20 other U.S. soldiers were injured in the incident. Sixteen of the injured were also Green Berets and four were Air Force Special Operations Controllers from the 23rd Special Tactics Squadrons based at Hurlburt Field, FL.
Pentagon officials say a thorough investigation of the incident will be conducted to learn exactly what happened to cause the bomb to go astray.
President Bush and both Senators Frist and Thompson expressed their condolences to the Davis Family following the incident.
"My thoughts and prayers go out to the Davis family," said Sen. Frist, "and their friends during this difficult time."
President Bush also expressed his condolences to the families of the men killed and said "I want the families to know they died for a just and noble cause."
Sgt. Jefferson D. Davis lived in Clarksville near Ft. Campbell with his wife Mi Kyong Davis and two children.
The East Tennessean spent his youth in upper East Tennessee, where many relatives, including his immediate family, still reside. Many family members say Sgt. Davis died doing what he loved and they consider him a hero for his unselfish service to his country.
"He was a career military man," said Elizabethton resident Jerry Moore, "and he loved being a Green Beret. This has hit his family hard and will for some time. Donny Davis was a man to be proud of and meant a lot to many people here. I remember him as always being respectful and well-mannered man who would do anything he could to help people. He was supposed to attend his class reunion this year at Elizabethton High School, but had to cancel after the terrorist attacks in September put Ft. Campbell on alert. His service speaks well for the entire Davis family and I also think to this state. Every time America calls, Tennesseans are on the front lines defending this nation’s honor and that deserves recognition. Sgt. Jefferson Davis was a credit to the United States Army and died an honorable and just death defending his nation. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and especially his wife and family. "
According to Army officials, Sgt. Jefferson D. Davis’ mission was to call in exact bombing locations to the Air Force after locating enemy strongholds. The task is regarded as one of the most potentially hazardous missions in a battle.
The East Tennessean was laid to rest with full military honors in his hometown of Elizabethton on Tuesday Dec. 18. Although eligible for burial at Arlington National Cemetery, his wife decided to bury her husband in the hometown where his family still resides saying he would prefer to be laid to rest in the town he loved

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‘Penny for the Parks’ program hopes to end closures

NASHVILLE – Although the state park closures have not affected many Tennessee counties, numerous residents are enlisting their help in the newly organized "Tennesseans For State Parks."
The new coalition is advocating for a "Penny for the Parks" of the state gas tax to pay for reopening the parks closed by Governor Sundquist. The idea, which received its first heavy-weight endorsement from Knoxville Mayor Victor Ashe, has gained numerous supporters, including "Friends" organizations of the parks that were closed.
The organization claims that one penny of Tennessee’s gas tax would generate the funding necessary to "address the current budget crisis" and would ensure the future of Tennessee State Parks system.
One penny of the state gas tax, they claim, would raise the $3.2 million needed to fund the Parks system and raise an additional $27 million to protect additional park land in Tennessee. They say each penny generates approximately $30 million, which is two percent of TDOT’s $1.4 billion budget.
The plan isn’t without some criticism, including from many conservative legislators in the Tennessee General Assembly, who say the money in the road fund should be left alone.
Tennessee’s current transportation mandate is to build four-lane roads that connects every one of the state’s 95 county seats to a major interstate – a project estimated to be 53 percent complete.
"We have many small rural areas in this state that need a four lane road to connect them to an interstate so commercial development can go forward in those areas," said one legislator, "and cutting into the road budget to do that could be a huge setback for completing this mandate. It is going to be a hard-sell in the Legislature, but I am sure someone will try to propose it. Tennessee still has a ways to go in order to open up the entire state to economic opportunities."
Members of the organization, however, claim that the money taken would not affect the mandate of TDOT and say closing the parks hurts Tennessee’s economy and will eventually affect the road building budget more than the "Penny for the Parks" program.
"The best argument to give back to those who would criticize this program," said Parks supporter Tim Farmer, "is the fact that Tennessee State Parks attract more than 29 million people to them – more than visit all the National Parks combined in Tennessee – and, at a time when this so-called ‘budget crisis’ is hurting the state, it makes no sense to close some of the largest tourist draws in Tennessee. It is like cutting our nose off to spite our face. This program will also allow funding to preserve other land in the future in order to balance the scales of development versus preservation."
There have also been many environmental claims made by members of the "Penny for the Parks" organization to support their arguments with those who oppose the idea. American truck drivers recently rated Tennessee highways as the best in the nation and members noted that the state ranks seventh in the nation in the loss of open space to roads and other developments.
"Our biggest thing right now is to get Tennesseans involved in this program and put a halt to what a lot of people see as a political hatchet job on state parks by a disgruntled Governor," said one organizer. "All we want to do is find a way to keep parks open so nothing like this can happen again. If people want to join the more than 20 groups already supporting us, they should call (615) 386-3171."

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A RIVER RAN THROUGH IT
The legacy of the Readyville Mills
By Jeff Servais

Twelve miles east of Murfreesboro, in a picturesque countryside valley, the sounds of the Stone’s River rushing toward a newly dug channel masked distant voices of child-like excitement. Eagerly, the river pushed down the new channel, racing toward a massive structure constructed of fresh lumber.
Standing on the front porch of the new Readyville grist mill, Charles Ready eagerly awaited the arrival of the river like a child who rests their ear to a railroad track patiently waiting for the distant rumble.
It was a warm summer afternoon in 1812, and beads of sweat rolled down his face and dropped onto a plank of wood, a common sight during the past year of tireless construction at the mill.
"Here she comes," shouted Charles to 40 or so men and women all staring down the empty trench with sheer anticipation. Raging down the channel, the rerouted river smashed against the banks and rapidly pulsed toward the onlookers.
Hearts pounded.
Seconds later, the observers were overcome with joy and excitement as the river poured under the mill, splashing against the water wheel, before running back into the main channel downstream.
Overcome by an incredible feeling of accomplishment, Charles Ready shed a smile of success.
Nearing two centuries later, the mill is much different. In its dilapidated state, it takes a child’s imagination to picture how it must have looked during its heyday as an economic center. The dried up river channel leads to a mass of splintered wood piled under a rusted water wheel. Inside, cracked floorboards, cobwebs, and piles of rubble occupy much of the rooms. All the windows are missing and have been replaced with plastic wrap that the wind has taken its toll on. It’s a drastic change than how Charles Ready might have remembered it.
But the mill has been under the hands of a few more than just Ready. In 1878, 19 years after Ready’s death, Robert Carter rebuilt the structure after a devastating fire (the cause remains unknown). He added a flour mill and ran it for the next 11 years.
In 1889, the mill changed ownership again. W.B. Hayes, who owned the mill for the next 46 years, provided corn meal, flour, lumber, ice, electricity, and a machine shop to those in neighboring areas, according to the PARQ’s website. During this time, the mill site became an economic center. People traveled from all over to take advantage of the mill’s products and resources.
The mill would evolve yet again, in 1935, when Leslie and George Justice purchased it. They installed turbines and replaced the grinding stones with steel rollers to produce white flour. The mill would continue in this state until 1970 when it changed owners again and provided whole wheat, buckwheat, and corn meal. According to PARQ member Jim Rust, the mill shut down in the 1980’s when it was no longer turning a profit.
So why is a building with such a rich history of economic importance drifting into a state of deterioration?
This question is probably best posed toward the PARQ organization, which attempted a restoration project several years ago. The PARQ, Preserve the Area’s Rural Qualities, focuses on maintaining a rural way of life in Readyville. To this day, they have been unable to acquire ownership of the mill.
The PARQ hasn’t lost hope and continue to remain active, recently hosting a scavenger hunt. This fun event brought the community together while teaching them about some historical landmarks in the community.
"Readyville is really lucky to have an organization like this," says resident Ray Dunham. "I would love to see them fix up the mill some day."
As I scoped the grounds of the mill on an unusually warm November afternoon, I tried to imagine how it must have looked in the 1800’s – with people riding up in horse driven carriages to purchase flour, have tools made, and to hear of the local scene. I pictured the Stone’s River rolling down the channel and pushing the water wheel. It seemed that this symbol of early Tennessee life, still standing tall and sturdy, is well deserving of a renovation.
Like Charles Ready, I stood on the front porch of the mill and stared down the channel. Although no water was coming my way, I still felt a bit of excitement. It is uncertain whether it was my imagining what it may have been like in Ready’s day, or hope for the future of what it could be again.
###Those interested in learning more about Readyville or preserving the Mill should check out (www.geocities.com/readyville) on the Internet, or call (615) 409-6009 for information on PARQ.
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