Veterans Day and my Hall family

Originally posted in 2009; worth a repost.  To all our veterans out there, thank you for your service.

For Veterans Day, I'd like to salute my dad, his four brothers and one of his sisters for their service to our country. All five of the Hall brothers of Sulphur, Louisiana, served in the U.S. Navy. How they felt about their sister serving as an Army nurse, I'm not sure, but I'll have to pose that question at the next family gathering!

My late dad, George Hall, served as a fighter pilot in World War II in the South Pacific.


George Hall, c. 1944. Photo privately held by author.

He originally trained on dive bombers, but switched to fighters when he heard more fighter pilots were needed. He flew an F6F Hellcat from the aircraft carrier USS Hancock in 1945, and years later, was still thrilled to see and discuss planes he trained in or flew in the war. Kudos to our family friend who recorded Dad's reminiscences a couple of years ago on DVD.

(By the way, Thanksgiving gatherings are a great time to record family memories! See the StoryCorps website for ideas.)

Dad was following in his older brother Bob's footsteps by joining the Navy. Robert Lee Hall (1920-2003) was a baker and petty officer on the troop ship APA 117 Haskell during World War II, and later on the aircraft carrier USS Boxer. He helped set up bakeries on ships and on various Pacific islands, including New Caledonia, New Hebrides, and islands in the Samoas and Fijis.


Robert Lee Hall, 1940s. Photo privately held by author.

Uncle Bob told his hometown paper 50 years later, "I remember the terrible heat below deck in the ships' kitchens and also in the tropical island kitchens. And sailors. I got so tired of seeing sailors, day after day, year after year, for the six years I was in service." The monotony was no doubt alleviated when my aunt Martha Burch, as his fiancée, took a troop ship to meet Uncle Bob in the Samoas, where they married and lived for a time.

John Bunyon Hall (1923-2008) was the third Hall brother to serve in the South Pacific during WW II. He worked in the torpedo parts room aboard the sub tender USS Fulton. He was part of a gunner's crew that shot down two attacking enemy planes during the Battle of Saipan.


John Bunyan Hall, 1940s. Photo privately held & digitally edited by author.

Two other living uncles served in the Navy after World War II, and one of my aunts was an Army nurse.  To respect their privacy, I won't name them here but will just say how proud we all are of all our relatives who have served in the military! Happy Veterans Day!

Explore your family's military history.  Talk to relatives, find out more about requesting military personnel files here and check out free records available at familysearch.org, for a good start.

Text copyright 2009 & 2012 by Liz Hall Morgan, all rights reserved.  Photos courtesy of Hall family.
Originally posted at: http://mybigfatfamilyblog.blogspot.com/2012/11/veterans-day-and-my-hall-family.html

Memorial Day: Remembering Ulysses Sonnier

Ulysses Sonnier, circa 1942.  Courtesy of the Sonnier family, Lafayette Parish, Louisiana.

This Memorial Day weekend, I've been thinking about a second cousin I never got the chance to meet.  Ulysses Sonnier ("you-LEASE" in Cajun French) was the brother of my Sonnier cousins of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana.  He was born to Jean Baptiste ("John B.") and Aline (Legere) Sonnier on Sept. 1, 1922, the ninth of their 14 children, in the small community of Ossun, near Scott, Louisiana.

I didn't know him, but I can tell you that his family spoke Cajun French as well as English (probably more French at home), were devout Catholics, and lived in a rural community of farmers near a larger college town.  He attended a local elementary school where, in the '20s and '30s, he probably was punished if he spoke French instead of English.  The 1940 census indicates that he completed high school.

The Sonniers attended Sts. Peter & Paul Roman Catholic Church in Scott, where many family members were christened or married, and where several are also buried in the small cemetery.  If he were like other cousins in the area, he probably had plenty of farm chores, but may have enjoyed fishing and hunting in his spare time.  Social activities revolved around the church and visiting with relatives.  His maternal grandparents Euclide and Eugenie Legere lived very near and he probably saw them quite a bit, along with other relatives who lived in the area. 

A muster roll I found on Ancestry.com gives Ulysses' Navy enlistment date as July 14, 1942, at the age of 19. (He may have joined the Naval Reserves before then.)  Two older brothers may already have joined the Army by that time; they also served in World War II, while a younger brother served in Korea. Ulysses was an Aircraft Machinist's Mate 2nd class who was assigned to the Pacific escort carrier U.S.S. St. Lo (CVE-63). 

The muster roll reports the date he "was first received on board" as April 18, 1944, so Ulysses would have been aboard the carrier to support the invasion of the Marianas and the epic air battles now known as the "Marianas Turkey Shoot," as well as the invasion of the Philippines.

Just after that action, Ulysses and the St. Lo's task group faced overwhelming odds on October 25, 1944, when a large Japanese force was spotted approaching the Leyte Gulf.  The small escort carriers, then off the Philippine island of Samar protecting transports and Gulf beaches, were no match for battleships and other heavy-duty vessels--no large-scale American backup was nearby--but somehow they prevailed, though with losses, in the "Battle off Samar."

The battle was, for the most part, over in about three hours, and the Japanese ships were retreating. But according to the official action report, the sailors of the St. Lo had no more than about half an hour to ponder their unlikely victory before everything plunged into chaos once again. With watches in place, a few St. Lo planes and a couple from damaged sister carriers were being landed on deck, refueled and reequipped with bombs.  There was even a chance for those in combat since 0700 to have a cup of coffee and breathe again, when antiaircraft fire was heard, an alert went out, and two minutes later at 10:53 a.m., a kamikaze pilot struck the deck of the St. Lo.  The plane and its bombs exploded, triggering several more explosions, fires and the eventual sinking of the carrier.  Just when it seemed the crew could celebrate a David-and-Goliath-type victory, an attack by one Japanese pilot changed everything for the St. Lo, its crew, their families, and for the Sonnier family back in Louisiana.

I have not heard the story of how the family got the news of Ulysses' death, and I do not know exactly how it affected them.  I have only recently come to know a few of them myself, but I wanted to pay tribute to the one relative I know of who lost his life in war, at least in recent memory.  One sister wrote me that they are proud of all their family members who served in the military, and I suspect that Ulysses, and the Sonnier family, would probably echo that sentiment: If he was a hero, then all who served were heroes, whether or not they died in action.  He was, like many other young men from small towns across the country, just doing what needed to be done.  It's a sentiment I have heard more than once from World War II veterans.

At least a couple of siblings have been active in the St. Lo Association, and some of Ulysses' siblings, nephews and nieces have attended its reunions.  Ulysses was survived by his parents, his maternal grandfather, and 12 of his 13 siblings in 1944.  Today, more than 67 years later, three siblings remain who remember Ulysses at age 22, and perhaps a handful of older nieces and nephews, cousins, classmates or St. Lo crew members.  But many, many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, cousins, and other family members will remember his sacrifice and keep his memory alive for years to come.

Thank you to my Sonnier cousins for the use of the photo above and information about Ulysses, and to the several military historians, amateur or professional, who have made info about the U.S.S. St. Lo and the Battle off Samar available online.  Additional sources include the 1930 and 1940 U.S. Census and several military records from Ancestry.com.  Any errors are mine; corrections and clarifications are welcome.  Text copyright 2012 by Liz Hall Morgan, all rights reserved.

New/updated Louisiana records on FamilySearch

FamilySearch.org has added quite a lot of new (and free!) Louisiana genealogy records in the last few months, in case you haven't noticed.  (You may have to sign up for a free account to view some records, and some collections are partially complete and/or not yet indexed, but fun to explore nonetheless.)

My dad's 1942 draft card (front), found in “Louisiana, First Registration Draft Cards, 1940-1945" on Familysearch.org

From the FamilySearch home page, you can browse by location.  Click on "USA, Canada, and Mexico" and scroll down the page to the Louisiana records.

(The collections are alphabetical by state/province--mostly.  If you're new to the site, browse around the page after exploring La. & then U.S. groups to make sure you don't overlook something useful.)

In September alone, FamilySearch has added or updated Louisiana-specific genealogy collections for:

• Civil War service records for both Confederate and Union soldiers (indexed)

• World War II and later draft cards: (Click on "browse images."  Links of broadly indexed groups will appear.)
     First Registration, 1940-1945, in progress, currently comprising surnames Davis - Linton statewide.
     Second Registration, 1948-1959, in progress, with groups posted by draft board number. The numbers correspond to an alphabetical listing by parish (1 = Acadia Parish, etc).  The highest board number currently posted includes a group of cards from Ouachita Parish.  Within each parish, names are in alphabetical groups.  You can estimate where in the group your relative may appear and enter a number in the image # box at the top of the page then click "return" or "enter"; try checking about halfway numerically, go by 100s, 50s, etc.  It takes time and patience but you may find some great info.
    Tip: Record the address info you find here as you prepare to search for your relatives in the 1940 U.S. census, available online to the public on April 2, 2012.

• New Orleans Passenger Lists, 1820-1945 (Click on browse.  There are links for two time periods, within which the lists are broadly indexed by date.  In spot-checking a couple of time period links, I'm finding 1900s records linked to 1800s headings. Oops.  Hopefully this will be worked out.)

• Orleans Parish 2nd District Judicial Court Case Files, 1846-1880 (In progress.  Indexed by year, then file number, currently from 1851 to 1873.)

There are more Louisiana-related genealogy collections; these are just the records added this past month.

You'll also find more genealogy records applicable to Louisiana relatives under "United States," such as the World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942, also called the "Old Man's Draft" (it was for men of ages 45-64), which is now indexed.  In the last few days, several new groups of Confederate records have been added under "United States," as well as a number of other military collections. Can't wait to explore more.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Dad's military personnel file, part six

I'm sharing the recently-acquired "official military personnel file" (OMPF) for my dad, a WWII U.S. Naval aviator in the Pacific, a few pages at a time.  Click here to see what I've posted so far, and click on any image to enlarge it.

After training as a U.S. Naval cadet in 1944 in Athens, Ga., St. Louis (where he trained in, among others, Boeing/Stearman biplanes like the one pictured below), and Pensacola, Fla., Dad was appointed as an Ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve.

 

George Hall, Planes of Fame Air Museum, Chino, Calif., Oct. 2009.  Photo by J. Morgan, privately held by Liz Hall Morgan.

The memo above concerns appointment as an ensign and reporting to the commandant of the Naval Air Training Center in Pensacola, Fla., for further assignments.  Dad's cohorts at the time included Arthur Dale Gripton, Robert Watrous Guernsey, Jerauld Anthony Gunzelman and Raymond Joseph Happley.

 

Above is the acceptance and oath of office, dated June 23, 1944.  Dad's oath: "I, George Constant Hall, having been appointed an Ensign, U.S. Naval Reserve, do hereby accept such appointment and do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."

 

Dad's official notice of his new designation, "Naval Aviator (Heavier-than-Air)."  (Meaning he is qualified to fly airplanes, as opposed to balloons or dirigibles, at least according to Wikipedia.)

Find out more about requesting military personnel files here.
Copyright 2010 by Liz Hall Morgan, all rights reserved.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Dad's military personnel file, part five

I'm sharing the recently-acquired military personnel file for my dad, a WWII U.S. Naval aviator in the Pacific, a few pages at a time.  Click here to see what I've posted so far, and click on any image to enlarge it.

Last week, I posted Dad's Navy separation document, which listed some of his training to become a Navy pilot.  Here are a couple of books he used during that training.

Dad had 13 weeks of "Prep Flight" training in Natchitoches, La., where he no doubt used the book pictured below:

Principles of Flying, manual used by George Hall and privately held by the Hall family, La.  Digital photo by Liz Hall Morgan, Jan. 2010.

Next was "WTS" [W---? Training School?] at SLI (now University of Louisiana Lafayette) in Lafayette, La. for 14 weeks.  Here is the log book for that training:

CPT Pilot Rating Book used by George Hall in US Naval aviator training and privately held by the Hall family, La.  Digital photos by Liz Hall Morgan, Jan. 2010.

Dad then trained in Athens, Ga., St. Louis, and Pensacola, Fla. before becoming certified as a naval aviator and receiving a commission.  (More on that to come.)  Dad also recorded his memories on a DVD; once I learn more about DVD editing, I will perhaps post a snippet or two of digital video and let him tell you about his service in his own words.

Find out more about requesting military personnel files here.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Dad's military personnel file, part four

I'm sharing the recently-acquired military personnel file for my dad, a WWII U.S. Naval aviator in the Pacific, a few pages at a time.  Click here to see what I've posted so far, and click on any image to enlarge it.

Although a copy of my dad's military separation document is one of the last items in his OMPF (Official Military Personnel File), I'm posting the scanned original as part four of this series.  Curiously, the file doesn't contain documents detailing his training as an aviator cadet, but this form lists the types of instruction he received with the location and duration of each, along with a wealth of other info. (Have you neglected military records in your own 20th-century research?  You might be surprised at how much info they contain.)  It seemed a logical next post as I discuss Dad's military career chronologically.

Notice of Separation from U.S. Naval Service (Form NAVPERS 553) for George Constant Hall, 21 Dec. 1945, New Orleans, Louisiana.  Digital scan of original privately held by the Hall family, La.  

A military separation document can provide a lot of genealogical information.  This one form contains: 

• my father's full name
• birth date and place
• residence
• date of enlistment
• date of entry into active duty
• date of commission
• date of separation, and
• place of separation.  

It also details the places Dad received specialized training and the length of each course:

• "PrepFlight," Natchitoches, La., 13 weeks
• "WTS," Lafayette, La., 14 weeks
• "PreFlight," Athens, Ga., 12 weeks
• "Primary, St. Louis, 12 weeks
• "Basic," "Instruments," and "Advanced," Pensacola, Fla., 27 weeks.

The form states that he served in Fighting Squadron Six (also known as VF-6).  Dad was a fighter pilot, and the form tells us that he served aboard the USS Hancock, an aircraft carrier stationed out of NAS Hilo, Hawaii.

Also given are dates and details of his previous employment, as a "derrickman (oil)" for the Union Sulphur Co. in Sulphur, La., and his preference (at the time) to work in aviation after leaving the Navy.  The form also lists his formal education (high school) and vocational training (3 months of machinist instruction) as of December, 1945.

Oh, and it tells me that Dad's draft board was in Sulphur, La., where the Hall family had lived since the 1930s.  For World War II draft records, only the Fourth Registration ("the old man's draft") is currently open to the public due to privacy laws.  I can wait for Dad's registration record--I don't expect to find any info I don't already know--but this is a great clue for my "mystery grandpa" Robert Bunyan Hall, who may have qualified for that registration (men who born on or between 28 April 1877 and 16 February 1897 who were not already in the military -- Grandpa's birth year is listed as 1875, 1877 and 1878 on various forms).  Currently, Ancestry.com does not have the Louisiana records (some records are online there), but they are available on microfilm.  Woo hoo!

While today's military separation forms (detailing release or discharge from active duty) are referred to as "DD Form 214" or "DD-214," the forms had other designations in the past.  The National Archives website states: "Before January 1, 1950, several similar forms were used by the military services, including the WD AGO 53, WD AGO 55, WD AGO 53-55, NAVPERS 553, NAVMC 78PD, and the NAVCG 553."  Find out more about requesting military personnel files here.

Copyright 2010 by Liz Hall Morgan.  All rights reserved.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Dad's military personnel file, part three

I'm sharing the recently-acquired military personnel file for my dad, a WWII U.S. Naval aviator in the Pacific, a few pages at a time.  Click here to see what I've posted so far, and click on any image to enlarge it.

This week concludes Dad's initial application for Naval aviator training.  A great find was letters of recommendation from his minister, principal and assistant principal in Sulphur, Louisiana.

Rev. T.J. Delaughter of First Baptist Church wrote a nice letter, saying local men "speak of [Dad] as being a good honest boy."  The pastor, I've been told, would stop by occasionally to have coffee with my grandma Elia Legere Hall, whose biscuits he really enjoyed.  Somehow, I doubt many Southern ministers were thin with all the good cooks around back then.  They always had some little something ready to serve with coffee for unexpected visitors; that's just how it was done, certainly among my Cajun relatives.

 

Principal I.D. Bayne's letter.  Interesting to see what the Navy underlined in considering Dad for training: "honest, reliable and sincere" and "courteous, industrious and cooperative."

Asst. Principal John S. Whatley's handwritten letter, on older letterhead.  I like the old fonts.  The Navy recruiter underlined "above the average" and "very cheerful and willing worker," good qualities for a potential pilot.

What treasures! Wonder if other high school grads applying to the Navy required letters of recommendation or just potential aviator cadets?

Find out more about requesting military personnel files here.

Treasure Chest Thursday: Dad's military personnel file, part two

I'm sharing the recently-acquired military personnel file for my dad, a WWII U.S. Naval aviator in the Pacific, a few pages at a time.  Click here to see part one, and click on any image to enlarge it.

These forms continue Dad's application for Naval aviator training.  Apparently there was no birth certificate issued in Lafayette Parish, La., in 1921 for him (The Louisiana Secretary of State's website says that statewide records were not kept until "about 1918." Some parishes were probably slower than others to comply), so his parents signed an affidavit giving Dad's birth date and place (actually in the community of Ossun, but the post office address was Scott).  This is the most handwriting I've ever seen from my "mystery grandpa," Robert Hall.

Dad was not quite 21 and had to have his parents' consent to enlist.  Now this is interesting -- the notary has typed my grandpa's name Robert Lee Hall.  I think this is a misunderstanding of "Robert B.," which Grandpa went by ('B' is for "Bunyan").  I may have to look for him as "Robert Lee Hall," in records now, though, if only to leave no stone unturned.  But certainly there were LOTS of Robert Lee Whozit's in the South--hence, the mis-hearing--and who would make up a middle name like Bunyan--then give it to one of his sons (my uncle John)??!!  Besides, he signed "Robert" on both forms.  I'm probably just wishing for a new Grandpa lead here.

Another fun find in Dad's application file: his Sulphur High School transcript.  He looks like a fairly solid 'B' student, with some C's.  Not surprisingly, his A's are in Geometry and Biology (he studied Bio in college, briefly attended med school, and ended up in the petrochemical industry).  Wonder if I can get his college records?  More fun to come with his recommendation letters next.

Would you turn over in your grave if your kids posted your HS transcript on "the Internets"? :)

Treasure Chest Thursday: Dad's military personnel file, part one

I received my late dad's military personnel file in the mail last week.  I knew it would have a lot of informative yet dry facts, but I also have found some surprising and fun things in it, so I thought I'd share a few pages at a time.  It was worth the two-to-three-month wait for the price: free!  (Contact the National Archives if you'd like to request your relative's records.  Be sure to ask for the entire file if you are requesting records for family history purposes.)

Here are a few of the items (click on any photo in my blog to enlarge it):

Some of the most interesting things were in Dad's initial application to become a Naval Reserve aviation cadet: a handwritten letter from Dad, recommendation letters, the most handwriting of my Grandpa Hall's (on a form) that I've ever seen, and dad's high school transcript, not to mention his photo at age 20, looking a lot like my nephew (those ears! those curls!).

Dad graduated in 1940 and, knowing the draft was coming, thought he'd join the Navy after hearing about it from his brother Bob.  Then he saw a newspaper ad saying high school graduates could apply for the Navy's aviation training, and that was it for him.

George Hall, December 2008, National Naval Aviation Museum, Pensacola, FL, with the ad that started it all.  Photo courtesy of my sis.

For more, read my Part 2 post here.

Copyright 2010 by Liz Hall Morgan