Molena resident has ties with 1941 naval tragedy
With the recent surge of patriotism, veterans are held in high esteem for their sacrifice in serving their country. The honor is elevated to ultimate sacrifice when a life is given in sustaining America's freedom as a nation.
When Almeda Ellis died eight years ago at Molena Nursing Home, she left a story of sacrifice, service and patriotism. Her niece, Molena resident Lizanne Lawrence, keeps the memories alive through verbal accounts and scrapbooks of yellowed mementoes clipped from the pages of world history.
Almeda Stewart was born in 1914 in Wilmington, N.C. Her older sister Elizabeth later became Lizanne’s mother. In 1929, Elizabeth married Robert B. Ellis, a Navy man and 1926 graduate of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.
His friend and fellow graduate Heywood Lane Edwards was single, so he decided to introduce him to his sister-in-law Almeda. They married in 1935. Edwards was from Texas which earned him the nickname “Tex.”
The brothers-in-law served in the Navy during the lull between wars. Ellis saw action in two wars and earned admiral rank before becoming commandant of the Naval base at Guantanamo Bay prior to Castro’s rise to power. Edwards’ duty ended in “ultimate sacrifice,” weeks before the Pearl Harbor attack brought the U.S. into World War II.
Tex Edwards was the commander of the USS Reuben James, a post World War I four stack destroyer. The ship was named after a 19th century boatswain’s mate who saved Capt. Stephen Decatur’s life from Barbary pirates.
As World War II started the U.S. took the stance of neutrality but allowed the Navy to help convoy British supply ships in the north Atlantic. The Reuben James was based in Iceland and sailed her last voyage from Newfoundland Oct. 23, 1941.
At 5:25 a.m. Oct. 31, the ship was torpedoed by a German submarine. It sank quickly but 44 of the 159-member crew survived. Most survivors were young sailors except for a chief boiler-tender. All officers, including Capt. Edwards, perished.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt did not want the Reuben James tragedy to draw the U.S. into war with Germany but after Dec. 7, 1941, the date that would “live in infamy,” the country had no choice.
For more, read the Wednesday, Nov. 11 print/eEdition of The Pike County Journal-Reporter.
Almeda Stewart was born in 1914 in Wilmington, N.C. Her older sister Elizabeth later became Lizanne’s mother. In 1929, Elizabeth married Robert B. Ellis, a Navy man and 1926 graduate of the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.
His friend and fellow graduate Heywood Lane Edwards was single, so he decided to introduce him to his sister-in-law Almeda. They married in 1935. Edwards was from Texas which earned him the nickname “Tex.”
The brothers-in-law served in the Navy during the lull between wars. Ellis saw action in two wars and earned admiral rank before becoming commandant of the Naval base at Guantanamo Bay prior to Castro’s rise to power. Edwards’ duty ended in “ultimate sacrifice,” weeks before the Pearl Harbor attack brought the U.S. into World War II.
Tex Edwards was the commander of the USS Reuben James, a post World War I four stack destroyer. The ship was named after a 19th century boatswain’s mate who saved Capt. Stephen Decatur’s life from Barbary pirates.
As World War II started the U.S. took the stance of neutrality but allowed the Navy to help convoy British supply ships in the north Atlantic. The Reuben James was based in Iceland and sailed her last voyage from Newfoundland Oct. 23, 1941.
At 5:25 a.m. Oct. 31, the ship was torpedoed by a German submarine. It sank quickly but 44 of the 159-member crew survived. Most survivors were young sailors except for a chief boiler-tender. All officers, including Capt. Edwards, perished.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt did not want the Reuben James tragedy to draw the U.S. into war with Germany but after Dec. 7, 1941, the date that would “live in infamy,” the country had no choice.
For more, read the Wednesday, Nov. 11 print/eEdition of The Pike County Journal-Reporter.
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