Elizabeth Read Manning was my gggggGrandmother. She was born in 1740, probably in Brunswick County, Virginia. She was married to Thomas Manning who was also probably born in Brunswick County, Virginia about 1740. Elizabeth's parents were William Read (1720 VA-1764 VA) and Elizabeth Thomas/Hubbard. I'm not yet sure of her maiden name. Children of William and Elizabeth Read were:
Elizabeth Read 1740- Elizabeth married Thomas Manning.
Catherine Read- Catherine married James Quarles.
Susannah Read - Susannah married James Mathews
Frances Read- Frances married Mr. Stone.
Thomas Read - Thomas married Sarah ?
John Read - John married _____Wilson.
Lewis Read
Robert Read
Anner Read
Mary Read
William Read
I was able to identify the names of these children from the wills of William Read and Robert Read from the Brunswick County Virignia Will Book #4. There is a great deal of information to gain from the wills.
From the will of William Read, I found the given names of his children and the maiden names of several of the daughters. In the will of Robert Read, in addition to the names of his siblings, their are names of some of his neices and nephews. What follows are the abstracts of the wills of William Read and his son, Robert Read.
Brunswick Will Book, 4, p. 393, Dec. 31, 1762, Feb. 27, 1764. Will of William Read of St. Andrews Parish. To son Thomas my boy Ellick now in his possession. To son Robert my manor plantation whereon I now live and Negro girl Rhoda. To son William Read Negro fellow Dick. To dau. Frances Stone one shilling. To dau. Catherine Quarles Negro Sam. To dau. Elizabeth Read Negro girl Ruth. To son Robert all my estate real and personal in any parts of this Dominion. Resid. legatees Robert Read, Catherine Quarles, Elizabeth Read, Susannah Mathews, John Read, Anner Read, Mary Read and Lewis Read. To my wife Elizabeth. To son John Read (under 21). Extrs. my son Robert Read and James Quarles. Witt: Hugh Williams, Moses Quarles, Lewis Quarles.
Brunswick Will Book, 4, p. 190, Sept. 25, 1766, Jan. 24, 1774. Will of Robert Read of Essex Co., The land my father William Read left me to be divided between my two brothers John and Lewis Read and my brother Lewis to have the manor plantation. To my sisters Anner Read, Mary Read, and Susannah Mathews. To William the son of James Quarles, Thomas son of William Read, Catherine dau. of Thomas Manning, Betty dau. of William Mathews, and Molley Read dau. of Thomas 5 pounds each. To friend James Quarles. James Quarles extr. Witt: Hugh Williams, Richard Ramsey, John Quarles.
The will of Robert Read clearly states that the daughter of Thomas Manning is Catherine. Until reading this abstract, I thought the daughter of Thomas Manning and Elizabeth Read was Catey. It appears now that her given name was Catherine. Catherine "Catey" Manning was born in 1768, but I'm not sure whether she was born in Brunswick County, VA or in York County, SC.
Catherine would have been the niece of Robert Read. His will named two nephews, William Quarles and Thomas Read and two other neices, Betty Mathews and Molley Read.
I also made some assumptions after reading these wills. Because Robert Read inherited the plantation from his father, I assume he would have been the oldest son. Since Catherine, Frances and Susannah had married names in William Reads will, I am assuming that they might have been older than Elizabeth. Sometimes, it takes several readings and close observation of names and dates to begin putting a family's history together. I still have a good deal of work to do on the Read family, but I think I've made a nice start.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Nov. 14, 2008-Happy Birthday
Today is November 14, 2008 and it is my birthday. I must be getting really old because I don't recall how old I am today. I seem to be fitting nicely into my research of family history. Today I received some birthday cards, some email greetings, some telephone greetings, a birthday breakfast and a birthday lunch. My daughter and three of my grandchildren called from their cell phone to sing "Happy Birthday". Cap gave me a very cute card and Rusty barked his greeting. Today I also looked at my birth certificate to be sure this was the right day, and it was. So, the good news is today I am a year older and the best news is today I am a year older.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Nov. 2, 2008-Bonner/Manning Photos
Last week I was in Oklahoma City to visit family. My aunt and uncle always bring out old photos when I visit. I gathered a number of them and copied them. Some of them are posted on flickr and you can see them at:
http://flickr.com/photos/29098057@N07/
They are the Bonner/Manning photos. I will add more later.
http://flickr.com/photos/29098057@N07/
They are the Bonner/Manning photos. I will add more later.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Nov. 1, 2008-William Manning in Marshall County, Alabama
William Manning was born in 1770 in York County, SC. His parents were Thomas Manning and Elizabeth Read. William was the brother of my ggggGrandfather, Thomas Manning (1776-1844). Unlike his brother Thomas, William left South Carolina and migrated. He first stopped in Tennessee and ultimately settled in Marshall County, Alabama. William married Nancy Thomas.
The children of William Manning and Nancy Thomas Manning include:
Elizabeth Manning born 1795 in South Carolina. She married Edmund Bridges.
Kizziah Manning born 1797 in South Carolina. She married Benjamin Roden.
Atha Manning born 1798 in South Carolina. She married David Ricketts.
Thomas M. Manning born 1802 in South Carolina. He married twice and his first wife's name is unkown. His second wife was Lucinda Parker.
Lewis Manning born 1804 in South Carolina. He married Mahala Murphy.
Mary Manning born 1811 in South Carolina. She married William Baker.
Nancy Manning born 1811 in South Carolina. She married Josiah Tidwell.
I found one researcher online who said that the family of William Manning moved from South Carolina and traveled with the Roden and Ricketts families to Alabama. The family history of the William Manning family was given to me by the widow of Raymond Manning (1924-2004).
There are some interesting stories about these families. Benjamin Roden, his son Portland Roden and several other Roden's died in the Buck Island Massacre. They were attacked by Northern soldiers and murdered. The Roden's wintered their cattle on Buck Island and were there to watch over them. Some say the Roden's were thrown into the river after being murdered, they are buried at the Roden Cemetery.
Annie Manning married John Rollings. John shot and killed Annie's father William Manning during an argument. William had helped set up John Rollings and another fellow in business. John also shot and killed Tom Roden. Annie married Billie Roden after her marriage to John Rollings.
In January of 1858, The Eagle newspaper of Guntersville, AL was bought by Dr. William Ricketts, Samuel Manning and W. W. Beasley. After Dr. Ricketts and Mr. Beasley withdrew, Samuel Manning ran the newspaper until December of 1859. Thomas Manning, father of William Manning, was also a businessman. He is said to have been a merchant and had the firm Jordan and Manning.
The William Manning family settled near Guntersville, Alabama and had a lovely big home called The White Elephant. They were plantation owners. Many Mannings are buried on the plantation in Honeycomb Valley, Marshall County, Alabama. This is a picture of their home.
As I go through the family history of the William Manning family, I will be able to add more stories. The widow of Raymond Manning has shared so much family history with me. In return, I am compiling her handwritten information in a Personal Ancestry File. I will make a disk for her and also provide her with a printed copy which she can pass down to her children.
I know she will appreciate it.
The children of William Manning and Nancy Thomas Manning include:
Elizabeth Manning born 1795 in South Carolina. She married Edmund Bridges.
Kizziah Manning born 1797 in South Carolina. She married Benjamin Roden.
Atha Manning born 1798 in South Carolina. She married David Ricketts.
Thomas M. Manning born 1802 in South Carolina. He married twice and his first wife's name is unkown. His second wife was Lucinda Parker.
Lewis Manning born 1804 in South Carolina. He married Mahala Murphy.
Mary Manning born 1811 in South Carolina. She married William Baker.
Nancy Manning born 1811 in South Carolina. She married Josiah Tidwell.
I found one researcher online who said that the family of William Manning moved from South Carolina and traveled with the Roden and Ricketts families to Alabama. The family history of the William Manning family was given to me by the widow of Raymond Manning (1924-2004).
There are some interesting stories about these families. Benjamin Roden, his son Portland Roden and several other Roden's died in the Buck Island Massacre. They were attacked by Northern soldiers and murdered. The Roden's wintered their cattle on Buck Island and were there to watch over them. Some say the Roden's were thrown into the river after being murdered, they are buried at the Roden Cemetery.
Annie Manning married John Rollings. John shot and killed Annie's father William Manning during an argument. William had helped set up John Rollings and another fellow in business. John also shot and killed Tom Roden. Annie married Billie Roden after her marriage to John Rollings.
In January of 1858, The Eagle newspaper of Guntersville, AL was bought by Dr. William Ricketts, Samuel Manning and W. W. Beasley. After Dr. Ricketts and Mr. Beasley withdrew, Samuel Manning ran the newspaper until December of 1859. Thomas Manning, father of William Manning, was also a businessman. He is said to have been a merchant and had the firm Jordan and Manning.
The William Manning family settled near Guntersville, Alabama and had a lovely big home called The White Elephant. They were plantation owners. Many Mannings are buried on the plantation in Honeycomb Valley, Marshall County, Alabama. This is a picture of their home.
As I go through the family history of the William Manning family, I will be able to add more stories. The widow of Raymond Manning has shared so much family history with me. In return, I am compiling her handwritten information in a Personal Ancestry File. I will make a disk for her and also provide her with a printed copy which she can pass down to her children.I know she will appreciate it.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
October 12, 2008-Mallow Cemetery in Mallow, Virginia
On September 25, 2008, I visited the Mallow Cemetery in Mallow, Virginia which is near Covington, Virginia. The cemetery is located at the site that was the plantation of Michael Mallow, Sr. (1757-1830).
The cemetery is small and fenced with an elaborate white iron fence. It sits at the end of a street and almost in the back yard of a home in a fairly new housing development. At the opposite end of the street and across the rail road tracks is the Mallow Mall. As I stood in the cemetery, I was stepping back in time and never thought of the Mall being so close. Standing in the cemetery and looking East you get a great view of the mountains. While you can't see it from the cemetery, the Jackson River flows just at the base of the mountain. I could almost imagine how it must have been so peaceful at the time the Mallows lived on the property.
Michael Mallow Sr. is my 5th great grandfather. His son was Michael Mallow Jr. and he married Charlotte Gortner. While they were living in Virginia, their fifth child born was Stewart Dickey Mallow, my 3rd great grandfather. Michael and Charlotte moved West and ultimately settled in Hempstead, Arkansas for a while. It was there that Stewart Dickey Mallow married Jerusha Jane Heffington. Their daughter Amanda Mallow was my great-great grandmother. Amanda married George Griffith. Their daughter Laura Griffith was my great grandmother. The Mallows eventually moved to Collin County Texas. Laura married Forbis Manning and their daughter Eula Manning was my grandmother.
In my blog on August 26, 2008, I wrote about Laura Manning's uncles and their military service. Her uncles were the brothers of Stewart Dickey Mallow and they all lived in Collin County Texas.
I couldn't help but think of the descendents of Michael Mallow Sr. while I visited the cemetery. Michael Sr. is buried at Mallow Cemetery, but his grave marker is not apparent. There are numerous very old markers with no names on them. His son John Mallow and his wife Martha are buried there. So are their children: William, Charlotte Ann, Bridget Emiline and Elizabeth and their spouses and some of their children.
I have put the pictures of the Mallow Cemetery on the website flickr. You can go the the following link and look at the pictures.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
October 2, 2008-Henry Forbis Bonner and The U.S.S. Gambier Bay-Part One
The U.S.S. Gambier Bay sank on October 25, 1944 after being bombed by the Japanese. My father, Henry Forbis Bonner, was aboard the Gambier Bay. In 1982, he wrote of his experience aboard the Gambier Bay and aboard the life raft as he awaited rescue. Today, I will honor him by posting his own words.
February 1982, Henry Bonner wrote:
Henry F. ("Hank") Bonner
MM 3C
U.S.S. GAMBIER BAY
A- Division (Inert Gas Station)
I went in the Navy June 6, 1943 in Oklahoma City, Okla., at the age of 18. Basic training was at The Naval Training Station at San Diego, Calif. After "boot" camp, I was sent to the Machinists' Mate Training School in San Diego and graduated with a Fireman First Class rate.
From there, I went to Bremerton, Washington to an engineer's class using the type of equipment that was aboard the GAMBIER BAY. I was made the Inert Gas machine operator, trained by men who had operated the equipment on sister ships of CVE 73. Later went aboard the GAMBIER BAY as the first "skeleton" crew of engineers (I don't remember if it was at Bremerton or Astoria, Oregon). The ship was being demagnetized. Later, we took the ship up the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean where we went down the coast and picked up (in a period of time) full crew, planes, ammo., supplies, and then to the Pacific War. Of course, I was at Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Palau (and all the stops in between), then to the Phillipine Invasion.
My General Quarters Station was on the tank top level (on top of 200,000 gallons of aviation gas) manufacturing Inert Gas to put in a void space which was around the gasoline tanks. See drawing:
This Inert Gas (gas that won't support a spark of a flame - no oxygen - is made by taking the exhaust from a little 4-cylinder Hercules engine and by washing it and filtering it through activated charcoal and aluminum chips, we took all oxygen from it and put it around gasoline. We also had two large storage tanks in the Inert Gas Shack to store an extra supply over and above what was in the void tanks. I had equipment to test the gas that was in the void tanks to make sure it was oxygen free and no gas fumes and at the right pressure.
My General Quarters job was to make these tests and bring them up to proper pressure and pureness. I did this during every call to G.Q. and I monitored these tests all during the battle in which we were sunk. By the way, there were no aviation gas explosions of fires during the time we were sunk. The last three months before we were sunk, I had an assistant named James Burcher (Fireman F.C.). We were also on the same raft together. Here is what happened:
February 1982, Henry Bonner wrote:
Henry F. ("Hank") Bonner
MM 3C
U.S.S. GAMBIER BAY
A- Division (Inert Gas Station)
I went in the Navy June 6, 1943 in Oklahoma City, Okla., at the age of 18. Basic training was at The Naval Training Station at San Diego, Calif. After "boot" camp, I was sent to the Machinists' Mate Training School in San Diego and graduated with a Fireman First Class rate.
From there, I went to Bremerton, Washington to an engineer's class using the type of equipment that was aboard the GAMBIER BAY. I was made the Inert Gas machine operator, trained by men who had operated the equipment on sister ships of CVE 73. Later went aboard the GAMBIER BAY as the first "skeleton" crew of engineers (I don't remember if it was at Bremerton or Astoria, Oregon). The ship was being demagnetized. Later, we took the ship up the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean where we went down the coast and picked up (in a period of time) full crew, planes, ammo., supplies, and then to the Pacific War. Of course, I was at Saipan, Tinian, Guam, Palau (and all the stops in between), then to the Phillipine Invasion.
My General Quarters Station was on the tank top level (on top of 200,000 gallons of aviation gas) manufacturing Inert Gas to put in a void space which was around the gasoline tanks. See drawing:
This Inert Gas (gas that won't support a spark of a flame - no oxygen - is made by taking the exhaust from a little 4-cylinder Hercules engine and by washing it and filtering it through activated charcoal and aluminum chips, we took all oxygen from it and put it around gasoline. We also had two large storage tanks in the Inert Gas Shack to store an extra supply over and above what was in the void tanks. I had equipment to test the gas that was in the void tanks to make sure it was oxygen free and no gas fumes and at the right pressure.My General Quarters job was to make these tests and bring them up to proper pressure and pureness. I did this during every call to G.Q. and I monitored these tests all during the battle in which we were sunk. By the way, there were no aviation gas explosions of fires during the time we were sunk. The last three months before we were sunk, I had an assistant named James Burcher (Fireman F.C.). We were also on the same raft together. Here is what happened:
After checking all my equipment and gas, I continued to monitor and make checks after every hit that we were told about by the Chaplain or that we could feel down there. After a long while, a shell came through the port side at our level-no explosion (that I heard), just knocked a gaping hole in the side of the ship. We were the only ones in this part of the ship and there was no way we could control the flow of water, so we went up to the next level through the open hatch and sealed off this officer's quarter and Inert Gas shack level. Met a repair crew on the next level and tried to assist them in repairing another large hole at this level. Being unable to, we all went to next level through a small escape hole in the hatch. One shipmate had on a large kapok life jacket, wouldn't take it off and we couldn't talk him out of it, so with a lot of grunting and groaning we all pushed him through the hole. We finally ended up on the Hanger Deck near the forward elevator which had been knocked out and wouldn't go up to the Flight Deck, and had an aircraft sitting on it. The Hanger Deck had about two inches of water on it, where they had put out a fire earlier. After passing the forward elevator to about mid-ship, a shell hit the aircraft on the elevator and I was hit with a large fragment from the explosion. I knew I had been hit but it didn't seem to hurt. The ship was listing badly to port. I didn't look at my wound but ran to an open hatch to a sponson, which by this time, even though this was a Hanger Deck level, was only about three or four feet from the water. I jumped off. I had all my clothes, shoes, and a small waist size life belt on. This was the same life preserver that was issued me the first day aboard. Never thinking I would ever need it, I guess I didn't take very good care of it. At any rate, I blew and blew on that thing for 10 minutes and it wouldn't hold air. I would try to swim away from the ship and would be slapped right back underneath the gun sponsons above me and up against the side of the ship. We had always been told to get away from the sponsons and away from the ship fast. I finally got away and spotted a raft some fifty yards away and headed for it. There is no way I could have swam fifty yards then - but I did. I felt like I made it with my last stroke and grabbed a shirttail that was flapping from the back of a shipmate. They helped me into the raft and I finally looked at my leg and got very sick. All the flesh had been torn off the left side of my left leg from about two inches below my knee to my ankle. Both bones were exposed the entire length of the wound and flesh between the bones had been torn out exposing one of the tendons that operate the foot. It was bleeding badly so the men on the raft put a tourniquet made from a belt on it to stop the bleeding.
End of Part One
October 2, 2008-Henry Forbis Bonner and The U.S.S. Gambier Bay-Part Two
The words of Henry Bonner about his experience on The U.S.S. Gambier Bay continued:
We lost all our supplies that were on the raft except a small 5" shell casing that had a little gauze, one bottle of malt tablets, and two cerites of morphine. They gave me one of the morphine and put me in the bottom of the raft. We finally ended up with this one raft, and a couple of floater nets, and a total of 67 men. I was really very lucky as of the 67 men, I was the only one who was badly wounded. So I had some good guys watching after me. Until my leg stopped bleeding, we had some shark problems, but we were in good hands and God watched over us and we had no damage or deaths from sharks the first day. I forgot to mention that the ship sunk after I had been on the raft about thirty minutes. They were still firing on the ship after I reached the raft, and after we had been on it a few minutes one of the marker shells that they were firing hit about ten feet from our raft. I had no idea what it was. I thought that it had hit us and what I was seeing in the air was blood (it was red), then I thought it might be gas. At any rate, most of the others and myself went off the raft and under the water to escape the "red". Just before I felt like I was going to drown, I came up and it had cleared. Then after a length of time, the Jap task force that sunk us came right back by us steaming back to where they had come from. I figured they would see and kill us all, so under the water we went again. I know they saw us as they were that close, but they just kept going.
The rest of the first day was spent organizing, knowing we would be picked up soon, watching the dog fights between our planes and Jap planes. Then it started to get dark. The men on the outside of the raft would take turns and change from raft to nets and nets to raft, etc.
The first night was miserable. We had burned up during the day, but at night being wet I got very cold. My teeth chattered so long and hard that the ends of my teeth were sore. No sleep. Just whispers. The second day finally came. Sure was hungry, but more thirsty. We knew we would be picked up today. No more sharks. Some men said they could see ships, but none were there. I couldn't see anything, as I was lying in the bottom of the raft. A First Class Signalman was holding my head out of the water (I'm sorry I cannot recall his name). The Corpsman checked my leg but couldn't do anything else for it, so he gave me the other morphine. The first day we could see other rafts, but today we couldn't see any of them.
The second day drug on and some of the shipmates and myself were doing some funny things and seeing things that weren't there. I was becoming delirious from fever as I had infection in my leg - and had some weird dreams and would pass out from time to time later in the second day. One dream was that I could see an island and on it was a big water tank truck like they wash city streets with. I could see the water coming out of the sprinklers on the truck and he was settling the dust on the island with the water. I knew we would get some when we got there. Another dream was the I broke away from the raft and swam to the island and picked up some beer and swam back to the raft, and in my dream I was trying to get the men on the raft to take some beer - some of the men said I was really handing them something (empty hand of course) and they couldn't figure out what I was doing. So I decided to keep it and drink it all myself. Every time I would come to my senses from one of these dreams, I would tell the man holding my head that when I pass out I'm not dead so don't throw me overboard, and he would assure me he wouldn't.
The Chief held on to our only food until later the second day. He felt it would lift our morale if he gave us a malt tablet, or a piece of one. I couldn't chew mine because my teeth were still sore from chattering the night before, but I managed to get it down. No water.
Well, here comes the second night. We had fired what few flares we had the first night because we just knew they were looking for us. I think it was finally decided later that we were answering another raft's flares. So we didn't have flares to give us hope the second night.
I wasn't looking forward to more chattering teeth and pain from my leg (no more morphine). After the night drug on, a few dreams and passing out a couple of times, we spotted the search lights from a ship. You hever heard the shouting and waving and carrying on we all did. Finally what seemed like hours, and it was a long time, the ship (a patrol craft smaller than a D.E.) had his spots right on the raft.
There had been numerous ships sunk in the area the last several days so shouted out and challenged us with "who won the world series". The Signalman who was holding my head signaled back the correct answer. Then the Skipper of this ship informed us that he was overloaded and couldn't take us aboard but that he would radio our position, and he left. You have never heard the hollering, swearing, and waving of arms, including mine. But, nevertheless, he left. It seemed to all of us that he could have given us a cask of water and medical supplies, fruit cocktail, or something to eat. But he didn't. It was (I was told later) about five hours before another ship (same class) arrived. He came along side and threw over a cargo net and all but two went up the net first. The two were the 1st Class Signalman, who was helping me, and myself. Some of their crew members came down and got me up the net and we were saved.
One other thing happened going to Leyte. Our little ship was attached by Jap aircraft. When the ship's crew started firing at the planes, I figured back in the water, but they chased them off.
Late the third day, I was finally put aboard an L.S.T. that was rigged for operating on wounded. A young Dr. Hershey looked at my leg and said "Son, I don't know what I can do but I'll do my best". Several hours later I awoke and saw five toes on my left leg, was very drowsy but happy.
The doctor talked to me the next day and said we had a new miracle drug - penicillin - so he left my leg on to see if he could kill the infection and get the wound to granulate for skin grafts.
I was later put on the hospital ship "Hope" I think and taken to New Guinea for about three weeks, then put on the luxury liner "Lurline" and eventually dropped off at the Oak Knol Naval Hospital in Oakland, California - then sent to the Naval Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana, which was the nearest hospital to my home that had a skin graft specialist. I spent the next eleven months in New Orleans where they fixed my leg up best they could and gave me a Medical Discharge on January 6, 1946. I still get a 40% disability compensation from the V.A.
Yours truly,
Henry F. ("Hank") Bonner
Henry Forbis Bonner
1925-1991
We lost all our supplies that were on the raft except a small 5" shell casing that had a little gauze, one bottle of malt tablets, and two cerites of morphine. They gave me one of the morphine and put me in the bottom of the raft. We finally ended up with this one raft, and a couple of floater nets, and a total of 67 men. I was really very lucky as of the 67 men, I was the only one who was badly wounded. So I had some good guys watching after me. Until my leg stopped bleeding, we had some shark problems, but we were in good hands and God watched over us and we had no damage or deaths from sharks the first day. I forgot to mention that the ship sunk after I had been on the raft about thirty minutes. They were still firing on the ship after I reached the raft, and after we had been on it a few minutes one of the marker shells that they were firing hit about ten feet from our raft. I had no idea what it was. I thought that it had hit us and what I was seeing in the air was blood (it was red), then I thought it might be gas. At any rate, most of the others and myself went off the raft and under the water to escape the "red". Just before I felt like I was going to drown, I came up and it had cleared. Then after a length of time, the Jap task force that sunk us came right back by us steaming back to where they had come from. I figured they would see and kill us all, so under the water we went again. I know they saw us as they were that close, but they just kept going.
The rest of the first day was spent organizing, knowing we would be picked up soon, watching the dog fights between our planes and Jap planes. Then it started to get dark. The men on the outside of the raft would take turns and change from raft to nets and nets to raft, etc.
The first night was miserable. We had burned up during the day, but at night being wet I got very cold. My teeth chattered so long and hard that the ends of my teeth were sore. No sleep. Just whispers. The second day finally came. Sure was hungry, but more thirsty. We knew we would be picked up today. No more sharks. Some men said they could see ships, but none were there. I couldn't see anything, as I was lying in the bottom of the raft. A First Class Signalman was holding my head out of the water (I'm sorry I cannot recall his name). The Corpsman checked my leg but couldn't do anything else for it, so he gave me the other morphine. The first day we could see other rafts, but today we couldn't see any of them.
The second day drug on and some of the shipmates and myself were doing some funny things and seeing things that weren't there. I was becoming delirious from fever as I had infection in my leg - and had some weird dreams and would pass out from time to time later in the second day. One dream was that I could see an island and on it was a big water tank truck like they wash city streets with. I could see the water coming out of the sprinklers on the truck and he was settling the dust on the island with the water. I knew we would get some when we got there. Another dream was the I broke away from the raft and swam to the island and picked up some beer and swam back to the raft, and in my dream I was trying to get the men on the raft to take some beer - some of the men said I was really handing them something (empty hand of course) and they couldn't figure out what I was doing. So I decided to keep it and drink it all myself. Every time I would come to my senses from one of these dreams, I would tell the man holding my head that when I pass out I'm not dead so don't throw me overboard, and he would assure me he wouldn't.
The Chief held on to our only food until later the second day. He felt it would lift our morale if he gave us a malt tablet, or a piece of one. I couldn't chew mine because my teeth were still sore from chattering the night before, but I managed to get it down. No water.
Well, here comes the second night. We had fired what few flares we had the first night because we just knew they were looking for us. I think it was finally decided later that we were answering another raft's flares. So we didn't have flares to give us hope the second night.
I wasn't looking forward to more chattering teeth and pain from my leg (no more morphine). After the night drug on, a few dreams and passing out a couple of times, we spotted the search lights from a ship. You hever heard the shouting and waving and carrying on we all did. Finally what seemed like hours, and it was a long time, the ship (a patrol craft smaller than a D.E.) had his spots right on the raft.
There had been numerous ships sunk in the area the last several days so shouted out and challenged us with "who won the world series". The Signalman who was holding my head signaled back the correct answer. Then the Skipper of this ship informed us that he was overloaded and couldn't take us aboard but that he would radio our position, and he left. You have never heard the hollering, swearing, and waving of arms, including mine. But, nevertheless, he left. It seemed to all of us that he could have given us a cask of water and medical supplies, fruit cocktail, or something to eat. But he didn't. It was (I was told later) about five hours before another ship (same class) arrived. He came along side and threw over a cargo net and all but two went up the net first. The two were the 1st Class Signalman, who was helping me, and myself. Some of their crew members came down and got me up the net and we were saved.
One other thing happened going to Leyte. Our little ship was attached by Jap aircraft. When the ship's crew started firing at the planes, I figured back in the water, but they chased them off.
Late the third day, I was finally put aboard an L.S.T. that was rigged for operating on wounded. A young Dr. Hershey looked at my leg and said "Son, I don't know what I can do but I'll do my best". Several hours later I awoke and saw five toes on my left leg, was very drowsy but happy.
The doctor talked to me the next day and said we had a new miracle drug - penicillin - so he left my leg on to see if he could kill the infection and get the wound to granulate for skin grafts.
I was later put on the hospital ship "Hope" I think and taken to New Guinea for about three weeks, then put on the luxury liner "Lurline" and eventually dropped off at the Oak Knol Naval Hospital in Oakland, California - then sent to the Naval Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana, which was the nearest hospital to my home that had a skin graft specialist. I spent the next eleven months in New Orleans where they fixed my leg up best they could and gave me a Medical Discharge on January 6, 1946. I still get a 40% disability compensation from the V.A.
Yours truly,
Henry F. ("Hank") Bonner
Henry Forbis Bonner
1925-1991
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)