Download - REVEILLE Happy Camp Shelby haunting!

Transcript

October 27, 2011 Page 3REVEILLE (CS)

said Spc. Bryce F. Hoyng, withCharlie Company, 1st Battalion,148th Infantry Regiment, 37thIBCT, “I am excited that we getthe chance to use it.”

With these new innovations,soldiers are now capable of firingupon targeted locations in populat-ed areas or near friendly forceswithout accidently harming non-threatening forces, property orcivilians.

“Because it is more accurate, itcuts back on collateral damage,”said Pfc. Derek Pleiman, a forwardobserver assigned to Headquartersand Headquarters Company, 37thIBCT. “You don’t have to keepshooting rounds to get closer andcloser to the target.”

Spc. Corey R. Brinkman, alsowith Charlie Company, said heagreed. “If there is a specific targetin the middle of a town we are try-ing to hit, we can hit it withouthaving to worry about the peopleand buildings around it.”

If the risk of collateral damageis too high, soldiers cannot fire thestandard 120mm round securelyfrom behind cover, thus forcingthem to engage in direct-fire andputting them at more risk of injuryor possible death.

Brinkman, Pleiman and Hoyngsaid they agree that the improved120mm round should be a valu-able asset to their missions.

GPSContinued from Page 1

Happy Camp Shelby haunting!By DANA ELISE SMITH

Camp Shelby Public Affairs

As October 31 approaches, youmay find yourself busy with revelry,parties, guising and perhaps hearingscary stories around bon fires.

Tales of ghostly encounters oncold autumn nights are a source ofentertainment during Halloweenfestivities- a tradition that stemmedfrom the belief that Halloween wasa time where the veil between theliving and dead souls was very, verythin.

It seems that everyone hears ofsomeone who has had a story of aghostly encounter, a strange occur-rence or an account of things goingbump in the night.

Camp Shelby Joint ForcesTraining Center is not exactly a

place of profound haunting or anattraction to ghost enthusiasts butdoes it have the potential to be?

There is one place in particularthat some say is decidedly haunted.The old museum, building 350, wasmost likely built sometime in the1940s.

In recent years, a soldier andother members of a manifest teamcalls the ghost “Terri.” It is a ghostof a woman who delights in makingnoise to frighten those in the build-ing especially at night.

Sounds of chairs moving andshuffling footsteps were often heardduring the team’s late night hours.

The team members claim that noone has seen it, but the noises aretoo loud to dismiss.

There was once a past employeethat worked in the building who

named the spooky anomaly,“Harold.”

Many may not believe it is actual-ly haunted, but many havedescribed the building as “creepy.”It is lowly lit and much of the areais drenched with dark shadows. It isnot so surprising that tales wouldstem from the general atmosphere.

Ghost stories are usually associat-ed with locations that have beenconnected to death. Building 350does not have any particular link toa deathly incident but because of thehistory of its surrounding area, sto-ries of creepy occurrences andhaunts can, no doubt, take hold inone’s imagination.

If you have toured the MississippiArmed Forces Museum, you mayhave learned about the Germanprisoners of war who were buried

on the grounds of Camp Shelby. Many may not know that at the

war’s end, the bodies wereexhumed and sent back to Germany.

There are no known tales ofhaunting at the temporary burial sitebut it certainly can inspire such talesor prone to exaggerations. To con-firm, there are no known burials atCamp Shelby at present.

It is a historical fact that thegrounds surrounding the museumonce stood a World War I hospital.

There were a number of con-firmed deaths due to pneumoniaand other ailments.

A nearby building, building 622,is made of wood and was built in1937 upon a foundation of an oldWorld War I warehouse. The build-ing was an office building duringthe Second World War but it later

served as a mortuary and crematori-um during the Korea and Vietnamera.

It was said that the old autopsyslab was in the very center of theroom, a very sight that might beeerie to the faint of heart. Some whohave worked in the building say itdefinitely feels creepy, but theyhave had no signs of a haunting.The things they hear are most likelythe building settling or the wind.

So whether or not any ghosts callCamp Shelby home, there is a richhistory here and we should endeav-or to preserve it.

Whether or not you believe inghosts, take part in the lightheartedcelebrations and entertain yourfriends with a scary tale or two.Have a happy Camp Shelby haunt-ing and a safe Halloween.

By CHAD DANIELSDirector, Armed Forces Museum

The Mississippi Armed ForcesMuseum at Camp Shelby recentlydedicated a new exhibit entitled“Mississippians in the Navy duringWorld War II.”

Included among the veteranshonored in the exhibit is Gunner’sMate John Clifton Kendall.

In attendance representing theKendall family was Ruth Kendall,Lois Kendall, Sally Kendall Davisand Bob Kendall. All are residentsof Houston, Mississippi, exceptDavis who now resides inShreveport, Louisiana.

John Clifton Kendall of Houston,Mississippi, joined the U.S. Navyin November, 1942. He completedbasic training at the Naval TrainingStation in San Diego, California inearly 1943 and later trained as agunner with the Naval ArmedGuard.

Promoted to the rank ofGunner’s Mate Second Class,Kendall was assigned to the armedtanker S.S. Jacksonville. Kendallserved as a gunner on Gun Number5, a 20mm cannon, located on thevessel’s starboard aft (right rear)section.

During August 1944, the T-2tanker SS Jacksonville carried afull load (141,000 gallons) of 80-octane gasoline with Convoy CU-36 bound for Loch Ewe, Scotland.

At 1:45 p.m. on August 30, 1944,the Jacksonville was hit by two tor-pedoes from the German subma-rine U-482 approximately 50 milesnorth of Londonderry, NorthernIreland. The Jacksonville explodedkilling 76 of 78 Merchant Marineand Naval Armed Guard crewmenserving aboard the vessel, includ-ing Gunner’s Mate Second ClassJohn Clifton Kendall.

One of the two survivors of theJacksonville visited Ms. Lillie MaeKendall, John Clifton’s mother,after the war. The family remem-bered how she always paused at thesight of uniformed Naval personnelafter the loss of her son.

Three of Seamen Kendall’sbrothers also served in the Second

World War. Thomas HollieKendall and William DryfousKendall served in the PacificTheater of Operations. ThomasKendall deployed as a medicaltechnician while William Kendallserved as an infantryman with the25th Infantry Division in thePacific.

Russell L. Kendall also served inthe Pacific Theater during theSecond World War and later inKorea and Vietnam. SeamanKendall’s youngest brother, RobertHawkins Kendall, fought in theKorean War with the Army wherehe was wounded in combat.

The exhibit was made possibleby Ms. Ruth Kendall who contact-ed the museum and provided pho-

tographs and documents related toall five Kendall brother’s militaryservice during the Second WorldWar and the Korean War.

The Mississippi Armed ForcesMuseum at Camp Shelby is openfrom 9:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.,Tuesday – Saturday and is free tothe public. Photo identification isrequired to enter Camp Shelby.The museum was designated as theofficial state military history muse-um in April, 2010, by GovernorBarbour and the MississippiLegislature.

For more information:Mississippi Armed ForcesMuseum, tel. 601.558.2757 or onthe web at www.armedforcesmuse-um.us.

Chickasaw County World War II veteran honored

In attendance representing the Kendall family was Ruth Kendall, Lois Kendall, Sally Kendall Davis and Bob Kendall. All areresidents of Houston, Mississippi, except Davis who now resides in Shreveport, Louisiana.