‘Almost a Yankee Doodle Dandy’

Greenwood resident, WWII veteran
marks 80th year with patriotic party

July 3, 2006

By MEGAN VARNER
Index-Journal senior staff writer

He might not have been born on the Fourth of July, but don’t think Greenwood resident Charles Saxon didn’t try.
Born 80 years ago today, at 11:35 p.m., he was only 25 minutes away from having that patriotic July 4th birthday.
“I’m almost a Yankee Doodle Dandy,” Saxon said, chuckling.
On Saturday, Saxon celebrated his birthday at Woodfields Baptist Church in Greenwood, surrounded by family and friends and plenty of red, white and blue.
As he greeted guests at his surprise birthday bash, Saxon’s face carried a wide smile during chats with friends.
Buddie Brittain had to wipe away tears from her eyes as she hugged her longtime friend on his special day, adding that she and Saxon have known each other since the 1950s. The two were among a group of friends who took trips to the beach on a regular basis.
“We had so many good times, dancing and shagging,” she said. As it turns out, Brittain, who lives in Greenville, was on her way to the beach when she stopped in for the party on Saturday.
“We made it a point to wait so we could come by and say hello,” she said. “He’s always been such a special person. I knew when he saw me he would cry, and I cried, too.”Not all of Saxon’s birthdays were spent as festively as his most recent, however.
His 19th birthday was celebrated overseas, after his Uncle Sam called Saxon into duty to fight for his country as part of the U.S. Army Infantry.
Saxon, who grew up in Ware Shoals, was just a teenager when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, pulling the country into the largest war the world had ever seen. When his draft letter arrived three years later, Saxon, who was working to finish high school at the time, had to leave behind his mother and father.
“I was an only child, so it made it bad for (my parents),” he said.
He spent Christmas Eve in 1944 at an army base “in the back of a truck hauling cinders all day,” Saxon said.
When he moved to Alabama for boot camp, the winter temperatures made the activities, especially shooting on the rifle range, a difficult and uncomfortable experience, he said.
By the time Saxon made it to Fort Meade in Maryland, the war in Europe had ended, he said. Instead of crossing the Atlantic Ocean to serve his country, the Army prepared Saxon and his fellow troops to lend a hand in the battles still raging in the Pacific.
On the journey to the Philippines, Saxon said rough seas and heavy rains made the trip memorable for all the wrong reasons.
“The waves were so high, it seemed like you could look down and see the bottom of the ship,” Saxon said. “Everybody got desperately ill. We couldn’t get downstairs to our bunks because we were all so sick. All we could eat were soda crackers.”
And when the troops arrived in Luzon, humidity and high temperatures forced the men to train in the mornings and late afternoons, spending the rest of the day finding ways to beat the heat. They even took classes on Japan and its culture so they would be better prepared when the time came to invade that country.
But as luck would have it, Saxon was spared yet again from entering the front lines in an invasion, and the war in Japan ended before he and his men were scheduled to arrive.
“We missed it barely,” he said. “There was a big celebration — a lot of drinking and a lot of whooping and hollering.”
Saxon’s infantry company eventually made it to Japan, serving as a type of military police while soldiers destroyed enemy machinery and weapons left over from the war. He viewed Nagasaki and Hiroshima, the cities on which the United States dropped atomic bombs, and he said the area was devastated.
“It was bare land,” he said. “It was wiped completely out.”
Though they were in enemy territory, Saxon said the villagers treated the soldiers with respect, even offering them gifts such as white silk, kimono robes and swords.
“They were really great to us. We were worried about that when we went over there,” he said. “The rich villagers invited us out to eat at their homes.”
But Saxon said some of the Japanese cuisine — which included creatures that were still living when brought to the table for preparation — was too much for some of the Americans to stomach.
“I didn’t eat,” Saxon said, laughing. “I’d sit there and sip on their sake (a drink brewed from rice).”
When Saxon was discharged from the Army in December of 1946, he returned home to Ware Shoals to complete his education. Before he was drafted, he had planned to go to Furman University, but a string of family emergencies, followed by the war, prevented him from attending the school.
“It seemed like everything happened to keep me from going to college,” he said.
On Christmas Eve in 1946, Saxon was hired to help out in the Belk department store across from his Ware Shoals home, he said. When the holiday rush ended, Saxon’s boss asked him to stay on with the company.
“I liked the idea of fashion,” Saxon said. “I love clothes.”
Saxon worked with Belk for 27 years, he said, serving as a men’s department buyer for the store in Ware Shoals and in Greenwood, where he moved in 1960.
He was married in 1963 to a nurse named Alda, and the two spent many happy years together until her death this year. His son, Charles Robert Saxon Jr., was born in 1968.
“The Lord didn’t give us but one, but he gave us the best,” Saxon said of his son.
Saxon said he was looking forward to celebrating the years to come, adding that he is thankful for the ones he’s had so far.
“I didn’t think I’d live to be 60,” he said. “I’ve got good friends and a wonderful family to help take care of me ... I just enjoy life.”

Bertie Hughes

Bertie Benton Hughes, 73, former resident of 210 New Market Street, widow of Melvin Barrett Hughes, died July 2, 2006 at Self Regional Medical Center.
Born October 5, 1932 in Walterboro, she was a daughter of the late Fred O. and Leila Ann Hyott Benton. She was a homemaker and was a member of Jordan Memorial Baptist Church where she worked in the nursery for more than fifty-one years.
Surviving are two daughters, Mrs. Ray (Connie) Giles and Mrs. David (Yvonne) Hill, both of Greenwood; two grandsons, Les Brown and wife Richenda of Greenwood and Andy Brown and wife Shannon of Aiken; two great grandchildren.
Mrs. Hughes was predeceased by her first husband Henry Ephrain Rhodes and her grandson David Giles. Funeral services will be conducted 3:00 p.m. Monday at the Blyth Funeral Home Chapel with Dr. Glenn Mosteller and Rev. Robert Patton officiating.
Entombment will follow in Greenwood Memorial Gardens Mausoleum.
The family is at the home of her daughter, Connie and Ray Giles, 212 Kelli Drive and will receive friends from 2 to 3 p.m. Monday at Blyth Funeral Home.
Memorials may be made to Jordan Memorial Baptist Church, P.O. Box 1267, Greenwood, SC 29648.
Blyth Funeral Home & Cremation Service is assisting the Hughes family.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.blythfuneralhome.com
PAID OBITUARY

George Lovell

WATERLOO — George “Brownie” Lovell, Jr., 67, of 156 Whitten Road, husband of Jolean Leopard Lovell, died Sunday, July 02, 2006 at his home.
The family is at the home.
Services will be announced by Harley Funeral Home & Crematory.

Sadie Miller

WARD — Sadie Lee Stidham Miller, 94, of 122 Sweet William Dr., died Saturday, July 1, 2006 at her residence.
Born in Saluda County and a daughter of the late James Childs and Sudie DeLoache Stidham, she was the wife of the late William Thurmond “Bill” Miller. Mrs. Miller was a homemaker and a charter member of the Richland Springs Home Demonstration Club. She was a member of Richland Springs Baptist Church where she was a member of the WMU.
Surviving is a daughter, Trudith M. Wolfe of Chapin, a son and daughter-in-law, James B. “J.B.” and Carolyn Miller of Ward, five grandchildren, Rusty Burns of Pendleton, Al Burns of Greenwood, James T. Miller of Ward, William P. Miller of Irmo and Kim Bickley of Chapin and 12 great grandchildren.
A sister, Annie Derrick and two brothers, James Steadman and Claude Steadman preceded Mrs. Miller in death.
Funeral services will be 11:00 AM Tuesday, July 4, 2006 at Richland Springs Baptist Church with Rev. Steve Jones officiating. Interment will follow in Saluda Memorial Gardens.
The family will receive friends from 7 until 9 PM Monday evening at Ramey Funeral Home.
Memorials may be made to HospiceCare of the Piedmont, 408 W. Alexander Ave., Greenwood, SC 29646.
PAID OBITUARY

James Moore

McCORMICK — James Moore, 84, widower of Margie Dorn Moore, died Sunday, July 2, 2006 at his home from an extended illness.
Born in McCormick, he was a son of the late Richard and Maude Remson Moore. He was a retired pulp wood cutter and a World War II veteran. He was a member of the Bethany Masonic Lodge 415, of Shiloh A.M.E. Church and served on the Steward Board.
Survivors include four daughters, Thelma Richardson of Greenwood, Joann Tolbert of Plum Branch, Janie Moore and Barbara Tate, both of McCormick; six sons, Timothy Moore of Wilmington, N.C., Leroy Moore of Oxon Hill, Md., Willie Moore of Lincolnton, Ga., Robert Moore, Johnny Moore, and James Moore, all of McCormick; two grandsons, Kendrick Moore and Willie Earl Tate, both reared in the home; thirty two other grandchildren.
The family is at the home, 175 Paul Freeman, Sr Road.
Services will be announced by Walker Funeral Home.

Christian group proves it’s OK to fight city hall

July 3, 2006

Faith and Action, a Christian outreach organization, has an office across the street from the U. S. Supreme Court. It has a display of the Ten Commandments carved in stone in its front garden.
In addition to Supreme Court Justices, members of Congress pass the site every day with the Commandments standing there for all to see.
Then the trouble began. The District of Columbia threatened the organization with daily fines of $300 and possible forced sale of the property if the display wasn’t moved.
According to the Christian Newswire, though, Faith and Action wasn’t about to acquiesce. “The Ten Commandments display,” said the Rev. Rob Schenck, president of Faith and Action, “is not in a courthouse, or on the grounds of a state capital, it is in our front garden.

“OTHER CAPITOL HILL property owners are allowed to have whatever they want in their front gardens. We were singled out because the D. C. government doesn’t want the Ten Commandments staring out at Capitol Hill everyday. This is nothing but discrimination and we will fight it.”
It was a justifiable objection by Faith and Action. Apparently the District of Columbia government thought so, too ..... after an attorney for Faith and Action “explained” it. The district rescinded its removal order.
Another official of Faith and action said he hopes the organization’s refusal “ ..... will serve as (a) clear reminder that we must resist religious bigotry and discrimination on every level. This is a victory not only for the faith community but for all Americans who cherish free speech and religious liberty.”

SOMETIMES FIGHTING IS is unavoidable. This also is a clear indication, contrary to some “conventional” wisdom, that you can fight “city hall” and win.
The group’s attorney added valuable perspective for all Americans, whether they live in the District of Columbia or Columbia, S. C. “ ..... Faith and Action acted appropriately in not only placing the Ten Commandments in its garden but in having the courage to stand behind it ..... “
Sometimes a fight is unavoidable. Doing what’s right often takes courage. More often than not, though, it’s worth it.