The Durant news. (Durant, Miss.) 1882-1985, 1943-09-30
Holmes County Men
IN The Service
~

Holmes Boys At Comp
Bradford Attend
|Chustoin's Service
The editor received an interesting
letter from the Rev. Judson Chastain,
former pastor Of the Lexington Baptist
Church, Wednesday Of this week. The
Rev. Chastain 10 now = chaplain in the
service and mentions several Holmes
county boys In his letter which win be
Of interest to many readers:
AMPHIMOUs TRAINING BASE
Csae Bradford
N. o. B. Nssfoak, virstala
Chaplains' Office.
September 81, l943
Miss Hazel Brannon,
Lexington, Miss
Dear Friend:
II is a pleasure to keep in touch with
SO many good friends through the pages
10 The Lexington Advertiser and Durant
News. / wish 1 could write every one
of you a personal letter, but you know
that I could not do my duty to our boys
in the service if | tried to write to so
many people individually. Please accept
this as.smy expression of love and APP
probation for your friendship, for X
think of you constantly, and wish ]
could see you.
by the time this letter is in your
hands, I'll be detached from Camp Brad
ford, and attached to "Sea Bee Battalion
LAP, Camp Peary, Williamsburg, Va.
After about two months training with
my battalion, l expect to be shipped
with them, no man knows in
what direction from here, nor how far.
Mrs. Chastain plans to remain in Nor
folk, for a while, where we have taken
a house at 1905 West Glen Road.
AIi0kluo IA uiPiiS ohu
after our church service yesterday here
N the camp, when a group OF our Holmes
county boys came to the front and shook
hands with me. These are some Of the
boys who worshipped with US at the
First Baptist Church in Lexington the
last two Sundays before our National
Guard unit went to Camp Handing,
Florida, nearly three years ago. Although
most of that unit has been broken up
and scattered far and wide, sixteen of
boys are right here in Camp Brad
ford now, to receive their "amphibious'
training, and learn the right way to
fro ma ship to a small boat,
and SO 90 ashore. Army and Navy work
on these ship to shore move
ments, which are practiced here until
every man knows just what will be *
of him in actual operations.
Little did | think. when was trying
to preach to these boys the last two
Sundays they were in Lexington, that
the next time w met would be a
Navy Chaplain, trying to preach to these
Army men. For they are all men now.
Matured, sober. and successful in their
work, every one of them advancing
steadily in rank, men of whom Holmes
county has every right to be proud. But
still interested lin everything that goes
on at home. Write to them at Camp
Pickett, for they will be here at Camp
Bradford only q week or ten days. They
will be glad to near from you. and so
would I.
First Sergeant Charles H. Smith would
like to hear how everything is going on
at the Holmes County Implement CO.
Supply Sergeant Norman Doty Porter
would like to hear from the boys in the
Lexington Fire Dept, and so would Cor
poral Thurmond Moses, who is also in
tercsted to learn about his friends at
Western Auto Supply and other places
where he worked in Lexington. Staff
Sergeant James f. Dickard and Corporal
| Curtis Hammett would like to hear from
their friends in Lexington and the
Holmes Junior College. Staff Sergeant
Edward H. Rhyme and Sergeant Gordon
g.. Leard wonder how the Hotel Durant
and other enterprises arc getting along
since they left. All the boys say that
Corporal Thomas L.. Mayo is as good as
a Chaplain for their outfit, as he rounds
| up "a bunch every Sunday to 60 to church
He would like to hear how the crops
| are doing in his section of the county,
and so would Corporal Richard E. John
son and Sergeant James E. Mcclellan
| who is growing taller and taller, believe