Gaither John Autrey

 

War: World War II

 

Branch of Service: US Army

 

Rank: Staff Sergeant

 

Date of Service: November 19,1942 - Feb. 28,1946

 

Theater of Operations:  France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany

Pages authored  by fifth grade Yancey County Schools Fifth Grade Students

Special thanks to:

 French Broad Electric’s Bright Ideas Grant

Yancey County Schools Foundation Grant

2007—2008

Gaither John Autrey

 

           My World War II project is about my great uncle, Gaither John Autrey.  He lived on Rock Creek Road, near Burl Ballew’s store in the South Toe area of Yancey County, when he was drafted into the US Army.  This area was called Hamrick at that time, and there was a post office there.  He didn’t have a choice of what branch of service he could go into.  He was told where to go.

 

           He was drafted on November 19, 1942, into the 102^nd Infantry, Company H, the 406^th.  He was stationed at Camp Croft, SC, Camp Maxey, Paris, Texas, and Camp Swift, Austin, Texas, where he learned maneuver exercises and how to cook.  He was recommended for kitchen duty, which is called KP duty in the Army. 

 

           From there, he was sent to Fort Dix, NJ, where he was shipped from Staten Island, NY, on the ship Beinville to France.  This was a lumber ship from Alabama that was converted into a berthing ship.  He slept on a top bunk.  They hit a storm and had to stay on the ship for a couple of days before they could unload, because most of the guys were seasick.  They unloaded on September 1944 in Cherbourg, France.  This was about four months after D-day.  They traveled through England and the English Channel on through Belgium, Holland, and into Germany. 

 

           He was a staff Sergeant and supervised and controlled the activities of the mess personnel in the field kitchens.  They cooked on gas stoves.  His group called the Ozarks, commanded by Colonel Bernard F. Hurless, fought in the battle of the Rhineland in Central Europe.  They had some casualties in his unit, but no one knows for sure how many.  (The sergeant that helped him get on KP duty got killed in the Philippines building roads.) 

 

           The service medals he was awarded were the American Theater Ribbon, the Good Conduct Medal, the European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and the WWII Victory Medal.

 

           When the war was over, his group got to spend two weeks in Nice, France on the French Rivera.  The Army put them up there.  He got to see sights such as the perfume factories.  They came back to the US on a Merchant Marine ship called the Kokomo Victory.  He stayed at Camp Gordon, GA until he was discharged from the Army on February 28, 1946. 

 

           When he came home to Burnsville, he got married to my great aunt, Mary Nettie Harrison.  They lived on White Oak Creek Rd.   He helped my great grandfather, Eugene Harrison, and Fred Shuford build the rock work around the Parkway Playhouse.  He also went back to High School on the GI bill.  In the early 1950’s, he worked on the Depot Project Savannah River.  After that, he made most of his living by logging. 

 

           For the most part, his military experience was good.  He didn’t like to talk about the bad parts of the war, just the good parts.  He died this past summer, 2007, at the age of 84.  His daughter Therlene Autrey, has all of his military books and pictures, which she shared with me for this project.