Harry, David Wesley 'D. W.' Jr. (1922 - 2014): Carl Wayne Gray Genealogies

1922 - 2014 (91 years)

Name	Harry, David Wesley 'D. W.'
Suffix	Jr.
Birth	1 Oct 1922	Wellston, Jackson County, Ohio [1, 2]
Gender	Male
Reference Number	HARR.D004
_FGRAVE	133253032
Military Service	World War II, Technical Sergeant, United States Marine Corps [1, 3]
	Enlisted 'for the duration' on November 2, 1942 at Chicago, Illinois. Completed boot camp, selected for Marine Aviation, and trained in the special military qualification of Aircraft Mechanic (ssn 560) and Turret Gunner. Served abroad in the Southwest Pacific Area from June 1, 1944 to July 17, 1945. Participated in the consolidation of the Northern Solomon Islands. Honorably discharged as a Technical Sergeant on November 6, 1945 at Separation Unit 2, Marine Corps Air Base, Cherry Point, North Carolina. Earned The American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with at least 1 bronze battle star and the WWII Victory Medal. This information has been posted on the National World War II Memorial's Registry of Remembrances website by Robert Medley Gatewood. It is entered here with his permission. Source: http://www.wwiimemorial.com/Registry/plaque.aspx?honoreeID=2185324
		American Campaign Medal, United States Military
		Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, United States Armed Forces
		Military Service Ribbons, Harry, Wesley, David 'D. W.' Jr. (1922-2014) Contributed by Carl Wayne Gray
		Technical Sergeant, United States Marine Corps (World War II Era)
		United States Marine Corps
		United States of America Flag, 48 Stars (1912-1959) In 1912, two stars were added to the United States flag, representing Arizona and New Mexico, bringing the total number of stars to 48. They were arranged in six rows of eight stars each. American fighting men would fight under this flag during four wars: World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the beginning of the Vietnam War. (In 1959,…
		World War II Victory Medal, United States Military
		World War II Honoree, Harry, David Wesley Jr. (1922-2014)
		American Campaign Medal, United States
		Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, United States Armed Forces
		Asiatic-Pacific Theater, World War II
		Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, Havelock, North Carolina
		World War II (1939-1945)
		World War II Victory Medal, United States Military
		United States Marine Corps
		United States Marine Corps Rank Insignia
		Brochure, World War II Memorial, Flora, Illinois, Nov 11, 2007 On Veterans' Day, 2005, the city of Flora, Illinois dedicated a memorial to all known Clay County, Illinois World War II Veterans. Located on the south side of the city library, this is a copy of the brochure honoring that event. This 2007 brochure adds a matrix for locating the memorial brick that was laid in honor of each veteran. …
Death	20 Jul 2014	New Horizons Care Center, Lovell, Big Horn County, Wyoming [1]
Burial	Mountain View Cemetery, Riverton, Fremont County, Wyoming [4]
Burial		Headstone, Harry, David Wesley
Person ID	I26728	Carl Wayne Gray Research
Last Modified	14 Apr 2024

Father	Harry, David, b. 1859, Ohio
Mother	?, Lucille, b. 1897, Ohio
Family ID	F11490	Group Sheet \| Family Chart

Family	Whitten, Annabett J., b. 1923 d. 2007 (Age 84 years)
Family ID	F11489	Group Sheet \| Family Chart
Last Modified	31 Jan 2023

Notes

D.W. was born in Wellston, Ohio on October 1, 1922, the oldest son of David Wesley Harry, Sr. and Lucille (Davis) Harry. He graduated from Clay City Community High School with the Class of 1940 receiving awards for penmanship and accounting. After high school, he traveled daily from Clay City to Olney where he worked as a general clerk/ delivery boy at a grocery store. On one of his deliveries of groceries to a local family, he met a young lady from Oklahoma of whom he would later marry.

On November 2, 1942, in Chicago, Illinois, D. W. enlisted in the United States Marine Corp. That same year he graduated boot camp with the 1026th Platoon in San Diego, Ca. He was stationed for a short time at Marine Corps Air Station in El Centro, California. Technical Sgt. Harry received specialized training in: Aviation Machine Mate at Memphis, TN.; Aerial Gunner at Purcell, OK; Combat Air crewman at Cherry Point, NC. His specialties were that of Mechanic Gunner, Mechanic Turret Gunner and Mechanic Air. During his time in the Marines, he flew with the Bombing Squadron VMB 443 in a PBJ Mitchell B25 and operated the top turret gun. Squadron VMB 443 flew missions in the Bismark Archipelago area, concentrating on the areas of Emirau and Rabaul.

In December 1945, TSgt. Harry was honorably discharged and awarded: the Air Medal in connection with military operations against the enemy Japanese forces in the Bismarck Archipelago area from December 10 thru 31, 1944; World War II Victory Medal; American Campaign Medal; Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal with 2 Bronze Stars; Rifle - MM Badge; Honorable Service Lapel Pin (Ruptured Duck) and the USMC Discharge Button.

The young lady that he met while delivering groceries years earlier was Annabett J. Whitten and on March 27, 1943 they were married at the Peabody Hotel in Memphis, TN. During more than 64 years together, they lived in numerous states but finally called Wyoming "home". D. W. worked numerous jobs in various states in the oil and gas fields. He retired from Montana Dakota Utilities (MDU) a subsidiary of the Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline.

His family said that D. W. enjoyed writing poetry, hunting, fishing, boating, camping, horses and his specialty "tinker-ritis". He also had a love for listening to old time music and traveling. His dream was to become a "professional tourist" in his senior years. He was a member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the Masons, Veterans Association, and the Friday - Traun Marine Corp League, Detachment #683.

While living at New Horizons, he kept staff and residents entertained with his yodeling. It was there that he met an EMT by the name of Todd Nunn who befriended D. W. They developed a special friendship, were always talking about flying and on Tuesday, October 5, 2010 a dream came true for D. W. In celebration of his 88 th birthday, he was able to take flight in a vintage 1947 Aeronca L-16A Champion airplane courtesy of Lovell pilot Todd Nunn.

On Tuesday, July 3, 2012, D. W. had another dream realized when Jack and Diane Martin of the Cody Patriots arranged for Veterans to fly in "Grumpy" a B-25 from the World War II era. So during the Cody Stampede festivities and in early celebration of his 90th birthday, D. W. took to the skies once again.

Sources

[S7518] http://www.findagrave.com, Obituary, Harry, David Wesley, (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Harry&GSfn=David&GSmn=W&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=133253) (Reliability: 2).
[S1374] Ancestry.com, 1940 United States Federal Census, Clay City, Illinois, (District 13-4) (Township), image 16, page 8b, (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/2442/M-T0627-00769-00087?backurl=https%3a%2f%2fsearch.ancestry.com%2fsearch%2fdb.as) (Reliability: 3).
[S7505] https://www.wwiimemorial.com/, World War II Honoree, David Wesley Harry, Jr., (https://www.wwiimemorial.com/Registry/plaque.aspx?honoreeID=2185324) (Reliability: 2).
[S7519] http://www.findagrave.com, Headstone, Harry, David Wesley, (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Harry&GSfn=David&GSmn=W&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=133253) (Reliability: 2).