March 28, 2011 Coats
Museum News
On May 18, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill requiring all American men between the age of 21 and 30 to register for possible service in the U.S. armed forces. This was known as the Selective Service Act. The new law was designed to mobilize an army of 500,000 men for service in the war against Germany. It was estimated that approximately 10 million men would be subject to registration. The names were placed into wheels from which the 500,000 names were drawn.
One of the men in our area who had his name drawn was James Walter Sorrell, Sr. who shared the following story with a grandchild and later given to me by his daughter Brookie Sorrell West. James Walter Sorrell was born in 1888 which required him to register under the Selective Service Act. He was one of the 500,000 men picked to fight in the world war.
Walt recalled that he had always stayed close to home. He was needed there and really had no way to go anywhere. Walt got a taste of the rest of the world during the war and it made him more appreciative of home than ever before. Sorrell received his training in Columbia, South Carolina. He recalled the first job he had to do was to pick feathers from the geese to make himself a bed. He was given a blanket, quilt, and a space on the floor. He received a mess kit with a fork and knife.
His company stayed in South Carolina for 30 days of drilling and then they traveled to Camp Jackson, Florida. The train carried 100 men and he recalled how crowded the train was. After arriving at the Florida camp, tents were set up to hold 8 men. He remembered digging palmetto roots to sweep out the tents. He was trained in first aid and battlefield work.
From Florida, the men traveled to Virginia at Newport News where they left for Europe. Walt spent nine months in France. The open flatness and the absence of trees surprised him. Sorrell recalled the trip to and from France when he traveled on an Italian ship which was previously a cattle boat. The rough sailing conditions had made him so sea sick. Mr. Sorrell shared no information about combat with his grandchild.
Upon his safe return to Harnett County, Walt said he had no fond memories of the war. With a laugh, he noted that he had rather have been a convict on a county road gang than a convict in the army. Maybe I can share more of his memories of how times changed during his 97 years in the Coats-Dunn area. Mr. Sorrell and Mayton Upchurch from Coats were the last two surviving veterans of WWI who belonged to the American Legion Post 59.
Did Mr. Upchurch and Mr. Sorrell attend the Coats Community Fair? Young men from around the world were fighting from 1914 to 1918 around the same time the fair was believed to have been celebrated in Coats. This I do know. The community fair had officers and committee chairs. Owen Odum served as president. W.H. Turlington, B.F. Parrish, B.O. Townsend, C.D. Stewart, C.L. Bailey, and Willie Ennis served as managers. Oscar S. Young was secretary and treasurer. Marshals (mounted) were H.A. Turlington (chief), Jasper Innes, Hue Green, P.E. Turlington, Lee Turlington, J.F. Parrish, and John L. Sorrell. Marshals (yard) were Ida Coats (chief), Laura Parrish, Mary Green and Alva Turlington. Many of these participants were in their teens and twenties.
Read next week to discover what was in store for those who attended the community fair in Coats. This I will say is that there were no book of tickets for rides nor was there the smell of popcorn or hotdogs from vendors.
Sunday was buzzing with visitors. WWII veteran Curtis Williams delighted the volunteers as he shared some of his experiences in the war and from memories of his high school days. Dale Beasley of Dunn came by to check on some Byrd history in preparation for the Byrd Family Reunion to be held next Sunday at Stoney Run Church in Dunn. The Allen family from Erwin were looking for a picture of a relative pictured in “Patriots of WWII”. Did one have to pay to have a picture in that book? H. A. Turlington dropped by with his grandson Graham Turlington whose parents Dr. and Mrs. Henry Turlington reside in Tennessee. H. A. just recently presented $5,000 to the Building Fund of the museum. On Sunday, another defender of the red, white and blue , Carsie Denning gave a $5,000 check toward an exhibit space in the planned addition to the museum. Thank you-Carsie. Thank you to JoAnn Turlington for her memorial gift to the museum endowment to honor her uncle Clem Grey and to the H.L. Sorrell family for remembering Bill Boyd and Brookie Pope. Next week read about what the late Fletcher Flowers family gave to the museum last week.
Please be mindful that this “Coats Museum News” was published on March 27, 2011 in the Daily Record.
On May 18, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill requiring all American men between the age of 21 and 30 to register for possible service in the U.S. armed forces. This was known as the Selective Service Act. The new law was designed to mobilize an army of 500,000 men for service in the war against Germany. It was estimated that approximately 10 million men would be subject to registration. The names were placed into wheels from which the 500,000 names were drawn.
One of the men in our area who had his name drawn was James Walter Sorrell, Sr. who shared the following story with a grandchild and later given to me by his daughter Brookie Sorrell West. James Walter Sorrell was born in 1888 which required him to register under the Selective Service Act. He was one of the 500,000 men picked to fight in the world war.
Walt recalled that he had always stayed close to home. He was needed there and really had no way to go anywhere. Walt got a taste of the rest of the world during the war and it made him more appreciative of home than ever before. Sorrell received his training in Columbia, South Carolina. He recalled the first job he had to do was to pick feathers from the geese to make himself a bed. He was given a blanket, quilt, and a space on the floor. He received a mess kit with a fork and knife.
His company stayed in South Carolina for 30 days of drilling and then they traveled to Camp Jackson, Florida. The train carried 100 men and he recalled how crowded the train was. After arriving at the Florida camp, tents were set up to hold 8 men. He remembered digging palmetto roots to sweep out the tents. He was trained in first aid and battlefield work.
From Florida, the men traveled to Virginia at Newport News where they left for Europe. Walt spent nine months in France. The open flatness and the absence of trees surprised him. Sorrell recalled the trip to and from France when he traveled on an Italian ship which was previously a cattle boat. The rough sailing conditions had made him so sea sick. Mr. Sorrell shared no information about combat with his grandchild.
Upon his safe return to Harnett County, Walt said he had no fond memories of the war. With a laugh, he noted that he had rather have been a convict on a county road gang than a convict in the army. Maybe I can share more of his memories of how times changed during his 97 years in the Coats-Dunn area. Mr. Sorrell and Mayton Upchurch from Coats were the last two surviving veterans of WWI who belonged to the American Legion Post 59.
Did Mr. Upchurch and Mr. Sorrell attend the Coats Community Fair? Young men from around the world were fighting from 1914 to 1918 around the same time the fair was believed to have been celebrated in Coats. This I do know. The community fair had officers and committee chairs. Owen Odum served as president. W.H. Turlington, B.F. Parrish, B.O. Townsend, C.D. Stewart, C.L. Bailey, and Willie Ennis served as managers. Oscar S. Young was secretary and treasurer. Marshals (mounted) were H.A. Turlington (chief), Jasper Innes, Hue Green, P.E. Turlington, Lee Turlington, J.F. Parrish, and John L. Sorrell. Marshals (yard) were Ida Coats (chief), Laura Parrish, Mary Green and Alva Turlington. Many of these participants were in their teens and twenties.
Read next week to discover what was in store for those who attended the community fair in Coats. This I will say is that there were no book of tickets for rides nor was there the smell of popcorn or hotdogs from vendors.
Sunday was buzzing with visitors. WWII veteran Curtis Williams delighted the volunteers as he shared some of his experiences in the war and from memories of his high school days. Dale Beasley of Dunn came by to check on some Byrd history in preparation for the Byrd Family Reunion to be held next Sunday at Stoney Run Church in Dunn. The Allen family from Erwin were looking for a picture of a relative pictured in “Patriots of WWII”. Did one have to pay to have a picture in that book? H. A. Turlington dropped by with his grandson Graham Turlington whose parents Dr. and Mrs. Henry Turlington reside in Tennessee. H. A. just recently presented $5,000 to the Building Fund of the museum. On Sunday, another defender of the red, white and blue , Carsie Denning gave a $5,000 check toward an exhibit space in the planned addition to the museum. Thank you-Carsie. Thank you to JoAnn Turlington for her memorial gift to the museum endowment to honor her uncle Clem Grey and to the H.L. Sorrell family for remembering Bill Boyd and Brookie Pope. Next week read about what the late Fletcher Flowers family gave to the museum last week.
Please be mindful that this “Coats Museum News” was published on March 27, 2011 in the Daily Record.