Battling Bridgeford Boys ~ Graduating recently in a course in tank maintenance and repair, at Fort Knox, Ky., was Sgt. Thomas E. Greiner, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ida Earselle Greiner. Bridgeford Addition. The course includes tearing down tanks, piece by piece in the tank department’s modern repair shops. Sergeant Greiner worked on the light M-3 and new M-4 models, studied the motor and driving mechanism, and did his own “trouble-shooting” and repairing and running motors in a new $500,000 tank engine test building. He has been sent to the Tank Destroyer School at Kileen, Texas, as an instructor. He entered the service in July 1939. Mrs. Greiner also has another Sergeant in the family, Sgt.  Greiner, who is stationed at Camp Polk, La. Both young men send word home that they are proud to serve Uncle Sam and are “hoping to cross the pond and help fight those yellow Japs.”

In the Navy ~ William David Jayne, from West Point has received his diploma in Radio training n the Navy at Jacksonville, Fla. He is now attending gunnery school in Jacksonville and is expected to finish this course in a few weeks when he will be allowed furlough to visit home. Mr. Jayne took signal corps training at the Mayo school.

Sgt. Wells Well ~ Mr. and Mrs. Gus Wells are in receipt of a letter from their son, Sgt. Frank Allan Wells, stating that he is confined to a hospital suffering a slight injury to his back. Sgt. Wells is in England.

Florida Sightseeing ~ On a recent trip to St. Petersburg, Fla., Irvin Arrowood and J. B. Wells Sr., visited with Pvt. Maurice "Toad" Conley, s/o Mr. and Mrs. Heber Conley, who is stationed in the Air Corps in St. Petersburg.  Toad spent several hours sightseeing with his Paintsville friends.

Leave Over ~ William David Jayne, of the U. S. Navy, left Monday for Philadelphia after spending a few days with his grandfather, David Johnson, at East Point. He has been stationed in Florida for the past several months.

A Week-end Guest ~ Miss Geneva Lemaster has returned home from Ashland. She accompanied Pvt. Raymond Williams, of Maxton Army Air Base, Maxton, N. C., who was a week end guest at her home and who was returning to his base.

Seeing Mom and Dad ~ Roger T. (Tommy) Cooper, who has enlisted in the U. S. Naval Reserve as a yeoman, second class, is visiting his parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Cooper.

On to Mo. ~ Kenneth Williams is home this week for a visit with his father, Mr. Charley Williams. He has completed the signal corps training at Lexington and will leave shortly for Camp Crowder, Mo., where he will be a technical Sergeant in the U. S. Army.

Number Eight!! ~ Pfc. and Mrs. Charles Castle, of Van Lear, are announcing the birth of a son, Larry Allen, born Jan. 10 The baby weighed 11 pounds and is the eighth child in the family. Pfc. Castle is now in New Jersey. Dr. J. A. Wells was the attending physician.

Women Active In Bond Sales ~  Under the leadership of Mrs. D. H. Dorton, assistant chairman of the county’s Second Victory War Loan Drive, the women of Paintsville have become actively interested in lending their aid in the sale of bonds. At a meeting held at the city hall Monday evening, approximately twenty-five ladies were present. Inspiring talks were given by Mrs. S. Milburn Taylor, Mrs. R. M. Wilhite and Mrs. J. G. Newman, who were introduced by Mrs. Dorton. Several thousand dollars worth of bonds have already been sold by the women workers who are making a concerted effort this week to help the county reach its quota of $628,000.

Notice ~ Many persons are calling at the local draft board headquarters inquiring as to the steps necessary to obtain the release of a soldier for farm work. The board has no jurisdiction over this matter. The soldier’s commanding officer must take the first step. If and when the draft board is notified by the War Department to investigate the agricultural activities of a soldier, then and then only can the board act.

Local Boys Wounded - Included in the list by the war department of the wounded included several Johnson County boys. The names listed are: Pvt. Ora M. Rice, Kerz; and Pvt. Otis Page, Davella.

Promoted - Cpl. Mitchell Castle, son of Mr. and Mrs. Amos Castle has precently been promoted from Pfc to the rank of LCpl. In the service for 18 months he is currently stationed in Canada.

Basic Training, Gail Blanton, son of Arch Blanton, city, is receiving his basic training at Fort Sill, Ok., His wife, Mrs. Bertha Blanton is in Austin,In.

Williams Missing ~ The war department has released the name of Pvt. Varden  A. Williams, Marine, as missing in action an an undisclosed area. Pvt. Williams is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Eli Williams, Georgetown and is the nephew of K. W. Williams, his mother's brother who resides in Flat Gap.

PHS Reunion ~ Charles Melvin, son of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Melvin, and Leon H. Preston, son of W. R. Preston, met recently somewhere in the South Pacific. Both boys are in the Engineer Corps and graduated from PHS Class of 1941. This information was sent to the Herald by Leon who added, "I am receiving my paper pretty regular and appreciate it very much. Tell everybody hello for us."

To Texas ~ Andy J. Blanton, city, has been sent to Camp Fannin, Texas, from the Reception Center at Fort Thomas, Kentucky.

Paratrooper Comes Home ~ Frank Stafford and W. M. Robinson went to Danville Wednesday to accompany home Pvt. Frank Stafford, Jr., who has been given a medical discharge from the army. Frankie was a paratrooper in Ireland and sustained a head injury some weeks ago. He was returned to this country and has been a patient at the Darnell General Hospital in Danville from which he was discharged Wednesday.

Three Brothers Serve ~ PFC Earl Mollette, son of  Mr. and Mrs. Albert Mollette, Tomahawk, who has seen action in North Africa, Sicily and Italy, is now with the US Forces in France. He has a brother Paul in Sicily and and a bother Noah in the South Pacific. Both of whom are privates in the Army.

Red Cross Call ~ Another shipment of surgical dressing material has been received by the local Red Cross. The shipment now being completed must be sent immediately. Workers are needed. Come.

A Baby Boy ! ~ A baby boy was born to Cpl. and Mrs. Richard Hampton Dec. 11. The new baby has been named Earl Wendell.

South Pacific Meeting ~ Mr. And Mrs. E. T. Sherman received a letter from their son, Erza T., Jr, better known as Chigger, and one from Leon Preston stating that they had met on Guadalcanal. Chigger is in the U. S. Marines and has been in the Pacific war zone for over one year.

Elna Boy Killed In Luxembourg The death of Pfc. Ora D. McKenzie on January 15 in action in Luxembourg has been reported. Pfc. McKenzie is a son of Mr. and Mrs. Joe Lee McKenzie, Elna. He entered the army on November 17, 1942, when a farmer. He is 23. A brother, Sebastian, joined the service on June 17, 1943. Sebastian is 20.

Returns to Active Duty ~ Pvt. Samuel J. Burchett has returned to active duty on the Italian front after spending 50 days in a field hospital recovering from wounds received in action. Samuel is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ham Burchett of Stambaugh. He is with the Engineer Corps.

Ooops! ~ Last week the Herald had a letter from PFC Leon H. Preston notifying us that he had met Charles T. Melvin in the Pacific area. In his excitement of this meeting, Leon had completely overlooked mentioning the earlier encounter with Sgt. Virgil Daniel of the U. S. Marine Corps and hastened to write us this last bit of news. All three boys graduated from PHS.

Texas Bound ~ Andy J. Blanton, city, has been sent to Camp Fannin, Texas from the Reception Center at Ft. Thomas, Ky.

Texas Division ~ PFC. Casside Crislip of Kerz, is a member of the "Texas Division" on German soil. The 141st Infantry regiment battered in 10 days the Wehrmecht from strong positions along the Moder river thru the Siegfried line. These Seventh Army infantryman broke out from a small bridgehead across the Moder, battled with German rearguards and finally took out 32 pillboxes and forts while cutting thru the Siegfried Line. They left landmarks to a defeated Reich from Salerno, Italy to the Rhine in Germany in 353 days of conflict with the enemy.

Treasure Island ~ Robert Louis Wilcox, Seaman First Class, USNR, 21, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Louis Wilcox, has logged in to the U. S. Naval Armed Guard Center (Pacific) awaiting assignment  to the gun crew of a merchant ship. Wilcox has been in the Navy for 24 months and has spent 19 months at sea as a member of the armed guard. During this time he has visited nearly every country in the North and South Atlantic. He said that his ship has never been under attack but that he has seen several submarines and other ships that have been sunk.

On Leave ~ Glen Siler S1c, son of Mr. and Mrs. L. Siler arrived Thursday (today) for a short leave with his parents and his wife. He has spent the last six months overseas and participated in the invasion on D-Day. He spent the last three months aboard the French ship, Commoclant Delage, intercepting American signals.

Marine Recruiters ~ With the age limit being raised to 35, Marine recruiters will be in town to enlist men into the U. S. Marines. SSgt. Ernest Sutton and Frederick T. Fereday from Headquarters in Ashland will be signing up recruits. President Roosevelt in his speech last night made it clear that 18 and 19 year olds will be called upon next.

Defense Plant Work ~ Mr. L. A. Jennings has left this past Sunday to accept work in the defense plant in that city.

Red Cross Call Answered ~ Miss Exer Robinson has taken a leave of absence from her post as Director of Public Relations at Morehead State Teacher College to do foreign service.  Miss Robinson is due to leave shortly and will go to Washington for two weeks of training and then will sail. She will be in charge of setting up recreation for our servicemen.

Clay Receives Promotion ~ Lt. J L Clay who has been stationed in Boston since March with the Coast Guard as an attorney, has been promoted to Lt. Senior grade. Lt Clay is the son of Mrs. Grace Clay and the late lloyd Clay of Paintsville.

On Duty in Manila ~ Pvt. Bobby E. M. Mullins, son of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Mullins, Keaton has been assigned to Far East Air Service, Command Headquarters, Manila. This company is responsible for the supply, maintenance, selvage and disposal of AAF aircraft and equipment in the Far East. Pvt. Mullins has been assigned to the headquarters military police squadron. He graduated from High school in Paintsville where he played basketball and football. Before joining the Air Corps, he attended Ohio State University for one year.

USS General Aultman ~ S/Sgt. Eugene Williams of Paintsville and PFC Leon H. Preston of Paintsville are two of 3, 321 Army veterans returning to the states for discharge aboard the USS General Aultman, a Navy transport, which left Yokahama on January 21.

Met in Tokyo ~ Junior Preston, son of W. L. Preston of Thelma, informs his father he has met with Bobby Meade of Williamsport and Clifford Preston of River in Tokyo. He says it is nice to met someone from home and wishes to say hello to everyone and that he hopes to be home soon.

USS Luna ~ Lt. Dean M. Parrish, Paintsville served on the USS Luna, a general issue cargo ship during her career. The vessell, which recently returned to the United States, made 10 trips to the forward area including with one for Japan with supplies for the occupation forces.

Discharged ~ Robert L. Wilcox, S 1/c East Point was discharged from the Navy on February 5.

Dinner Honoring Returning Soldier ~ Mrs. Nell Oppenheimer entertained at a dinner Sunday evening at her home on Fourth Street in honor of her brother, 1^st Sgt. Leo Prater of the Army Air Corps, who had just returned from a year’s service in the Burma-India area. Covers were laid for Mr. and Mrs. Homer Porter, Salyersville; Mr. and Mrs. Jack Hoskins, Oil Springs; Mr. and Mrs. Ruby VanHoose, Chas. Kenneth VanHoose, Mrs. Grace Oppenheimer, Sergeant Prater and Ted Burris.

Reenlistment ~ Sergeant Prater has reenlisted for another year’s service and will report for duty on completion of a ninety day furlough, which he is spending with relatives here and at Salyersville.

Home at last ~Sgt Jesse Ward arrived last from the Pacific theater where he spent the past nine months with the Army Air Corps at Tinian Island, Guam and Saipan. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Mack Ward. His wife, the former Miss Imogene Baldwin, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. McKinley Baldwin, is a teacher at Thealka. For the present the couple will reside with his parents on Highland Avenue.