I have at least four great-uncles that were in the US Armed Forces during World War II. One of those great-uncles is William Felix Vann, Sr.. To his shipmates, he’s known as Felix. To his family and close friends, he’s known simply as Bumps. To me, he’s Uncle Bumps. And, if being on the receiving end of a piece of bubblegum (i.e. the round, thick, fruity variety) has never created a moment of sheer joy for you, then you haven’t had an uncle quite like Bumps. His quick wit and humorous nature, combined with his oft-repeated bubblegum giveaways, made bumping (pun intended) into him quite a treat.
The Wiregrass Farmer
August 23, 1928
1930
April 1933
October 29, 1936
June 1937
May 1939
July 1940
Uncle Bumps in his Navy uniform! April, 1940 - joined Navy
Sept 1940
Dec 1940
May 1941
(the rest was not in the paper)
Sept 1941
Oct. 1941
May 1942
Sept 17, 1942
June 1943
The Montgomery Advertiser
August 29, 1943
Feb. 1944
March 1944
USS Mayo, a destroyer
Uncle Bumps was a radio man on this ship from December 1940 - 1942 as it escorted supply convoys to theaters where Allied Soldiers were fighting fiercely against Nazi forces. North Africa, Italy and Murmansk, Russia are examples of dangerous convoy routes that the USS Mayo serviced. The ship dropped explosives to destroy German subs. Uncle Bumps said that these missions, at first, were covert because the United States was not supposed to be in any action: at least the people back home thought so. Pearl Harbor, of course, changed all that.
In December 1943, Uncle Bumps transferred to this gigantic vessel. His was a part of Combat Aviation Control. Apparently, in the Asian Pacific, the
USS Independence encountered not only big numbers of Japanese warships, but a significant number of fearless
Kamikazes. The Independence was in eight battles and suffered at least one major hit by one of the
Kamikazes; Uncle Bumps said the crew had to fight to save the ship. Ironically, the world war itself didn't "do in" the mighty Independence; instead, when the carrier was
decommissioned it was used for target practice by the US nuclear forces. Amazingly, even after being hit by an atom bomb at sea, the wreckage remained afloat, only to be towed into harbor. UPDATE (5/24): Discovered
this story on NPA.
Allen,
Back in 2001, I asked Daddy to write down what he could remember about his time in the Navy. As you can see from the attached, he remembered "a lot".
When you asked me about his possible visits to Phillipines or Japan toward end of the war, I figured that his record would cover this. GUESS WHAT, I couldn't find his letter. Janet to the rescue. After several days of looking behind me, she found the goods.
If you can't read this, I will try some other format.
Mike Vann
Uncle Bumps (Felix Vann) with his late wife, Dot (Wood) Vann, and their granddaughter, Rachel. Bumps and Dot were together 58 years.
Imagine drinking your early morning brew out of one of these. I'm guessing the brew and the mugs could make starting a conversation a tad easier. Behind the coffee mugs, on the poster, is the Serenity Prayer.
One of Uncle Bumps' certificates for doing something quite unusual.
Kade and I stopped by to see Uncle Bumps at his home on Main Street in Headland, AL during our most recent visit to the Wiregrass. Naturally this visit enabled me to talk with him about his WWII experiences and take a look through his memorabilia.
Update: On June 18, 2009, Uncle Bumps died.
To read his obit, click
here.
Uncle Bumps was a fascinating man who had a lot of personal charisma. He certainly made others enjoy being around him. When I was a boy, I would love just to stop by his clothing store on the square to see him. Yes, the gum played a part, I'm sure. However, if he had been a grouchy, grumpy ole guy, I wouldn't have stopped by. Uncle Bumps was indeed a "character" and brought a lot of humor into the world. There's something to be said for that!
My next project will be to add the interview Uncle Bumps did about his experiences in World War II.
vintage slides from the Sam Vann, Jr. family collection