Hank, Merle and Waylon. West Asheville.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Big Brother Miles

Miles and I showed hogs back in 1983. Today happens to be Miles' birthday. Happy Birthday Miles! Whether it was the Lakers and Celtics, Cowboys and Indians, Auburn and LSU, The Incredible Hulk and The Thing, The Dallas Cowboys and The Steelers, it seemed like we always took opposite sides. Let's just chalk that up to Sibling Rivalry.


Santa has a weird look in his eye! Is that Big John?

Big Brother Mark


Mark was the family piano man - our Billy Joel. His talent at the piano and on the organ landed him a gig at the church.
I am holding on to Mark for dear life! Panama City Beach, Florida

Our early years in Asheville

Friday, June 27, 2008

Big Sister Leslie




From what I was told, Leslie was thrilled when she heard Mom was having another baby. Leslie already had two brothers and was hoping that the next child on the horizon would be a girl. I'm taking it she had had her fill of brothers One and Two: Mark and Miles. According to family, Leslie prayed and prayed for a girl, believing a sister to be the answer to her woes. Well, when I was born, and I wasn't the gender sister Les preferred, you can imagine how upset she was. Upon hearing the news that she had a new baby brother, little Leslie grabbed a stick and hurled it towards the sky, hoping to inflict harm on the creator, the one who dared not grant her wish. By the look of these photos, you'd think she had already overcome any hard feelings.





Sunday, June 15, 2008

Happy Father's Day

1972, Dad holding me

1983: me, bottom left, #14; Dad, top right, assistant coach


1989, HHS Graduation


1994 Los Angeles Airport, on my way to Uzbekistan for one year


2006, Father's Day, Dothan, AL

Friday, June 13, 2008

William Felix Vann, Sr. (Bumps)

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



 

Feb 1949

March 1949


1952





Jan. 1956


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