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COUNTY LIFE

Sunset veteran had to fight to get his Naval record released so he could get health care

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Wayne McConnell returned home after four years of service to marry and raise a family.

By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com
Merle Wayne McConnell was only 19 when he joined the United States Navy as a way to pursue higher education.
His parents, William Henry McConnell and Dorothy O. Willett of Sunset, supported his decision, but they had no idea they would never really know what their son did in the Navy or where he was stationed during his four years.
He worked with “top secret” clearance in several areas, but even after he got out he was sworn to silence on his activities. It was not until much later in his life was he able to be released from that promise as he dealt with health issues believed to be connected to his exposure to radioactive fluids.
Those fluids were leaking from a nuclear device in the cargo bay of a R6D which landed between August and December of 1957. That secrecy kept him from receiving appropriate medical care that is believed to have resulted in him being diagnosed with several different cancers later in his life.
Assisted by Decatur Veteran’s Service Officer, McConnell for years was confronted with VA officials telling him the records were lost, we can’t open the records they are classified and other obstacles.
Finally McConnell received confirmation of that medical appeal for information in August 2019 and was able to receive appropriate medical care and freely speak of many of his activities.
What follows is this veteran’s first person account prepared by himself and wife Joanne from information culled from his military records and submitted to the veteran’s affairs. This record of service was submitted with his appeal for medical care in November 2017. It took almost two years for it to be accepted.

Read this veteran’s personal narrative on his service in the Navy in your weekend Bowie News.

Top photo- Sunset’s Wayne McConnell joined the U.S. Navy at the tender age of 19.

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COUNTY LIFE

Radio club hosting meteorologist

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Michael Bohling, chief meteorologist from Channel 3 in Wichita Falls, will have a presentation at the Montague County Courthouse Annex Community room in Montague from 7-8 p.m. on April 8. It is sponsored by the Montague County Amateur Radio Club.

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COUNTY LIFE

Saint Jo VFD readies annual fish fry

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Members of the Saint Jo Fire Department will host a fish fry and silent auction from 5-7 p.m. on May 3 in the Saint Jo School cafeteria.
Cost is $12 per plate and to-go orders are available. Enjoy fresh catfish, french fries, hush puppies, beans, cole slaw and desserts. A silent auction is planned.

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COUNTY LIFE

Funeral directors journals provide unique ‘day in the life’ perspective on community

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By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com
Kimberly Morris, longtime funeral director in Nocona, has compiled a two-volume set of not only death records, but personal notes from the original funeral home owner covering some 25 years.
She calls it an introduction to the life of the W.L. Scott II who started Scott Funeral Home, the person who tried to make one of the hardest days in life as easy as possible.
Morris sees it as something that not only shows a day in the life, but a historic collection of resident’s deaths, that can be an interesting read as well as a genealogy resource.
The result is “the unpublished” – Volume 1: 1960-1979 and Volume 2: 1980-1985. It is centered around the funeral home intake form where the director made plans for the family, but on the back Scott kept a journal of the activities surrounding this service from start to finish often beginning with picking up a body.
Morris explains it was a different era where there was not a “funeral home” persé as everyone was embalmed at home.

Read the full feature in your Thursday Bowie News.

Also read the Scott Brothers legacy from “the unpublished,” that explains the big impact this family had on business development in Montague County. See page 4A.

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