Papaw's 80th Birthday Party, July 2, 2005
Memaw, Papaw, Robert, John, Elwood, Billy and Paula (Not pictured, Patrick)
5 of their 6 kids
There are many strong, diverse people in this world. I have had the pleasure of being partially named for and the granddaughter of one of them. Elwood Lee Hyden I, referred to as Papaw by his grand kids and great grand kids, was born into poverty, became a Marine, lawyer, politician, prisoner and preacher. All in one lifetime of 84 years. (Note: on his birth certificate and all military papers, his name is spelled Ellwood (with two "l".) The other more recent papers say either, E.L. Hyden or Lee Hyden, especially all of the political papers.)
The cabin in which Papaw was born. Picture taken in 2006 while it was being remodeled.
His mother named him for her maternal uncle, who was a Cherokee Indian. His father was not sure of the name Elwood and said he would call him, "Little Lee". His mother was insistent on calling him Ellwood.
Papaw had very vivid memories of his unselfish, Christian mother. His earliest memory was of her praying for her children. He remembers his mother often saying that putting up with Pop (Papaw's dad) and raising 10 children during the Great Depression was earning jewels for her crown, which she would receive when she arrived in Heaven.
His father was a disabled WWI veteran. He was wounded on the battlefield in the Battle of the Argonne Forest, where he was exposed to poison gas that left him with only one lung and it had emphysema.
The family was very poor. Papaw remembers being made fun of for wearing torn, worn out clothes as he was growing up. It was something that humiliated him and he wanted to be sure his children had a life different from the one that he had.
It was after he was sent overseas that the finances and living situation at home got really bad. His dad was taken to Marion, Illinois to be treated for his lung disease. With he and his brothers all away at war, there was no money for food and fuel. Wood was used for heat and cooking. Once the wood that had been chopped by the men had run out, it was winter. It was then that his mother tore up the tiles on the floor and burned them for heat.
When he was in 10th grade, at age 17, he dropped out of high school once basketball season was over. He began working as a laborer for local farmers and construction jobs. He made 75 cents to $1.50 a day, except in tomato picking season, where he made between $5 and $10 a day picking tomatoes for the canning factory.
When he began working construction jobs, he started out making 75 cents an hour. He became a supervisor and made 93 cents per hour. With the money he made, he bought his first car, a 1936 Ford Convertible with a rumble seat and iron curved body. He paid $200 cash for the car. As he said, "That car made me a different person."
It was on June 23, 1943 he was in Indianapolis and joined the Marines. He was not yet 18, so his mother signed the papers for him. In the middle of August 1943, he was called to go to boot camp. He was promoted to PFC at the end of boot camp.
He asked for and was assigned to the US Marine Corp Air Force at Camp Miramar. He was then assigned to ground defense with VMF 122, as a part of Marine Air Group 11, in El Centro, California. At Camp Miramar he learned to set up and operate 30 and 50 caliber machine guns. He also operated trucks and cherry pickers. His recollection of El Centro Valley is that it is one of the hottest places on the planet. The barracks were water-cooled and walking out of the barracks, they felt as if they walking into an oven.
He went to Camp Pendleton for a time to learn to be a combat conditioning instructor. Here in Area 13, he learned to use and teach knife, club, rifle, judo and jujitsu defense.
While he was overseas, he earned $64 a month, $35 of which he sent home to his mother. She used the money to care for the hogs and cows on the farm. The way his family kept up with his location was by the currency he sent home. He would send currency from the places he was so they could keep track of him. This was necessary because the mail he sent out was very censored.
July 10, 1944 he sailed from San Diego on an ancillary aircraft carrier to Espiritu Santo. While they were in Espiritu Santo, he went swimming in a deep volcano crater. Both of his ears became infected with a fungus. For about 12 months, he was given penicillin. He did not feel it helped much because of the coral dust and coral mosquitoes on the Island of Peleliu.They were in Espiritu Santo for several weeks before going to Guadalcanal. In Guadalcanal they joined the First Marine Division to invade Peleliu. His words of September 15, 1944, the day Peleliu was invaded, "The sea was perfectly still. It looked like glass. My outfit was in the harbor, but soon we could see the wounded and head being brought to the hospital ship, Hope, which was near us. Some of the dead were wrapped under a flag and dumped into the Pacific. The wounded and dead kept coming until my outfit went down the nets into loading crafts and made the trip to the beach onto the Island of Peleliu, which would be our home for a year and a day." During his stay on the island, he had several attacks of Malaria.
Home on ten day furlough (with 6 days travel time) in June 1944, Butlerville Indiana
At the suggestion of a friend who was not going to University of Indiana, but to Bethel College, a small church based school in Tennessee, he looked into attending Bethel College. He discovered that not only could he play basketball there, which was a passion of his, but they were also looking for veterans.
In August of 1946, he and his friend John Harold headed to McKenzie, Tennessee. It was here that he met Mae Reid, who was to become his wife.
TO BE CONTINUED.....
Hi there, I am Uncle Lee's great-niece. I found this through Google and have enjoyed reading the History. Thank you for sharing!