Brothers share bond of serving in military during World War II
WAYNESBURG – Serving one’s country is a tradition in the Headlee family. In fact, few Greene County families gave more to the cause of freedom during World War II than Mark and Ethel Headlee of Garards Fort. Four of the couple’s sons served on active duty during World War II: Shirl, now 82; Ray, 92; Kenneth, 86, who lives in Ohio; and Glenn, who is deceased. Another son, Stanley, now 91, was turned down for the draft due to physical reasons but signed up for limited service in the National Guard.
The Headlee brothers, it seems, were merely following in the footsteps of their forefathers, including grandfather Joseph, who served in the Civil War, and great-great grandfather, Ephriam, who served in the Revolutionary War.
In World War II, Ray was an engineer, while Kenneth served in the 8th Air Force, flying several missions from England over Germany.
Shirl says he “never got out of Texas.” As a flight instructor, he served from 1941 to 1946, training pilots at Waynesburg College before entering the Air Force.
Glenn was a member of the military police in Africa.
All the brothers came back safely after the war, although Ray, who served from 1943 to 1946, had a close call.
“I got a whole knocked in my helmet,” he said. “but it missed my head.”
He was awarded two Bronze Stars for his service, which included rebuilding a bridge across the Elbe River after the war.
In a family of 11 children, the boys had grown up in Garards Fort, where their father and oldest brother started a lumber business, inspired by the “big white oaks” on the family farm. They eventually built the first home at what is now known as Headlee Heights back in 1946.
In 1950, Kenneth and Shirl established Wayne Lumber when they purchased a feed store that Shirl calls “a shed at the stockyard.”
Shirl chuckles a little when he recalls that the competing lumber business owner told them that their new endeavor “won’t last six months.”
Before the war, Ray had graduated in the very first class of the newly opened Penn Commercial and operated a general store in Garards Fort during the 1930s. “Gas was five gallons for a dollar,” he said. After the war, Ray served as a carpenter for his father and brother at Wayne Lumber.
Stanley sold real estate.
Looking back on their lives, the brothers feel blessed.
“We were fortunate to have good parents,” Stanley said.
“We were poor,” Shirl added, “but we didn’t know it. We had lots to eat and we wore hand-me-down clothes.”
“Some mornings you didn’t have a pair of socks left. Everybody had ’em on,” Stanley quipped.
And they have interesting advice regarding longevity.
“You have to be able to laugh,” Shirl said. “And we try to treat everybody as we’d like to be treated.”
Ray credits “chewing tobacco” for his long life. These days, Ray, who is in good health but has failing eyesight, lives in a nursing home and visits often with family.
Shirl and his wife spend the cold months in Florida.
Stanley lives in Waynesburg and cares for his wife, and he still enjoys a good game of golf.
The family is still quite patriotic, and the brothers belong to the local chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution.
The next generation has carried on the military tradition, serving in the Korean and Vietnam conflicts. Among that generation are several Air Force and Navy veterans, as well as two retired Air Force colonels.
Comparing today’s war on terrorism to World War II, Shirl said, “No one takes this war seriously. Back then, everybody was gung-ho.”
Stanley added, “After Pearl Harbor, everybody was ready.”
The difference, Shirl said, is that “during World War II, we were fighting somebody we knew. Today we don’t know who we’re fighting.”
Still, they believe there is nothing more worthwhile than serving one’s country.
“I’d advise every young man to be in the military,” Shirl said.