Good Mornin’! Good Mornin’!
Something had to be done and ordinary men were called upon to make the extraordinary happen.
The deranged German leader was terrorizing Europe and wiping out generations of families and countries.
He was defiling history and ravaging the world for his narrow-minded hatred. But in the end, he died a coward in his own bunker as he was forced on the run by the Allies.
The numbers are simply astounding. During World War II 16,112,566 Americans served in the United States Armed Forces, with 405,399 killed and 671,278 wounded.
That’s 16 million plus. There were also 130,201 American prisoners of war, of whom 116,129 returned home after the war.
They came from small towns, large cities and everywhere in between. The town of Inverness had plenty of heroes get the call to the front lines, to the air and to every outpost imaginable.
These men were my father’s friends. Most of them were a few years older than he was as he was drafted and served just after WWII and before the war in Korea. I knew the men but I never knew their stories. That is until I sat down with Crosby Simmons after Lions Club back in the summer of 2018.
There’s one man’s name that you’ll find in a lot of my columns. Mr. Bill Bennett. I only knew him as the great big (literally), giving man that he was. He towered at what seemed well over six feet tall and carried much more weight than necessary. No one could come close to his welding expertise as he solved many a farmers’ problems with his skills.
I knew him as the man who fed us all. A dove hunt tailgate for 25-30 or so that could easily have fed twice that. He could have taught Jesus a thing or two about feeding the multitudes.
The man behind the delectable fried concoctions and huge portions at Cordy Brake Hunting Club. The man who made watermelon wine and many other things at his home and shop nestled against Bradley Bayou. But there was a reason for the excess in cooking and food that was always in his presence. He was a prisoner of war and had been starved to less than 100 pounds when he was finally released, according to Simmons.
“Every farm has a little corner that you can’t get up in and plant. Bill Bennett would plant a garden in those corners and make his children go work those gardens,” Simmons said. “They would tote 55-gallon barrels of water out there to water those gardens. He said, ‘As long I live, no one will ever go hungry around here.’ And he would raise those gardens and make sure the old folks and everyone else had food. We used to help him too. And he didn’t have two nickels to rub together.”
Mr. Bill Bennett blessed hundreds if not thousands through his promise that was refined while in captivity. I’m proud to have known him and his family and am proud to tell a part of his story. Thank you for your service, Mr. Bill Bennett.
Memorial Park in Inverness pays homage originally to two fallen soldiers, Captain Walter William Sparks II and Captain William Prichard of the United States Army Air Corps. Now the park honors every soldier who served, lost their lives in battle and has crossed over since the war ended. Simmons, with incredible community help, renovated the two war cannons there along with many more efforts and refinements. This year David Weeks, Sr. set up American flags throughout. Anyone interested can donate, time, money, materials, services or anything to help with the project. To donate, contact the Inverness Chamber of Commerce in care of Bill Kennedy, P.O. Box 13, Inverness, MS 38753. Call them at (662) 265-5741. To contact via email: ICC@IN-MS.org.
