Elijah on the interview with Milford Murray

On June 4^th, 2015, I was part of a group of people who interviewed local Chestertown Resident Milford Murray.  What impressed me most about him was his ability to recall stories from various points in his life and relate them to the more modern time period in which he lives.  As a guy who lived in New Jersey for most of his life, I don’t know a lot about Chestertown.  Milford’s interview helped me learn a good deal more about this town’s recent and older history. 

He had a bit of a pessimistic attitude for the future of the town, claiming that there are plans to try to turn it into a retirement community, citing the lack of blue-collar work as well as the decline in the local African-American population.  He was a good talker; able to eloquently explain just about anything that was brought up as well as a few things that weren’t brought up.  One thing I'm supposed to reflect on is whether or not I have any additional questions that I didn't get to ask, but to be honest, I don't have any at this point, he covered everything.  

I guess I can say I have one issue and that is that he's willing to give tours of the Civil War Museum on First Friday, but I have a training session that day from 6-8.  I may be able to make it but I'll probably be late or just too tired to head in to town.  Sorry about that Milford, it's just an awkward timing thing going on.

All in all, it was an interesting experience and I hope to interview more people.

--Elijah McGuire-Berk

Mary Wood's Stories From the Homefront

During my interview with Mary Wood, I was struck by just how greatly World War II had affected her and her family.  Obviously this was true for many families during that time, but actually sitting down with someone who had lived through that chaotic time and spoke so vividly of her experiences was an enlightening experience.  Going into the interview we already knew that Mrs. Wood had been a member of the Red Cross along with her mother.  Additionally her father was a Provost Marshall in London, in charge of discipline for American forces in London and her brother served as a pilot in the Pacific.  

Before the interview we were under the impression that Mrs. Wood had spent most of the war with the Red Cross away from Chestertown but we found out that she moved to Kent County after marrying in 1942.  She and her husband started selling broiled chickens on their small farm outside of Centreville.  One of the stories I found most interesting was when she described being on plane spotting duty with her husband at 3 in the morning. 

We got our best answers when we asked her about her emotions at key points during the war.  She described in great detail her families’ reaction to Pearl Harbor and the fear and anger that was prevalent in the days after the attack.  Looking back I wished we would have probed Mrs. Wood more on the relationship between her and her father and whether the tradition of military service in her family had influenced her actions during the war.  Overall Mrs. Woods was insightful, engaging and forthright about her wartime experience and it was a pleasure to hear her memories of that tumultuous time. 

--Joseph Swit 

Interview with Milford Murray

On June 4, we interviewed Milford Murray. He moved from Philadelphia to Chestertown at the age of three and spent the rest of his childhood growing up here. He left Chestertown for about 34 years as he served in the National Guard, and then moved back to Chestertown in 2004.

Mr. Murray has several interesting memories of growing up during WWII, like how the rations on sugar made the cakes and pies that his family enjoyed a little less sweeter; or his grandmother insisting absolute silence as she listened to President Roosevelt on the radio. He also remembers how relieved people were when the war ended, and that there was a parade the following Memorial Day to celebrate.

In addition to sharing memories about WWII, Mr. Murray shared personal stories about being an African American during the 1950s. He explained that race did not matter as much to folks during and directly after the war period, and that race relations divide us a lot more than they did 70 years ago. Mr. Murray went on to talk about how Chestertown has changed from the 40s and 50s to the next millennia, and not necessarily for the better. Now that I've heard his stories, I would love to find out more about how people treated each other in Chestertown in 1941 in comparison to today.

Mr. Murray shared so much personal history with us. There is a lot more that we could have learned from him. His time in the National Guard would have been something interesting to investigate.

To conclude this post, Mr. Murray is also a driver for Washington College. He drives sports teams and international students to the airport, away games, etc. If you're lucky enough to have him as a driver, make sure you say hi!

-Emma Buchman

Archival Friday: Censorship Scandal

Alumnus Magazine interaction with the U.S. Board of censorship 1944

"Code of Wartime Practices for the American Press"

The Alumnus magazine has been a great resource for alumni to both keep in touch with each other, and to keep in the loop with major events at Washington College. This was true all the way back in 1944, although the editor at that time made a major error in the March issue. The editor at the time, whose name is still unknown, revealed critical information about two individuals. Sgt. Harold T. Stafford and CDR Harry J. Hicks, Jr., both graduates of the class of '39 had their locations solicited in the magazine, which was in direct conflict with rules of the U.S. Board of Censorship. Somehow the department managed to get word of the magazine and sent the editor a relatively friendly letter of warning to remove the information, and to refrain from giving any such information in a public magazine. Giving Hick's location on the USS Nebraska, and Stafford's position in the 9th signal company were considered secret information, which could have been used by Axis powers to track and attack both divisions. To make sure that the editor was clear on publishing rules during the war, the department of censorship sent an instructional pamphlet clearly detailing every mandatory rule for publishers to avoid giving crucial information. The editor in response sent a letter of apology and gave his word to never post incriminating information in the future. 

 

Memorandum from the Navy.

My thoughts on the matter are mixed.  First and foremost I am, and always will be a supporter of the first amendment; freedom of speech as well as freedom of the press.  From my understanding this should also cover war time news.  On the other hand the U.S. Government did have a strong reason to monitor press release and censor any information that might be pertinent to “The Enemy”.  I am also shocked how perceptive the U.S. Board of censorship was during the wartime era.  To pick up a quick anecdote in a college alumni magazine proves how careful and thorough the department was.  This is both impressive, and equally terrifying.  The fact that the Board of censorship back in 1943 could pick up just about any revealing information in every U.S. publication points to a likely absolute government control of all media currently.

Ultimately, the answer lies in a gray area of moral ambiguity.  The government should watch for press releases of information that definitely would endanger the lives of American citizens.  Whether the U.S. government can be trusted with that responsibility is still debatable.

Harry Hicks, one of the soldiers mentioned in the magazine.

--Nick

Archival Friday: Lawrence Buffington

Lawrence Buffington's photo in the Pegasus yearbook.

Lawrence W. Buffington was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. He was born in 1917 and had three brothers, John Raymond, James “Jay” and Donald L. Buffington. Later he went on to study at Washington College in Chestertown, MD where he studied mathematics and economics. He was associated with Greek life. Lawrence was the chairman of the inter-fraternity council, the president of Omicron Delta Kappa and Archon of Theta Kappa Nu. He also was active in the sports scene as a football player. During his senior year, he enlisted into the Army Air Forces in Washington D.C. Lawrence was the Captain of Regiment 345^th bomber group, medium, 500^th bomber squadron. Lawrence was declared dead August 12, 1945, stating that he was “missing in action or buried at sea”. This was three days before the end of the war with Japan. He was on a flying mission over Japan the last time he was seen. The awards he received were the air medal, Purple Heart, American campaign medal and the WWII victory medal.

Sources: www.honorstates.org, Yearbook of ’39, www.findgrave.com, www.ancientfaces.com, Theta Kappa Nu Pegasus article.

--Abby

Archival Friday: Terrence M. Burrows, Jr.

Terrence M. Burrows Jr.

The man I researched was Terrence M. Burrows Jr.  He was born in Baltimore on March 23^rd, 1923, and boy was he born in a bad year.  If you were born in 1923, you would’ve been 18 in 1941, the year when Japan attacked America and Germany attacked the USSR.  He spent one year as a freshman in Washington College; I was only able to find a few blurry pictures of him in group yearbook photos.  It was a way to learn a bit about him.  For example, he was a freshman in 1942.  He was also in the Classical Society, a pledge for the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, and a member of his local YMCA.

While in the armed service, he served in the 390^th bomber group as well as the 569^th bomb squad, flying in a B17 Flying Fortress.  The plane’s serial number was 43-38173.  He died on December 24^th, 1944 after being held by the Germans as a POW.  While the exact location of his prison is tricky to determine, it’s likely he was on a boat that was shot down by American planes.  He currently has a grave in Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Talbot County, Maryland.

Citations for this post are the Washington College 1942 Yearbook, the Find a Grave website (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=20711112), the American Air Museum (http://www.americanairmuseum.com/person/208401), and a website listing POW information (http://www.ww2pow.info/index.php?page=directory&rec=818)

--Elijah McGuire-Berk

Archival Friday: Albert J. Bland

In one of our preliminary research periods, I came across the story of Albert J. Bland in a brief excerpt written about him in The Elm. It stated simply that Bland was being held in a Japanese prison camp, no more, no less. I wanted to know the end of his story, and while I was relieved to discover that he survived this ordeal, I was horrified by the discovery that for over three years Bland suffered a fate worse than death.

Bland was born in Toronto in 1916 and raised in Egg Harbor, New Jersey. He was an athlete in high school and came to Washington College in the fall of 1935, where he played on the college football team as a tackle. According to college records, Bland only attended WC from September 1935 to December 1936, though alumni records show that he graduated in 1939.

He enlisted in the Army Air Corps (what would become the Air Force) in 1937, beginning his journey into World War II. At the start of the war, Bland was stationed in Nichols Field in the Philippines. However, after the American surrender at Bataan on April 9, 1942, Bland become a Japanese prisoner of war and was sent on the Bataan Death March. Bland survived the march all while helping to support an injured soldier.

From there, Bland remained a POW and was shipped throughout Asia until the end of the war. He was taken from the Philippines to Formosa, Japan, Korea, and Manchuria. Bland even spent time on the Oryoku Maru, a Japanese war ship known also as one of its "hell" ships.

Bland was finally liberated on August 20, 1945 after the Japanese surrendered to the United States. He was 98 pounds and blind from malnutrition. He spent one year recovering and regained his sight. He then continued to serve in the Army Air Corps until 1957, when he retired with the rank of Master Sergeant. Bland then worked in quality control until 1981.

He remained involved in POW affairs throughout most of his life, and even helped to create the Prisoner of War medal in 1985. Bland was awarded this very medal by President Ronald Reagan in 1988.

Bland died on the 58th anniversary of his liberation in 2003 at the age of 87. He was survived by his wife and three daughters.

Bland's suffering allowed the Allies (and even the Axis) powers to live in peace so many decades later. He said in an interview with The Baltimore Sun that had he known the fate that awaited him in Bataan, he would have chosen death in a heartbeat.

Source: The Baltimore Sun, The Washington Elm, the Washington College Alumni Catalog, ancestry.com.

--Emma Buchman