War Dead is Being Written
Houston, Texas -- Two hundred sixty stories. All
tragic and each ending with the death of a father,
son, brother or other loved one far from home.
Lynna Kay Shuffield who lives in Houston, Texas
is working on a project entitled "Milam County,
Texas: List of Honor -- Individuals Who Have
Given Their Lives in the Defense of their Country
from World War I through Vietnam."
Shuffield wants these war heroes to be remembered.
She is researching the U.S. military and naval records
on each soldier and sailor from Milam County who died
while serving his country in World War I, World War II,
the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Her goal is to
uncover everything she can about Milam County's war
dead before it's too late.
It is a nightmare to attempt to locate records
which are sometimes 50 to 80 years old. Military and
federal archival records involved are viewed as
"worthless" by some government bureaucrats and agencies,
one of whom has told Shuffield the records should be
destroyed. That's a hard sell where Shuffield is
concerned as she attempts to write a complete
biographical sketch on each of the Milam County
War Dead.
We have essentially lost most of the World War
I war casualty information because it has passed from
living memory and has receded far enough into the
distance to provide a challenge to anyone attempting
to utilize first-hand documentation.
One of the biggest obstacles to the research is
the U.S. Military Records Center at St. Louis, Mo. was
burned in 1973 and most all military service records
were destroyed," she said. "Therefore, it is almost
impossible to pull together any information on those
who died in the military because the government will
not undertake to re-build the service record of any
deceased individual. The purpose of my project is to
gather as much information that is available from
various sources and preserve the history of these
young men."
Shuffield, a genealogist and author of four
books on the subject, credits her inspiration in
writing the book to research into her family history.
Several family members of her family from Milam
County were killed in action, including, Charlie M.
Williams in World War I, George R. Knight and O.V.
Sheffield in World War II. (His family replaced the
"u" with an "e".)
"I am trying to preserve the history and
heritage of the Milam County War Dead so future
generations will know the person is behind a name
carved on memorial plaque. We will know how they died
and their sacrifice will be preserved. We don't want
these memories to perish. We have lost the person.
We don't want to lose the memories," Shuffield said.
The somber war stories of these heroes' last
moments are a direct link to U.S. and world history.
"This history and knowledge must be preserved and
made available to future scholars and genealogists
who from the vantage point of history, can help all
of us to remember the sacred sacrifice these noble
individuals made for our country," said Shuffield.
Committed to history as "steadfast, dependable
and aggressive in the defense of their country"
Milam County's war heroes were decorated with medals
and honors. They perished in prisoner of war camps,
at Pearl Harbor, on Korean battlefields, and in the
Vietnam provinces of Phuoc Long, Binh Long, Tay
Ninh, Thua Thien, Kontum and Hoa Nghia.
During World War II, they died in ground
fighting or in air combat over Europe. The ocean
claimed some through great naval battles in the
Pacific, burials at sea or mysterious disappearances.
One Milam County native sailed aboard the USS CYCLOPS,
a collier during World War I that disappeared at sea
in the Bermuda Triangle, she said. Another was aboard
the USS HOUSTON (CA-30) when it was sunk by the
Japanese in March 1942.
This research project is a key to a motherlode
of genealogical data and should grow in significance
as our need for 20th Century military information
increases. Right now, this project is the only
one of its kind in the State of Texas and represents
a whole new path in genealogical research, with fresh
possibilities and discoveries.
Shuffield said families are invited to provide
information for the project, including photographs,
military records, old newspapers stories or obituaries,
letters and other documentation.
"There will be no charge or fee to any family,"
she said. "There is so much rich history here. We have
few living links to World War I left and our links to
World War II are slowly fading. If we don't stop right
now and save the material and memories, we are going
to lose this history. It's preserve or perish and we
need to preserve the history of the Milam County war
dead."
Anyone knowing family members or is interested
in the project is asked to contact Shuffield at (713)
692-4511. Her mailing address is P.O. Box 16604,
Houston, Texas 77222. Her e-mail address is
friday@argohouston.com
There is also an Internet web page devoted to
the project at: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/2670/
Lynna Kay Shuffield
Telephone: 713/692-4511
"Milam County, Texas: List of Honor -- Individuals
Who Have Given Their Lives in the Defense of Their
Country from World War I through Vietnam"
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/2670/
P. O. Box 16604
Houston, Texas 77222