Singleton and Related Genealogy Pages
A history of many families.
1924 - 2018 (93 years)| Name | Charles Lemmon SHAW [3, 4, 5, 6, 7] | |
| Birth | 4 Apr 1924 | Tuomey Hospital, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina  [8] |
| Gender | Male | |
| HIST | of Sumter, South Carolina Sumter vets make trip of a lifetime BRISTOW MARCHANT / THE ITEM Sumter vets make trip of a lifetime Statues of the Korean War Veterans Memorials silently march passed visitors from Wednesday's Honor Flight to Washington. Several World War II veterans on the flight had also served during the Korean conflict. BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bmarchant@theitem.com Almost 67 years after the end of the second world war, three Sumter veterans got the thanks they never received for their service in one of the most destructive conflicts in the nation's history. "When I came back, they didn't really do anything," said Bill Hartley, who served as a Marine in the post-war occupation of Europe. "Then when I came back from Korea and pulled in to San Francisco, there was nobody there to meet us." Nobody involved in Wednesday's events can be accused of skimping on the celebrations. Hartley and two other local World War II veterans, Gordon Rettke and Charles "Flop" Shaw, flew to Washington, D.C., with a group of veterans from around South Carolina as part of an Honor Flight to the nation's capital. From takeoff to landing and everything in between, the traveling group of veterans were showered with adulation, adoring crowds and official attention. "For them to do so much this time, it's so nice," Hartley said. Honor Flights are sponsored trips to Washington for aging veterans of World War II to see the National World War II Memorial. The memorial on the National Mall was completed in 2004, and Honor Flights were started to transport as many veterans of the war as possible to see the nation's tribute to them while they are still able to see it. More than 100 veterans from South Carolina took part in Wednesday's Honor Flight, sponsored by the South Carolina Electric Cooperatives, of which Black River Electric in Sumter is a part. James Moye with Black River Electric Coop acted as the guardian for the Sumter veterans. "There are 20 coops in the state of South Carolina, and they all went in together to sponsor the flight," Moye said. "Some of the flights in the past had been partially funded, but this time the coops banded together to sponsor the whole flight." The veterans' group flew out of Columbia early Wednesday morning, with the Patriot Guard forming an honor guard as they passed through the airport lobby. Once the flight touched down at Reagan National Airport, the veterans were greeted by a barbershop quartet and, in some cases, their guardians for the trip, including active-duty military personnel. As the buses pulled up to the World War II Memorial, unsuspecting tourists spontaneously applauded the vets entering the memorial. At the memorial, a fountain is bracketed by two arches marking the Atlantic and Pacific sides of the war, with columns radiating out from each recognizing each state and territory. The group congregated around the South Carolina column, and posed for group photos before wandering the memorial. "I think it looks great," said Shaw, a Sumter native who served in the Italian campaign as an infantryman. He was especially impressed by one wall at the memorial displaying a bronze star for every hundred Americans killed in the war. "I didn't know how many people had been killed until I saw it said 400,000," he said. "I knew it was a lot, but..." Rettke, who served in the Naval Air Corps during the war, was surprised by just how new the monument to a six-decade old war is. "I thought it was older than it was," he said. "It's only eight years old." Hartley called the memorial "fantastic." "I think it's really meaningful, beautiful and magnificent," he said. "I liked the significance of each state pillar. You can go to the state that you're from, and go to another state and feel the significance of the people from that state." The memorial was somewhat overwhelming for the veterans when they tried to think back on what it all meant. "Yes and no," Hartley said when asked if the memorial brought back any memories. "I recall World War II, I recall the times, but I wasn't in combat." However, the memorial did stir thoughts about Hartley's four brothers, who all saw combat in the war. Shaw found it hard to think about the past in the midst of the present moment. "I didn't really pull it all together until just now," Shaw said in the shadow of the memorial's columns. "It just doesn't register right away." After the trip to the memorial, the Honor Flight group took in some of D.C.'s other memorials. The Korean War Veterans Memorial had special meaning for some of the veterans. Hartley had also been deployed in Korea, and Rettke was called back up during the conflict but was deployed overseas. "I was married and had a child on the way, and (then-President) Eisenhower said if you served two years in World War II, you don't have to go unless you want to," Rettke said. "So I was a flight instructor at a Chicago naval air station." The vets also took in the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, the U.S. Air Force Memorial overlooking the Pentagon, and the Marine Corps War Memorial famously depicting the flag-raising on Iwo Jima. The day finally came to an end at Arlington National Cemetery, where the group witnessed the ceremonial changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. But the day didn't end by the time the Honor Flight returned to Columbia. Returning veterans were greeted at Columbia Municipal Airport by Lt. Gov. Glenn McConnell, Miss Capital City and Miss Capital City Teen, and a flag-waving crowd with a full brass band. "The scene at the airport whenever we took off and landed really impressed me," Hartley said. "The send off was so unexpected, and the response we got from everybody." "I was impressed by how nice everybody was," Shaw added. "I don't know how they got all those people out to see us. One lady kissed me right on the mouth. It was quite a good reception." "The main thing I think they enjoyed is how they were greeted by everybody," Moye said after the trip. "They liked seeing all the monuments, but they were really pleased by how everybody greeted them and thanked them for their service. I don't think they'd really received anything like that before." Sixty-seven years is a long time to go before receiving recognition for all the things you've done. But anyone who took Wednesday's Honor Flight would tell you it's better late than never. ------------------- CHARLES L. "FLOP" SHAW Age: 87 Hometown: Sumter Military Service: U.S. Army Co-op affiliation: Black River Cooperative Quote: "In the infantry, two things happened when you went to war: you got wounded or you got killed." Charles L. "Flop" Shaw goes out of his way to tell you how blessed his life has been. As he sits in his office above the show floor at Shaw Lumber, he's a picture of perfect health. Now 87 and married 63 years, he's still a staple in the Sumter business community. "Sumter means everything to me," says Shaw. "Given a chance to do it all over again, I wouldn't change a single thing." The life Shaw relishes nearly ended in a foxhole near Anzio, Italy, in 1943. Only a few months before, while he was attending Davidson College, the Army had called him to service. Three months later, he was on an ocean transport with 5,000 soldiers, bound for the Mediterranean as a member of the Army's 45th Infantry Division. Their goal: to liberate Italy from the German army. "We were the front line," Shaw recalls as he talks about his company pushing through Italy, encountering withering resistance every step of the way. "I'll say this, it was no place you wanted to be." In that foxhole near Anzio in the mayhem of a fierce firefight with retreating German soldiers, Shaw lost his helmet. The only replacement he could find was "at least two sizes too big for my head," he says. Moments later as he raised his head to survey the landscape, a German sniper fired a single round that hit the front of his helmet drooped over his eyes. Had it been five minutes earlier, he would not have made it home. He escaped with minor shrapnel wounds. "I've just always believed when it's your time, it's your time," Shaw says. "But I can tell you this: I'm glad it wasn't my time." After leaving the Army, he returned to Davidson in 1946, got a degree in business and moved home to Sumter to manage the family business he still runs today. The war, he says, is almost never a topic of conversation. WILLIAM P. HARRISON Age: 98 Hometown: Turbeville, now of Sumter Military service: U.S. Army Co-op affiliation: Black River Cooperative Quote: "The Army helped me learn to deal with a lot of different situations I faced later in my educational career." William P. Harrison began his World War II service preparing to deploy mustard gas on the enemy. The former Santee Electric Cooperative member finished it having only had to deploy mustard on sandwiches for fellow soldiers, which was a very good thing when you're assigned to a chemical warfare company that, thankfully, never had to ply the tools of its trade. When he was drafted in June 1943, Harrison, who had completed Morris College in Sumter in 1940, had been teaching fifth grade for three years in Olanta, just up the road from his hometown of Turbeville. "I had never been anywhere but Turbeville and Sumter, and I told my mother I wouldn't volunteer, but if I was called, I'd go, and if I passed, I wanted to go overseas," he says. Harrison got his wish. Not only was he accepted and assigned by the Army to the 55th Chemical Processing Company, which was a segregated, all-black unit, he soon found himself stationed in New Guinea, where he would spend the next 27 months of his life. Because there was no use for chemical weapons, his culinary skills meant he immediately was reassigned to the role of company cook. "At home, I was the ninth child of 12, and at about 8 years old I learned how to cook, grits and meat and such," Harrison says. "Well, they needed a cook in New Guinea at our little unit there next to officers' headquarters, and so I wound up cooking and liked it." After two years, Harrison's unit was transferred to the Philippines, where he re-enlisted. Eight months later, the war was over. Harrison was discharged in November 1945. Once back home - he had gotten married during the one furlough he had - Harrison farmed and taught farming courses for fellow veterans. He returned to education in 1952, where he would spend the rest of his career, retiring in 1979. As principal for many years at Wilson Elementary School, Harrison had a huge impact on educating children in the Wilson and Manning communities, according to one of his students, Santee Electric Cooperative CEO Floyd L. Keels. Along with his mother's guidance, Harrison partly credits his military experience for his success. WILLIAM HARTLEY Age: 82 Hometown: Canvas, W.V. Military Service: U.S. Marine Corps, European Occupation Co-op affiliation: Santee Electric Cooperative Quote: "Most of us don't look at ourselves as heroes. We're just veterans. We did what was expected of us." William Hartley is a proud, decorated former Marine, eagerly signing up to serve during WWII and "ready" to go to the frontlines of that war despite the known dangers. For his service, he's proud to be called a veteran, but doesn't want to be labeled a hero. "I'm just a veteran," said Hartley, who didn't see combat in WWII, but was involved in occupation efforts after the war and served a total of 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corp. "Most of us don't look at ourselves as heroes. We're just veterans. We did what was expected of us." He enlisted at age 16, compelled to serve and following in the footsteps of his older brothers who were already in active duty - one as an Army paratrooper, another in the First U.S. Army and another serving in the Pacific region. Two of his brothers received silver stars. When Hartley felt it was time to enlist, he didn't consult his parents and they "didn't say anything" when they got the news of him signing up. "They knew that I was going to do what I wanted to do," he said. He completed boot camp at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, then went to Camp LeJeune before being sent overseas to serve as security aboard military ships. He was involved in several campaigns and served "all over Europe and the Mediterranean" after WWII, fighting in conflicts in Greece, Italy, Jerusalem and Lebanon to name a few. He served from 1951 to 1952 in the Korean War and in a number of campaigns throughout his lengthy military career, earning an associate degree and retiring with the rank of Staff Sergeant E-6. GORDON RETTKE Age: 88 Hometown: Blue Island, Illinois Military Service: U.S. Navy, Naval Air Corps Co-op affiliation: Blackriver Electric Cooperative Quote: "Heroes didn't come back," Rettke noted. "I'm no hero. I enjoyed the time that I was in and I'm thankful that I got out alive." Gordon Rettke knows firsthand that learning to fly a plane is dangerous. Serving in the Naval Air Corps during World War II, he shared a room with six others during advanced training in Corpus Christi Texas. Only two out of the group of roommates "got out of the Navy alive, and without ever seeing combat" he said. The dangers of the war were real for many. Working as a bookkeeper when the war began, Rettke's mother advised him not to enlist and instead pursue his plans to attend college. Around a year into school at Maryville College in Tennessee, he received a draft notice and was soon sent to boot camp at Glenview Naval Air Station in Chicago. Clear realization of how dangerous his assignment was set in during his advanced training. "I was nervous every takeoff because I knew how dangerous it was," Rettke said, adding that he had to muster the courage to train. "You just believed in yourself and had confidence that you knew what to do and how to do it. You realized how dangerous it was but you didn't believe that you couldn't do it." Some never survived training including Rettke's bunkmate, a "Christian boy" who had once jokingly talked about going to heaven and returning to tell his friend about it if he died first. Rettke thinks his bunkmate may have tried to keep his word. The night of his friend's death, Rettke climbed to the top bunk and fell asleep, experiencing something that still affects him to this day. "I heard him say in my sleep "Gordon, Gordon," Rettke recalled. "I wondered if these other guys heard that and they didn't seem to hear it. And I heard it again. I was startled and to this day I wish I had not been startled and calmly answered him. But I didn't." Rettke was discharged in 1947, after four years of service and just as he was scheduled to go to sea. He went back to college, eventually earning a doctorate in psychology, and practiced in that profession until he was 70. He enjoyed his time in the war and is thankful that he survived. The ones that didn't, those are the real heroes of WWII, he says. (Veteran biographies were provided by South Carolina Electric Cooperatives.) Posted in Local news, News on Sunday, April 15, 2012 Veteran recalls battle wounds PHOTO PROVIDED Veteran recalls battle wounds Charles Shaw served in the infantry during World War II and was wounded at the Battle of Anzio. BY BRISTOW MARCHANT bmarchant@theitem.com EDITOR'S NOTE: During the next several days, The Item will feature local veterans in recognition of the July 4th holiday. Charles Shaw is lucky to be alive. The 88-year-old former president of Sumter's Shaw Lumber Co. almost didn't make it home from his service in Europe during World War II, after his head showed up in the sights of a German sniper. "I remember turning my head, and then I got hit," Shaw said, sitting at his desk in the lumber company offices on Dingle Street. "The bullet hit my helmet, and then the helmet became shrapnel and entered the side of my head." Shaw remembers it as a sunny day in Anzio, Italy, where Allied soldiers landed in 1944 attempting to drive German forces out of the Italian peninsula. But when he regained consciousness in the rural drainage ditch the Americans were using for impromptu trench warfare, Shaw recalls it was suddenly much cloudier. Shaw was born in Sumter, where his father, Whit Shaw, started the lumber company in 1930. The future infantryman had a military background from the start; his uncle Ervin Shaw was a fighter pilot who died in World War I, and Sumter's Shaw Airfield was named after him. After graduating from Edmunds High School in 1941, Shaw attended Davidson College in the fall. But after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, America's college students became fighters-in-waiting, and Shaw joined the Enlisted Reserve Corps. In 1943, in the middle of his sophomore year, Shaw was called up and told to report to basic training. "I expected it," he said. "They wanted you to go to school for a year if you were in the reserves." After 16 weeks at Camp Croft near Spartanburg, Shaw and 5,000 other soldiers were shipped across the Atlantic to Casablanca, recently liberated from Axis forces, then sent across North Africa for deployment to the Italian front. "We went in a boxcar train. There was no place to sleep and no restroom. You just had to hope they stopped," he said. "We went through these tunnels, and the air was so bad I had to put my gas mask on." Things didn't get any better in Italy. Shaw was deployed as a replacement soldier with a unit of the 45th Infantry Division that had suffered heavy casualties. "That's the worst way to go overseas," he said, "because you have no friends in that unit." Deployed near the front lines in an otherwise picturesque Italian farming community, Shaw spent his first night at the front inside an abandoned barn, something he soon realized was a mistake. "First thing in the morning, the Germans started firing mortar rounds at the barns," he said. "I had to cover up under a chicken coop. The next night I went out and dug myself a foxhole." Shaw wasn't there long before he had his run-in with the sniper, an incident that miraculously left him with only minor wounds. "It didn't fracture my skull," he said, "but whenever I go to the hospital to get an MRI they always get excited because I still have little pieces of metal in my head." A fellow soldier bandaged him up, but a wounded Shaw had to crawl down to the aid station at the other end of the ditch. Besides the shrapnel in his head, the wound also affected the hearing in his right ear, and today he wears a hearing aid courtesy of Uncle Sam. Shaw spent a year in Italy before he was relieved by another replacement. He spent the rest of the war at Fort Bragg and received his discharge in 1946, finished school at Davidson and returned home to work at the family lumber company and get married. "The two most important things I've done in my life are accept Christ as my savior and marry my wife, Mary," he said. Shaw became president of the lumber company when his father died in 1983, and just last year turned the job over to his own son, also named Whit. He feels that going to war gave him a different perspective on life. "I don't know if it means anything, but when I was in the hospital (after being shot) and saw it was raining, I was just so happy not to be outside," he said. "If you're in the Air Force, it's dangerous, but then they get to go someplace warm and eat a warm meal. If you're in the infantry, you're out in a foxhole, and if it's wet, you're wet, and if it's cold, you're cold." Even so, after all these years, Shaw said, "I'm not sorry I went. I'm glad I served." Reach Bristow Marchant at (803) 774-1272. Posted in Local news, News on Thursday, July 5, 2012 CHARLES LEMMON ‘FLOP’ SHAW Shaw remembered as 'epitome of Southern gentleman' Posted Sunday, January 7, 2018 2:00 am BY KAYLA ROBINS KAYLA@THEITEM.COM Athletes have their superstitions, their must-do rituals. It can be witnessed in any sport, and Flop Shaw was no different. Shaw, whose full name, Charles Lemmon Shaw, "affectionately" went unused in place of "Flop," "had a very unusual way of smelling the tennis ball before he would serve," said Sam Hunter, a longtime friend. The Sumterite died on Jan. 3 after a lifetime of service to his country, his community, his family and his church. And to quite a few games of tennis and basketball. "Flop loved college basketball, and he loved to talk about it," Hunter said. Hunter will speak at Shaw's funeral today at 3 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, a place Shaw attended his entire life and a place he molded his life around. Shaw, for whose uncle Shaw Air Force Base was named, graduated from Edmunds High School and Davidson College, where he expressed his love for basketball on the court. As a Davidson freshman, he joined the U.S. Army during World War II, a part of his life those who were close to him said he did not often bring up on his own. But it was a part of his life that was honorable and beyond belief. Bill Scobee said he met Shaw in 1964 when he moved to Sumter to join the Air Force and has been close with his family since. "He was a hero," Scobee said. Shaw was sent to Anzio, Italy, a tour for which he received a Purple Heart and brought back some unwanted souvenirs. "He still has pieces of shrapnel in his leg," Scobee said. "It's a wonder he survived." Scobee said his friend was always giving back in one way or another, and most of it was "behind the scenes." "He was a very humble man and didn't seek notoriety or publicity," he said. "He would do anything for his friends. He was very charitable. People have no idea how charitable he was for the whole community." One way Shaw gave back in the public eye was his dedication to the Sumter YMCA, serving as president of its board of directors and being selected as Humanitarian of the Year. He also served on the board of The Salvation Army. Shaw loved his work, and he was "always fair," said his first cousin, Ervin Shaw. "He was good to me," he said. "I'm proud to call him my cousin." The veteran worked at Shaw Lumber Co., which his father, Paul Whitworth "Whit" Shaw, established in 1930. Though his son, Paul Whitworth "Whit" Shaw II, now runs the company, Flop Shaw continued going to work until an illness would not allow it. When not at work, Shaw would likely be found at First Presbyterian Church, where he attended his entire life. "We will all miss him because he's been a real attribute to this community," said Sally Wilson. Shaw and the wife of Wilson Hall's namesake, the late John S. Wilson, grew up together and taught Sunday school at the church. "He was certainly an honorable young man, and if he ever said he would do something, it was done," she said. Shaw's involvement at First Presbyterian also included serving as church treasurer, clerk of the session, church trustee, elder emeritus and chairman of the board of deacons. Hunter looks back on his friendship with Shaw as more than tennis superstitions. "He was a man of unparalleled character. He was part of the Greatest Generation that helped build Sumter into the community it is today. Without men like Flop, the YMCA would not be what it is today. First Presbyterian Church would not be what it is today. And the community in general would not be what it is today." The memory of the perfect Southern gentleman is firm and steady among anyone who knew him, like an oak tree whose branches give shade and shelter and whose roots spread wide. Above all, maybe, Shaw was devoted to his family and to his faith. "He always noted his family was the first priority in his life. And then his church, and then his business," said Sumter's state Rep. Murrell Smith Jr., who is married to Shaw's granddaughter, Macaulay White. Shaw had hearing difficulties because of his injuries from the war, Smith said, and what his grandfather-in-law said when he was told he could receive hearing aids from the VA stands out to him, even now. "He said I'm not here to take from our government. I'm here to support our government," Smith said. "That was his mentality in everything he did. I'm here for my country, my family, my church. I don't take. I give. That's that way he was taught." Smith said Shaw could be found every Sunday, unless he was out of town or sick, sitting in the same pew in church. Up front. Middle aisle. Four or five rows back. "I never heard him speak ill of anybody. He was the epitome of a Southern gentleman," Smith said. There will be an empty space today, but his family will be in that pew up front in the middle aisle. His friends will be. All those who remember him so fondly will be. So, too, then, will he. Charles Lemmon Shaw Apr 4, 1924 - Jan 3, 2018 A memorial service for Charles Lemmon Shaw will be held at First Presbyterian Church Sunday, January 7, 2018 at 3 o’clock with the Reverend Nick Cheek officiating. Mr. Shaw was born at Tuomey Hospital on April 4, 1924 to Paul Whitworth Shaw and Lilly Lemmon Shaw. Charles Shaw, affectionately known as Flop, spent the first five years of his life in Alcolu when his father worked for his grandfather, David Wells Alderman, in his timber business. Upon entering school, Flop moved to Sumter, and his father, Whit Shaw, established Shaw Lumber Company in 1930. Flop worked at Shaw Lumber Company his entire adult life and served as president of Carolina Lumber Dealers Association. Charles Shaw graduated from Edmunds High School and Davidson College. As a Davidson freshman he joined the U.S. Army during World War II and was sent to Anzio, Italy where he received the Purple Heart. He was a lifelong member of First Presbyterian Church where he served as a Sunday School teacher, Chairman of the Board of Deacons, Church Treasurer, Clerk of the Session, Church Trustee, and Elder Emeritus. He was president of the YMCA Board of Directors and selected as Humanitarian of the Year. He served as on the board of the Salvation Army. Flop is survived by his wife of 70 years Mary Macaulay Brown Shaw and their two children Mary Brown Shaw White and her husband Dr. Charles White , and Paul Whitworth “Whit” Shaw and his wife Robin all of Sumter; three granddaughters Macaulay White Smith and her husband Representative Murrell Smith, Mary White Finley and her husband Justin and Sarah Corbett Shaw; and two great grandchildren Mary Brown “Bee” Smith and George Murrell Smith, III. Graveside services will be private. The family will receive friends at the family home Saturday, January 6, 2018 from 3-5 in the afternoon. Memorials may be sent to First Presbyterian Church at 9 West Calhoun Street, Sumter, South Carolina 29150 or The Salvation Army of Sumter at 16 Kendrick Street, Sumter, South Carolina 29150. You may go to www.bullockfuneralhome.com to sign the family's guest book. The family has chosen Bullock Funeral Home for the arrangements. [1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9] | |
| MILI | U. S. Army He remembers it as a sunny day in Anzio, Italy, where Allied soldiers landed in 1944 attempting to drive German forces out of the Italian peninsula. But when he regained consciousness in the rural drainage ditch the Americans were using for impromptu trench warfare, Shaw recalls it was suddenly much cloudier. [3, 4] | |
| Occupation | former President of Sumter’s Shaw Lumber Company, Sumter, South Carolina [4] | |
| _UID | 0E1067E5A1554C59A025EE9DDF1C97EAD1EF | |
| Death | 3 Jan 2018 | |
| Burial | 7 Jan 2018 | private burial [6, 7] |
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| Person ID | I128669 | Singleton and Related Families |
| Last Modified | 10 Jun 2019 | |
| Father | Paul Whitworth “Whit” SHAW, b. 29 Jul 1899 d. Bef 3 Jan 2018 (Age < 118 years) | |
| Mother | Lillie Bell LEMMON, b. 17 Jan 1900 d. Bef 3 Jan 2018 (Age < 117 years) | |
| Marriage | 9 May 1923 [8] | |
| _UID | 32F215EAB7E04B50933B4FC5BD4943DF5F64 | |
| _UID | 32F215EAB7E04B50933B4FC5BD4943DF5F64 | |
| Family ID | F88418 | Group Sheet | Family Chart |
| Family | Mary Macaulay BROWN, b. 7 Jan 1928, Huntersville, North Carolina d. 7 May 2023, Prisma Health Tuomey Hospital, Sumter, Sumter County, South Carolina (Age 95 years) | |||||
| Marriage | 1948 [10] | |||||
| _UID | 72661A1EEDDA49098EAAB0BE5C70AA7BC02C | |||||
| _UID | 72661A1EEDDA49098EAAB0BE5C70AA7BC02C | |||||
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| Family ID | F88419 | Group Sheet | Family Chart | ||||
| Last Modified | 14 May 2023 | |||||
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