WWII Veteran and his "Old Army Hat"

[Bekeart]

This morning I found an inspiring story about a WW11 veteran.
Mr.Ammon Edgar Haley Jr. of Millington, TN who was locally know for wearing an "old army hat".

I listened to Bill Anderson sing about the "Old Army Hat" and searched for more information.
The "hat" was not part of his uniform.
Found image shows the "hat" with "World War II Veteran" logo.


Bill Anderson wrote and preformed a song about the "Old Army Hat" ..

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmFbXdf822E[/ame]

The following has much more information about Mr. Haley's service and his "old army hat".

Whisperin' Bill Anderson tells more than stories

in his new album...

Strictly Country - Bill AndersonOld Army Hat

War changes a person. He spent three years in the Pacific, in places he had never even heard of.
Most of the time he was fighting for his life, it was him or the enemy and the enemy was not going to win.
All of it changed him.

He was one of seven of forty-four men in his platoon that returned home.
For many called him a hero, but in his eyes the real heroes never made it back.

Bekeart

 

[jscheck]

Outstanding! I hadn't heard this before. It's now on my Facebook.

 

[mckenney99]

I loved this story and the song which brought back strong emotional memories of my friend, mentor and father figure, James Thomas Farmer (Umpy). He was a proud WWII Pacific Navy vet. His daughter got him one of the WWII Veteran ball caps and he wore it everywhere right up until he finally passed. In 2005 we were finally able to schedule a trip to take him to Washington D.C., before his memories and identity were stolen by dementia, to see "his" memorial. It was a very emotional trip for all of us. I was blown away by the number of complete strangers who approached "Umpy" to thank him for his service and asked if they could shake his hand or give him a hug. (It still brings tears to my eyes to even think about it.)

I also can't speak highly enough about the trolley hostesses and drivers that relayed us around to all the memorials and museums. They thanked ALL veterans profusely and treated them all with great respect. They showed tremendous patience when some had difficulty getting off and on the trolleys, even though they were running on tight schedules.

Sorry for the long winded story.

 

[Rudi]

An amazing man.