 arl Bradbury was born about 1918, in Ottawa Co., Picher,
Oklahoma, and raised in Picher, Oklahoma, the son of Evlyn (?)
and
Emma Bradbury. In March of 1942, Earl married Mrs. Daphne
Dale (McColloch) Davis, widowed, born September, 1889, Jasper
Co., Missouri, the daughter of James McHenry McColloch, and
Mary Alice Wharton, both of whom were born and raised in Ohio
Co., West Virginia.
Daphne had been married previously to her first husband John
N. (Jack) Davis of Missouri. Mr. Davis died
August 18, 1939, at home in Picher, leaving Daphne and her six
year old son Jackie Lee at home and three other grown children
surviving. She had lost her 16 year old daughter Esther Ruth
to pneumonia only nine months before Mr. Davis died.
Earl, was an extraordinary man for one of his young age.
Daphne's family remembers him as a man whose love and
instincts helped Daphne and her young son Jackie recover from
the deaths of her daughter and husband.
In January of 1945, Mrs. Hester Alice Shogren, Daphne's 34
year old daughter, died of a heart ailment. Then on June 1,
1945, Earl was killed in battle on the Island of Okinawa.
Earl, and a fellow soldier (buddy) were wiring caves for
explosives so they could be collapsed. They entered a cave and
there were two or three enemy soldiers in the cave. They killed
the soldiers, but during the skirmish Earl, was slightly
wounded but unable to walk. Earl's buddy put him over his
shoulder with Earls legs on his chest and his head down over his
back and was carrying him towards an aid station when a sniper in
a tree shot Earl in the head. Earl
was buried Ottawa Co., Miami, Oklahoma.
It has been said that Earl was a hero by saving the life of
his buddy who was with him wiring the caves. I have been told by
family members that the soldier who's life
he saved visited Daphne to tell her of the circumstances of
his death and to give her his last words. What I do not know
is if the Master Sergeant who accompanied Earl's body home was
this soldier or if he came to see her when the war ended.
In a letter to her daughter Leila, who was unable to attend
the funeral, she describes Earl's funeral:
I had the funeral at the Union Church. Mott did the
preaching, Sybil did the singing. A Master Sgt. brought him
home and presented me with the big flag at the grave. I
buried Earl at Miami.
About Don. The day I rec'd your telegram I got the one about
Earl. It made me sick, but I went to the train. It came in
on time, but it was bitter cold and I didn't see Don. We got
out and went to open door, but didn't see him, we were
sorry. We didn't go next eve as I was down in bed.
I have neglected writing to you but Jack has been down since
Jan 1 and I had everything to do, about so much trouble. By
By Darling. Always I love you all.
Mother
The above paragraphs are only a few from the text of the
letter. The referenced Don in the letter is the husband of her
daughter Leila. Daphne, went on with her life in spite of the
loss of so many loved ones in such a relatively short period
of time. She died August 30,
1949, Ottawa Co., Miami Baptist Hospital, Miami, Oklahoma, leaving Jackie Lee age 16
still at home to be raised by his brother Jim, age 34. She is
buried in Baxter Springs, Kansas.
Notes:
1930 CENSUS, Ottawa Co., Quapaw TWP, Pitcher City,
Oklahoma,
April 17, 1930, Sheet 18a:
Address: 400 Connell
BRADBURY, Evlyn (?), Head/R/IS -,
N/M/W/35/M/21/MO/NY/TX,
-, 66 -,-,-,-, Y/Miner/Zinc Mine/78V6/W/Y -, N -,-
BRADBURY, Emma, Wife H, -,-,-,
V/F/W/32/M/18/MO/MO/MO,
-, 66 -,-,-,-, Y/None -,-,-,-,-, No
BRADBURY, Earl, Son -,-,-, V/M/W/12/S -,
Y/Y/OK/MO/MO,
-, 86 -,-,-,-, Y/None -,-,-,-,-, No
BRADBURY, Kera, Daughter -,-,-, V/F/W/10 or 9/S -,
Y/N/OK/MO/MO
-, 86 -,-,-,-, Y/None -,-,-,-,-, No
BRADBURY, Ray, Son -,-,-, V/M/W/7/S -,
N/N/OK/MO/MO,
-, 86 -,-,-,-, Y/None -,-,-,-,-, No
BRADBURY, Clyde, Son -,-,-, V/M/W/4/S -,
N/N/OK/MO/MO,
-, 86 -,-,-,-, Y/None -,-,-,-,-, No
BRADBURY, June, Daughter -,-,-, V/F/W/2/S -,
N/N/OK/MO/MO,
-, 86 -,-,-,-, Y/None -,-,-,-,-, No
BRADBURY, Samuel, Son -,-,-, V/M/W/4 mos./S -,
N/N/OK/MO/MO,
-, 86 -,-,-,-, Y/None -,-,-,-,-,
No
I have been trying to
find out if it was customary that a soldier
always accompanied the
bodies of the brave who gave their lives for
their country, to their
home and final resting place. I certainly hope so.
World War II ended August
15, 1945 and I was born September 14,
1945.
I have discovered in my research that the battle on the island
of Okinawa get's the least publicity but was the biggest and
costliest battles of the war in terms of the high number of
both military and civilian lives lost, as well as the amount
of ships and armaments expended by the U. S. military in the
Pacific during WW II. To find out more about the battle on the
Island of Okinawa check the following links as these short
articles are well worth reading:
Battle
of Okinawa on globalsecurity.org
Military
History On Line - Battle of Okinawa
By: Liz (Frankel) Gunderson
Newspaper clipping from: Diggin'
Up Oakies in Ottawa Co.
Earl
Austin Bradbury and Daphne
Dale (McColloch) Davis in tree . . .
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