Sunday Favorites: The Shocking Struggle of WWII

From 1941 to 1943, an aircraft observation tower was constructed on Village Improvement Association grounds on Terra Ceia Island and manned by members around the clock.

PALMETTO -- The attack on Pearl Harbor on the morning of December 7, 1941, came as a profound shock to the American people. The very next day residents found themselves in the midst of war declared on both Pacific and European entities. Domestic support for isolationism, which had been strong, was replaced by active alliance.  Observation towers and blackout curtains immediately went up all over the county.

From 1941 to 1943, an aircraft observation tower was constructed on Village Improvement Association grounds on Terra Ceia Island and manned by members around the clock. The efforts of the volunteers were highly commended by the U.S. Army Aircraft Warning Service and Mr. T. Ralph Robinson was captain of these volunteers.

Alice Anderson Sutton was one of the observers. On her lookout, she was trained to recognize the planes and alert others if their design or direction looked unusual.

“It was really excruciating to tell you the truth,” Sutton said of her post. “As many planes as there were – and they weren’t close to you, I can tell you that.”

With the constant threat of German submarines attacking vital ports, a night watchman was assigned to a large seawall that ran parallel to the north end of Center Road.

Sutton was just a teenager at this time. The strict curfews and blackout regulations could cause adolescents to be overcome with boredom.  One night, Sutton and her brother’s wife, Dorothy Anderson, decided they’d go for a dip in the moonlight. They drove to the Miguel Bay, stripped into their birthday suits and clung to a small johnboat they discovered along the shoreline. After swimming a good distance from the shore, a night watchman heard noises and thought he could make out a small-unidentified craft. Searchlights started coming their way.

Ben Franklin Sutton and Alice Anderson wed on April 18, 1943 at the Methodist church her grandfather had built in 1899.

“You never saw anyone get our the water and get themselves back home as fast as we did!” Sutton said. “That was some experience.”

In 1939, President Roosevelt provided funds to state National Guard units for equipment and arms as defense against the prospect of war with Germany. Young men in Palmetto joined the revamped guard. It was a way for them to earn extra spending money; they never expected to be deployed overseas.

When most of Florida’s National Guard troops were called to national service on Nov. 25, 1940, couples rushed to the chapel to wed before their sweethearts were shipped to Europe.  Ben Franklin Sutton and Alice Anderson wed on April 18, 1943 at the Methodist church her grandfather had built in 1899. Her sister, Margie Anderson married Laurence Williams June 7, 1942 at their family home on Center Road. Other newlyweds wept at the VFW in Palmetto, clinging to their loved ones before they were deployed.

“The VFW was filled with women and girls who went there after they found out they were going to send their boys away,” Sutton said. “It was a terrible experience -- it was just so unexpected.”

Local members of the National Guard eventually united with a division, known as “Old Hickory” named after Andrew Jackson, which became one of the first National Guard Divisions to be called into Federal Service.  The unit was stationed at Fort Jackson, S.C. for training. The men trained in the States for almost four years.

In September 1942, Old Hickory was designated the 30th Infantry Division. On February 12, 1944, they departed Boston, M.A. days after Alice Sutton gave birth to her first child. She remembers calling to try to talk to Ben to tell him about the baby, but he was not allowed to speak to her. Old Hickory arrived in England on February 22.

The Division's 230th Field Artillery Battalion was the first to land in France arriving on Omaha Beach on June 7 to support the 29th Infantry Division. The rest of the division arrived on Omaha four days after D-day -- June 10. The boys from Manatee County were heavily engaged during the war in Europe and were involved in key operations including the Vire River, the St. Lo break through, the famous stand at Mortain, the assault on the Siegfried Line, the Battle of the Bulge, and the reduction and occupation of Magdeburg, on the Elbe River.

Palmetto Woman’s Club set up a “community kitchen” in the armory. Locals used the equipment to preserve homegrown fruits and vegetables by canning or jarring them.

During the Battle of the Bulge, Sutton became separated from his unit. As the enemy advanced, he dug under the roots of a small tree hoping to escape oncoming fire. While the tree served some protection, shrapnel struck Sutton and his knee was almost completely blown off.

At some point Alice’s brother-in-law, Williams, was captured by the Germans and held in a prison camp, surviving off of potato-peel soup. It was the Russians who eventually liberated the camp. A female commander drove one of the tanks. Williams reportedly told another Russian soldier that he “sure would like to ride in the tank with the woman commander.”

“Oh no you don’t,” the Russian soldier said. “That’s my wife!”

While Williams was recovering from near starvation, Sutton went from V.A. hospital to hospital. He would spend three years in various hospitals before being able to come home.

There were so many wounded soldiers that Alice had a hard time finding a place to rent in Augusta, Georgia, where Ben Sutton was hospitalized. She finally found room to rent --not realizing until days later that she was staying in a brothel.

During the war, consumers couldn't just walk into a store and buy as much sugar or butter or meat as they wanted; necessities were rationed by the government because certain items were in short supply during the war.

 War ration books and tokens were issued to each American family, dictating how much gasoline, tires, sugar, meat, silk, shoes, nylon and other items any one person could buy.  Ration stamps were like gold.

Ben was able to hobble around occasionally. One day he surprised Alice with a bucket of food from the commissary he carried on his shoulder containing a ham and some potatoes. The madame of the brothel almost had a fit over the food – she hadn’t seen a square meal in years! Alice tried to hide the potatoes, storing them in a small cupboard. When she went back the next day to prepare them -- they weren’t there. Rats had carried them off overnight.

Back in Palmetto, the Palmetto Woman’s Club set up a “community kitchen” in the armory. Locals used the equipment to preserve homegrown fruits and vegetables by canning or jarring them. The government encouraged everyone to plant “victory gardens” in their yards to provide undersupplied families’ with extra food.

Finally Ben was relocated to Florida and the remaining soldiers of Old Hickory arrived in New York on August 21, 1945. The 30th Infantry Division was deactivated on November 25, 1945 and the boys from Manatee were finally able to return home, though many had lost their lives.

Today memories of the men who served 30^th Infantry Division are carved in stone on a WWII memorial located on the east side of the Palmetto Gateway before the Green Bridge. Alice Sutton has been an avid proponent of relocating the memorial to Sutton Park, which is named in honor of her son who served and died in Vietnam.

“The park is for all veterans so it seems fitting that the memorial be moved there,” she said.

She was surprised to learn that new restoration plans for Sutton Park will relocate the memorial to the southern park entrance in the very near future.

“Well that will be wonderful,” she said, as a wave of contentment seemed to settle her tense, frail body in her recliner.

Sources:

Personal Interview with Alice Sutton

Personal Interview with Tony Haug

History of Terra Ceia Island by Mrs. Mason Parker Nov. 15, 1975 conducted by the Manatee County Historical Society.