Ewing P. Haynie

Junior composed the following obituary which he requested we share with all who knew him. Huntington, W.Va. October 14, 2007 On February 7, 2015 the body of Ewing P. Haynie, Jr. will be laid to eternal rest beside the bodies of his father and mother, Ewing P. and Nellie Smith Haynie, Sr.,in the Smith Cemetery off Buffalo Ck. Road in Wayne County. A body which had been racked with pain connected with back problems for many years. He had tried to ignore the intense pain, while taking the very best care he could of his lovely wife, Ruth Mason Haynie,who had been very ill since 1995. In 2003, 11 months after back surgery for stenosis and bulging discs, no. 2,3,and 4, he won a gold medal in singles and a bronze in doubles (with Clark Rogers) while bowling in the National Sr. Olympics in Norfolk, Va.. He also took a silver medal in singles and bronze medals in doubles in 2005 and 2007. The Cemetery is filled with his ancestors, including his maternal Grandparents and maternal Great and Great, Great Grandparents, pre-dating the Civil War. Union Soldiers raided his Great Grandmother's home, killing the family cow for food.... Ewing, Jr., was born on August 27th 1924, in Dunleith, Wayne Co. Dunleith is located near the old Buffalo High School and is no longer on the maps. At age 6 months his father moved to Fayette County to find work in the coal mines. It was a time of deep depression. Many times Ewing, Sr. worked for $1.00 a day and was fortunate to work as many as 3 days a week. Mother Nellie was thrifty and would divide a bag of sugar, flour or coffee with a neighbor. The family of 5 never went hungry, but also never had the luxuries of life. Ewing, Jr. went all 8 years of school at Carbondale Grade School and 4 years at Montgomery High School. While in the 8th grade he won the Fayette Co. spelling championship and finished 3rd statewide. He turned down a scholarship as a Sr. in order to join the Armed Forces at graduation, which came shortly after Pearl Harbor. Ewing, Jr. was promised that he would be given a chance to join the Army Air Corps if he would submit for early draft. This was a lie and he spent a year taking tests and finally being transferred to the Air Corps for Cadet training. At the University of Alabama he was within 2 weeks of graduating into a full Cadet program when it was decided the program was over flooded. Along with thousands of other young men he boarded a train and ended up in Texarkana, Texas with an Ordnance Do. which was packed and heading overseas. In England he was given the job of handling mail for the Company. The sight of boys coming from France with wounds suffered on D-Day and afterwards was too much and he decided to volunteer for Infantry service. His Lt. tried to dissuade him with the promise of a Staff Sgt. Promotion and the assurance of spending the rest of the war in the safety of England. On the way to France he fell to the temptation to join the 101st Airborne, but before training started he was on a boat headed for Omaha Beach. Winter and heavy snows came before he was put on a 40 and 8 box car (40 men or 8 horses). After 3 days and nights of near 0 temperatures and snow blowing through the large cracks between the boards he was in Paris. He was placed in an MP Co. that was guarding a French Prison that was taken over to house stray American soldiers. While walking guard duty on top of the huge wall orders were given to shoot any prisoner who came within 10 feet of the wall. Part of his duty was that of walking guard duty on death row, where as many as 30 G.I.'s were sentenced to die for desertion. When reporting for duty one night he was told the prisoner in the rear would be put to death at daybreak. He was gone the next day. Finally, the M.P. Co. was ordered to furnish one man for the Infantry, and , at last he was given his wish to join with the Queen of Battle. He helped break through the Siegfried Line and stormed Fort Ehrenbrightsigh on the Rhine River. On the Autobahn one night, after walking more than 50 miles that day his friend, the 1st Scout, walked off the edge of a blown out bridge at midnight, falling 150 feet to his death. Ewing, Jr., the 2nd Scout was close enough to touch his friend, yet could not see him, Divine intervention prevented him from following his friend into eternity. It was that dark. Many other close encounters with death caused him to doubt the wisdom of his earlier patriotism. In Leipzig he was wounded by an object that cut his eyelid in two while, on the orders of his Sgt. He was trying to get a wounded BAR man to safety. His one grievance with the Army was the fact that he was denied the Purple Heart for his wound, although his discharge plainly stated that he was treated for wounds to his left eye lid (8 stitches) in the Battalion Aid Station. The next morning he was back on the front line. this was what he had given up a plush job in England for, the Government believing a mistake that was made by a green LT. at discharge, a Lt. who, no doubt ever tasted the dredges of combat. After arriving home he met a beautiful little blonde bundle of joy named Ruth Mason who grew up little more than a mile from him. He had never heard of her before, but they were married on June 1st, 1946, after knowing her all of 6 weeks. Their marriage lasted more than 61 years. He worked as Store Manager for Allied Chem. Corp. in Fayette, McDowell, and Wyoming Counties until 1968, when he and Ruth moved to Huntington to manage his father's service station on Rt. 75. After business conditions caused him to close the station he drove a Wayne Co. school bus for 18 years, calling it the most rewarding work he had ever done. Ruth and Ewing, Jr. had 2 girls from their marriage, Faith Cole and Dreama Nutter, both of whom live in Charlotte, N.C. One grandson, Jonathan, his wife Jennifer, and one great grandchild, Ella, survive. He was a member of Locust Grove Baptist Church on Rt. 75 for 40 years and sang tenor in the Locust Grove Gospel Trio, singing with Jackie and Dana Brilhart. He spent many happy hours while practicing the songs which they sang at area churches. Dad wrote the above in 2007. Unfortunately he did not complete it. He resided in Charlotte, N.C. at White Oak Manor for the last 2 1/2 years of his life. We are grateful to the staff of White Oak for the care and friendship they gave to our parents. Dad was particularly close to Virgie and praised Virgie every day for taking care of him. Faith and Dreama