Charles Grady Willis (??- ??)
[ Home ] [ Up ] [ Walter Hugh Willis ] [ Eula Willis Thompson ] [ Dora Ethlyn Carroll ] [ Harry Albert Willis ] [ Franklin Monroe Willis ] [ Charles Grady Willis (??- ??) ] [ William Terry Willis ] [ Warren Brantley Willis ]

Charles Grady Willis (??- ??)
[ Home ] [ Family Tree ] [ Reunions ]

Charles Grady Willis (??- ??)

• Parents: Joseph and Francis Willis

• Wife: Jewel (??-??)

• Children (They had Four Children)

  • Ginger Loretta Willis (??-??) married to Donald Hunt (??-??)

  • Charles Grady Willis, Jr. (Jerry or Chuck)(Oct. 3, 1935 to now) married to Kitty Magdeline Suzanne Kirchhoff (Sept. 18, 1939 - now)

  • Bertha (Bobbi) Willis (??-??) married to Fred Johnson (??-??)

  • Susan Jane Willis

• History Notes:

  • Grady enlisted to fight in World War I on May 1, 1918 at Ft. Oglethorpe, Georgia. he retired as First Lieutenant on November 30, 1946 after also having served in World War II and the Korean War.

  • Grady was well known in Worth County for his hunting of rattlesnakes and the work he did locating, identifying and cataloging private cemeteries.

  • Both Grady and Jewel spent their last years living with their oldest son, Chuck in Keystone Heights, FL.

  • Both Grady and Jewel are buried in the Willis Cemetery in Worth County, Georgia.

  • Back in the 1900's the Army was much more strict than it is now. Going to town was a privilege and not considered a right. As a Buck private Grady had no stripes on his uniform. His rank was E-1. On his adventures to town he would impress the ladies by wearing 2nd Lt. bars. It wasn't very long before he got caught. It only cost him a night in the brig. I imagine he got in a little more trouble than he remembered. He always told this story with a smile so I guess whatever happened it was worth it! I know Granddad was in the engineer corp and I believe he built bridges. Submitted by Brian Willis via email dated 1/24/2002.

  • My dad was quite the rounder in his young days and he did get caught wearing the Lt's bars, but it was not in WW1.  It was discovered that he was underage prior to arrival in Europe and he was immediately returned to the states on that trip. The Kaiser agreed to an Armistice at the same time, so my dad took credit for the victory. Said the Kaiser heard he was coming. The incident involving the Lt's bars occurred near Ft Benning and was a contributing factor for numbers of demotions from PFC. A lot of his misadventures occurred as a result of prohibition. On one occassion he was transporting a number of bottles under a heavy overcoat when an MP approached him and tapped him down with his baton. No physical damage but he got pretty wet and donated his PFC stripe, again. I don't know how many times he made PFC, but he was one when I was born and must have really settled down, retiring less than 10 years later as a bonafide Captain. Not bad for a 4th grade education, even during a War.
    

Please send any updates, additional information, and comments to: mike@websbymike.com.

This site created and maintained by Webs by Mike.
 Please e-mail mike@websbymike.com with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: December 21, 2007