World War II (1939-1945) Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan vs. Major Allied Powers: United States, Great Britain, France, and Russia.
I had been writing up a list of all those in mine and my husband’s families who served in the military during war and peace time. While doing this I ran across a newspaper article about Mary Ann Smith McNeil from April of 1944 that was picked up by over 80 different newspapers across the country. There could have been more, but I only looked at one newspapers subscription site that I have.
Most of the titles say, "Wants Global News" and a couple even say, "Little Old Lady Doing her Part". Mary Ann McNeil of Show Low, Arizona has 5 of her 55 grandchildren and 17 of her 202 great-grandchildren in the fighting forces serving in the war on all fronts.
That means she had 22 descendants that were off fighting somewhere around the world in 1944.
I want a list of all of them if possible. If you know of any of your parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts, etc. that would have been in World War II could you please list their names here, what branch and where they were fighting. please and thank you. If you have a picture of these servicemen or women in uniform, could you please include that as well.
I believe I have identified the 5 grandsons that were in the service when the article ran on Mary Ann Smith McNeil in April of 1944. I also included her grandsons that joined up after the article ran. If anyone has a picture of these men in uniform, could you please post it on our John McNeil Facebook page, please and thank you.
The following two pictures are of Mary Ann Smith McNeil, setting with her youngest daughter, Annie Frances McNeil, ca. 1907. The next picture of Mary Ann was probably taken around the late 1930’s or early 1940’s.
Mary Ann was born in Newton Heath, England on 2 July 1853 and died in Show Low, Arizona on 30 May 1944, at the age of 90 years.
I have attached this article from the Tucson Citizen (Tucson, Arizona) · 4 Apr 1944, Tuesday · Page 12
The Grandson’s
1 - Donald Eugene Goodman, US Army, enlistment 5 May 1942 – discharged 6 Nov 1945. Any campaigns, ribbons or medals he may have received. Son of Hannah McNeil and William Ezra Goodman. Received from daughter, Nancy Goodman: “Date of separation November 6, 1945. He never talked much about the war but mentioned the 10 days of rough seas on a VERY crowded transport ship home October 10-18, 1945. Son Joe was nearly 2 ½ years old before they met for the first time! One additional fact; he was part of the famous 10th Mountain Division ski patrol training in Camp Hale, CO when he developed a lung infection (it was common there because of the railroad). That, and possibly the death of his father (IDK) prevented him from shipping out with his division to Italy; – 992 killed in action – 4,154 wounded in action. Story of "Fire on the Mountain" is truly worth a read or watch on DVDs. We feel truly blessed that he went to Europe instead! He told a story of driving a General around, and the General got turned around and they ended up on the German front lines. Dad always had a great sense of direction (as did the Penrod’s!) and had tried to tell him that they were going the wrong way. Ha!” Following is a picture of Don with his wife, Evelyn and his discharge papers.
2 - Warren Glen McNeil, US Army, enlistment date: 7 Aug 1942, discharged: 6 Oct 1945 - He was in the Aleutian Campaign and also received the Asiatic-Pacific Ribbon and the Good Conduct Medal. Son of Benjamin McNeil and Edith Petersen. I have not found a picture of him in uniform yet, but here is his military marker and a picture of him and his wife, Coriene Frost.
3 - Jess Lee Thompson, US Army, enlistment date: 12 June 1943, discharged: 21 Dec 1944, reenlisted on 22 Dec 1944 and discharged again on 26 June 1946. If anyone knows of any campaigns, ribbons or medals he may have received please post here. Son of Annie Frances McNeil and Peter Elmer Thompson. The following is Jess Lee with his wife, Blanche and son, Jess.
4 - John M. Mills, US Army, enlistment date: 24 Nov 1943, discharged 27 Oct 1945. If anyone knows of any campaigns, ribbons or medals he may have received please post here. Son of Sarah Alice McNeil and Daniel Mills.
5 - Vigo Arthur McNeil, US Army, Enlistment date: 20 April 1944 at Fort MacArthur in San Pedro, California. I have not found his discharge date yet. If any of his descendants have that, could you post that info here, please. Also, any campaigns, ribbons or medals he may have received. Son of Benjamin McNeil and Edith Petersen. I have not found a picture of him in uniform yet, but here is his military marker and a picture of him not in uniform.
The following two grandsons enlisted after the newspaper article ran.
6 - Angus H Thompson, US Navy, enlistment date: 29 June 1944, discharged: 21 Feb 1946. He spent 11 months in school and never served overseas. He served in the Navy as a radio and radarman on airborne equipment. Son of Annie Frances McNeil and Peter Elmer Thompson. The following are pictures of Angus.
7 - Emery Roy McNeil, US Army Air Corp, Enlistment date: 28 Nov 1945 at Merced Army Airfield in Merced, California. Son of Benjamin McNeil and Edith Petersen.
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8 - This was Mary Ann’s grandson-in-law: Golden Fenn, married to Lavine Thompson, who was a daughter of Annie Frances. Golden was the recipient of the Bronze Star and Good Conduct Medal. He served in the U.S. Army, as a Staff Sergeant in the 1st Cavalry Division, during World War II, from 1941 to 1945, in the South Pacific. He was in Australia, New Guinea, Leyte and Manila.
The Great-Grandson’s
I believe I have identified the 17 great-grandsons that were in the service when the article ran on Mary Ann Smith McNeil in April of 1944. If anyone else knows of any other Mary Ann descendants that were in World War II, please let me know. I actually have found 19 great-grandsons now that were in World War II, some of them may have joined right after the article was written though.
I also need enlistment and discharge dates as well as any campaign ribbons or medals any of these men might have had. If anyone has a picture of any of these men in uniform, could you please post them on our John McNeil Facebook page.
1. Henry Eugene ‘Gene’ Mills, US Navy, Submarines, Son of Henry Mills and Reah Merrell and grandson of Sarah Alice McNeil and Daniel Mills. The following is Gene with his Mom, Reah.
2. Robert Ray Mills, Navy, MIA, Purple Heart, His death occurred at sea off Caiman Point near Bataan in the Philippines, on 24 August 1944 when the submarine he was on, the USS Harder was sunk by depth charges, all hands-on board were lost. The date of 2 October 1945 is when he had a marker placed at the military cemetery in Manila. Son of Henry Mills and Reah Merrell and grandson of Sarah Alice McNeil and Daniel Mills. Taken from the book “Firm as the Mountains, A History of the Show Low Arizona Stake”. “Robert Ray Mills, son of Henry and Reah Merrell Mills was born February 2, 1923. He enlisted in the Navy in December 1942 and went to San Diego where he was assigned to be a member of the Seaman Guard. From the submarine base on Mare Island near San Francisco, Ray went by submarine to Hawaii. He attended the submarine school in Australia and on May 20, 1944 was assigned to the Harder, which was based at Fremantle, Australia. Commander Dealy and the Harder's crew made the greatest record of tonnage sunk in naval history. In six days, they sank five Japanese destroyers off the coast of Japan. The Harder failed to return from its sixth war patrol in September 1944. They were off the coast of Luzon preparing for the return of General Douglas McArthur to the Philippines. On October 5, 1944 Ray's parents were notified by telegram that he was missing in action. The official announcement of the loss of the Harder was not made public until January 1945. Ray died an Electrician's Mate, 3rd Class, with distinction. In October 1945, Moylen Owens, a soldier and friend of Ray Mills returned to his home in Show Low. A few days later the following scene took place. Moylen remembers, "I was standing by the south side of our house. A car out on the street came to a halt and Reah Mills got out and came into the yard. She threw her arms around me, and I knew that for a long moment I was standing in for her son Ray...who lay entombed in a submarine somewhere in the Pacific Ocean".” Pictured Ray and the USS Harder.
3. Otto Liona Mills, US Army, Son of Ephraim Mills and Fenella Penrod and grandson of Sarah Alice McNeil and Daniel Mills. Otto was a nose gunner in a B24 during WWII. The following is a picture of Otto.
4. Thomas Eugene Goodman, US Navy, Son of Bill Goodman and Mary Gholson and grandson of Hannah McNeil and William Ezra Goodman. Gene served as a submariner in the US Navy during WW2. The following is a picture of Thomas.
5. Horace Reese Crandell, US Army Air Corps, Enlistment Date: 20 January 1942, Son of Frances Goodman and Horace Crandell and grandson of Hannah McNeil and William Ezra Goodman.
6. Carl Lazelle Fish, US Army, Carl was admitted to the hospital at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas in December of 1941 and on 16 February 1942 in Tupelo, Mississippi he was given a medical discharge. Son of Mary Emma McNeil and Karl Joseph Fish and grandson of Dan McNeil and Emma Hendrix.
7. Joseph Hemphill Gillespie, US Army Air Corps, Enlistment Date: 7 October 1941, 1st Lieut. Flight Officer in the 46th Bomb Group & 50th Squad. He was killed on 11 March 1943 when his plane crashed while on training exercises about 5 miles north and 2 miles east of Perry, Oklahoma. Son of Lillias Dalton and Robert Gillespie and grandson of Lillias McNeil and David Dalton. The following is a picture of Joseph.
8. Robert William Gillespie, US Navy, Submarine #272 USS Redfin, Purple Heart, Enlistment Date: 30 January 1941, Discharge Date: 27 January 1961. He was in the Navy on a submarine when his brother, Joseph was killed in a plane crash in 1943 according to Joseph's obituary. Son of Lillias Dalton and Robert Gillespie and grandson of Lillias McNeil and David Dalton. He also served in Korea. This picture is when he was on his LDS Mission.
9. Frank Narient Gillespie, US Navy, Enlistment Date: 18 August 1942 in San Francisco, California. On 26 December 1942 he was at the U.S.N.T.S. in San Diego, California. He was in the Engineer Corp in Nicaragua when his brother, Joseph was killed in a plane crash in 1943 according to Joseph's obituary. Son of Lillias Dalton and Robert Gillespie and grandson of Lillias McNeil and David Dalton. Frank is on the right with an unknown friend.
10. Arthur LeRoy ‘John’ Evans, US Army, Enlistment Date: 18 December 1942 in Los Angeles, California - Discharge Date: 18 December 1945, Son of Mary Emma Dalton and John Franklin Evans and grandson of Lillias McNeil and David Dalton.
11. David Arthur Evans, US Navy Reserve, Coxswain, Enlistment Date: 29 November 1943 - Discharge Date: 9 April 1946, Son of Mary Emma Dalton and John Franklin Evans and grandson of Lillias McNeil and David Dalton.
12. Archie Alfred ‘Jake’ Stock, US Navy, 1942-1946, He served on the USS Henderson in 1942, USS Midway & USS Bushnell in 1943, USS Grant in 1944 and USS Akutan from 1945 to 1946. Son of Mary Peterson and John Stock and grandson of Althera McNeil and Vigo Peterson.
13. Waldo Melvior Willis, Army, Enlistment: 8 April 1942. Wounded in action in Sicily in July 1943 with a compound fracture of humerus and shrapnel from a bomb blast, discharged from hospital in November 1943. Missing in action (body never recovered) in the English Channel on 24 December 1944, Staff Sergeant, in the 262nd Infantry, 66th Division, he has a marker in Normandy, France. Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and additional Army Awards. Son of Sarah Mills and John L. Willis and grandson of Sarah Alice McNeil and Daniel Mills. From a brief history his mother wrote about him, “On the morning of December 24, 1944 Waldo was aboard a troop ship called the Leopoldville which nosed out of the Southampton harbor headed for Cherbourg, France 90 miles away. They only knew they were heading into combat somewhere in Europe under the command of General Dwight D. Eisenhower. As the ships clocks showed ten minutes to six on Christmas Eve, an enemy torpedo struck, shaking the ship from stem to stern; debris and bodies were hurled high into the air by the force of the explosion. Steel beams snapped like match sticks and the salty sea water poured in on the Panthermen. A second explosion sent water surging into the boiler rooms wreaking more havoc. In about two hours the Leopoldville began to sink. The doomed vessel stood almost straight up in the water, stem down and bow up. Many of the men, Waldo was one of them, were still clinging to the disappearing bow as the ship with a never-to-be-forgotten swish, sank into the dark and icy waters of the English Channel. Choppy waters and darkness made rescue work painfully slow. Lifeboats and rafts which should have been lowered and manned by the crew were never let down as the crew deserted the ship at the first blast of the torpedo.” There were over 800 men that were lost the day the German’s sank the USS Leopoldville. The following is a picture of Waldo.
14. Kenneth Mills Willis, US Army, Enlistment: 10 March 1943. February 1945 was wounded in the buttock and hip by artillery shell fragments. Son of Sarah Mills and John L. Willis and grandson of Sarah Alice McNeil and Daniel Mills.
15. Frank Leland Nikolaus, US Army, Enlistment: 4 April 1941 served four years with the 7th Army Combat Engineers in Africa, Italy, France and Germany, building roads and bridges behind the main force. Son of Maggie Mills and Joseph W. Nikolaus and grandson of Sarah Alice McNeil and Daniel Mills.
16. William Lamar Nikolaus, US Army, Son of Maggie Mills and Joseph W. Nikolaus and grandson of Sarah Alice McNeil and Daniel Mills.
17. Garth Nikolaus, US Navy, Son of Maggie Mills and Joseph W. Nikolaus and grandson of Sarah Alice McNeil and Daniel Mills. The following is a picture of Gartha and his new bride, Alberta.
18. Ronald Lonzo Mills, US Navy, He was serving on the USS Solomon in 1944 and 1945. Son of Henry Mills and Reah Merrell and grandson of Sarah Alice McNeil and Daniel Mills. The following pictures are of Ron and the second one is from left to right: Ron Mills, Eugene Mills & Paul Willard.
19. Dell Ray McNeil, US Army, Retired as a Master Sergeant, Enlistment Date: 15 December 1943, Discharge Date: 1 January 1964. Served in World War II and in Korea. Son of James McNeil and Laurie Marie Stratton, grandson of Benjamin McNeil and Edith Peterson.
Three of Mary Ann’s great-grandsons died during the war. Joseph Hemphill Gillespie was killed when his plane crashed during training exercises in Oklahoma. Robert Ray Mills was killed when his submarine, the USS Harder was sunk by depth charges in the Pacific with all 79 men onboard. Waldo Melvior Willis was killed when the ship he was on, the USS Leopoldville was torpedo by Germans in the English Channel, over 800 men died when the ship went down.
In May 2024 the U.S. Navy announced that it had located the final resting place of the USS Harder, also known by its nickname “Hit‘em HARDER.” The vessel is submerged under 3,000 feet of water in the South China Sea near Luzon, an island at the northern end of the Philippines. On August 24, 1944, after a battle with a Japanese ship, the submarine disappeared somewhere off the coast of the Philippines with 79 crew members onboard.
Researched and written by: Vickie Beard Thompson, wife of Roy Thompson who is a grandson of Annie Frances McNeil Thompson, daughter of Mary Ann Smith and John McNeil.
Updated on 12 March 2025
