OCEANS WIDE

Looking across the sea
I wonder if my Father,
Thought of, why me?
He left like others
To defend our nation,
But what would he have to face
Or would he go home in another condition.
There were many men
Not as lucky as he,
That lost their lives
And were buried at sea.
This man that I thought I knew so well
Would hardly ever talk about or tell,
Of what happened to him in World War II.
There was island after island
That he would have to live upon.
He would live off the land
And waiting for the enemy,
As long as he could stand.
Others would live
And others would die,
But most of them to this day
Stay silent in this way.
Because what else is there to say
But "God Bless America."

Betty Thomas
June 8, 2003

Go to the photography section of this website and take a look at some of the World War II photo's my Father took while in the wae.

Freedoms  Stand

In September of 1739 a large group of 350 Highland Scots arrived in Wilmington, North Carolina.
When Archibald Buie set foot on colonial soil, he faced numerous challenges although he had limited
knowledge of the English language, the Scot felt more comfortable conversing in his native Gaelic
language. The government was with him, for in February of 1740, "as an encouragement to Protestants
to remove from Europe to this Province," the Colonial Council exempted persons arriving in the groups
of forty or more from paying any public or country tax for ten years. Archibald with his family boarded
small pole boats or long boats and made their way up the Cape Fear River about 100 miles north of
Wilmington. The town is now known as Fayetteville. In June, Archibald was granted 320 acres on the
southwest side of the northwest branch of the Cape Fear River opposite the mouth of a stream which would
soon be named Buies Creek. This was the beginning of our proud heritage of freedom. The first recorded
participation by a Buie in military service was in 1771, when Neil Buie of Cumberland County enlisted in
the militia under Captain Farquard Campbell. The call to arms was in response to the menace of the Regulators,
Piedmont farmers who revolted against the colonial government at the Battle of the Alamance in May 1771.
The Regulators were defeated and peace was restored. Freedom of religion was a strong proud heritage of the
Buie Family. There would be someone else connected to the Buie family that fought for the American freedoms.
Lazarus Reeves, born 1756 at Lazarette River, Va. He served in assisting in establishment of American
Independence during the War of the Revolution. He listed as one of Marion Men and fought as Guerillas under
the command of Lt. Col. Francis Marion. He served as a soldier in the South Carolina Militia, during the
Revolution as Minute Man under Capt. R. Goodwin and also as Company of Rangers under Capt. Godwin in the
Regiments South Carolina,per pension. He fought in the Battle of Sullivan's Island for defense of Charleston,
South Carolina. The proud heritage of freedom would continue to stand firmly in this family of Buies. By the
year, 1800 members of the Buie family had lived in the "new world" for 75 years. The natural hardships of the
land, the shortage of manufactured goods, and the very demands of the land itself had made of them as a family
hardy pioneers. They wondered what was over the next range of hills and resented the ever nearing of more people.
Many of the Buie family, and hundreds of their Scots began to heed stories of a land of plenty to the south.
There along the higher eastern banks of the great Mississippi River lay a land that could be had for the making.
It was a land where transportation was not the problems that was in North Carolina. The goods could be brought
up the river by sea going boats and bought from merchants at a reasonable price. Crops could be marketed to these
same merchants at a big price. Archibald B. Buie would be one of Mississippi's wealthiest men just before the
Civil War. He was often ridiculed for his friendships with blacks that worked for him. He was a fine Christian
man. He would have his life shortened just before the Civil War. Robbery and death of Archibald B. Buie at
Washington Creek was just east of Natchez, Mississippi. He was returning to his plantation carrying $8,000 in
gold from the sale of his cotton. He didn't fight in any wars but he left a legacy of a proud heritage of freedom.
Thomas Jefferson Price was the son of Allen Price and Elizabeth Reeves. He served in the Civil War until he was
wounded and had to return home. He wrote many letters that were printed in the local newspaper. The legacy of
freedom continues with more of my family entering wars that were to be fought. William C. Buie fought in
World War I. On August 27, 1921, he completed his enlistment in the 6th Infantry and was discharged at Camp Jackson.
He returned home with an injury to his arm and shoulder that left him crippled in the left arm the rest of his life.
The man I would fine most intriguing to fight in a war would be my father. Of course I would feel this way. There
were things about his time in World War II that I found very interesting. Ernest Albert Bowman was in the Navy. He
fought in the Pacific where he had fasinating adventures along the way as he served. He left a book full of stories
and pictures of the war. He left a heritage of freedom and his Christian beliefs to his children. On the day we
buried my father, I was given his flag for service in the War. I turned around and gave it to my sister that was at
the time serving in the Army. She served as an Army nurse, delivering precious babies. She was later transferred to
Fayetteville, North Carolina. There have been many more in this family that have served our country well. We started
out in the Carolinas after leaving the Isle of Jura in Scotland in 1739 to find a free country to live in. I am so
proud of the members of this family who have given their time to their country to fight for the freedoms of America.
Tonight, as I know many of my family members fear that the American Flag of the United States will be removed. We are
thinking about it. Are You?