Buford J Ellison

 Today's "They Live in Texas" entry is also our WWII August memorial post.

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Beauford Jefferson Ellison was born on 10 August 1922, in Wichita Falls, Wichita, Texas  His parents were  James Thomas Ellison and Vada Zelma Knight (1, 2).

Later, the original spelling of the boy’s name was changed to Buford.

In 1930, little Buford lived with his siblings and parents in Precinct #1, Wichita, TX. The siblings were Thomas  Jefferson (age 14) and Helen Alene (age 4). Mr. James Buford was a laborer at a stock ranch (3).

Seven years later, Buford’s brother, Marvin Burnell was born.

From the records - it seems that , when he left school, Buford most likely did various jobs. In 1940 census, there is a record of Jefferson B. Ellison who lived in Hartley, Texas, in the house of J. B. Bagwell. Jefferson B. worked as a waiter in a café owned by Mr. Bagwell (4).

27 June 1942 – Buford lived at 600 N. Grant, in Odessa, Ector, TX. He was unemployed. On that day, he was drafted (WWII time). The young man was 5 feet 6 tall, weighted 130 lbs., had blonde hair, and  brown eyes. His complexion was described in the draft paper as ”ruddy”. Buford’s mom lived in Hawley then (5).

Buford J Ellison was enrolled into the Air Force where he became a B-24 J engineer. He served with 866th Bomber Squadron, 494th Bomb Group and was part of the “Lonesome Lady”  bomber crew.

On 28 July 1945, they flew on a mission to the Japan area. The plane crashed on a tree near Hiroshima. All the crew members (besides one) survived. They were soon arrested and taken to the local police station. A few days later, on 6 August, Buford perished  - killed by the A bomb blast.

His fate was unknown for a long time. 

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Sergeant Buford J. Ellison was awarded

World War II Victory Medal,

Purple Heart,

American Campaign Medal, 

 Army Presidential Unit Citation, 

Army Good Conduct Medal,  and Prisoner of War Medal.

We learned about Mr. Buford and other American POW who were imprisoned in Hiroshima in August 1945, at the documentary ("Paper Lanterns") screening event at the local Museum of the Pacific War.

Book by Mr. Mori - the documentary is based on.

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Sources:

1. "Texas, Birth Index, 1903-1997", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VDPK-Q74 : Tue Feb 25 15:36:35 UTC 2025), Entry for Beaufard Ellison, 10 Aug 1922.
2. "Texas, Births and Christenings, 1840-1981", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4L8F-DY3Z : 14 February 2020), Buford Jefferson Ellison, 1922.
3. "United States, Census, 1930", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:HLJK-93Z : Thu Mar 07 03:25:52 UTC 2024), Entry for James T Ellison and Vada Z Ellison, 1930.
4. "United States, Census, 1940", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KWK2-DR8 : Wed Jan 22 08:20:02 UTC 2025), Entry for T B Bagwell and Jefferson B Ellison, 1940.
5. "Texas, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1947", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QL3X-YX61 : Mon Apr 21 20:50:51 UTC 2025), Entry for Buford Jefferson Ellison and Vada Ellison Hawley, 27 Jun 1942.
6. https://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient/recipient-59758/, 
7. Honorstates.org
8. Familysearch.org

About Clouds & More

 The skies looked different on that day. The clouds were lower than usual, and seemed to be placed in void above our heads, just hanging there. 

They appeared 3-dimensional and quite plump. Looking straight at them, you could see all other sides of those cloud formations, as well. In addition to that, unusually bright colors lightened up the clouds of many various, strong shapes.

We were on the road again. It was so nice to stare at those clouds and admire the beauty of the sight.

At some moment, we noticed a pretty rainbow in front of us, in the mist of the clouds. We were driving towards it. Both of us were amazed by the view and the sudden appearance of the rainbow. At the same time, we heard the words coming from our music player,

“(…) Rhymes that keep their secrets
Will unfold behind the clouds
And there upon the rainbow
Is the answer to a never ending story(…)”

The rainbow is hardly visible in the picture - it was much clearer to see in real,  with our own eyes

It all was quite heart-touching. What a breath-taking coincidence it was. We were astonished  – the rainbow just in front of us and then, the lines of the song* played again,

“(...) Rhymes that keep their secrets
Will unfold behind the clouds
And there upon the rainbow
Is the answer to a never ending story (...)”. 

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*The lyrics come from the song: “Never Ending Story”, made popular by Limahl in 1984.

My Polish Alphabet: "S" for Seagulls

 Today, a more down to earth-type topic.

When we came back to Poland  and were staying at my “old” place,  one thing surprised me then – I heard some weird noise outside the window -  again and again. I could hear it even when the windows were closed. To my astonishment,  I realized it was the sound of the seagulls flying around the house. What was strange about that?

The thing is, when I had used to live there, for all those decades,  I hardly noticed the sound those birds made. Obviously, I was aware of the constant presence of those birds in our area, however, I did not hear them that often.  My mind simply learned to not pay attention to that noise.  All in all, at that time, I  tended to notice the seagulls’ calls more often, when I happened to be closer to the sea. 

It reminded me the summer, when my aunt once visited.  I was little then. The lady complained then that she could not sleep in the night. The sound of the trolleybuses going along the street near our house kept her awake. Well, it did not bother us at all. Being used to the trolleybuses, we did not pay attention to the sound they made. Anyhow, strange how the human mind works.

Well, no seagulls where I live now (and no trolleybuses either). 

Another “S” is for seagulls in “My Polish Alphabet”.

Seagulls at the Sopot pier, in Poland

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"My Polish Alphabet" is about things, places, and people that come to my mind when I think about Poland.

James J Harper

 

In the book I have studied*, among many men, James J Harper is mentioned.

James was a resident of Polk County, TX. He enlisted into the CA on 14 May 1862. The man was a Private (1), he served with Company F, the 22nd Regiment Texas Infantry (Hubbard’s Regiment). In November 1862, he was reported sick at Camp Nelson in Arkansas. James did not recover. He passed on 17th November of the same year and was buried at Camp Nelson Cemetery in Cabot, Arkansas.

The note mentions James’ wife Susannah who received $80.42 from the CA Treasure Department after the man’s passing. It was the soldier’s earnings.

According to James’ military record, he was born in 1833 (2). I tried to find out more about James J. Harper and his family. Here are the results of my research.

I did not know where James was born so I looked for him in various states. It appeared the name James Harper was quite common as I found quite a few men by that name, who were born in 1833 in Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama, among others..

However, 3 things needed to add up: James’ estimated year of birth, the name of his wife, and the place of residence in 1862 – Polk County, TX.

The only more clear record was the birth of Nancy Ann E Harper, the daughter of James J Harper and Susanna O’Neal. Nancy was born on 12 August 1862, in Polk County, TX (3, 4).

It led me to James J Harper born in Alabama.

He was the son of Benjamin Hale Harper and Nancy Jane Standley. James’ mother died early and his father remarried. In 1850, the family of Mr. Benjamin Harper, a farmer, lived in Henry, Alabama (5). The family was – wife Elizabeth (age 38, born in NC), Sarah Jane (age 18), James (age 15) + children from the second marriage Benjamin Hale (age 13), Wilson (age 11), Malinda (age 9), Eliza (age 7), Washington (age 7), Joseph (age 3), and William (age 2).

James started his own family in 1859, on 21 March. He married 18-year-old Miss Susannah O’Neal (6), who was born on 19 April 1840, in South Carolina and was the daughter of James Henry O’Neal and Sarah Jane Hill. 

As you can see, the record mentions James S Harper - not James J (?)

James and Susannah’s marriage took place in Henry County, Alabama.  Susanna was the bride’s middle name. Her first name was Charlotte.

Sometime after the marriage, the couple came to Texas. I tried to find him in the 1860 records. However, he might have come to Texas later, possibly in 1861.

James never saw his daughter Nancy, who was born a few months after he was enrolled in the CA.

Sources:

* "There never were such men before: the Civil War soldiers and veterans of Polk County, Texas, 1861-1865". Ruth Peebles, Livingston, TX, Polk County Historical Commission, 1987. 

1. Soldiers and sailors

2. "Texas, Civil War Service Records of Confederate Soldiers, 1861-1865", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FZ4L-K77 : Thu Feb 13 18:52:41 UTC 2025), Entry for James J Harper, 1862.

3. Findagrave

4. "Texas, Deaths, 1890-1977", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KSBN-P82 : Tue Jun 10 00:01:01 UTC 2025), Entry for Nancy Ann Jackson and James J Harper, 20 March 1937.

5. "United States, Census, 1850", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MH5M-LRQ : Thu Jan 16 23:55:33 UTC 2025), Entry for Benjamin Harper and Elizabeth Watts Harper, 1850.

6. "Alabama County Marriages, 1711-1992", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QKZS-FG6K : Tue Mar 05 05:08:42 UTC 2024), Entry for James S. Harper and Susannah O Neal, 21 Mar 1859.

Movies & More

Two days ago, we were watching a movie while our evening meal was getting cooked in the oven. When the sound of the timer buzzed in the kitchen, telling us that the food is ready, a character in the movie we watched said, "Sit down, we'll have dinner."

So I took out the meal out of the oven and we did - sat down and had dinner.

That was some of the synchronicities that have often happened to us.

A few more TV related examples? Here they are:

✮ Once we watched a horror. Well, rarely we do. After that, we switched off the TV set, and I turned the radio on. The first words that we heard were "You just can't kill the beast." It was the "Hotel California" song going on quite coincidently. 

✮ It was an old movie telling the story about Fatima and the Holy Mary appearances there. At some point the crowd in the show was shouting, "Give us a sign, give us a sign!" They gathered at the place where Holy Mary had made herself visible to the 3 children. At the moment when they finished shouting their "give us a sign", a thunder struck behind our window. We were stunned as the skies were perfectly clear on that day.

✮ One day, I looked up the meaning of an old English word which is very rarely used in the spoken language these days. Later, we watched a randomly chosen movie. One of the very first words said in that movie was the one I had looked up on that day.

I could go on and on with that - on my husband's birthday - a randomly chosen movie again - in the very beginning of it, the characters sang "Happy Birthday" to one of the persons in the plot.

Well, does it ever happen to you?

Travel Well

Ozzy has left this world recently. Sad that more and more old cultural "icons" go away.
Travel well Ozzy. 
Thank you for the music.

From my visit in Birmingham, years ago.

More about the photo and Black Sabbath - in "My Music ABC".

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Today I have found out - totally by chance - about another passing. The lady was not a famous one, but of importance as well - to the ones who knew and loved her. 

Ola lived with her nuclear family in Germany. I met her virtually in a Polish Ladies Abroad Club. We exchanged letters for quite a good time. No, we never met personally, but I thought about her as a friend. I always enjoyed Ola's letters and learning about her world and her family. She had mentioned a few times she was struggling dealing with health problems, but never mentioned how serious the matter was. Despite it all, the lady enjoyed doing walks to a German Camino-type place and travelling to exotic countries. 

When I read in her last letter how active she had been in that past year, and about more trips and travels she planned, I was hoping she was improving and her health condition got better.

Today, her funeral service took place in Poland.

Travel well friend.

I am glad to have met you.

Singing and Frequencies

 A few weeks ago, we watched a podcast-type show hosted by two of our favorite personalities. The third participant of the talk was a Mr. C., professional singer and theater actor, whose singing (as it was mentioned in that interview) had cured many listeners. I was curious about it. At some point, after a short presentation of Mr. C. and his career, the man was asked to sing and present his healing voice abilities. 

Yes, it was powerful indeed. The vibration of the sound created by the Mr. C's vocal cords was quite strong. However, my body found it very unpleasant, the least to say. With all the appreciation of Mr. C's talent, the sound frequency he produced felt to me like a very disturbing disharmony attacking my body/frequency zone. It all made me feel like running away from the source of that distressing vibration. I did stay in my place, though because I wanted to watch the show. According to what the hosts of the program said - they found the singing very pleasant. I did not. Perhaps, I was the only person watching the show who had such a bad impression about it? I do not know/do not know why. Later, when I went to sleep, nightmares about singing vampires who were trying to get me/I was fighting them, bothered me all night long.

After waking up, while recovering after the disturbing dreams, I reminded myself what Mr. C. said. He mentioned that he does not do his healing-type singing uninvited, and that he seeks sad persons. Well, I am not one of them. Maybe that was a reason why the sounds the singer created felt to me so very disharmonious?

Coming back to those nightmares - the vampires did not get me. I found a yellow, metal tape that helped me fight them. A curious thing was - the tape activated itself only when the vampires started singing. 

It is said those creatures cannot harm you if you do not invite them in - I did not. They just happened to be at the bed-and-breakfast place where I stayed for a night.

On the whole, I would not want to experience that type of vibration/frequency (as the one mentioned above) again. However, it is good that some people find it therapeutic. What resonates with others does not have to resonate with me.