Monticello Live

Thanksgiving has rolled around again. Although we have many reasons to give thanks we are often so caught up in “celebrations” that we can’t find time to truly “give thanks”. Thanksgiving, like every other holiday, seems to be turning into just another long vacation weekend when we hurry and scurry to “have a good time” as opposed to a day when we really do “count our blessings” and give thanks!
One very important, yet often overlooked, blessing truly is freedom and this great country, the United States of America.

This week I have a rather poignant recollection of a “last Thanksgiving”. It is an ever timely story about young men, the wars they fight and the remembrances they too often leave behind.

Oscar Miles has been the subject of an article before. Oscar was a seaman on the U.S.S. Arizona on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese so infamously bombed Pearl Harbor in the Hawaiian Islands.
Seaman Miles went down with his ship. However, during his time in the Navy, Oscar wrote his mother several letters. The family still treasures many of those letters. The letters give a brief, yet elegant picture of the life of a young seaman just before the start of WWII.

Here is a synopsis of Oscar Miles’ life and his letters through his last Thanksgiving.
Oscar was born in Drew County on May 15, 1919, to Edgar and Mabel McKinstry Miles Haney. He graduated from Drew Central High School on May 5, 1939, in a class of 46 graduates.

America was still bogged in the period of history called the Great Depression so Oscar enrolled at Camp Monticello, the Civilian Conservation Corps (more widely known as the CCC) encampment, for the limited time of about a year.

On Friday, August 2, 1940, Oscar Miles enlisted in the Navy and left Little Rock for Oklahoma City, OK, on his way to San Diego, CA. He arrived there on August 5th as part of Company 54, U. S. Navel Training Station.

Undoubtedly Oscar did well in his training because he was appointed Apprentice Petty Officer Third Class on September 18, 1940.

Assigned to the USS Arizona, he spent Christmas 1940 at Bremerton, WA. An ever thoughtful son wishing to relieve his mother’s anxiety, Oscar wrote her about that last Christmas remarking that lots of visitors visited the ship that day and including a menu and Christmas program for the day.

Oscar spoke of a big breakfast Christmas Day. He also told of having his coat stolen and replacing it at a cost of $13.00. He even remarked that he intended to start sending money home to save for the day when he left the Navy.

His letters were always upbeat, assuring his mother that he was fine and telling her not to worry about him. He often spoke too of siblings and acquaintances.

We will pick up on his last letters beginning with a June 9, 1941, letter from aboard the Arizona.
In that letter Oscar told his mother that they were at sea, but would return to the U. S. between June 17th and July 1st. He also stressed that the sailors were being restricted from writing information about their ships, including their movements, their assignments and even their names.

A June 18th letter again reassured his mother and told her not to worry. He also affirmed his belief that he was “worth more to you and my country where I am or I wouldn’t be here.”

On June 24, Oscar wrote his mother that he’d been back in the States about a week. He also spoke about enjoying getting mail and promised to write anyone at home who would write him.

He was given a short leave to come home. Friends recall a local dance and one lady remembers their dancing together. Too soon he returned to the Arizona and its date with destiny.

A letter dated August 2, 1941, marked his first anniversary date in the U.S. Navy.

Oscar’s letter spoke of his intentions to visit Harvey Echols and Charles Barnard, two other Drew County boys in the same division stationed nearby.

Oscar’s next letter home was dated November 3, 194l. He stated that he didn’t know where he’d be Thanksgiving and Christmas, but he knew it wouldn’t be home.

A November 9th letter written from Pearl Harbor said that he guessed the family back home were preparing for Christmas. He told his mother that it was so warm at Pearl that it didn’t seem like Christmas was near.

Oscar Miles’ last letter home to his loving mother and family was postmarked November 23, 1941. Always upbeat in his letters, Oscar wrote “Well today is Thanksgiving out here. I’ve got a lot to be thankful for. I’ve got a good place to eat and sleep and all of you are all right.”

Two weeks later, December 7, 1941, a surprise attack by the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. One thousand, one hundred seventy-six (1176) men lost their lives on the U.S.S. Arizona that horrific day. Oscar Miles of Green Hill, Drew County, Arkansas was one of that number.

On December 21, 1941, Miles’ family was notified that he was “missing following action”. No doubt his mother already feared “the worst”. Christmas, 1940, for the Haney family must have been bittersweet.

A telegram dated January 31 1941, said all efforts to locate Oscar had failed and that he was therefore “been officially declared to have lost his life in the service of his country” on December 7, 1941.

Oscar Miles was the first man who enlisted from Drew County to be killed in action in WWII. The Miles-Foss VFW/American Legion Hut was built chiefly by returning veterans and named in honor of Oscar Miles and Rodney Foss, both of whom died on that terrible day.

The USS Arizona was so savagely destroyed that it was never raised from the waters of Pearl Harbor. In 1962 a memorial was built over the wreckage to honor the 1,176 men who remain in the ship. Twenty-three were Arkansans.

Three other siblings also served their country during WWII. A sister, Aileen Coston, visited the USS Arizona Memorial a few years ago. I believe that going there finally brought some closure for her.

So this holiday before the visiting, eating and shopping begin in full force, please take a moment to remember Oscar Miles and all those bright young men who gave all.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 27th, 2008 at 12:44 am and is filed under Memories from the Museum. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.