April 24, 2020
By Vernon Case Gauntt
Editor’s Introduction: Vernon Case Gauntt is a writer and genealogist who occasionally contributes to the GenealogyBank Blog. In yesterday’s article, he hunted down clues to discover who “Duke” was – the mystery friend who appears in photos and letters from his Dad during WWII. Today, he continues the story, picking up right after WWII ended. (Casey is an accomplished writer. If you enjoy this story, check out his website: Write Me Something Beautiful.)
Casey’s Introduction: I’ve come to realize that so many of us probably have a photo or a document that would be so helpful and meaningful to others, especially those we don’t even know, if we could somehow get it into their hands. Well, we now have tools that can assist us with this. Here’s a story of how I was able to solve the mystery of identifying a man who appeared in a couple of my favorite photos of my father during WWII, figure out why he was important to my Dad, and get this information to “Duke’s” relatives. A woman did something like this for me almost 12 years ago, and it literally changed my life.
My Dad, Grover, and his unit arrived back in Los Angeles in late December 1945. I assume Duke (my Dad’s friend) got back to his home on Whidbey Island, Washington, about the same time. Grover and my Mom, Barbara, were engaged by Christmas and got married ten weeks later on 6 March 1946 in Los Angeles.
Here’s the soon-to-be-married couple, driving with Best Man Jack Fredericks the day before their wedding.
At the wedding itself, Duke was there to stand up for my Dad as one of the groomsmen.
Duke returned to the Philippines and married Clarita Baltasar from Manila. Their son, Robert, was born there in 1947.
In April of 1949, Duke, Clarita and their one-year-old son sailed from Manila to San Francisco aboard the General G. C. Morton. The young family settled in Duke’s hometown of Langley on Whidbey Island in Washington.
When I discovered this fact about Duke’s life during my research, it triggered a deeply embedded memory. I recalled that in the early 1960s my family took a trip to visit Seattle and take in the World’s Fair. That would make it 1962 and I was 12. One day we got on a ferry boat bound for one of the San Juan Islands to visit Duke. I remember his lovely wife was Asian and they had a son about the same age as my brother, who was born in 1947.
I dove into books of photos my mother – bless her heart – put together years ago and found this one of Duke and his son meeting my family on a dock at Whidbey Island near Seattle in 1962. My dad took the picture.
Kermit W. Ellison passed away on 31 March 1977 in the town of Langley on Whidbey Island. He was 59 years old. His wife, Clarita, passed away 10 years later.
I don’t know as much as I would like, but now know a good deal more than before I began this quest. Kermit “Duke” Ellison was a college graduate, a leader of his fraternity and a good friend of my father’s. Dad only mentioned a handful of guys in his letters to his folks and Barbara, and Duke Ellison was one of them. The Duke stood up for his friend at his wedding.
He probably knew my Dad, and what he/they endured on the Solomon Islands and Philippines, better than almost anyone else. They both distinguished themselves in battle and, as Majors, were responsible for the lives of many soldiers. They were side by side through one of the most exciting periods of our country’s history – and one of the most horrific.
They both died too soon: my Dad, 51, in 1970; and Duke in 1977 at the age of 59. Duke and Grover were good men and better friends.
Blessings to you both.
Postscript
One of the Duke’s grandsons is active on genealogy sites online. I sent him a message together with a link to the story about his grandfather and my Dad.
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