Lawrence J. Wildes, Sr. Served With Distinction

A project of VFW Post 9560.

He died at College Park, near Atlanta on July 13 this year at age 82. Charlton County native Lawrence J. Wildes, Sr. But, it was Wildes' military history before and during World War Two that set him apart from others.

Lawrence Wildes' parents, Mack and Kate Wildes of Folkston, nine brothers and two sisters preceded him in death. A sister, Mrs. Aderine Wildes Reynolds, of St. Marys, survives her brother, as does his wife of 51 years, a son and a daughter.

In 1934, Lawrence Wildes was the first native son from Folkston to join the U.S. Navy since World War One. Wildes served 4 years on one of America's first aircraft carriers, the USS Ranger, CV4, followed by duty aboard the USS Lexington.

In 1937, Wildes was a member of the navy search team trying to find missing aviatrix Amelia Earhart who disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to set a world non-stop record in her Lockheed Electra. No trace of her has ever been found.

In 1940, at the end of his tour of duty in the navy, Wildes again volunteered. This time it was to serve in the U.S. Army. The United States, at that time, had not yet entered World War Two. Wildes served with distinction throughout that war, and until its conclusion in 1945.

Wildes, in World War Two, saw duty with the original 2^nd Armored Division, commanded by General George S. Patton as the Americans swept through Europe, fighting in five major battles, and winning for him five medals, one decoration, and two unit citations. Few soldiers could match Wildes' citations for bravery.

Wildes saw battle action in 5 major battles in Central Europe, The Ardennes-Alsace (Battle of the Bulge) Rhineland, Northern France, and Normandy. Wildes hit Omaha beach at Normandy on June 9, 1944, (D-Day- plus 3) while the allies were struggling to keep from being pushed back into the sea by German forces.

With Patton in Europe during World War Two, Wildes managed the machine shop section of Company A. He invented a machine gun shell extractor for which his commander was awarded the Legion of Merit.

During the fierce fighting in Europe, Wildes must have thought of the peace and tranquility of his home in Charlton County with his family, in the section that was once Center Village. His father, a prominent pioneer of Charlton County, Mack Wildes was the official Charlton County surveyor and ran a blacksmith shop near his home before, at the age of 17, young Lawrence Wildes signed up with the U.S. Navy.

Following his discharge from service, Lawrence Wildes served as Post Commander of VFW Post 2811 in Gainesville, Florida when he was one of the three original negotiators to have the VA Medical Center built across from the University of Florida's Teaching Hospital.

Lawrence Wildes co-owned the Wildes and Reynolds Lumber Company before being re-hired at the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad (now CSX) where he was employed 35 years as a cross tie and timber inspector.