New Castle News

Local News

Discussion

November 10, 2006

Lost and found

More than 60 years after George Hampton lost a dog tag while saving a fellow soldier from drowning an Australian vacationer found it.





BY MARYALICE MELI MAMELI@NCNEWSONLINE.COM





Whether the exhausted man pulled at the dog tags of the Ellport man saving him from drowning is not known. Somehow, during that rescue on Sept. 13, 1943, George Hampton lost his dog tags. Hampton, who died three years ago, never mentioned them to his family and they, just glad to have him home after the war, never asked where they were. Hampton's daughter, Barbara Yerace, said he was a quiet man who never liked any fuss to be made over him, and was embarrassed when he received the Soldier's Medal for heroism. He wrote to his mother after the ceremony. "I was taken completely by surprise. I never expected a medal for just doing what any other fellow would have in my place. They called it heroism but I call it just doing your duty." What Hampton called just doing your duty began about 3 a.m. that September morning midway through World War II. A private first class in the Army, Hampton and another crewman had been participating in training exercises in the Pacific Ocean off the northeastern coast of Australia near Cairns. The coxswain, the officer operating the boat, returned Hampton and the other crewman to the beach. He headed back offshore about 150 yards and anchored the boat. That area is at the north end of the Great Barrier Reef. He decided to swim to shore, but became exhausted and cried out for help. Hampton was the only one still at the scene; he called for help, then dived into the surf and swam out to where the man was floundering. He assisted the man until the others arrived by boat and brought them all safely to shore. In the letter to his mother, Hampton said, "There are fellows here that wipe out Japanese machine guns and all they get is a thank you. Those boys are the heroes. All I did was save a guy from drowning and I get a medal. "I felt very embarrassed when the general said, 'You certainly deserve this medal for your act of heroism.' I wanted to tell him it was not heroism but you don't talk back to a general so I had to stand there and take it." When Hampton's commanding officer, Col. William N. Leaf, wrote to Hampton's parents to inform them of the medal their son had received, he added a personal note. Leaf said he felt a more personal connection to Hampton than to most other soldiers under his command. He said he had attended Rochester High School 25 years earlier and remembered playing football against the Ellwood City team in Ellwood City. All these events happened long before Dean Johns or his wife, Gabriella, were born. The couple and their two children live in Horsham, Victoria, about 200 miles north of Melbourne near the southeastern tip of Australia. Over the summer, the family traveled up the eastern coast of Australia for a vacation on Great Keppal Island, about 200 to 250 miles south of Cairns. While walking along the beach one day looking for shells, Johns found a single rectangular metal dog tag, tarnished green from more than 60 years in salt water. Still legible were Hampton's name and address of 515 Glen Ave., Ellwood City. Johns e-mailed the Ellwood City Area Chamber of Commerce. Former director Bobbi Womack contacted the current resident, Rita Hampton, George's sister-in-law, who validated the information and the dog tag was returned to Hampton's widow, Aurora, who lives in Ellport. Hampton may never have talked much about the war, but his daughter treasurers the scrapbook he made with photos, Japanese money and other mementos from that time. "He was very, very sentimental," she said.



Text Only | Photo Reprints
Local News
  • Corvi.jpg News, Herald to launch Business Chronicle

    You will find in Monday’s edition of the New Castle News a magazine called the Mercer-Lawrence County Business Chronicle.
    The News is joining forces with our sister paper, The  Herald in Sharon, which has been producing the Business Chronicle in Mercer County for six years.

    May 26, 2012 1 Photo

  • DYM.jpg Meet the 2013 contestants for Lawrence County Distinguished Young Women

    The 2013 Distinguished Young Women Program will take place at 7 p.m. Saturday in Westminster College’s Orr Auditorium. Tickets will be available at the door. Here's your chance to meet all of this year's contestants.
     

    May 25, 2012 1 Photo

  • City Council Briefs: Firm to provide city hall security

    New Castle City Council approved an agreement last night with a Butler firm to provide armed security at city hall. Security Service’s fee is $16 per hour under a seven-month agreement, which will run through the end of this year.

    May 25, 2012

  • Offices to be closed Memorial Day

    Local government offices and other agencies will be closed Monday in observance of Memorial Day. They include:

    May 25, 2012

  • McDonald.jpg Ellwood City’s fire chief resigns

    A 9-year-old boy with spinal meningitis opened his eyes when he heard a fire siren. As longtime colleague Don Ries tells it, the siren was calling Ellwood City volunteers to a shed fire at the B&O Railroad freight station.

    May 24, 2012 1 Photo

  • gavel.jpg Council considers board compromise

    New Castle City Council talked of possible compromise Tuesday night regarding the status of the city’s Historical Architectural Review Board.

    May 24, 2012 1 Photo

  • Neshannock to pave streets this summer

    The Neshannock Township supervisors will spend $208,226 to pave roads this summer. The supervisors last night selected Youngblood Paving of Wampum for the project as the lowest of four bidders. Greg DelPrincipe of RAR Engineering opened and tallied the bids.

    May 24, 2012

  • Custer.jpg Pastor attains master chaplain status

    The Rev. Tod Custer has attained a master chaplain certificate from the International Conference Police Chaplains. Ellwood City Mayor Anthony J. Court recently recognized Custer, an Ellwood City police chaplain, for his achievement.
    Custer will receive his certification in Spokane, Wash.

    May 23, 2012 1 Photo

  • Improvements set for Little Beaver bridge

    Improvements to a bridge that carries Huston Road over Little Beaver Creek in Little Beaver Township are to begin Tuesday. Huston Road will be closed between Route 351 and Scott Wallace Road beginning at 7 a.m. The road will be closed through late August.

    May 23, 2012

  • Mahoning gets sewer tap-in grant

     The Mahoning Township supervisors have received a $500,000 block grant to help residents tap into the new sewer system. Supervisor Vito Yeropoli, who is also sanitation plant secretary/manager, said the township was notified of the grant Monday.

    May 23, 2012