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Butler County Chapter NSDAR Veteran of the Year: James B. Cartwright

It is once again that time of year when we take time out to celebrate the service of the many men and women who have served valiantly in our military, our veterans. The Butler County Chapter NSDAR will sponsor the annual Veteran’s Breakfast on Saturday, November 5 at 9:00 AM in the Butler County High School commons area. All veterans are invited to come out and enjoy a breakfast in their honor. Each year the chapter selects a Veteran of the Year to receive special recognition, this year that person is James B. Cartwright. Mr. Cartwright writes:
 
On August 1934, I was born the son of William Estill and Ada Jane Harper Cartwright in the Quality Community of Butler County.  Being the oldest of four children we worked on the farm to help my family.  Sewell, in Evansville, Indiana was my first job and next at Kane Manufacturing in Morgantown until October 1956. That is when Uncle Sam requested my service.
        
 I rode the Fuqua bus from Morgantown to Bowling Green to Louisville.  From Louisville they took me to Ft. Chaffee, Arkansas. We arrived late that night to receive uniforms and were sworn in.  After a couple days, seven buses loaded with young men headed for Ft. Hood, Texas.  There we were assigned barrack units and was assigned to A Battery 4th Armored Division.  Training took in all parts of a 105-artillery unit.  I received 14 days leave for Christmas.  After basic training we were sent on a train to New York Brooklyn Army terminal.  Upon arrival we were shipped to South Hampton England then up the English Channel to Bremerhaven, Germany.  For the next 17½ months my home was a small base called Friedberg Army Base.    After getting settled in, we were sent various times to Grafenwohr, which was a large training base.  There I passed the German road test and was assigned to drive the convoy commander, and then a forward officer, 1st Lieutenant.  His job was to radio where the enemy was stationed then coordinates knew where to fire the 105’s.  This was during the Cold War and our job was to stop the Russians if they attacked, they would come down the Rhine River Valley.
         
 A buddy and I got a train in 1958 to Brussels Belgium to the World’s Fair and then to Paris, France.  Also, I got to see Nuremberg, the soldier’s field where Hitler viewed his troops.  First of October 1958, we received replacement troops.  The day before we left, we saw Elvis Presley marching down the street.
         
While in Germany, I won first place in jeep/trailer competition, received medal in good conduct, rifle and safe driving.
          
Returning to the states was in reverse going to New York then to Ft. Dix, New Jersey.  After being discharged on October 20, 1958, I flew to Louisville and caught the bus to Bowling Green.  Upon arrival there I called my Uncle Thomas to come pick me up.  As I arrived home, my sister Carol didn’t know who I was.  She was eight years old when I left for the army.
         
 I returned to Kane Manufacturing where I met my wife Marjorie Taylor White.  We married in December 1960.   We have three children Michael David White, Cynthia Renee Barrow, and Felicia Fawn McLean, four grandchildren and three great grandchildren that complete our family.  Two jobs for the community were Morgantown City Council and Jaycees.  Retiring from Kane’s after 24 years, took us to other areas of Kentucky for 12 years then we came back to good ole Butler County.
          
 As a member of Aberdeen Baptist Church, I serve as a deacon.  Now work part-time for the Butler County PVA and started serving again in the community on the Butler County Health Department and Clerk for the Gasper River Association.

Please join the Butler County Chapter NSDAR in taking time to salute our veterans. There will be a number of activities in our community to do just that. The breakfast will be on Saturday, November 5 at 9:00 AM. The annual County-wide program will be at BCHS on Friday, November 11. The VFW Auxiliary will sponsor a dinner on Friday evening at VFW Post 5837 to honor their Veteran of the Year. The Veterans Parade will be on Saturday, November 12 at 2:00, with the Green River Chapter NSDAR hosting a reception for veterans at Morgantown Elementary after the parade. Then on Sunday, November 13 the First Baptist Church youth Bell Choir will have a special presentation at both their morning and evening services.

 

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