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Traces of Texas @TracesofTexas - Holy cow! Y'all AMAZE me! A couple of days ago, I posted a photo taken by John Vachon in 1943 of I.V. Childers at his grocery store in San Augustine, Texas. With Mr. Childers was a young man whom Vachon noted had --- that very morning --- undergone a physical, as he had been drafted into the Army. Being that WW II was on, I wrote that it's too bad we don't know the young man's name and wondered if he survived the war. I now know that he did, and that he lived until 2020. I know this because, amazingly, a Traces of Texas reader figured out who the young man was and wrote the following:
"Ok, I got curious too. Re: the photo you posted of I.V. Childers with the 18-year old young man about to head to the military, YES, he did make it back from war.
His name was Carl Max Stark. He was born in Kirbyville, Texas (His birth is often shown as Jasper, TX, because Jasper is the county seat). Thank goodness he listed his employer, Childers, on his military draft card. If he hadn’t, he would have been much harder to track. His parents had moved from Kirbyville to San Augustine in 1931.
Concerning his military carrier, his obituary states: "In April 1943, he entered the United States Army and in early 1945 was sent to the European Theater where he served in the 7th Army. In mid-1945 he was transferred to General Patton’s 3rd Army and was assigned to the 932-field artillery. When World War II ended, he served in the occupation forces in Europe and was stationed in Vienna, Austria. In April 1946, he returned to the States and was honorably discharged at Camp Chaffey, Ft. Smith, Arkansas."
Carl Stark married Flo Ellen Rosier and lived in Silsbee, Texas. He died in December 2020 at the age of 95. At that time, he had two children, four grandchildren, four great grandchildren, and two great-great grandchildren.
HOW CRAZY IS THAT? Had John Vachon not included the name of the grocer when he took the photo and had Carl Stark not mentioned his employer on his draft card, 83 years later a TOT reader would not have found this information. I'm thinking Carl's children, grandchildren are out there. I hope one of them sees this. Here's another photo of Carl Stark taken by John Vachon at I.V. Childer's grocery store in April, 1943, just before he went off to join General Patton's army. He is 18 years old and, at this point in his life, he has no idea what the future holds for him and that he will survive the war, come back to Texas, get married, have children, die at the age of 95, and have Traces of Texas write about him a little more than five years later.
Thanks so much to the reader who tracked all this down and who sent in a bunch of supporting documentation. As I say ... y'all amaze me!
https://x.com/TracesofTexas/status/2048770391858872389
Trad West @trad_west_ - Good morning friends, Christ is King
https://x.com/trad_west_/status/2049039884979954076
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