Descendants carrying on legacy of two county WWII veterans
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by Erica Thomas – 1819News.com
(The original link to this story can be found by clicking here.)
In Randolph County, hard work is a virtue passed on through generations. In the 1930s and 40s, Calvin Bailey and Luther Coolidge Wortham were no exception.
The two friends only knew dedication to family and country. They were part of The Greatest Generation, and their values have remained intact through their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The eldest of six children, Calvin Bailey was born in 1924. His father was a cotton farmer and blacksmith. Bailey’s mother, a homemaker, worked to keep warm meals on the table during the Great Depression, even if those meals consisted of only peas and turnip greens for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Through the years, Bailey would run into Wortham here and there, but one experience has been talked about through the generations.
In 1943, Bailey and Wortham embarked on a life-changing journey.
Wortham’s grandson, Wesley Wortham, remembers his grandfather telling the story of when he went off to war.
“Granddaddy told us a lot of times that he and Mr. Calvin [Bailey] went to Biloxi, Mississippi, on a train,” he said. “They left Biloxi, went to California, all the way out there together. But once they got on the ship, they never seen each other again until they came back. Both of them came back at the same time, and they remained best buddies.”
Bailey trained as an airplane and engine mechanic at Keesler Field and went on to serve 17 months in the European Theater of Operations under a heavy bombardment group.
Wortham went to Germany, where he served as a cook. Over the years, he shared the story of serving coffee to hundreds of soldiers.
“They had one of these big old metal trash cans, and they started boiling the water. Once they got it boiling, they poured like, he said, two or three pounds or more coffee grounds in there. They got it boiled. Then, when they got ready for their soldiers to get it, they took one gallon of cold water and dumped it right in and all the grounds went to the bottom,” Wesley Wortham described. “He said them guys would walk by with their cups all day and drink hot coffee. Just dipping that big old thing.”
Wortham didn’t go into detail about combat times, but wouldn’t allow his children to watch war movies because he said “they didn’t represent what was really going on.”
After returning to the states, Wortham worked in the cotton mills and gardened back at home to feed his family and neighbors. His hard work and dedication kept him busy for over four decades.
“He was a hard worker,” Wesley Wortham said. “My granddaddy was the most humble man I ever seen. He never raised his voice or nothing. I never knew him taking a drink or any kind of alcohol my whole life. He never did. And he always supported his family.”
Bailey didn’t talk about his war experience much either, but his family said they were proud of his service.
“He worked hard all his life, provided for his family, and was honest with people,” his daughter, Rita Bradley, said. “He was a carpenter for most of his life, plus he raised cattle, cotton, and had a large garden. He worked until the age of 78.”
After years of hard work, the aging duo began to see the signs of aging. When word got around that Wortham’s health was declining, Bailey grew concerned.
“They were best buds up until my granddaddy got bad off,” Wesley Wortham remembered. “And Mr. Calvin [Bailey] called that day and said, ‘I hear my old friend might not make it.’ And he said, ‘I just want to check and touch base.”
Wortham passed away in 2011 at the age of 86. Four years later, Bailey passed away at the age of 91. But their story didn’t end there. Generation after generation of Worthams and Baileys have always seemed to make connections.
More than 70 years after that train ride, the grandson of Bailey, Rhett Huddleston, and the great-grandson of Wortham, Peyton Pinkard, are keeping the tradition alive. Rhett, a senior, and Peyton, a junior, played their last baseball game together this spring. They are more than teammates. Their families say they have a tight bond that started back in 1943.
April Huddleston said that as her son prepares to graduate, she is thankful for the work ethic he inherited.
“Rhett has used great work ethic in his athletics,” April Huddleston said. “You know, he never missed practice, never missed a game. There were times he went to practice sick, and I like to think he got that from my granddaddy.”
Peyton’s family is thankful to see a glimpse of the family legacy in him.
“Of everyone in the family, Peyton is more humble like him,” Wesley Wortham said of his grandson. “Peyton’s quiet, don’t bother nothing. He carries himself like my granddaddy. My granddaddy was a real soft-spoken, big man.”
“Coolidge and Calvin should be remembered for their service to their country, and Rhett and Peyton should be proud of them,” Bradley said.
The love of country and family is still alive in rural Alabama. For the families of Calvin Bailey and Coolidge Wortham, the legacy of The Greatest Generation will surely continue.
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