As a tribute to Memorial Day, this post will touch on military service of my family in the U.S. This blog is in no way complete and tends to stick to my more immediate family. I welcome any content fellow family members can provide. This blog will focus on my paternal side. For my maternal side, click here.
Current
My first cousin, Andrew Perrin, has made his career serving in the military and includes serving in Operation Desert Storm. He has served as part of Special Forces and as a Ranger, sniper, interrogator and jungle specialist.He is currently stationed at Ft. Bragg as a member of the Army 101st Airborne.Most famous
Col. "Charging" Charlie Beckwith is the most famous family member serving in the military. He is my father's first cousin. Col. Beckwith founded Delta Force and led the 1980 attempt to remove the American hostages held at the embassy in Teheran. To learn more about Col. Beckwith, you can read his book, Delta Force. Charlie's granddaughter, Mary Howe, has followed in his footsteps joining Air Force Special Ops unit that supports Delta Force in 2013. She is currently deployed in the Middle East.Charlie's older brother, Lamar Beckwith, served in WWII in the Army Air Corps.
WWII
Donald Franklin, my father, joined the Army October 11, 1942 at Ft. McPherson. After basic training and before he was shipped out, Donald had a brush with fame. He was stationed for a week with Clark Gable. His time in the military was spent on Bermuda as a member of the Army Air Force, which later became a separate military branch.All of Donald's sisters married men who served in WWII as well. Uncle Howard Perrin flew planes, Uncle Howard Hall was in the 746th Railway Battalion, U.S. Army in Augsburg, Germany from 1944-1946. Uncle Jimmy Stewart was a Marine and was at Iwo Jima. These children of the 1920's grew up to earn the well-deserved title of "The Greatest Generation."
WWI
My grandfather, Henry Newton Franklin, joined the Army on October 22, 1917. He and my grandmother had been married seven weeks. Off he went to Ft. Screven on Tybee Island. WWI ended November 11, before Newton was shipped out.Civil War
The next generation to feel the affects of war goes back to my second great-grandfather, Benjamin J. Grantham who fought for the Confederacy. His military record is as follows:VOLUNTEER INFANTRY ARMY OF TENNESSEE C. S. A. SCHLEY COUNTY, GA SCHLEY
Lineage from Grantham to me: my father: Donald Franklin. Donald's father: H. Newton Franklin. Newton's mother: Nancy Grantham. Nancy's father: Benjamin J. Grantham.
Creek Indian War of 1836
Shepherd's Plantation battle marker
In 1836 when the Cherokee were removed from North Georgia, the Creeks, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Seminoles were also removed. Several battles broke out in 1836 and 1836 along the Georgia-Alabama borders south of Columbus. The first battle in May of 1836 was in Roanoke, Ala., about 60 miles southwest of Sumter County where Hansel Beckwith (Beckworth) had settled. Hansel signed up on May 30, just in time for the June 9 battle at Shepherd's Plantation, the most aggressive of the attacks. For more information about the Creek Wars and the battle at Shepherd's Plantation, visit the Explore Southern History website.
Revolutionary War
While Amos Beckwith, also my fifth great-grandfather, did not fight in the Revolutionary War, he and his family did support the Colonial troups with supplies and was considered part of the war effort.Lineage from Beckwith to me: my father: Donald Franklin: Donald's mother: Bessie Beckwith. Bessie's father: Alburtus Beckwith: Alburtus's father: Hansel Beckwith. Hansel's father: Hansel Beckwith. Hansel's father: Henry Beckwith IV. Henry's father: Amos Beckwith.
Cool.
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