Edward Melott 28, Lost In Action In Pacific War Zone
Edward
Louis Melott, 28, son of Mrs. Victor Melott of Bell, Calif., the former
Alma Phipps of Cherokee, has been lost in action in the Pacific War,
according to word received here Thursday night.
A telegram from the navy department said young Melott was lost in Manila bay.
He
had been in the navy about 10 years and was an electrician. He and his
mother visited relatives here about a year ago, driving through from
the coast.
Melott spent from three to six months at Old
Point Comfort, VA., training in mine-laying technique. His work was so
confidential he had to take an oath of secrecy and all his papers were
taken from him by naval authorities after he finished.
Although it was not known how he was lost, it may have been during mine laying operations in the Philippines.
Near
relatives of the sailor in Cherokee are Nelson T. Phipps, an uncle and
Sheriff Don F. Phipps, a cousin. He also has two aunts, Mrs. Forrest I.
Murphy, Des Moines and Miss Mable Phipps, Ames. (Source: Cherokee Daily Times of May. 2, 1942)
Former Mason Cityan Missing in Action, Report Navy Men
Edward L. Melott Was Stationed on Cavite, Bataan and Corregidor
Edward
L. Melott, son of Mrs. V. C. elott, Bell, Cal., and formerly of Mason
City, has been reported by the navy department as missing pending
further information". Melott, an electrician's mate second class, was
in service in Corregidor in Manila bay when that station capitulated.
In
a telegram to Mrs. Melott, navy officials stated that they had no
report of his death or injury and he might possibly be a prisoner of
war.
Edward was graduated from the Mason City High School in 1933
and enlisted in the navy Feb. 14, 1935. He was on board the USS Nevada
for six years serving as an electrician. Before America's entry into
the war he was trained at Yorktown, A., a naval mine warfare school.
For five months Edward fought with the soldiers and marines at Cavite,
Bataan and Corregidor, before their fall.
(Source: Globe-Gazette, Mason City, IA., Mon. July 6, 1942, pg. 8)
Edward Melott, Reported Missing, Is Prisoner of War
Word
has been received here that Edward Melott, son of Mrs. V. C.
Melott, is being held a prisoner of war by the Japanese disproving
anearlier report that he was lost in action at the time of Pearl
Haarbor.
The corrected report was obtained through the efforts of
International Red Cross in an efficial communication from Tokyo. Melott
is held at Camp Taiwan, located ten miles northeast of Manila. He has
served approximately ten years in the navy.
Mrs. Melott, well-known
in Cherokee, is the former Alma Phipps, daughter of the late Nathan
Phipps. She and her husband live at Bell, Calif.
(Source: Cherokee Daily Times of Jan 12, 1943)
Jap Prisoner of War, Former Mason Cityan, to Arrive in States
Edward
Melott, USNR, son of Mr. and Mrs. Victor Melott, formerly of Mason
City, now of ell, Cal., was expected to arrive in the states on Oct.
20, according to word received here by friends of the Melotts.4Edward,
a graduate of the Mason City high school, had been a prisoner of war of
the Japs, having been stationed in that area at the outbreak of the
war. (Source: Globe-Gazette, Fri, Oct 5, 1945, pg. 11)
|
|
