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John Pershing Enbey
John Pershing Enbey, 91, died on Tuesday, Sept. 28, at Mainland Medical Center in Texas City, Texas, following a heart attack and short hospitalization. Resident of Hitchcock, Texas for 51 years, John was born on Galveston Island on April 10, 1919. He attended Ball High School and worked at Wright's Drug Store, delivering prescriptions, sundries, and even ice cream cones by bicycle.
Following the news about the attack on Pearl Harbor on the “day that will live in Infamy, Dec. 7, 1941,” John enlisted in the U.S. Navy and was sent to train in Michigan with many other young men and women from cities, small communities and farms throughout the nation. He arrived in Michigan in winter without a coat and found that the weather was not as balmy as Galveston.
After recovering from pneumonia, John joined the other enlistees as they practiced their new jobs and performed ship drills while waiting for their ships to be built. They practiced on concrete slabs outdoors where layouts of the ship floor plans and equipment locations were drawn. When the newly built U.S.S. LST 335 was deployed, John and his crewmembers left from New York City and headed for North Africa in a 30-day convoy, watching for German submarines along the way.
After leaving North Africa, the U.S.S. LST 335 crew was involved in the invasion of Sicily, Italy. John was next assigned to work on the new U.S.S. LST 630 to help train newer recruits, and the crew island-hopped to places like New Hebrides Islands, New Guinea and the Philippine Islands.
During World War II, John served his country from 1941 through 1947 in the American Campaign, Asiatic Pacific Campaign and European African Middle Eastern Campaign. After the war ended, John was assigned to the U.S.S. Widgeon and joined Operation Crossroads, the atomic bomb testing at Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific. His last commission was aboard the U.S.S. Los Angeles.
After his service ended, John returned to Galveston and worked at Nash & Cotton and later worked as a salesman and manager at Nash Automotive in Hitchcock. John attended several U.S.S. LST 335 reunions and also hosted the reunion in Galveston in 1991. He served as president of the Lion’s Club of Hitchcock and was named Lion of the Year. Along with his sisters and brothers, John established and continued 25 annual family reunions in Santa Fe, Texas, to date.
John is preceded in death by sister, Bonnie Jean Enbey of Galveston; parents, John Warnick and Letha Marie Lynn Enbey of Galveston and later Alta Loma (now Santa Fe); brother, Wallace Enbey and wife, Agnes, of Galveston; brother, Dwight Enbey and wife, Edith, of Galveston; brother-in-law, Vernon Buss of Galveston; sister, Elsie Enbey of Galveston, and nephew, Marvin Enbey of Texas City.
Survivors are loving family, friends, and neighbors, including sister, Genevieve Enbey Ryan of Haltom City, Texas; sister, Helen Enbey Buss of Hot Springs, Ark., and companion of 51 years, Jack Wolf of Hitchcock. John is also survived by many nieces and nephews and their families who all looked to their Uncle Pershing as the family patriarch who provided wise counsel.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, October 1, 2010, at Hayes Funeral Home, 10412 Hwy 6, (409) 925-3501. Graveside services will be at 10 a.m. Saturday October 2, 2010, at Galveston Memorial Park Cemetery.
If desired, gifts can be made to Hitchcock Library, 8005 Barry Ave., Hitchcock, Texas 77563.
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