An American Unsung: Based On Actual Events In the Life of My Friend, Dayton Edie, American Hero

An American Unsung: Based On Actual Events In the Life of My Friend, Dayton Edie, American Hero

by Harold Ray Finley, Jr.

Edited by Carol Greer

Hoosick Falls, New York

2019

First eBook Edition

Copyright © 2019 by Harold Ray Finley, Jr.

Additional material copyright of named contributors.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

The views expressed are solely those of the authors.

ISBN 978-0-359-68248-5

Library of Congress Control Number 2019931639

This work was designed, produced, and published in the United States of America by the Merriam Press, 489 South Street, Hoosick Falls NY 12090.

Notice

The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to Joseph Michael Littlefield, my first grandchild. He is my parent’s first great grandchild and my four grandparent’s first great-great grandchild. Joseph, I hope you grow up in a world that never needs brave men like Dayton Edie, but I hope you will be such a man should your country ever call.

Foreword

Dayton Edie (say it with a long E, like the ice cream) was my good friend and a bona fide American hero. He seldom spoke of his own combat from fighting in World War II and the Korean War, and on those rare occasions that he did, I listened intently. Although his own actions rarely came up, now and then he would discuss historic events and famous people encountered during his lifetime, and this story is as Dayton told it.

Some of Dayton’s experiences occurred when he was an operative for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and the Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC), covert branches of the U.S. government. Of these, he almost never spoke. The stories you find here about those covert activities are based on vague narratives and hedged comments from Dayton, combined with the results of years of in-depth research. There is not a doubt in my mind he was a member of both organizations during his long career in the U.S. military.

This biography has been a labor of love. Dayton was a true American hero, but he is a hero unsung. Read, and decide for yourself if he doesn’t deserve to be remembered for his courage under fire, his leadership, his strength, and ultimately his kindness, since history has all but forgotten Dayton Edie.

Soldier

I was that which others did not want to be.

I went where others feared to go, and did what others failed to do.

I asked nothing from those who gave nothing, and reluctantly accepted the thought of eternal loneliness---should I fail.

I have seen the face of terror; felt the stinging cold of fear; and enjoyed the sweet taste of a moment’s love.

I have cried, pained, and hoped---but most of all,

I have lived times others would say were best forgotten.

At least someday I will be able to say that I was proud of what I was---

a soldier.

—George L. Skypeck

used with permission of author

All rights reserved

Chapter 1: Beginnings of a Combat Soldier

In late December 1944, American soldiers rushed to the aid of a 19 year old private named Dayton Edie. Dayton’s fellow soldiers were trying to get him out of sight and far away from General George S. Blood and Guts Patton. It was their hope they could keep the young hero from being court-martialed. Their efforts saved a unique military career, which by the time he retired from the U.S. Army had spanned 23 years.

Before his confrontation with Patton, Pfc. Dayton Edie had been nominated for the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions at the Battle of the Bulge. The recommendation for the medal was never sent to the United States Congress for final approval, because it was shredded by General Patton himself. Let me tell you something of my friend, Dayton Edie, prior to his run-in with the great general.

Dayton Edie was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on the 9th of February 1925. Dayton was given no middle name or initial. He was the son of Clarence and Lucille Edie. Lucille bore Dayton with the help of a midwife at a boarding house in Cincinnati. His father, Clarence, was born in Kansas City, Kansas, while his mother was a native of Morehead, Kentucky. Dayton was of Scotch Irish descent, and he inherited some French from a great grandmother. His great grandfather met his French great grandmother on a ship that brought them both to America. The two grandparents met and married on that same ship in 1850.

Clarence Edie had been a coal miner since his youth and had worked in the mines almost 30 years. Clarence was athletic enough to try out for the 1912 U.S. Olympics Swim Team.

A future general named Patton competed in the Pentathlon during the same 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden.

Unfortunately, a mining accident resulted in a horrible fracture to Clarence’s right leg just below the knee. Due to the injury, Dayton’s father was unable to compete in the Olympics, and ever afterwards Clarence Wate Edie experienced great difficulty walking. The accident not only ended his Olympic dreams, it also drove Clarence out of the coal mines forever. To earn money near Pittsburgh and along the Ohio River, Clarence built a houseboat and became a commercial fisherman. From then on Dayton’s father primarily fished for white perch, jack salmon, catfish, paddle fish (which had no bones), carp and eel to support his family.

Clarence Edie and his family stayed on the river and lived in the houseboat, eventually leaving Pittsburgh and traveling to Lawrenceburg, Indiana. From there they traveled down the Ohio River near the Kentucky cities of Foster and Maysville. During this time, the family made money fishing and trapping on the banks of the Ohio River.

Between the ages of five and six, when Dayton was old enough to attend school, his father bought a farm in Carntown, Kentucky. Clarence purchased the 100 acre farm primarily so his son could attend school in Carntown’s one-room schoolhouse. Dayton said it was the same one-room schoolhouse Jackie Robinson had attended in his youth.

Clarence Edie married ten times over the course of his life. Every few years his wife would pack up and leave. Not long after, the previous wife would be replaced by a new one. Even though most of these ex-wives re-married, Clarence managed to remain friends with the ladies who had carried his name.

Lucille Edie, by leaving Clarence had also left Dayton causing a strong bond to forge between father and son. He never fully explained but even if Dayton was out of touch with his mother, at the very least he must have kept tabs on her because he knew the year in which Lucille died.

Carntown was between 40 and 50 miles from Cincinnati, but it was located on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River in Pendleton County. The Edies left the houseboat and moved into a farmhouse on the property Clarence purchased. A later military form has the property with an address of Route 1 Box 89, Pendleton, Kentucky.

A number of step-mothers rotated in and out at the farmhouse. Dayton also lived with a half-sister named Ethel for a short time and later with a cousin named Albert. Albert Edie moved in with Dayton and Clarence after Albert’s father, Clarence’s brother, passed away. Dayton’s cousin Albert lived in the farmhouse until he was drafted into the U.S. Army in early 1941. Dayton and Albert grew up through the Great Depression and experienced the hard side of life as they leaned on one another.

By the time he was seven in 1932, Dayton was regularly hunting with a .22 rifle. He got his first shotgun, a 20 gauge, at nine years old. Eventually, he also acquired a 12 gauge and a 16 gauge shotgun. He kept only the 20 gauge throughout his lifetime. Sometime while he was stationed overseas, all his other weapons were stolen from his father’s house.

Dayton trapped many animals primarily for their pelts, mainly muskrat, mink, raccoon, possum, fox, and weasel. Other animals were hunted for food, such as rabbit, squirrel, quail, and dove. Dayton said even groundhog was edible if fixed properly. (Don’t tell Punxsutawney Phil!) At that time, most deer had been run off or killed. The rabbit and squirrel populations were slim. He said he often had to hunt all day to bag between six and eight small animals, barely enough to keep food on the table.

Dayton also hunted duck, geese, and wild turkey when they were in season. All the hunting and trapping at such an early age turned him into a skilled hunter and an expert shot. He was well-versed with every available weapon, and he made good use of the skills he acquired during the Great Depression on behalf of the United States government many years later.

In 1933 at the heart of the Depression, Dayton was eight and used money he earned from animal skins and pelts to pay for his own clothes.

At least what clothes I had anyway, said Dayton.

Today it is considered quite a feat for an eight year old boy to take care of himself, but Dayton said back then it was just the way things were. An eight year old had to grow up fast if he wanted to survive. He said parents usually bought their children bib overalls that were expected to last a number of years.

Anything else they wanted, they had to earn money to buy.

The male head of household also got the lion’s share of the food during the Depression years. With most of the male population doing physical jobs and food in short supply, the men ate the meat because they needed the protein to complete the tasks required of them. Children usually received only old biscuits and gravy. At the beginning of every meal, Dayton said he made sure to save a piece of bread for later. This bread was used to wipe the plate when they finished eating. With food scarce, he said You always completely cleaned your plate, because leaving anything was considered as bad as sin!

Out one day to check his traps, Dayton got a little more than he expected after coming across a tripped snarl line. The line went down into a hole, and when Dayton pulled on it there was movement which indicated the animal was still alive. It took him only a few seconds to pull the line up out of the hole and realize he was facing the business end of a very angry skunk, which promptly did what skunks do and blasted him!

Dayton received quite a spray. The skunk paid dearly but that didn’t help remove the stench that stubbornly stuck to Dayton for weeks, particularly around his face. This happened when Dayton was in the fourth or fifth grade and attending the one-room schoolhouse in Carntown. The other children wanted Dayton banned from school until the horrible stench dissipated. Instead of being sent home however, the teacher made him sit in the back of class. It took more than two weeks for Dayton to rejoin his friends in his regular seat.