Ernest Ward was born in Wardville, Escambia County, Florida on November 22, 1888, the son of Henry Harrison "Wardie" Ward (1860-1916) and Lillian Josephine "Phennie" Kelley (1872-1927). His grandfather was none other than Private Celestine (Teen) Josiah Ward (1829-1891) of the 15th Confederate Cavalry Regiment. Celestine was a hard man even for the tumultuous times he was born into. Known to his family as "Teen," his exploits during the Civil War earned him the moniker of "Mean Teen!" After the war, Teen was forced to quickly move from the Crestview area sometime after 1871 to escape an alleged murder warrant for a man he killed in Walton County (family legend).
By this time, Teen's wife Catherine (Baker) had died, and he was raising his children by himself. When he decided to run from the law, he had no choice but to leave his six-year-old son, Henry Harrison “Wardie” Ward, with his wife’s brother and family. Young Henry would grow up in Walnut Hill in Escambia County where he would marry and raise a family of his own. To support his family he spent his entire life as a farmer as his ancestors before him.
As for Ernest (also spelled Earnest) he would graduate from high school in Atmore, Alabama and went on to obtain his college education in Kentucky. He eventually went to work for the Southern States Lumber Company operating in and around Atmore and northern Escambia County, Florida. He even assisted in erecting a modern one-room school building in Walnut Hill, Florida for the children of the company workers. In 1917, the county decided to consolidate all the schools in the area into just one building, which would decrease the community’s transportation problems. To this end, Earnest tirelessly dedicated his energies to accomplish this goal.
But, before he could finish the task, America was thrown into the chaos of World War I. Ernest answered his nations call to arms by enlisting in the U.S. Navy in June 1918. At the time of his enlistment he stated that he "wanted to get into the fight." Luckily, or so he thought at the time, he was stationed locally at NAS Pensacola during his tenure with the military. However, by March 1918 the American military became stricken with the Spanish Influenza epidemic. Soldiers, sailors, and civilians alike were dying everywhere from the horrible virus. Sadly, as the American military was shipped to Europe to fight they took the disease with them. Overall, over 700,000 Americans would perish before the disease finally burned itself out with a world-wide death toll of up to 50 million.
But the men of NAS were no different than those overseas, as one by one they too began to succumb as well. On October 6, 1918, one month before the armistice ending hostilities was signed, Ernest contracted the virus and passed away. Most death certificates at the time listed the cause of death as "pneumonia," but everyone knew what had stolen their loved ones. Notified of his death, the Ward family in Walnut Hill waited anxiously for their son’s body to be shipped home by train to the Pine Barren depot. But when it arrived, his family and fiancé Miss Bessie Parrish opened the casket and discovered the body of a red headed sailor with a full red beard. They had no choice but to delay the funeral until the bodies were located and exchanged so that their son could finally be brought home. Shortly after his burial, his mother was given the “Carnegie Hero Medal” earned by her son in 1915 for an act of courage he was involved in at the time. He earned the medal while visiting Shelbyville, Tennessee and saving two young men from drowning while on a social outing. Ernest Ward High School was named in the young man’s honor and on June 4, 1970, his brother Horace Ward presented a portrait of Ernest to be hung in the front hall of the school.
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