Army Private Britton "Britt" (nmn) Gainey was born in Mossy Head, Florida on April 9, 1926, the son of John Hudson Gainey (1891-1968) and Lee Ann Jordan (1888-1975). His father worked in a variety of jobs to support his family including the turpentine business, road building, and finally retired as a carpenter. During Britt's lifetime, the family resided for the most part in East Bay in Santa Rosa County. By 1930, his parents owned their own home valued at $300 but without a radio. The 1930 census required to know if each family had a radio to better prepare for the new "mass communication" world of the future. Regardless, the Gainey's did not own one.
The Gainey patriarch was Angus Mack Gainey (1839-1920), which was Britt's grandfather. Angus enlisted in the Confederate Army in October 1862 in Company "B," Howell Cobb Guards, Georgia Infantry who was attached to the 22nd BN of Heavy Artillery. Before their surrender on June 15, 1865, he would have participated in the most horrendous battles ever fought on American soil. Battles such as Seven Days, Malvern Hill, Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Petersburg, Cold Harbor, Saylor's Creek and finally Appomattox. As far as the bloodbaths went, you couldn't find one worse than these during the Civil War.
Then it became Britt's turn in WWII, so he enlisted in the Army on September 20, 1944 and was sent to Camp Blanding, Florida for processing. Following basic training he was sent overseas and was assigned as a replacement in Company "C" of the 328th Infantry Regiment, 16th Battalion with Patton's 3rd Army. Having only enlisted in September, it is doubtful that he arrived in Europe until after the Battle of the Bulge that December.
Most likely he arrived around February 1945 about the time the regiment was fighting around Saarlautern. Receiving a short respite, the regiment resumed their advance on March 13th by capturing six more towns. On March 25th they moved to Oppenhem and crossed the Rhine River. The next day they were attached to the 4th Armored Division and established a defensive line along the Main River. It was here that Britt was killed in action near Hanau, Germany. The usual telegram went out to his family, now living in Mary Esther while Britt was being buried in a temporary cemetery. He would leave behind his parents and his sisters Ada Mae Stewart (1914-1983) of Milton and Mrs. Delia May Broxton (1916-1982) of Pensacola. Also his brother William Y. (1921-1997), a corporal in the US Army. As for Britt, he was shipped home after the war and buried in 1949 in the Clopton Cemetery in Pensacola off Davis Highway.
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