Army Lieutenant John Angus Holm Jr. was born in Pensacola, Florida on March 19, 1920, the son of John Angus Sr. (1877-1937) and Annie Sorena Peterson (1889-1980). His father was born in Norway and had immigrated to the U.S. in 1899 and was naturalized in 1904. After arriving in America, he turned to the vocation he knew best which was that of a fisherman. By 1918, he had become the secretary and manager of the "Pensacola Fisherman Association" and two years later was the captain of a fishing smack. In 1930, he had given up the life on the seas and was supporting his family as a water meter repairman. John Jr. would graduate early from Pensacola High School in 1936 right behind his sister Helen two years before. Sadly, his father passed away in 1937 while John was working as a clerk for the Citizens & Peoples Bank on South Palafox Street.
Then came the war and John was one of the first group of Pensacolians to enlist on April 17, 1942. He was sent to Camp Blanding, Florida for processing and then to basic training. When completed, he was assigned to an armored unit and soon was promoted to Staff Sergeant. However, his commanding officers saw something in John that bespoke of leadership so in April 1943 he was sent to OCS at Ft. Benning, GA. He was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in July 1943 and assigned to Company "G" of the 184th Infantry Regiment recently attached to the 7th Infantry Division. After fighting on Kwajalein and Leyte, the regiment set sail for Okinawa where they landed on April 1, 1945.
But the high cost of war came to the Holm's doorstep one afternoon when his young sister Hilda was home alone. There was a knock on the door with two uniformed soldiers outside. They handed her a telegram stating that John had been killed in action on April 21, 1945. Decades later, Hilda would write, “It was so hard to believe that he would not be coming home. It was absolutely devastating!” She further wrote that around town, "There were now so many gold stars in windows all over Pensacola, it was very sad.” Now, there would be another "Gold Star" added to yet another Pensacola window! A letter was received from his commanding officer stating, "We were ordered to take Ouki Hill, but the approaches were open and swept by enemy fire. John, although an executive officer, was not required to be at the front, but he gathered his men together and under cover of heavy friendly fire he personally led his inspired men across the open ground, up the steep slope and onto the hill. In the ensuing bitter hand to hand struggle, John was the leader, but a mortar shell landed near him and he died a hero’s death. He died instantly without suffering. He was not disfigured."
John was brought home aboard the US Army Transport USS Sergeant Jack Pendleton on January 22, 1949 and buried in St. John's Cemetery next to his father that February.
As to John's wife Clara Augusta "Gusta" Haywood (1920-2016), she would also receive the dreaded telegram. The couple were married in October 1944 and now the bride of six months was already a widow, a common story in WWII. She would remarry in 1948 to the Reverend Walter Howard Ethington and today lies in peace in the Parkhill Cemetery in Columbus, GA.
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