US Navy Ensign Edgar Allen Gregory was born in Laurel, Jones County, Mississippi on February 19, 1910, the son of John Anderson Gregory (1876-1935) and Sarah Melissa Rea (1876-1958). His father was a career employee of the Illinois Central railroad company, first as a railroad agent in Laurel, MS and then as a railroad clerk in Jackson, MS. However, his father was walking down the street in Jackson on August 31, 1935 when he collapsed from a sudden heart attack and died at the age of 59-years-old. Edgar's mother had also worked for the railroad company for 17 years before and after WWI.
In the meantime, it is believed that Edgar enlisted in the US Navy on 2-18-1937 and had reported to NAS Pensacola on 8-5-1938 as a 1st Class Aviation Machinist Mate. The photo below shows Edgar still in his chief's uniform. The muster roll of February 18, 1941 still has him stationed at NAS.
Also, that same year saw his marriage to Zoie E. Marler (1909-1992) in Pensacola on January 17, 1941, the daughter of Samuel Tilden Marler and Belle E. Sutherland. She was born in Destin where her father was a well-known fisherman from Walton County. However, in 1919 he developed typhoid pneumonia following an attack of influenza and died in Destin at the age of 43-years-old. When his daughter turned 19-years-old, she married Stephen B. Smith in Milton on 4-23-1928. They were divorced a year later in 1929 in Pensacola. As the war progressed, Zoie moved to California in 1944 while Edgar was serving in the Pacific Theater.
His new duty station was aboard the USS Ticonderoga that was operating with Task Force 38 as they sailed the South China Sea on various bombing missions. But just after noon on January 21, 1945, a single-engine Japanese aircraft suddenly appeared and scored a hit on the carrier Langley with a glide-bombing attack. Seconds later, a kamikaze swooped out of the clouds and plunged toward the Ticonderoga. The aircraft crashed through the ship's flight deck with its bomb exploding just above the hangar deck. Several stowed aircraft erupted into flames killing several men. Just as quickly three more kamikazes attacked and were all shot down by the antiaircraft gunners. However, a fourth suicide pilot got through and struck the carrier's starboard side near the island. Its bomb exploded with such force that it set more aircraft on fire, riddled her flight deck, and injured or killed another 100 sailors. With great courage, the ship's crew were finally able to bring the fires under control. Afterward, they appointed the Burial Preparation Detail, whose job it was to escort the bodies to the fantail for burial at sea. It took a full week to find all the bodies and another week to bury them. One of those canvas bags contained the remains of Ensign Edgar Allen Gregory. Today, his name is etched on the Manila Military Memorial in the Philippines.
Zoie was notified of his death and the fact there would be no funeral to honor his loss. She set about raising her two children and working to support them. She became a clerk at NAS and worked up to a supervisor position while living in Jackson Heights.
Postscript: According to a Nashville article of 4-14-2004, his son Edgar Allen Gregory Jr., was an old-time carnival operator who befriended celebrities and staged shows on the White House lawn in 1998, 2000, and 2002. However, he and his wife also had numerous legal troubles, including a federal bank-fraud conviction back in 1982. After their release from prison, their prior conviction interfered with doing business in certain states. So, they hired an acquaintance of theirs by the name of Tony Rodham, to lobby for a pardon from his brother-in-law President Bill Clinton. The pardon was granted in 2000 for both he and his wife. Edgar Jr. would pass away at the age of 66-years old most likely from pulmonary disease.
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