One Family's Story…
And continues with...
Love Separated in Life...Love Reunited in Honor Film Trailer
Background:
Updates to Original Post:
The sacrifices of Veterans go beyond the days of recognition such as Veterans Day. Their service is a continuum that benefits their countries and impacts their families.
Related Stories:
Sp5
Wyley Wright Jr.'s Service Unit-114th Aviation Company, "First to
Arrive & Last to Leave Vietnam" Holds Reunion August 27-30,
2015-Media Advisory.-CLICK LINK
"SISTER TO SISTER" INTERVIEW ON KPOO 89.5 FM SAN FRANCISCO JULY 28 RECOUNTS VIETNAM VISIT CLICK LINK!
BACKGROUND-AFTER 50 YEARS FAMILY MOVES FALLEN VIETNAM HERO TO ARLINGTON-"WHAT GOD HAS JOINED TOGETHER" -CLICK LINK
From Arlington to Vietnam-"Crossroads"-Magazine of the Marines Memorial Association- Spring 2016-CLICK LINK
Original Post March 14, 2014The four children of Sp5 Wyley and Ouida Wright had their parents bodies exhumed from cemeteries in two different states and reunited for reburial in Arlington National Cemetery, March 10, 2014, the day after their 50th and 44th Anniversaries of passing into eternity. The story began in a segregated cemetery July 4th weekend 2012 when the Wright children found their father's gravesite in a segregated cemetery was not indicative of the sacrifice he gave dying for his country in a foreign land, Viet Nam, March 9, 1964.
50 years After Sp5 Wyley Wright's Death in Viet Nam and 44 years After Ouida Wright's Death, They Are Joined Together for Burial at Arlington National Cemetery,
March 10, 2014.
March 10, 2014.
Media Reports
Background Story by Phil Scoggins WRBL TV Columbus Georgia
http://www.wrbl.com/story/
Media Reports:
Viet Nam War Hero Sp5 Wyley Wright Exhumation from Segregated Cemetery
3/3/2014
WJXT TV 4 Report by Ashley Mitchem
Florida Times Union Report by Clifford Davis
Sp5 Wyley Wright’s Wife, Ouida Fay McLendon Wright Exhumation, Columbus, GA
3/4/2014
Report by Phil Scoggins
WTVM Report
WTVM
Wyley
Wright Jr. & Ouida Fay Wright
(December 7, 1931-March 9, 1964) (January 10, 1935-March 9, 1970)
Prayer for Families of Fallen Heroes
“I pray that our Heavenly
Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the
cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be
yours, to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom.” Abraham Lincoln,
November 1864
Sp5 Wyley Wright Jr., an only child, born December 7, 1931 in Whitehouse, Florida, a
district of Jacksonville Florida to Wiley Wright Sr. and Azalea Bradley Wright,
was a favorite son among family and friends, of whom, Nora Johnson Henderson,
his grandmother who raised him often said, “We thought Junior was a piece of
Jesus!” Throughout his life and career
the special personality of Wright was confirmed. A generous heart who “always cast bread on
the water,” he always looked for ways he could help others as he strived for
better in life for himself and his family including the joint purchase of 4817
Walcott Avenue in Jacksonville, Florida with his family for his mother and
grandmother. The home was built in the Floradale District of north Jacksonville, one of the first subdivisions built for Blacks. The home was near his cousin George Bradley (one of the first, if not the first Black police officers for the City of Jacksonville) and his wife Cora's home. Wright also assisted in raising finances to build Allen Temple A.M.E. Church in
Phenix City, Alabama, where his name remained on the cornerstone for years.
Wright was ten years old when
Pearl Harbor hit in 1941 and six years later, underage, he joined the United
States Army where he completed his high school education that had started at
St. Pious Catholic School in Jacksonville.
From a laundry man in the Korean War where he received a Purple Heart
commendation to medevac to helicopter crew chief, Wright’s talents and desire
to learn and improve himself were always evident. He was an artist, an award-winning athlete
playing basketball in the Army extracurricular games, swimmer, golfer, bowler
and hunter as seasons changed. Wright
was a renaissance man always creating, including making his own audio systems, photography
and developing his own photographs, cooking multicultural dishes, and repairing
appliances for family and friends.
It was media that brought
Wright to the love of his life after the Korean War. A fellow shipmate, Cecil Gwen returning from war across the Pacific
Ocean dropped a photo of “Miss Frederick Douglass,” Ouida Fay McLendon and
Wright picked it up asking for an introduction upon their arrival at Fort
Benning, GA and vowing in his heart that he would marry her.
January 17, 1953, Wright and
McLendon were married at the Russell County Courthouse in Phenix City, Alabama. To their union were born, Jackquelyn
(Jackie), Joe Nathan, Stanley and Phyllis, who were 10 years old, 8 years old, 5 years old and six months old at the time of Wright’s death. On March 9, 1964 at age 32, just weeks before
returning home having completed a year of commendable service in Viet Nam
receiving a Purple Heart and Air Medal, Wright died along with 20 year-old PFC
John Francis Shea of Willimantic, CT. on an added mission as honor guard for
Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara.
Wright never experienced the first embrace of his daughter, Phyllis and
would never again embrace his wife, sons and eldest daughter in this life.
Ouida Fay McLendon Wright, born January 10, 1935, was the third of eight
children born to Willie Fred McLendon and Willie Bell Williams McLendon in
Ozark, Alabama. Ouida (We’dah) Fay,
affectionately called “Fay” by family and friends, attended Mother Mary Mission
High School in Phenix City, where they lived, after the family left the family farm
in Ozark for her father and brothers to get better work nearby at the Columbus
Mills across the Chattahoochee River in Columbus, Georgia.
“Fay” who was known for her
great cooking and good taste for interior design, traveled with her husband to
Germany, New Mexico and his last station Fort Knox, Kentucky. The Wright home was always filled with
friends who became family due to Wright’s outgoing gregariousness personality
and “Fay’s” great banana pudding and other southern cooking favorites. “Fay” was known for taking the wild taste out
of the venison, especially the deer her husband bagged, making it a culinary delight,
something she learned no doubt from her years on the farm in Alabama.
After Wright’s death,
although with a broken heart, “Fay” went about the business of the plans she
and her husband had spoken about in Fort Knox before his departure to serve his
country and “bring democracy and the American way to the Vietnamese.” With his death the long term plan of their
moving to Jacksonville, Florida where he would build her a split-level home and
open up his own business as an aviation mechanic were gone. So she began “plan u,” unbelievable-unbelievable
that he’d died and their young lives were shattered. With faith in God, the building of a house
for herself and the kids with the Metropolitan Life Insurance proceeds as they had discussed at Fort
Knox, had to go forward. At a time when
women were not well respected and with many other cultural challenges, “Fay”
had a home built of Tennessee stone, a glittering alabaster design that shown
like diamonds in the sun in Cedar Hills subdivision of Columbus, Georgia. “Fay” went against conventional wisdom of the
day overlooking big majority contractors.
She chose Ed Stovall, one of a handful of Black contractors in the
nation, to build the home. The design
for the home came from William Tolliver, a Black, apprentice at an architectural firm
in Chicago. Ed Stovall was also the contractor
for the M.L. Harris United Methodist Church up the street from the Wright home
at Cusseta Road and Bedford Avenue and Battle and Battle Funeral Home on Seale
Road in Phenix City Alabama, both also made of Tennessee stone.
“Fay” often spoke to her
children of the purpose of their new home having moved from 208 C Frederick
Douglass Apartments in Phenix City, Alabama to 1103 Bedford Avenue, Columbus,
Georgia, “This home is not just for us.
It is for other family members as well that may need a place to stay
from time to time. We are blessed to be a blessing.” Ultimately, through the help of cousins,
Katie and Robert Morris, the corner lot property at Bedford Avenue and Dawn
Court, now owned by the Morris’ was turned into a convalescent home for the
elderly in alignment with the spirit of “Wright” (Fay’s term of endearment for
her husband) and “Fay” who always looked for ways to help others around them. Fay died March 9, 1970 at the age of 35 from
pancreatic cancer. Even with the responsibility of her on home, through out her life "Fay," "Sweet Fay," as she was often called, continued Wyley's family duty of paying the mortgage on 4817 Walcott Avenue. Caring and helping family and friends were the hallmarks of "Fay's" and "Wright's" lives.
Wyley and Ouida Wright outside the Wildflecken Army Base NCO Club,
near Wertheim, Germany circa 1958
near Wertheim, Germany circa 1958
Sp5 Wyley Wright Jr.
114th
Aviation Company, “Knights of the Air”
& Ouida F. McLendon Wright, “The Wife of
His Youth,”
Obsequies
March 10, 2014
The Church at Clarendon, 12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m.
Arlington National Cemetery, 3:00 p.m.
Arlington, Virginia
Program
Song of Welcome
“Holy Spirit You Are Welcome In this Place”
Phyllis Cameron
& Jackie Wright
Greetings &
Welcome Reverend
Dr. Jim Johnson, Pastor,
The Church at Clarendon
Opening Prayer
Song “Blessed
Assurance” (Ouida Wright often heard singing around the home)
Scripture John 11:25; Ecclesiastes 3:11
Sermon Reverend
Joe Nathan Wright
Song “This
is My Father’s World” (Learned at Fort Knox, Kentucky-Sp5 Wright’s last U.S.
base)
Presentation Grandchild
& Great Grandchildren:
Cole-Prayer
Carter-Psalm 100 & John 3:16
Calah- Praise Dance-“Any Crown”
Jessica Faye-Creative
Writing & Song Amazing Grace
Reflections Friends
and Family: Linda G. McLendon Smith,
Phyllis Wright Cameron, Stanley Wright, Joe N. Wright,
Jackie Wright & George Moll
Phyllis Wright Cameron, Stanley Wright, Joe N. Wright,
Jackie Wright & George Moll
Scripture I Thessalonians 4:13-15
I Corinthians 15:51-58
Closing Prayer Reverend
Jim Johnson
Program Music Mrs.
Jim Johnson, Pianist
Family & Friends Gather at Arlington National Cemetery Administration Building for Briefing Prior to Sp5 Wyley Wright and Ouida Fay Wright Burial.
Celebrating Their Lives:
Children:
Jackie Wright , Joe Wright, wife Brenda Tibbs Wright, Stanley Wright, wife Viola Barnes Wright, Phyllis Wright Cameron, husband, Woodrow
Cameron and a host of relatives and friends.
The Wrights salute family members who also
served in the military:
Son: Joe
Nathan Wright (U.S. Army-Korea); Son-in-Law:
Woodrow Cameron (U.S. Army) Former
Son-In-Law: Ira Smith Chiles (U.S. Army) Grandson: Damon Chase Wright (U.S. Navy); Brother-In-Law: Alex Zack
McLendon (U.S. Army-Germany), John Wyley Mclendon, Sr. (U.S. Army-Viet Nam); Niece: Demisha Renee Smith Milton (U.S.
Navy) Nephews: Demetrius McClendon (U.S.
Marines), John Wyley McLendon, Jr. (U.S. Army-Afghanistan), Dexter McLendon
(U.S. Army-Iraq, Afghanistan) O’Shawn McClendon (U.S. Marines-Afghanistan), Mack
Fitzgerald McClendon (U.S. Army) Cousins:
Robert Morris Sr. (U.S. Army-Vietnam), Robert Morris Jr. (U.S. Army-Vietnam), Hildrege Stuckey (U.S. Air Force) In-Laws: Romie L. Barnes, (U.S. Army-Germany),
Bruce Tibbs, (U.S. Army-Germany), Brian Tibbs, (U.S. Air Force), Tijuana Milton
(U.S. Navy-Afghanistan).
Family & Friends View Arlington Honor Guard Including George & Diana Moll (standing-3rd & 2nd from right). George served with Sp5 Wright at the age of 19 and came to the burial with a two week notice, after 50 years of having no information about Sp5 Wright.
"Everyone wanted to ride in Wyley's helicopter because he kept it so well maintained. He was a hard worker and a perfectionist," said Moll of his fallen comrade.
(First Row: Jackie Wright, Gail McLendon Smith-the only sister of "Fay" who was 11 years old and 17 years old at the time of "Wright" and "Fay's" respective deaths-Phyllis Cameron with 8 year old daughter and Jackie's grandson standing by. Second Row: Jackie's daughter, Tiffanie and Phyllis' husband Woodrow Cameron)
Prayer for Families of Fallen Heroes
“I pray that our Heavenly
Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement, and leave you only the
cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be
yours, to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom.” Abraham Lincoln,
November 1864
Acknowledgements
The children of Sp5 Wyley
Wright Jr. and Ouida Fay McLendon Wright express their deep heartfelt thanks
for your presence at the Memorial Commemoration of the 50th and 44th
Anniversaries of their parents’ passage into eternity. Through faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ, with the help of friends and family, we stand to see this basic command
of God “Honor Thy Father and Thy Mother,” fulfilled. “To God Be the Glory,” for without Him we can
do nothing! Thanks to all who are
present here and those present in spirit.
God bless you with His best always!
Special Thanks
George Moll & Diana Moll of Houston,
Texas
Ginger Shannon Young of Lynchburg,
Virginia
Laurie Shannon McDaniel
Edsel Guydon, Martin & Gitner, PLLC
KellyArmstrong, Armstrong Media Services
Gina Snow, GSA Communications
KellyArmstrong, Armstrong Media Services
Gina Snow, GSA Communications
Kali O’Ray, San Francisco
Reverend Dr. and Mrs. Jim Johnson, The Church
at Clarendon, Arlington, Virginia
Chaplain Theodore F. Randall, Trina Mitchell & Arlington
National Cemetery
114th Aviation Company
Ronald Breaker, Photographer, Jacksonville, Florida
Drew Tyner, Photographer, Columbus, Georgia
Richard Campbell, Videographer, Columbus, Georgia
Ray Caling & Andre Ray Thompson, Arlington, VA
Ronald Breaker, Photographer, Jacksonville, Florida
Drew Tyner, Photographer, Columbus, Georgia
Richard Campbell, Videographer, Columbus, Georgia
Ray Caling & Andre Ray Thompson, Arlington, VA
Carthage Chapel Funeral Home,
Jacksonville, Florida
Wilbert Vault Inc., Jacksonville, Florida
Greene Funeral Home, Alexandria,
Virginia
Taylor Funeral Home, Phenix City, Alabama
Sconiers Funeral Home, Columbus, Georgia
Green
Acres Cemetery, Columbus, Georgia
Florida Times Union, Jacksonville, FL
KGO Radio Station, San Francisco
WJXT Television Station, Jacksonville, FL
WRBL Television Station, Columbus, GA
WTVM Television Station, Columbus, GA
WLTZ Television Station, Columbus, GA
Florida Times Union, Jacksonville, FL
KGO Radio Station, San Francisco
WJXT Television Station, Jacksonville, FL
WRBL Television Station, Columbus, GA
WTVM Television Station, Columbus, GA
WLTZ Television Station, Columbus, GA
Grand Son-In-Law Carlos Mitchell (l) and Son-In-Law Woodrow Cameron (r) hold tribute presented by Greene Funeral Home of Alexandria, VA, while great grandson stands in front of the tapestry that reads "Family ,Where life begins…and Love never ends." Reception was held at Penthouse Executive Suite of the Residence Inn Marriott, Arlington, VA following services at Arlington National Cemetery.
Arlington Photos Courtesy
Andre Ray Thompson & Ray Caling of
Andre Ray Thompson & Ray Caling of
Related Information
