On February 21, 2024, Jimmy Crockett, son of Max Crockett, was the Storyteller for the Huntingdon TN Historical Society. Jimmy Crockett gave a presentation on his father, Max Crockett.
Max Crockett was born on August 20, 1922 in Wildersville, Tennessee. He graduated from Huntingdon High School in 1940, where he was a three sport athlete. In January of 1943, Max Crockett left Huntingdon and began military training at Camp Oglethorpe, near Macon, Georgia. He also received military training at Camp McCoy in Wisconsin. In October of 1943, he left the United States and traveled overseas to Belfast, Ireland.
In his service to the US military during WWII, he served in various locations in Europe, including England, Wales, France, Belgium, Germany, and Czechoslovakia. He served during the Normandy Invasion on June 6, 1944 and was in the second wave that landed on Normandy. Max Crockett was also present and serving at the Battle of the Bulge, where his squadron met up with a German squadron. Max Crockett received the Purple Heart for his bravery during the Battle of the Bulge.
On August 24, 1944, Max Crockett was awarded the Bronze Star for gallantry for his service in France. Max Crockett served in WWII from October of 1943 until the end of the war in 1945. By the end of the war, he was a Staff Sergeant.
Following service in WWII, Max Crockett worked for the United States Postal Service and retired in 1979. He died on February 21, 2016.
Tennessee is known as the Volunteer State. In WWII, there were three military camps in Tennessee that trained troops. They were Camp Forrest, Fort Campbell, and Fort Tyson. There were also several small air bases that trained pilots. In WWII 315,501 Tennesseans served in the military. 5,731 servicemen lost their lives.
Above is a crowd saying goodbye to troops at Union Station, Nashville.
Above is a WWII Victory Parade in 1945 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Besides information received from Jimmy Crockett during his presentation, this article also has information/pictures from the Tennessee State Library and Archives.
The History of Carroll County, Tennessee 