Missing in Action

Grandma Ethel Hurst Speas

My Grandmother Ethel Hurst Speas valiantly endured the heartache, anguish and worry that only a wife and mother of servicemen could possibly understand, times five. First, she waited for the return of her husband Rector Speas from his tour of duty in World War I. Later, during World War II, three of the Speas sons served in the conflict, as well as her daughter Veda. 

When someone you know and love is connected to the tales in a history book, numbers become faces and statistics are meaningless as you focus on your very own family members, one by one. 

History comes alive when reading this report from The Post Register dated April 23, 1944: "Shelley Officer Missing; Believed German Prisoner". It grips my heart to read of the message that Grandma received March 7th from the United States Intelligence Department. A telegram later confirmed her son Kenneth's status, but it was not published in the newspaper until the following month.

The nights in Woodville were undoubtedly long and sleepless as she awaited further word, stressed about his treatment and the conditions in which he was being held, and prayed for his protection and survival.