Henry Grady Stanley is interred in the Restland Memorial Park, Dallas, Texas
Born: June 12, 1920 in Milan, Georgia
Died: January 2, 2016 in Rockwall, Texas
Henry Grady Stanley, who survived Bataan Death March and Garland tornado, dies at 95
Henry Grady Stanley survived the Bataan Death March, 3 1/2 years as a World War II POW and the Dec. 26 Garland tornadoes.
During the storm, Stanley, his wife and oldest son huddled in a tile shower stall at the family home of 43 years on Zion Road. The trio emerged, physically unhurt but unable to leave the immediate area. They spent the night in the couple’s car, in what was left of their garage.
On Dec. 27, the Stanleys were rescued by friends who are Mesquite firefighters.
For the next week, the couple lived in the Best Western in Rowlett. Twice before dawn on Saturday, Stanley, 95, awoke with difficulty breathing. Help was summoned, but he died at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Rockwall.
A memorial will be at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at First United Methodist Church of Rockwall where he was a member.
“He was disheartened,” said his wife, Jo Ann Stanley. “He was sad after the tornado, but physically I thought he was going to make it OK. It made him sad that he lost everything.”
Stanley was born in Milan, Ga., and was 3 months old when his father died of typhoid fever. He graduated from high school and joined the Civilian Conservation Corps, a public relief program. He enlisted in the Army on March 15, 1941.
“That $21 a month looked pretty good,” he recalled in 1966.
Stanley was among the approximately 75,000 American and Filipino troops who surrendered to Japan on April 2, 1942. He was 21. The prisoners were forced to march under brutal conditions 65 miles to prison camps.
He credited his POW survival to his hardscrabble early life. Soldiers from the city didn’t seem to hold up as well, he said.
Of the 181 men in his company, about 10 died in combat and 55 died during the march. An estimated 40 percent of all the POWs died in the Japanese camps.
Stanley, battling malaria at the time, recalled few details of the march. He had a postwar weight of 155 pounds but weighed 75 pounds when he was liberated from the POW camp.
Stanley was a staff sergeant at the end of his service. He returned to Georgia but frequently visited a brother in Dallas, where he eventually settled.
He worked for the Pinkerton Detective Agency and drove a taxi before joining the Postal Service, where he was a letter carrier in Dallas for about 30 years, his wife said. He retired in 1974.
Mrs. Stanley was married to him for 25 years before she learned the details of his POW experience. A University of North Texas professor who called to ask Stanley about his wartime service brought up the subject.
“When that man talked to him, it sort of opened him up,” she said. Stanley started sharing his story with schools, churches and civic groups.
Despite the harsh conditions of his captivity, he “was pretty healthy,” his wife said.
Although the storm destroyed most of the Stanley home, his World War II diary — including telegrams that his mother sent him and a paper signed by President Harry Truman — survived, damaged but reparable.
Stanley had been a member of Casa Linda United Methodist Church and St. Phillips United Methodist Church for 25 years each before joining the Rockwall congregation.
In addition to his wife, Stanley is survived by three sons, Steve Stanley of Garland, Gary Stanley of Rockwall and Daryl Stanley of Dallas; a daughter, Cynthia Pate of Tyler; five grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.
Some information was edited for content. Link provides full text.
Source: Dallas News
Veterans Tribute Garden
Located on the grounds of the Senior Activity Center, the Veterans Tribute Garden is an enduring place of respect that pays tribute to the commitment and patriotism of past, present, and future members of the armed forces.
The Veterans Tribute Garden was dedicated in November 2005 and funded by the City of Garland and donations. The garden area consists of a brick walk, “Patriot’s Path”, comprised of engraved bricks, military branch monuments, seating areas for rest and contemplation, and beautiful landscaping.
Source: Garland Parks & Recreation
