The brothers’ wartime reports, Walter’s moves, the birthday gathering and the explicitly undated Pensacola visit.
Morrison newspaper stories
Contemporary notices and later obituaries add details to the family story. The summaries below distinguish what each newspaper reported from facts established by other records.
Three brothers in the Navy, 1945
A 1945 feature names Walter P., Anthony and Delmar J. Morrison as sons of Mr. and Mrs. Mike Morrison of Hamden. It reports Navy entry or enlistment dates of September 29, 1942; August 9, 1943; and December 11, 1944, respectively. Walter’s account includes work in Pensacola’s Central Tower; Anthony’s includes New Hebrides boat repair and later Atlantic-coast tugboat duty; Delmar’s includes Great Lakes training and awaiting orders at Shoemaker, California. These remain newspaper-reported service histories pending comparison with official personnel records. George is not mentioned; that omission does not settle his separately reported later service.
Source: “The Morrison Brothers,” Chariton Courier, April 27, 1945, page 1. The supplied complete page and overlapping screenshots document one feature. Its three portraits are not individually labeled.
Walter’s visit and Navy transfer, 1945
A March 1945 notice describes Walter Morrison as a machinist’s mate second class and reports his transfer from Lambert Field, St. Louis, to Hueneme, California, with a new assignment still ahead. It identifies his parents as Mr. and Mrs. M. J. Morrison of Hamden and his wife’s parents as Mr. and Mrs. Frits Pleyer. The wording does not establish a completed new assignment or an exact arrival date.
Source: “Walter Morrison Here on Visit to Relatives,” Salisbury Press-Spectator, March 30, 1945, page 1. Source screenshot retained in the family research collection; an exact repository link has not been recorded.
A farm purchase and a planned move, 1946
In February 1946, the newspaper reported that Walter Morrison and his wife had recently bought Floyd Waller’s farm south of Salisbury. They were living with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Frits Pleyer, and expected to move to the farm at the beginning of March. The purchase was reported as completed, while the move was still a plan. No deed date or legal land description is supplied, and this notice does not identify the property as a later Highway 24 farm.
Source: “Mr. and Mrs. Walter Morrison Buy Farm,” Salisbury Press-Spectator, February 15, 1946, page 8. Source screenshot retained in the family research collection; an exact repository link has not been recorded.
Walter and Bridget’s birthday celebration, 1948
A March 1948 notice reports a Thursday-night birthday gathering for Walter and Bridget Morrison at Walter and his wife’s home, attended by a named group of guests. It describes two candlelit angel-food cakes. The notice gives neither person’s birth date and does not establish that they shared a birthday; the exact party date and the identity of the house remain unverified.
Source: “Birthdays Celebrated at Morrison Home,” Salisbury Press-Spectator, March 12, 1948, page 1. Source screenshot retained in the family research collection; an exact repository link has not been recorded.
A visit from Pensacola, issue date unknown
An undated Hamden column reports a family dinner hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Mike Morrison and a visit by Walter Morrison, his wife and their young child. A following notice says Walter’s household returned to their home in Pensacola, Florida. This is explicit residential wording, but the issue date, duration of residence and calendar dates of the visit are not established.
Source: Hamden column, Salisbury Press-Spectator, page 4, issue date outside the supplied screenshot. The source image is retained in the family research collection; an exact repository link has not been recorded.