Presentation on Alabama's first WWII casualty to highlight Memorial Day program

The Gadsden-Etowah Patriots Association's annual Memorial Day program will feature something different and special this year, in addition to the traditional tributes to those who made the ultimate sacrifice while defending the United States.

Instead of a guest speaker, there will be a presentation by Craig Scott, director of the Gadsden Public Library, portraying George Frank Towers, who is considered to be Alabama's first fatal casualty of World War II, even though he died more than a month before the U.S. officially entered the conflict.

Towers was born in Leesburg and grew up in Boaz, according to the North Alabama/Middle Tennessee/Northwest Georgia/Northeast Mississippi Facebook page that relates stories about veterans. He served one stint in the U.S. Navy, then became a Gadsden police officer for a while before rejoining the Navy as World War II began to unfold in Europe.

Towers was a chief gunner's mate on the USS Reuben James, a post-World War I destroyer that had been assigned to the Neutrality Patrol, in which U.S. ships escorted convoy ships bound for Great Britain to the coast of Iceland, where the escort was picked up by British vessels.

On Oct. 31, 1941, the destroyer was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine west of Iceland, killing 115 of the 160 people on board (according to National Archives records).

The incident was later memorialized in a song by folk singer and songwriter Woody Guthrie.

Towers was one of those who died, but his tale goes beyond that fact, according to Joyce Shelley, chairperson of the Patriots Association.

“He was safely off his ship, but some men were left on it,” Shelley said. “He went back to get them and got them out, but he didn't make it.”

Towers also reportedly was able to provide a flare gun to a Navy firefighter to signal for help from a lifeboat. That firefighter later connected with his family in Gadsden.

After the details came to light, Towers was last year inducted into the Patriots Association's Hall of Honor. Shelley said moving forward the group plans to follow up on similar interesting stories.

She said the planned presentation has the potential to make this program “one of the best we've ever done.”

The event will begin, as usual, at 10 a.m. on May 27 at Col. Ola Lee Mize Patriots Park adjacent to NoccalulaFalls Park.

Gadsden City High School's Junior ROTC unit will be on hand to present and retire the colors, there will be a wreath placement and a rifle salute by the Etowah County Sheriff's Honor Guard, the national anthem and taps, and a bagpipe rendition of “Amazing Grace.”

The event will move inside at the Kiwanis Pavilion at Noccalula Falls Park if it rains.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Gadsden's Memorial Day program to honor Alabama World War II hero