Southern Sunday – A Memorial

Thanks for stopping by this Sunday. My favorite post for this week is appropriate for the Memorial Day weekend. It is about my father-in-law, Dr. Joe B. Wharton, Jr., who was a wonderful man who loved the Lord. This is the quote, my husband, Joe B. Wharton III is reminded of when he tells about his father:

May the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. And the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit be amongst you, and remain with you always.

I love the phrase “peace of God, which passeth all understanding.” The peace of God is what gets you through the rough stuff, huh? From May 24th, 2009:

Southern Memorial Day

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This is my first time joining the Blue Monday posts at Smiling Sally’s. Can’t wait to see what everybody is doing this Monday.

In honor of Memorial Day, today, I am posting Navy Blue.

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Specifically U. S. Navy blue.

I want to tell you about my father-in-law, Dr. Joe B. Wharton Jr. Dr. Joe B., as he was known, was a Navy doctor during World War II. He served in the South Pacific. One of our treasures is the letters that he and my mother-in-law, Iola Holt Wharton, exchanged during his service in the South Pacific.

During Dr. Joe B.’s service, John F. Kennedy was injured on PT109. Dr. Joe B. was the doctor who attended him. John F. Kennedy and Dr. Joe B. had become friends before Mr. Kennedy’s injury and continued corresponding for many years after the war.

In 1961 The Saturday Evening Post wrote an article about John F. Kennedy’s adventures during the war. They ran the picture below.

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Below is the full picture.

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That is Dr. Joe B. on the left with John F. Kennedy. The dog had been adopted by JFK and the cat had been adopted by Dr. Joe B. As you can see, they were holding the pet that belonged to the other in the picture. The Saturday Evening Post contacted Dr. Joe B. for permission to use the picture with him in it. At that time, Dr. Wharton had a busy medical practice in El Dorado, Arkansas and never got around to getting back to them with permission to run the picture with him. They cropped him out and ran the picture without him.

There are several letters of correspondence between Dr. Joe B. and JFK during JFK’s presidency. These are archieved at the JFK Presidential Library.

On Memorial Day, we remember. This is just a small story from World War II that I wanted to share with you.

Hope you are all having a wonderful Memorial Day. Don’t forget to take time to honor those who have and continue to keep us safe!

Today’s Lagniappe: Red, White and Blue Salad

* 1 package (3 ounces) berry blue gelatin
* 2 cups boiling water, divided
* 2-1/2 cups cold water, divided
* 1 cup fresh blueberries
* 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
* 1 cup heavy whipping cream
* 6 tablespoons sugar
* 2 cups (16 ounces) sour cream
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 package (3 ounces) raspberry gelatin
* 1 cup fresh raspberries
* Whipped topping and additional berries, optional

Directions:
In a large bowl, dissolve berry blue gelatin in 1 cup boiling water; stir in 1 cup cold water. Add blueberries. Pour into a 3-qt. serving bowl. Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan, sprinkle unflavored gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water; let stand for 1 minute. Add the cream and sugar; cook and stir over low heat until gelatin and sugar are completely dissolved. cool to room temperature. Whisk in sour cream and vanilla. Spoon over the blue layer. Refrigerate until firm.
In a large bowl, dissolve raspberry gelatin in remaining hot water; stir in remaining cold water. Add raspberries. Spoon over cream layer. Chill until set. Garnish with whipped topping and additional berries if desired. Yield: 14-16 servings.

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Join Chari at Happy to Design for Sunday favorites and Charlotte and Ginger at Blogger Spirit for Spiritual Sunday and enjoy your Sunday!


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Comments

10 responses to “Southern Sunday – A Memorial”

  1. Chari Avatar

    Hi Christi…

    What an interesting story about your father-in-law and JFK! I loved getting to see the photo! Well my friend, I hope that you and your family had a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! I’m so sorry that I’m so late in getting by…it’s just been busy! Thank you again for joining in with Sunday Favorites this week!

    Warmest wishes,
    Chari @Happy To Design

  2. Charlotte Avatar

    How interesting. We visited the JFK memorial library in October. It was very interesting. 1960 was the first election I voted in. I voted for Nixon but I liked JFK after he became president.
    Thank you for sharing with us.
    Blessings and Happy Memorial Day.
    Charlotte

  3. Ginger Avatar

    What a wonderful story. Your recipe for today sound so good, and I’m sure it’s pretty.
    God Bless,
    Ginger

  4. Holly Thompson Wilson Avatar
    Holly Thompson Wilson

    Our stars and stripes are flying proudly for just these kinds of wonderful citizens.

  5. Inside the Shrink Avatar

    What a great honor for your father in law to have been so close to JFK and to have this awesome legacy to pass down the generations. Thanks for sharing and for honoring this Memorial Day. God bless.

  6. Renee Avatar

    What a wonderful story for your family….great photo too! Thanks for sharing this with us…

  7. Beth Avatar

    Love the picture and the story behind it! Very cool!

  8. sarah Avatar

    great tribute…and yep…nothing compares to the peace of God

  9. Karl Kelley Avatar
    Karl Kelley

    Hope you don’t mind if I share this with my El Do friends, I really enjoyed it. Jim Robinson & I went to Cotter last summer and I told Jim that Joe B was living up that way, and we got to talking about the Wharton/Smith connection, and he mentioned to me about Dr. Wharton being friends with JFK. Hope my friends enjoy it as much as I.

    Thanks

  10. Whidbey Woman Avatar

    What a wonderful tribute to your father-in-law! God bless all those who have and are serving in our military.

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