04.) Sulfur Island

Interview with William Langston's niece, a search of his military files, and the FBI report on Marion Langston.

Episode Transcript

(00:09):
Welcome back to the fourth episode ofThe Phantom Marine. This is christ Rose,
host of The Phantom Marine podcast andauthor of The Fighting Bunch. Since
I began my search for the PhantomMarine, I've been trying to get in
touch with members of the Langston family. We heard from Willard Owen last week,
the nephew of William Langston. Hedidn't know whether any of his cousins

(00:31):
were still alive, and he didn'thave a good recollection of his uncle Marian,
the prime suspect, and the possibleimpersonation of William Langston. So I
kept searching. I came across anotherlead through find a Grave. I found
the entry for Florence Griffin, William'ssister, but it doesn't mention any children.

(00:52):
It does have a link, however, to the grave of her first
husband, Charles Griffin, who isalso a debt end as far as children
are concerned. I contacted the finede grave user who uploaded his entry to
see whether they were a family member. No, she said, but her
boss was Charles Griffin's daughter. Sheput us in touch. Let's hear from

(01:15):
Naomi, who started by telling meabout her mother and father's search for William
Langston in Newport. Yes, Iinvestigated the deciding pretty thoroughly. My mother
and her brother were close, youknow. The family was disjointed at some
point when my grandmother and grandpa divorced. The kids dispersed, you know,

(01:41):
in different different places. And it'smy understanding that mom and uncle Willard were
pretty close at that point and triedto keep the family together. It's my
understanding that Grandma did some bootlegging totry to make a living. You know,
back then, women didn't work andthey depended on their husbands to keep

(02:02):
the family going and provide income forthe family. And of course when my
grandpa left, that left her withchildren that she didn't have an income to
feed, and she bootlegged. Andit's my understanding that she got caught and
was prosecuted, and when the familydispersed, it is when she went to

(02:23):
jail. My mother went with myaunt Elsie, who was the oldest of
the children. She was already marriedand lived in and around Sulfi Rock.
My uncle Clarence, who was herhusband, had lots of family around Sulfa

(02:44):
Rock and they stayed there for aperiod of time and then my mother married
and I and Elsie and Uncle Clarencemoved to Michigan to make a living in
the auto industry. So that's howall of that came about. Later on,
Uncle Willard of course went to theservice. I think he moved to
Michigan as well. After all thathappened, and the other children stayed in

(03:09):
Arkansas. Another uncle went to CCCcamp and then subsequently went to Seattle and
stayed there. Just a very tragic, in my opinion, tragic ending to
a family. I asked Naomi aboutthe speculation that her uncle Marian could have

(03:29):
been the person who appeared in Newportclaiming to be William Langston Uncle Marin.
I remember mother and grandmother talking aboutUncle Marion going to CCC camp and then
they never saw him again. Iremember mother telling that the last time that
she heard from Uncle Marion he askedto borrow some money and they never heard.

(03:52):
They gave him the money and thenthey never heard from him again.
Fifty years later, when my motherwas in the hospital, we got a
phone call that someone was looking formy mother, and it was it was
Uncle Maron and his lady friend Uh. They had come from Seattle looking for
family after fifty years, and theymet while mother was in the hospital and

(04:15):
kept in touch until my mother's passedaway. I don't believe that it was
Uncle Maron because he was not hurt. He had his full you know,
his legs were intact, his bodywas intact. He he looked just like
my mother. There was no doubtthat that was my uncle. Um new

(04:41):
things about the family when you know, they talked about things in the family,
and I don't believe that that wasI don't believe that that was Uncle
Maren that showed up. But Idon't. I don't believe myself that it
was. There was no evidence.You know, I've seen Uncle Maron in
short his legs were intact, therewas no hand damage. I just don't.

(05:04):
I don't believe seeing him in person. I do not believe that that
was that that was him that showedup. I believe I believe my mother
believed and my grandmother believed that theirbrother and son was not killed in the
war, that he did show upin Newport and around Newport area. The

(05:24):
look of pain in their faces whenthey spoke about that was very evident that
he did not come back, andespecially my grandmother that was her son and
not knowing what happened to him,having doubts in her mind as to what
actually happened to him, and wasvery painful, very painful, and and

(05:46):
I think knowing that she drove thefamily away by her actions of trying to
keep them together was also very painful. Never you know, had a lot
of regrets, I think, umlots of tears when she talked about it.

(06:06):
Even after that many years ago,she would look at the newspaper articles,
took them out pretty regularly, andwould reminisce about, you know,
things that happened back then, hishis appearance, his disappearance, him never
contacting her again, wondering if hehad died in a hospital somewhere. A

(06:30):
lot of a lot of pain,a lot of regret for my grandmother.
Tell me about the first time thatthey told you about this, this reappearance,
your your mom or your grandma.Well, I as a child,
as a nosy child, which Iwas, Grandma kept these Grandma kept these

(06:56):
articles in an old cigar box,UM, lots of lots of articles.
And I just happened to find thiscigar box and started looking through the articles
and asking questions. I was probablyeight or ten something like that. Mom

(07:18):
Grandma was not at home at thetime, and we lived with Grandma there
in Jonesborough on Ala Street. AndMom started telling me about the incident,
how that she and Dad had goneto Newport and around to try to find

(07:39):
out and interview people and talk topeople, and as I indicated, she
was convinced that her brother had shoneup and that he had not died in
the war, but did not knowwhat happened to him after after his appearance
there in Newport. Later some yearslater, I don't remember exactly how much

(08:01):
later, but some years later Grandmatoo got the articles out and explained to
me what what had happened and why, you know, she felt like that
Uncle Willard had shown up, andwhy he did not She felt like he
did not contact the rest of thefamily because they had moved on with their

(08:22):
lives, and especially his wife Linda. That's really uh, you know.
And and when ain't Elsie and ain'tB would come from ain't B lived in
Chicago, and she and an't Elsiewould get together and come every summer,
and hearing them talk and hearing themreminisce about the incident on certain occasions,

(08:45):
as I said, you could seea lot of pain in all of their
faces, and regret that he didnot contact some of them and try to
get there, you know, enlisttheir help. In some way, felt
like that he wanted to move onfrom his life, that everybody else had

(09:05):
moved on from moved on with theirlives. Did they ever, you know,
speculate did they think that he wasstill alive somewhere as the years went
on. Did they think that perhapsdied in a hospital, or did they
just not know? That's the onlything that grandma ever said was she thought
he had probably died in a hospitalsomewhere, because I remember her distinctly saying

(09:28):
if he was that hurt, thathe probably died in a hospital somewhere.
She never indicated that, you know, she thought he had lived and married
and had children or anything of thatnature. It was very it was very
mysterious. They just didn't know.They just didn't know. Pure speculation is

(09:48):
all that all that they could doat that point. Do you remember your
mother, maybe your father sharing oppressionswith you about their investigation in Newport,
or for your grandma or grandpa talkingto you about, you know, what
happened when they went to do Porttrying to invest again. Well, my

(10:09):
grandpa, my dad died when Iwas five, so we never we never
spoke of that only and I nevermet my grandpa um, so only Grandmama
and Mom were the only two thatI ever spoke to about it. Now,
I did, as I indicated,ain't Elsie and ain't b would come

(10:31):
in the summers, and and Idid hear conversations back and forth about about
it. Not not long conversations,uh, just just the mention of,
uh, you know, wish wishWillard and uh uh Maryon could be here
with us today or something of thatnature. And you know, Aunt B

(10:56):
would ask you know how anything anythingelse that you know of that's developed in
Willard's case, or just very verysmall talk. Grandma Really, as I
said, Grandma did not want totalk about it much because it was painful
just to mention now and then aboutit is all. The only thing that

(11:22):
I can remember Mom telling me wasthat there was a service station in and
around Sulfur Rock that a family memberowned, that Uncle Willard had had stopped
there, and that the gentleman thatowned it. As a matter of fact,
I think he was Uncle Clarence's kenMore than our ken. It was

(11:45):
a Smith. Clarence Smith was myuncle mine Elsie's husband, and he owned
the service station from what I understand, and Uncle Willard had stopped in there
briefly and he had recognized him.I know, Mom, Mom, and
ain't Elsie talked about that sum inmy presence, but not a lot.

(12:09):
Naomi also wanted me to know abouther grandmother's charitable work for veterans. She
was very active in the VFW therein Jonesborough, sold the poppies every year,
helped with dinners for veterans, andshe she was very involved until until
she wasn't able to. But yes, I remember her standing on the streets

(12:31):
selling poppies and there was newspaper articlesof how many poppies she had sold.
And you know, like I said, helped with dinners and was instrumental in
keeping that VFW there in Jonesborough going. She was a very active member of
that, and I feel like thatwas on Uncle Willard's behalf. I do

(12:54):
want to thank you for your interestin our family in this mystery. It's
been a family mystery and that wasnever never solved. How I wish that
Mom and Grandma were here to giveyou more information and you know, maybe
help along the way with the investigationor give you their insight. I so

(13:18):
wish they were here, and Iknow that both of them would be so
honored that someone has taken an interestin this, And because I know,
I know mom and Grandma would certainlybe happy that someone else was interested in
their son and brother. I rememberthat on several occasions, I wish,
I just wish I knew when she'dtake the newspaper articles out, I just

(13:41):
wish I knew what happened to mysweet boy. Well, we've got our
marching orders from Naomi Hendrix. Shewas a devoted mother whose husband left her
with a number of young children,who did everything she could to keep them
together, but was unable to doso, losing precious years with them and

(14:03):
in Marian's case, never seeing himagain. She was generous with her time,
supporting veterans and their families, nodoubt imagining what it would have been
like to have welcomed her oldest sonhome from war. She never learned in
this life what happened to her sweetboy, but it's possible we may be

(14:24):
able to get some resolution. Naomisent me a copy of the Jonesboro Son,
featuring Marian's nineteen ninety reunion with hissister Florence, Naomi's mother. It
shares the front page with an articleabout then Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, who
was co chairing a panel of America'sgovernors to propose a national healthcare plan.

(14:46):
Siblings are reunited after a long search, read the headline. Florence was in
the hospital recovering from a hip replacementwhen her sister Elsie and Michigan called,
Are you sitting down? She asked, I'm laying down, said Florence.
Their brother, Marian, whom theyhad not seen for nearly fifty years,

(15:07):
was in Arkansas and trying to locatehis siblings. He had successfully made contact
with their stepmother, Lena, whorefused to give him any information. I
just started crying, said Florence.I kept thinking, what if he can't
find anyone and he gives up andleaves. But Marian had traveled a long

(15:28):
way and waited for too long togive in. He asked around Sulfur Rock
and found out that Florence's family wasliving in Waldenburg. Marian walked into the
store owned by Florence and her husband. Her husband who had never seen Marian
or even a photograph of him,knew exactly who he was based on his

(15:50):
resemblance to his wife. He tookhim straight to the hospital, where they
had a happy reunion. According tothe article, Marian lived with his father
for a time after the divorce,but was badly mistreated by his stepmother.
This led to him lying about hisage and joining the Civilian Conservation Corps at

(16:10):
only fourteen. He never knew thathis sister, Florence, who was already
out of the house and married,had offered to take him in. As
a result, the family ended upseparated for half a century, and he
never saw his mother again. Icontacted Golden Arrow Research to obtain William Langston's
military file from the National Archives tosee what we could learn. William graduated

(16:37):
from Sulfur Rock High School in nineteenthirty four. He was active in a
number of sports baseball, softball,wrestling, and swimming, and appeared to
be really talented scientifically and mechanically.He was a member of the shop team,
and one of his hobbies was takingradios apart and putting them back together.

(16:59):
After school, William moved from Arkansasto Michigan, where his sister was
already living with her husband. Williamand Linda married on February twenty ninth,
nineteen thirty six. That's a greatanniversary. It's one you only have to
remember every four years. Their son, Dwaine was born later that year.
William worked as a molder, pouringhot iron into cass for Benton Harbor Malleable

(17:23):
Industries, earning forty dollars a week. William was doing his part to win
the war. He was older thanthe average combat soldier. He was married
with a young son, but heenlisted in the Marine Corps anyway. William's
first preference was to operate an amphibiousvehicle. For his second preference, he

(17:44):
made a faithful choice the infantry.On July twenty eighth, nineteen forty three,
William Langston reported to the Kalamazoo NationalBank Building along with a group of
other recruits from the area. Heleft on a train at seven twenty pm,
passing through Chicago and Los Angeles,arriving in San Diego at three pm.

(18:06):
After four days on the rails,Langston received the highest marks and was
selected to be a drill instructor.After boot camp in November, William Langston
was given one last chance to visithome. Linda gave him a custom made
Onyx ring to take with him towar. They never saw each other again.
On November twelfth, nineteen forty four, Langston boarded the USS Rochambeau at

(18:33):
San Diego, arriving in Guam onDecember second. On February fifteenth, Langston
boarded the Usslhena at Guam, whichleft port two days later. The ship
arrived at its destination on March third. Iwashima is known to the Japanese as
Sulfur Island, and I can't helpbut wonder whether William Langston, despite being

(18:56):
halfway around the world at the edgeof a dormant volcano about to enter a
battle that had been underway for twoweeks, was reminded by that smell of
the place where he was born,Sulfur Rock, Arkansas. On that same
day, Linda wrote a letter tothe Commandant of the Marine Corps asking about

(19:18):
her husband. I haven't heard fromhim since he went overseas four months ago,
she wrote. We haven't had anytrouble, so I know he'd write
if he could. Knowing he's welland where he's at would help a lot,
truly yours, Missus W. Langston. On March fifth, William was
assigned to Fox Company, second Battalion, ninth Marine Corps. I think this

(19:44):
is important. He's assigned to hisunit two days before he's officially killed in
action. They weren't necessarily all strangers. Some of the men in his company
may have been people he knew inboot camp. Some may have been men
he knew on Guam or traveled withby ship. But we're relying on eyewitness
accounts of his death, and asfar as we know, he'd only been

(20:08):
serving with those men for two days. Marines are given an evaluation every time
they're transferred, so that their newofficers can know what to expect. Langston
was judged on military efficiency, neatnessand bearing, intelligence, obedience and sobriety.
In each category, he was givena five out of five, a

(20:32):
perfect Marine. On March fifteenth,Linda heard from the Marine Corps irregularities in
mail deliveries to and from overseas organizationsno doubt account for your failure to hear
from your husband. They wrote,your name and address are part of your
husband's military record, and you maybe assured that you will be notified in

(20:56):
the event this office receives any newsof importance regarding him welfare. On March
seventeenth, Congressman Claire Hoffman contacted theDirector of Marine Corps Personnel trying to get
information about William on behalf of hisparents. The Director of Marine Corps Personnel,
in turn contacted the Commanding General ofthe Fleet Marine Corps, asking them

(21:21):
to please instruct this marine to communicatewith his parents as regularly as possible in
order to relieve their anxiety. OnApril twenty seventh, Linda received another communication
from the Commandant. Deeply regret toinform you that your husband, Private William
W. Langston, USMCR died Marchseventh, nineteen forty five, of wounds

(21:45):
received in action at Iwajima Volcano Islandsin the performance of his duty and service
of his country. When information isreceived regarding burial, you will be notified.
To prevent possible aid to our enemies, do not divulge the name of
his ship or station. Please acceptmy heartfelt sympathy. Letter follows. Aside

(22:10):
from the name, date and locationwhich were typed, the entire telegram was
boilerplate. Roy Craig, the grandfatherof local historian. Robert Craig, who
you heard from in the second episode, was the publisher of the Newark Journal,
the hometown newspaper for Bill Langston.William's father, William Langston, was

(22:30):
a subject of his next regular column. Casualty messages are often on the wire
for small towns like Newark after thelocal telegraph agent has gone off duty for
the day, and in order tospeed delivery, Western Union telephones the local
postmaster from a central point and askshim if he can deliver the message.

(22:52):
It has fallen my lot to beentrusted with a few of these messages,
and it is not easy to tellyour friends and neighbors the bad news.
It's a measure of relief when themessage reads slightly wounded, which has been
the case in most of those whichI have handled. But there was no
such luck for my next door neighbor, Bill Langston last Friday, when officials

(23:15):
of the Marine Corps bised him ofthe death of his son, Willard on
March ninth, from wounds received inaction on Iwashima. Willard grew up around
Newark and Magnus. He played basketballwith the new Ark Boys and was a
well liked youngster. Starting out onhis own at an early age. He
went to Detroit, where he wasemployed in the defense industry when he volunteered

(23:37):
for service in the Marines. TheMarines have built a reputation for being the
ablest fighting men in the history ofthe world. They have been given some
of the toughest assignments in this war, and they have delivered, oftentimes by
paying a terrific price in debt andwounded. Iwashima was one of the bloodiest

(23:59):
battles of Pacific War. In helpingto capture this strategic outpost, this brave
and heroic Marine has helped to extendthe frontier of an ever widening arc that
will place American fighting men in Tokyoas surely as they are now in Germany.
When the war has been won andpeace becomes a reality, the price

(24:22):
we have had to pay to preserveAmerican freedom and our way of life will
be recorded for future generations that theymay ponder the terrific toll of humanity that
has been claimed because of greed andselfishness. The greatest burdens of this war
will be carried by those who havelost a loved one in battle, for
it is they who will most stronglyrealize that the freedom and way of life

(24:47):
that we enjoy has been denied toa man who believed in it so strongly
that he lost his life to preserveit. Back to Langston's military file,
there's a blank form indicating was killedin action instead of missing an action is
previously reported. There's no further indicationthat Langston may have been reported missing in

(25:08):
action, but this forms presence hereis worth noting. There's a confidential file
from the ninth Marine Division to theSecretary of the Navy, dated April twenty
first. It indicates that Langston wasburied on March twenty second, nineteen forty
five, in Grave one thousand,nine hundred twenty seven Row thirty nine,

(25:32):
Fourth Marine Division Cemetery on Iwajima.On a report of internment, it indicates
that the body buried to his rightis unknown. On Lenggston's death certificate,
it says fingerprints unobtainable due to combatconditions. It indicates his date of death
as March seventh, at an unknownhour of the day. On the form

(25:55):
for fingerprints, there's a stamp thatsays Prince impossible for both the right and
the left. It's my understanding thata death certificate without prints is unusual.
This dovetails with the response of CongressmanWilbur Mills, who was the first person
to seek out the death certificate onbehalf of the Lenggston family. If Lengston's

(26:17):
hands had been injured to the pointwhere prints were unobtainable, how did the
Marines return William's Onyx ring to Linda. The form contains detailed instructions for verifying
a body without prints. If unableto obtain a complete set of fingerprints,
take those you can and fill inas many of the following as you are
able. There are blank forms forheight, weight, eye and hair color,

(26:41):
race, the serial number on therifle, scars, birthmarks, moles,
deformities, identifying clues such as photographsand letters. Every field was left
blank. On October second, nineteenforty five, Linda received her husband's personal

(27:02):
effects, the Onyx ring, apencil, and an identification bracelet, not
to be confused with his dog tags. The military file included the FBI report
we reviewed in the last episode.You'll remember that the FBI agent who seemed
to be twisting himself in knots toconclude that the man with the limp was

(27:25):
an impostor ruled out the only suspect, Marion Langston, but didn't indicate why.
I filed a Freedom of Information Actrequest with the FBI for the reports
from the Seattle Division. Here's whatI learned. Marion Langston was the subject
of an extensive manhunt throughout Greater Seattle. Special agent Charles Phipps went to the

(27:51):
Kaiser Company shipyards, where it wasbelieved Marian might be employed. Agent Mark
Flanagan went to the Stimps and LoggingCompany. Agent Dean Holston contacted the post
office and learned that Marian had listeda forwarding address of seventy one twenty four
Holly Park Drive in Seattle. Agentsheaded to that home. Mister and Missus

(28:18):
way Meyer greeted them and confirmed thatMarian Langston had boarded with them from October
thirteenth, nineteen forty five to Januaryfourth, nineteen forty six. He left
one night with only the clothes onhis back, fifteen days before the man
with the limp appeared in Newport inFebruary twenty first. Missus way Meyer called

(28:45):
the FBI. Marian Langston was onhis way to her house to retrieve his
belongings. She promised to keep himthere as long as possible. Two agents
showed up and conducted an interview.Marian indicated that on January sixth, he
had moved into the Robin Lee Hoteland was living with a friend named Ernest

(29:06):
Card. He said that he hadstayed there a week while working at Stimpson
Mill Seattle. On January fifteenth,he left the Robin Lee and moved to
the Oxford Hotel until January nineteenth.From there, he went to the Globe
Hotel until the twenty third. Hewas currently living at the Colonial Hotel.
The FBI interviewed Harold Strand, headof the payroll department at Stimpson Mill.

(29:33):
He confirmed that Marion had been employedwith them from the eleventh through seventeenth of
January. The room clerk of theGlobe Hotel confirmed that Marion had been registered
in room three oh five from Januarynineteenth through the twenty third. So there
you have it. Marion Langston,the only suspect in the investigation into the

(29:57):
possible reappearance of William Langston, wasproperly excluded by the FBI. Marian told
the FBI that he was at aloss to explain who might have impersonated his
brother in Newport. He said thathe had last seen his brother about nineteen
thirty eight, when he visited himin Michigan. Marian said that he had

(30:21):
not been to Arkansas since nineteen fortyone, when he was fourteen years old.
He said that his father forced himto lie about his age to join
the CCC, and he was sentto a camp in Idaho. He had
lived in that part of the worldever since. My Freedom of Information Act
request included a report from the DetroitField office. The man with the LIMP

(30:42):
knew that Linda had been remarried.The FBI conducted interviews to see whether anyone
had cited the man or remembered himmaking inquiries in Michigan. They interviewed Linda,
who said that she had married JoeO'signiac on January fifth, fourteen days
before the man claiming to be herfirst husband appeared in Newport. Linda insisted

(31:04):
that virtually no one knew about herwedding, no one in Langston's family.
She said that no one would wishto cause her any trouble, and she
said that to her knowledge, noinquiries were made concerning her marriage around town.
The county clerk's office that issued themarriage license said that no one had
shown up asking about Linda and Joe. Next time, I'm the Phantom Marine,

(31:29):
We'll talk to James Bradley, numberone New York Times bestselling author of
Flags of Our Fathers about the Battleof Yuwajima. In the meantime, joined
the search on our Facebook group,Facebook dot com slash Phantomarine. I'm yours
for the truth. Christa Rose foundand found dund