Parents: Ruben Wooten and Cecil Skaggs
Siblings: Bulen Wooten, Esco Wooten, Tillie Wooten Jones, Stella Wooten Montgomery, Herman Wooten, Robert Wooten, Hubert Wooten, and Tina Wooten Schuck
Wife #1: Dorothy M. Fitch (married 15 Jun 1945)
Children: Ronnie Wooten
Wife #2: Opal Burton
Obituary #1: Franklin Daily Journal 23 Jan 1999
EDINBURGH
Huley Wooten
Huley Wooten, 75, died Thursday, Jan. 21, 1999, at Columbus Health and Rehabilitation Center. He was a resident of Edinburgh.
He was born June 3, 1923, in Russell Springs, Ky. His parents were Ruben and Cecil (Maur) Wooten. He married Dorothy Wooten on June 15, 1945. She preceded him in death in April 1994. He then married Opal (Burton) Wooten. She survives. Other survivors include a son, Ronnie Wooten of Edinburgh; two brothers, Bulen Wooten of Edinburgh and Esco Wooten of Louisville; two sisters, Tillie Jones of Bedford and Stella Montgomery of Serena, Calif.; five grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by four brothers and two sisters.
He was a laborer for LaBrec Construction.
He was a member of Edinburgh Full Gospel and Disabled American Veterans.
He was an Army veteran of World War II.
Brother James Miller will conduct a service at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Long Funeral Home. Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday and from 9 a.m. until the time of service Tuesday at the funeral home. Burial will be at Rest Haven Cemetery.
Obituary #2: Columbus Republic 23 Jan 1999
LaBrec Construction worker
Huley Wooten
Columbus
EDINBURGH – Huley Wooten, 75, of Columbus, died at 10:35 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21, 1999, at Columbus Health and Rehabilitation Center.
An Army veteran of World War II, he had been an employee of LaBrec Construction and was a member of Edinburgh Full Gospel Church and Disabled American Veterans.
Funeral will be conducted at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Long Funeral Home with James Miller officiating. Calling will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday and from 9 a.m. until service time Tuesday. Burial will be at Rest Haven Cemetery.
Mr. Wooten was born in Russell Springs, Ky., June 3, 1923, the son of Ruben and Cecil Maur Wooten. He married Dorothy Wooten June 15, 1945. She died in April 1994. He later married Opal Burton, and she survives.
Other survivors include a son, Ronnie Wooten of Edinburgh; brothers, Bulen Wooten of Edinburgh and Esco Wooten of Louisville, Ky.; sisters, Tille Jones of Bedford and Stella Montgomery of Serena, Calif.; five grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by four brothers and two sisters.
Obituary #3: Columbus Republic 2 Feb 1999
Final Salute for Huley
WWII vet `deserved something special'
By Harry McCawley
It was Bob Lemley's idea that the honor guard assemble behind Huley Wooten's coffin when it reached the entrance to Edinburgh's Rest Haven Cemetery.
From there the lonely procession inched to Huley's grave -- the black hearse in front, the Stars and Stripes next, then the rest of the guard. The men, carrying either a flag or a rifle, walked in step or as close to being in step as they could get.
"We usually meet the procession at the grave," said Bob, a member of the Edinburgh VFW and one of those marching behind the hearse. "I just wanted us to do this for Huley. In the Marine Corps, we're real big on taking care of our own. Huley deserved something special."
Bob's a Vietnam veteran. So were three others in the honor guard.
Huley was from World War II, but it didn't make any difference last Tuesday when they buried him.
A large crowd watched the sad parade. At the sight of the color guard, several broke into tears.
"It was a pretty emotional moment," said Gene Robinson of Franklin, one of Huley's friends and the man who had helped him claim the dues owed by his country.
Not a complainer
Huley Wooten's comrades gave him a parade ... 54 years after he came home.
"Huley was not much for complaining," recalled Gene Robinson from his office in the Johnson County Courthouse annex where he is veterans affairs service officer. "He had all these problems -- most of them because of the war -- but he just didn't dwell on them."
Gene met Huley in 1989 when the Edinburgh veteran came to his office for information about his disabilities.
At the time, Huley was designated at 30 to 40 percent of full disability.
It was a strange classification to Robinson, who had served in the Korean conflict.
"Here was a guy who had been a prisoner of war. He was in the Battle of the Bulge and he got shot in the leg. It was the dead of winter and he was captured by the Germans. They made him and the others march through the snow ... barefoot. It was the Nazi way of discouraging escape."
That was December 1944. For the next four months, Huley survived the winter and the Nazis in a pretty famous POW camp ... Stalag 13.
It wasn't anything like the camp in the movie of the same name or the one portrayed in the television series, "Hogan's Heroes."
"From the time they arrived, Huley and his friends faced starvation. Some of them died," Gene said.
Finally free
When the camp was liberated April 28, 1945, the marks of war were all too clear on his body. His feet were black, the telltale color of frostbite. The wound in his leg was still painfully evident and he had lost dozens of pounds.
But he was free.
He came back disabled, but he went to work and started a family.
If he dwelled on his injuries, it was an internal conflict because he didn't discuss them with others. He accepted what his government gave him.
"On his original DD214 (discharge form) they put `none' under both battles in which he was involved and injuries that he had suffered," Gene said.
"It was a glitch in the paperwork but Huley just let that ride without saying anything. They didn't even give him a Purple Heart. Here he had fought at Bastogne, been shot in the leg, suffered frostbite in both feet and they didn't even give him a Purple Heart."
Huley married, had a son and worked as an equipment operator for LaBrec Construction.
Over the years he tried to get a new classification for his disabilities but seemed to get lost in the bureaucracy.
"It wasn't until Feb. 25, 1986, that the government recognized he had been a POW," Robinson said.
When the two men came together in 1989, Robinson worked at trying to get some justifiable compensation for the veteran, but he encountered many of the same roadblocks Huley had come up against.
"The people who handled his claims seemed just to be interested in categorizing him on the basis of his income. It was as if they judged disability by his financial resources, such as insurance, and didn't account for what he had done and what he had suffered."
Huley had problems outside of his health. His wife, Dorothy -- whom he had married a few weeks after he had been shipped home from the POW camp -- was diagnosed with terminal cancer in the early 1990s. Her hospital treatment came to more than $30,000.
Huley paid the bill -- without government help.
He hit the jackpot on a Hoosier Lottery Lucky Seven game. The payoff was $77,777.77.
"The first thing he did when he got that check was to go to the hospital and pay his wife's bill in full," Gene said.
Dorothy died in 1994. He later married Opal Burton.
Huley had a knack for taking care of himself, Gene said.
"I remember he could work with the things around him. For years he would go out in the woods and strip vines from trees. Then he would convert them into the most beautiful grapevine wreaths you've ever seen. He'd put them in the trunk of his car, drive to Nashville and sell them on the street."
With Gene's prodding, Huley's government finally acknowledged the old soldier was due some recognition.
Robinson remembers it well.
"On June 23, 1997, the VA agreed to 100 percent disability compensation for Huley, stating that `you are now unemployable, and if you resume employment, you must immediately notify the VA.'"
Huley was 74 years old when he got that notice. He was in a wheelchair and his heart was failing, all conditions brought on in part by the wounds he had suffered in 1944.
In the end and in its own strange way, his government had recognized Huley's sacrifices.
I bet he would have appreciated the parade his comrades gave him last week a lot more.
Siblings: Bulen Wooten, Esco Wooten, Tillie Wooten Jones, Stella Wooten Montgomery, Herman Wooten, Robert Wooten, Hubert Wooten, and Tina Wooten Schuck
Wife #1: Dorothy M. Fitch (married 15 Jun 1945)
Children: Ronnie Wooten
Wife #2: Opal Burton
Obituary #1: Franklin Daily Journal 23 Jan 1999
EDINBURGH
Huley Wooten
Huley Wooten, 75, died Thursday, Jan. 21, 1999, at Columbus Health and Rehabilitation Center. He was a resident of Edinburgh.
He was born June 3, 1923, in Russell Springs, Ky. His parents were Ruben and Cecil (Maur) Wooten. He married Dorothy Wooten on June 15, 1945. She preceded him in death in April 1994. He then married Opal (Burton) Wooten. She survives. Other survivors include a son, Ronnie Wooten of Edinburgh; two brothers, Bulen Wooten of Edinburgh and Esco Wooten of Louisville; two sisters, Tillie Jones of Bedford and Stella Montgomery of Serena, Calif.; five grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by four brothers and two sisters.
He was a laborer for LaBrec Construction.
He was a member of Edinburgh Full Gospel and Disabled American Veterans.
He was an Army veteran of World War II.
Brother James Miller will conduct a service at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Long Funeral Home. Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday and from 9 a.m. until the time of service Tuesday at the funeral home. Burial will be at Rest Haven Cemetery.
Obituary #2: Columbus Republic 23 Jan 1999
LaBrec Construction worker
Huley Wooten
Columbus
EDINBURGH – Huley Wooten, 75, of Columbus, died at 10:35 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21, 1999, at Columbus Health and Rehabilitation Center.
An Army veteran of World War II, he had been an employee of LaBrec Construction and was a member of Edinburgh Full Gospel Church and Disabled American Veterans.
Funeral will be conducted at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Long Funeral Home with James Miller officiating. Calling will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday and from 9 a.m. until service time Tuesday. Burial will be at Rest Haven Cemetery.
Mr. Wooten was born in Russell Springs, Ky., June 3, 1923, the son of Ruben and Cecil Maur Wooten. He married Dorothy Wooten June 15, 1945. She died in April 1994. He later married Opal Burton, and she survives.
Other survivors include a son, Ronnie Wooten of Edinburgh; brothers, Bulen Wooten of Edinburgh and Esco Wooten of Louisville, Ky.; sisters, Tille Jones of Bedford and Stella Montgomery of Serena, Calif.; five grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by four brothers and two sisters.
Obituary #3: Columbus Republic 2 Feb 1999
Final Salute for Huley
WWII vet `deserved something special'
By Harry McCawley
It was Bob Lemley's idea that the honor guard assemble behind Huley Wooten's coffin when it reached the entrance to Edinburgh's Rest Haven Cemetery.
From there the lonely procession inched to Huley's grave -- the black hearse in front, the Stars and Stripes next, then the rest of the guard. The men, carrying either a flag or a rifle, walked in step or as close to being in step as they could get.
"We usually meet the procession at the grave," said Bob, a member of the Edinburgh VFW and one of those marching behind the hearse. "I just wanted us to do this for Huley. In the Marine Corps, we're real big on taking care of our own. Huley deserved something special."
Bob's a Vietnam veteran. So were three others in the honor guard.
Huley was from World War II, but it didn't make any difference last Tuesday when they buried him.
A large crowd watched the sad parade. At the sight of the color guard, several broke into tears.
"It was a pretty emotional moment," said Gene Robinson of Franklin, one of Huley's friends and the man who had helped him claim the dues owed by his country.
Not a complainer
Huley Wooten's comrades gave him a parade ... 54 years after he came home.
"Huley was not much for complaining," recalled Gene Robinson from his office in the Johnson County Courthouse annex where he is veterans affairs service officer. "He had all these problems -- most of them because of the war -- but he just didn't dwell on them."
Gene met Huley in 1989 when the Edinburgh veteran came to his office for information about his disabilities.
At the time, Huley was designated at 30 to 40 percent of full disability.
It was a strange classification to Robinson, who had served in the Korean conflict.
"Here was a guy who had been a prisoner of war. He was in the Battle of the Bulge and he got shot in the leg. It was the dead of winter and he was captured by the Germans. They made him and the others march through the snow ... barefoot. It was the Nazi way of discouraging escape."
That was December 1944. For the next four months, Huley survived the winter and the Nazis in a pretty famous POW camp ... Stalag 13.
It wasn't anything like the camp in the movie of the same name or the one portrayed in the television series, "Hogan's Heroes."
"From the time they arrived, Huley and his friends faced starvation. Some of them died," Gene said.
Finally free
When the camp was liberated April 28, 1945, the marks of war were all too clear on his body. His feet were black, the telltale color of frostbite. The wound in his leg was still painfully evident and he had lost dozens of pounds.
But he was free.
He came back disabled, but he went to work and started a family.
If he dwelled on his injuries, it was an internal conflict because he didn't discuss them with others. He accepted what his government gave him.
"On his original DD214 (discharge form) they put `none' under both battles in which he was involved and injuries that he had suffered," Gene said.
"It was a glitch in the paperwork but Huley just let that ride without saying anything. They didn't even give him a Purple Heart. Here he had fought at Bastogne, been shot in the leg, suffered frostbite in both feet and they didn't even give him a Purple Heart."
Huley married, had a son and worked as an equipment operator for LaBrec Construction.
Over the years he tried to get a new classification for his disabilities but seemed to get lost in the bureaucracy.
"It wasn't until Feb. 25, 1986, that the government recognized he had been a POW," Robinson said.
When the two men came together in 1989, Robinson worked at trying to get some justifiable compensation for the veteran, but he encountered many of the same roadblocks Huley had come up against.
"The people who handled his claims seemed just to be interested in categorizing him on the basis of his income. It was as if they judged disability by his financial resources, such as insurance, and didn't account for what he had done and what he had suffered."
Huley had problems outside of his health. His wife, Dorothy -- whom he had married a few weeks after he had been shipped home from the POW camp -- was diagnosed with terminal cancer in the early 1990s. Her hospital treatment came to more than $30,000.
Huley paid the bill -- without government help.
He hit the jackpot on a Hoosier Lottery Lucky Seven game. The payoff was $77,777.77.
"The first thing he did when he got that check was to go to the hospital and pay his wife's bill in full," Gene said.
Dorothy died in 1994. He later married Opal Burton.
Huley had a knack for taking care of himself, Gene said.
"I remember he could work with the things around him. For years he would go out in the woods and strip vines from trees. Then he would convert them into the most beautiful grapevine wreaths you've ever seen. He'd put them in the trunk of his car, drive to Nashville and sell them on the street."
With Gene's prodding, Huley's government finally acknowledged the old soldier was due some recognition.
Robinson remembers it well.
"On June 23, 1997, the VA agreed to 100 percent disability compensation for Huley, stating that `you are now unemployable, and if you resume employment, you must immediately notify the VA.'"
Huley was 74 years old when he got that notice. He was in a wheelchair and his heart was failing, all conditions brought on in part by the wounds he had suffered in 1944.
In the end and in its own strange way, his government had recognized Huley's sacrifices.
I bet he would have appreciated the parade his comrades gave him last week a lot more.
Parents: Ruben Wooten and Cecil Skaggs
Siblings: Bulen Wooten, Esco Wooten, Tillie Wooten Jones, Stella Wooten Montgomery, Herman Wooten, Robert Wooten, Hubert Wooten, and Tina Wooten Schuck
Wife #1: Dorothy M. Fitch (married 15 Jun 1945)
Children: Ronnie Wooten
Wife #2: Opal Burton
Obituary #1: Franklin Daily Journal 23 Jan 1999
EDINBURGH
Huley Wooten
Huley Wooten, 75, died Thursday, Jan. 21, 1999, at Columbus Health and Rehabilitation Center. He was a resident of Edinburgh.
He was born June 3, 1923, in Russell Springs, Ky. His parents were Ruben and Cecil (Maur) Wooten. He married Dorothy Wooten on June 15, 1945. She preceded him in death in April 1994. He then married Opal (Burton) Wooten. She survives. Other survivors include a son, Ronnie Wooten of Edinburgh; two brothers, Bulen Wooten of Edinburgh and Esco Wooten of Louisville; two sisters, Tillie Jones of Bedford and Stella Montgomery of Serena, Calif.; five grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by four brothers and two sisters.
He was a laborer for LaBrec Construction.
He was a member of Edinburgh Full Gospel and Disabled American Veterans.
He was an Army veteran of World War II.
Brother James Miller will conduct a service at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Long Funeral Home. Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday and from 9 a.m. until the time of service Tuesday at the funeral home. Burial will be at Rest Haven Cemetery.
Obituary #2: Columbus Republic 23 Jan 1999
LaBrec Construction worker
Huley Wooten
Columbus
EDINBURGH – Huley Wooten, 75, of Columbus, died at 10:35 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21, 1999, at Columbus Health and Rehabilitation Center.
An Army veteran of World War II, he had been an employee of LaBrec Construction and was a member of Edinburgh Full Gospel Church and Disabled American Veterans.
Funeral will be conducted at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Long Funeral Home with James Miller officiating. Calling will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday and from 9 a.m. until service time Tuesday. Burial will be at Rest Haven Cemetery.
Mr. Wooten was born in Russell Springs, Ky., June 3, 1923, the son of Ruben and Cecil Maur Wooten. He married Dorothy Wooten June 15, 1945. She died in April 1994. He later married Opal Burton, and she survives.
Other survivors include a son, Ronnie Wooten of Edinburgh; brothers, Bulen Wooten of Edinburgh and Esco Wooten of Louisville, Ky.; sisters, Tille Jones of Bedford and Stella Montgomery of Serena, Calif.; five grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by four brothers and two sisters.
Obituary #3: Columbus Republic 2 Feb 1999
Final Salute for Huley
WWII vet `deserved something special'
By Harry McCawley
It was Bob Lemley's idea that the honor guard assemble behind Huley Wooten's coffin when it reached the entrance to Edinburgh's Rest Haven Cemetery.
From there the lonely procession inched to Huley's grave -- the black hearse in front, the Stars and Stripes next, then the rest of the guard. The men, carrying either a flag or a rifle, walked in step or as close to being in step as they could get.
"We usually meet the procession at the grave," said Bob, a member of the Edinburgh VFW and one of those marching behind the hearse. "I just wanted us to do this for Huley. In the Marine Corps, we're real big on taking care of our own. Huley deserved something special."
Bob's a Vietnam veteran. So were three others in the honor guard.
Huley was from World War II, but it didn't make any difference last Tuesday when they buried him.
A large crowd watched the sad parade. At the sight of the color guard, several broke into tears.
"It was a pretty emotional moment," said Gene Robinson of Franklin, one of Huley's friends and the man who had helped him claim the dues owed by his country.
Not a complainer
Huley Wooten's comrades gave him a parade ... 54 years after he came home.
"Huley was not much for complaining," recalled Gene Robinson from his office in the Johnson County Courthouse annex where he is veterans affairs service officer. "He had all these problems -- most of them because of the war -- but he just didn't dwell on them."
Gene met Huley in 1989 when the Edinburgh veteran came to his office for information about his disabilities.
At the time, Huley was designated at 30 to 40 percent of full disability.
It was a strange classification to Robinson, who had served in the Korean conflict.
"Here was a guy who had been a prisoner of war. He was in the Battle of the Bulge and he got shot in the leg. It was the dead of winter and he was captured by the Germans. They made him and the others march through the snow ... barefoot. It was the Nazi way of discouraging escape."
That was December 1944. For the next four months, Huley survived the winter and the Nazis in a pretty famous POW camp ... Stalag 13.
It wasn't anything like the camp in the movie of the same name or the one portrayed in the television series, "Hogan's Heroes."
"From the time they arrived, Huley and his friends faced starvation. Some of them died," Gene said.
Finally free
When the camp was liberated April 28, 1945, the marks of war were all too clear on his body. His feet were black, the telltale color of frostbite. The wound in his leg was still painfully evident and he had lost dozens of pounds.
But he was free.
He came back disabled, but he went to work and started a family.
If he dwelled on his injuries, it was an internal conflict because he didn't discuss them with others. He accepted what his government gave him.
"On his original DD214 (discharge form) they put `none' under both battles in which he was involved and injuries that he had suffered," Gene said.
"It was a glitch in the paperwork but Huley just let that ride without saying anything. They didn't even give him a Purple Heart. Here he had fought at Bastogne, been shot in the leg, suffered frostbite in both feet and they didn't even give him a Purple Heart."
Huley married, had a son and worked as an equipment operator for LaBrec Construction.
Over the years he tried to get a new classification for his disabilities but seemed to get lost in the bureaucracy.
"It wasn't until Feb. 25, 1986, that the government recognized he had been a POW," Robinson said.
When the two men came together in 1989, Robinson worked at trying to get some justifiable compensation for the veteran, but he encountered many of the same roadblocks Huley had come up against.
"The people who handled his claims seemed just to be interested in categorizing him on the basis of his income. It was as if they judged disability by his financial resources, such as insurance, and didn't account for what he had done and what he had suffered."
Huley had problems outside of his health. His wife, Dorothy -- whom he had married a few weeks after he had been shipped home from the POW camp -- was diagnosed with terminal cancer in the early 1990s. Her hospital treatment came to more than $30,000.
Huley paid the bill -- without government help.
He hit the jackpot on a Hoosier Lottery Lucky Seven game. The payoff was $77,777.77.
"The first thing he did when he got that check was to go to the hospital and pay his wife's bill in full," Gene said.
Dorothy died in 1994. He later married Opal Burton.
Huley had a knack for taking care of himself, Gene said.
"I remember he could work with the things around him. For years he would go out in the woods and strip vines from trees. Then he would convert them into the most beautiful grapevine wreaths you've ever seen. He'd put them in the trunk of his car, drive to Nashville and sell them on the street."
With Gene's prodding, Huley's government finally acknowledged the old soldier was due some recognition.
Robinson remembers it well.
"On June 23, 1997, the VA agreed to 100 percent disability compensation for Huley, stating that `you are now unemployable, and if you resume employment, you must immediately notify the VA.'"
Huley was 74 years old when he got that notice. He was in a wheelchair and his heart was failing, all conditions brought on in part by the wounds he had suffered in 1944.
In the end and in its own strange way, his government had recognized Huley's sacrifices.
I bet he would have appreciated the parade his comrades gave him last week a lot more.
Siblings: Bulen Wooten, Esco Wooten, Tillie Wooten Jones, Stella Wooten Montgomery, Herman Wooten, Robert Wooten, Hubert Wooten, and Tina Wooten Schuck
Wife #1: Dorothy M. Fitch (married 15 Jun 1945)
Children: Ronnie Wooten
Wife #2: Opal Burton
Obituary #1: Franklin Daily Journal 23 Jan 1999
EDINBURGH
Huley Wooten
Huley Wooten, 75, died Thursday, Jan. 21, 1999, at Columbus Health and Rehabilitation Center. He was a resident of Edinburgh.
He was born June 3, 1923, in Russell Springs, Ky. His parents were Ruben and Cecil (Maur) Wooten. He married Dorothy Wooten on June 15, 1945. She preceded him in death in April 1994. He then married Opal (Burton) Wooten. She survives. Other survivors include a son, Ronnie Wooten of Edinburgh; two brothers, Bulen Wooten of Edinburgh and Esco Wooten of Louisville; two sisters, Tillie Jones of Bedford and Stella Montgomery of Serena, Calif.; five grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by four brothers and two sisters.
He was a laborer for LaBrec Construction.
He was a member of Edinburgh Full Gospel and Disabled American Veterans.
He was an Army veteran of World War II.
Brother James Miller will conduct a service at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Long Funeral Home. Friends may call from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday and from 9 a.m. until the time of service Tuesday at the funeral home. Burial will be at Rest Haven Cemetery.
Obituary #2: Columbus Republic 23 Jan 1999
LaBrec Construction worker
Huley Wooten
Columbus
EDINBURGH – Huley Wooten, 75, of Columbus, died at 10:35 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21, 1999, at Columbus Health and Rehabilitation Center.
An Army veteran of World War II, he had been an employee of LaBrec Construction and was a member of Edinburgh Full Gospel Church and Disabled American Veterans.
Funeral will be conducted at 11 a.m. Tuesday at Long Funeral Home with James Miller officiating. Calling will be from 4 to 8 p.m. Monday and from 9 a.m. until service time Tuesday. Burial will be at Rest Haven Cemetery.
Mr. Wooten was born in Russell Springs, Ky., June 3, 1923, the son of Ruben and Cecil Maur Wooten. He married Dorothy Wooten June 15, 1945. She died in April 1994. He later married Opal Burton, and she survives.
Other survivors include a son, Ronnie Wooten of Edinburgh; brothers, Bulen Wooten of Edinburgh and Esco Wooten of Louisville, Ky.; sisters, Tille Jones of Bedford and Stella Montgomery of Serena, Calif.; five grandchildren; and 13 great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by four brothers and two sisters.
Obituary #3: Columbus Republic 2 Feb 1999
Final Salute for Huley
WWII vet `deserved something special'
By Harry McCawley
It was Bob Lemley's idea that the honor guard assemble behind Huley Wooten's coffin when it reached the entrance to Edinburgh's Rest Haven Cemetery.
From there the lonely procession inched to Huley's grave -- the black hearse in front, the Stars and Stripes next, then the rest of the guard. The men, carrying either a flag or a rifle, walked in step or as close to being in step as they could get.
"We usually meet the procession at the grave," said Bob, a member of the Edinburgh VFW and one of those marching behind the hearse. "I just wanted us to do this for Huley. In the Marine Corps, we're real big on taking care of our own. Huley deserved something special."
Bob's a Vietnam veteran. So were three others in the honor guard.
Huley was from World War II, but it didn't make any difference last Tuesday when they buried him.
A large crowd watched the sad parade. At the sight of the color guard, several broke into tears.
"It was a pretty emotional moment," said Gene Robinson of Franklin, one of Huley's friends and the man who had helped him claim the dues owed by his country.
Not a complainer
Huley Wooten's comrades gave him a parade ... 54 years after he came home.
"Huley was not much for complaining," recalled Gene Robinson from his office in the Johnson County Courthouse annex where he is veterans affairs service officer. "He had all these problems -- most of them because of the war -- but he just didn't dwell on them."
Gene met Huley in 1989 when the Edinburgh veteran came to his office for information about his disabilities.
At the time, Huley was designated at 30 to 40 percent of full disability.
It was a strange classification to Robinson, who had served in the Korean conflict.
"Here was a guy who had been a prisoner of war. He was in the Battle of the Bulge and he got shot in the leg. It was the dead of winter and he was captured by the Germans. They made him and the others march through the snow ... barefoot. It was the Nazi way of discouraging escape."
That was December 1944. For the next four months, Huley survived the winter and the Nazis in a pretty famous POW camp ... Stalag 13.
It wasn't anything like the camp in the movie of the same name or the one portrayed in the television series, "Hogan's Heroes."
"From the time they arrived, Huley and his friends faced starvation. Some of them died," Gene said.
Finally free
When the camp was liberated April 28, 1945, the marks of war were all too clear on his body. His feet were black, the telltale color of frostbite. The wound in his leg was still painfully evident and he had lost dozens of pounds.
But he was free.
He came back disabled, but he went to work and started a family.
If he dwelled on his injuries, it was an internal conflict because he didn't discuss them with others. He accepted what his government gave him.
"On his original DD214 (discharge form) they put `none' under both battles in which he was involved and injuries that he had suffered," Gene said.
"It was a glitch in the paperwork but Huley just let that ride without saying anything. They didn't even give him a Purple Heart. Here he had fought at Bastogne, been shot in the leg, suffered frostbite in both feet and they didn't even give him a Purple Heart."
Huley married, had a son and worked as an equipment operator for LaBrec Construction.
Over the years he tried to get a new classification for his disabilities but seemed to get lost in the bureaucracy.
"It wasn't until Feb. 25, 1986, that the government recognized he had been a POW," Robinson said.
When the two men came together in 1989, Robinson worked at trying to get some justifiable compensation for the veteran, but he encountered many of the same roadblocks Huley had come up against.
"The people who handled his claims seemed just to be interested in categorizing him on the basis of his income. It was as if they judged disability by his financial resources, such as insurance, and didn't account for what he had done and what he had suffered."
Huley had problems outside of his health. His wife, Dorothy -- whom he had married a few weeks after he had been shipped home from the POW camp -- was diagnosed with terminal cancer in the early 1990s. Her hospital treatment came to more than $30,000.
Huley paid the bill -- without government help.
He hit the jackpot on a Hoosier Lottery Lucky Seven game. The payoff was $77,777.77.
"The first thing he did when he got that check was to go to the hospital and pay his wife's bill in full," Gene said.
Dorothy died in 1994. He later married Opal Burton.
Huley had a knack for taking care of himself, Gene said.
"I remember he could work with the things around him. For years he would go out in the woods and strip vines from trees. Then he would convert them into the most beautiful grapevine wreaths you've ever seen. He'd put them in the trunk of his car, drive to Nashville and sell them on the street."
With Gene's prodding, Huley's government finally acknowledged the old soldier was due some recognition.
Robinson remembers it well.
"On June 23, 1997, the VA agreed to 100 percent disability compensation for Huley, stating that `you are now unemployable, and if you resume employment, you must immediately notify the VA.'"
Huley was 74 years old when he got that notice. He was in a wheelchair and his heart was failing, all conditions brought on in part by the wounds he had suffered in 1944.
In the end and in its own strange way, his government had recognized Huley's sacrifices.
I bet he would have appreciated the parade his comrades gave him last week a lot more.
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