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Remember...Hobert Bosworth McGee
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Hobert Bosworth McGee was born on June 15, 1917 (West Virginia birth records show 1917, while his draft card states 1916), to Oscar Ballard and Florence Isabelle Newhouse McGee in Huttonsville, Randolph County, West Virginia. The 1920 Federal Census indicates that the family was living in the Huttonsville District. Mr. McGee was a farmer, and with him and Mrs. McGee lived their children: Augustus, called Gussie; Theresa; Clinton; Nelson; and Samuel; along with Hobert. The 1930 census taker found Mr. and Mrs. McGee with children Clinton, then a laborer for a lumber company; Nelson; Hobert; Samuel; and Oscar Basil, known as Basil, living at home. Mr. McGee was still farming.
In 1940, Grace was back in the McGee household. She had since married and was known as Grace Fornash. With her were Walter and Basil. Mr. and Mrs. McGee were with their family, but none was shown to have an occupation, according to census data. By this time, the McGees had lost four of their offspring. Three died in infancy in 1908, 1911, and 1916. Clinton died in 1937, the victim of a motorcycle accident on the highway near Valley Head in Randolph County. Later, in 1940, after the census was taken, Mr. McGee would die of pneumonia and congestive heart failure, brought on by rheumatic heart disease.
In 1940, shortly before his father's death, Hobert McGee registered for military service in Huttonsville. According to his draft registration, he was employed Baker and Coombs, a construction company. Military records show that in 1942, Hobert McGee enlisted in the U.S. Navy at Charleston, West Virginia. On October 31, 1942, he was received onboard the USS Maddox (DD-622), the official date of her commissioning. ("History of USS Maddox," USS Maddox Destroyer Association, accessed 15 February 2021, http://www.ussmaddox.org/history.html.)
According to the website of the Destroyer History Foundation,
After shakedown, Maddox departed New York 2 January 1943 for Norfolk, where she commenced escort duties. Following her first two convoy missions, safeguarding fleet oilers plying between Norfolk and the petroleum centers of Galveston and Aruba, Maddox began a series of transatlantic voyages escorting convoys from New York and Norfolk to north Africa.On 8 June 1943, Maddox departed Norfolk for Oran, Algeria, where she became a unit of TF 81, the assault force for the Sicilian invasion. As the assault troops landed 10 July, Maddox was on antisubmarine patrol about 16 miles offshore. Steaming alone, the destroyer was attacked by a German dive bomber. One of the bombs exploded Maddox's after magazine, causing the ship to roll over and sink within two minutes.
Maddox was struck from the Navy list 19 August 1943. She earned two service stars during World War II. ("USS Maddox [DD 622]," accessed 15 February 2021, https://destroyerhistory.org/benson-gleavesclass/ussmaddox/.)
Muster rolls for the USS Maddox record that Hobert McGee came aboard the ship as a seaman second class and was promoted to seaman first class by May 1, 1943. The ship set sail for Europe and was offshore of Gela, Sicily, on July 10, 1943, when the attack occurred. According to the muster rolls, Hobert McGee and another West Virginia sailor, Darius Mills, were on board. According to the last muster roll entries for them both, their statuses were "Missing - As a result of action against the enemy."
As is the custom, Hobert McGee was missing for a year and a day and then declared dead on July 11, 1944. His body was not recovered. According to the USS Maddox Destroyer Association, 210 men were lost. USS Maddox Commander Sarsfield was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for the heroism he displayed in the aftermath of the attack while supervising the "abandon ship." The lives of 74 were saved, but Commander Sarsfield lost his own.
 Cenotaph honoring Seaman First Class Hobert Bosworth McGee in the Old Brick Cemetery in Huttonsville. Courtesy Cynthia Mullens |
A cenotaph to honor Hobert McGee stands in the Old Brick Church Cemetery in Huttonsville, West Virginia, and his name is inscribed on the Tablets of the Missing in the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial in Nettuno, Italy. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. |  Sicily-Rome American Cemetery is the final resting place or memorial to nearly 8,000 Americans that gave their lives in World War II. Lithograph courtesy American Battle Monuments Commission |
Article prepared by Cynthia Mullens
February 2021
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.
