Here is another story, this time about Paul Harrison Hoover, grandson of
Nancy Cannon who was the daughter of Alvin Byers/Byars Cannon, in turn a grandson
of James.
Paul couldn't wait to become old enough to join WWII. My mother, married to
one of his brothers, used to say Paul grew up afraid the war would end without
him. He entered when he turned 18, near ther end of the war, and served as a
Navy medic.
He stayed on in the service and served as a Navy medic during the Korean
conflict. At one point he went out into a mine field to rescue a man who had
landed on a mine. Carrying the man, he stepped on a mine himself and flew up into
the air. . . . and landed on a second mine. Paul received a purple heart
for his valor.
It was some time before his hearing returned, but it did, and he became a
history teacher. My father asked him once if he had second thoughts before he
went out into that mine field, and Paul said, "Yes, but I promised I would help
people, and so that's what I did."
I hope my cousins have joined the CANNON Listowner Post, because they can
tell Paul's story better than I
.
Donna Hoover Olsen