Bess Alice Hambright Phifer celebrates
108th birthday Oct. 13
By Loretta Cozart
Bess Phifer will enjoy her 108th birthday with family and friends on Monday, October 13. As a child, she was called Bess Alice by everyone. Her family attended Antioch Baptist Church, and she attended school in a one-room schoolhouse her mother founded.
She grew up near Kings Mountain National Military Park, but the land was not owned by the National Park back then. Everyone around here just called it the battleground.
When Bess was 12, she attended the one-hundred-fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Kings Mountain. The year was 1930. President Herbert Hoover was the keynote speaker. Her mother had responsibilities during the celebration, so Bess and her siblings were free to wander.
During an interview with Bess eight years ago for her 100th birthday, she remembered the throngs of people in attendance at the battleground for the celebration. “The President’s speech was good; I remember seeing the speaker’s stand. Most of all,” she said, “I remember having the whole day free with all those people I didn’t know.” She had never seen so many gathered in one place.
After college, Bess became a teacher. During the throes of World War II, she did her part by knitting hats and gloves for servicemen. She even worked in the Charlotte Shell Plant. But her heart called her to do more.
She spoke with her principal when she heard she could support the war effort by serving in the Red Cross overseas. She applied for and was accepted into the Red Cross with his permission. She worked in Hilo and was stationed at a Rest Camp in Hawaii National Park, where soldiers returning from the war were on R&R. Soldiers received five days off to enjoy activities such as golf, crafts, archery, biking, reading, and horseback riding. Bess’s job was to boost morale, and she worked 15-hour days to that end.
While working in Hawaii, Bess met her future husband, Marriott Phifer, a native of Kings Mountain. Due to her duties, she didn’t see him much when he was at the camp. When asked if they ever dated in the Pacific, Bess replied, “When they told me they needed me to go to Guam, I got a week off. I spent a right smart time with Marriott that week,” she recalled with a smile.
The following week, she was in Guam. While there, Bess was assigned to a field hospital processing the troops freed from prison camps. “Most had spent four or five years as prisoners. And to see those fellows…” her voice trailed off. “I stayed up all night trying to process who they were, to gather a little information about them.
“They looked like death standing… practically every one of them. I had seen a lot of wounded because, in Guam, I stayed at the field hospital. There were 200 to 300 doctors there. I ate in the same places the men ate. In that hospital, all the wounded fellows were there. They couldn’t go home because they were waiting for transportation.
“All those fellows and no complaints from them,” she pauses. “That was what I noticed the most; they didn’t complain. Some were missing legs and arms. None in the beds could get up.
“I helped set up a place where the guys could have a magazine to read or listen to the radio. These guys hadn’t had radios or anything like that for years. Some of them didn’t even know who they were.”
When discharged and on her way stateside, Lieutenant Bess Alice Hambright witnessed General Douglas MacArthur’s signing the Peace Treaty on the USS Missouri. She spent the next 28 days traveling home to her family.
After the war, she returned home to Hambright Road and married Marriott Phifer in a double wedding with her sister. Together, Bess and Marriott had four children: Dr. Reta Phifer, Doyt Phifer, Connie Savell, and M.D. Phifer Jr., along with one granddaughter, Lesley Phifer.
Bess served her community, her nation, and all those men who truly needed her most on the Isle of Guam. In every case, she did her job exceptionally well. And those who know her are grateful for her service.
Happy 108th birthday, Bess Alice!
Bess Phifer will enjoy her 108th birthday with family and friends on Monday, October 13. As a child, she was called Bess Alice by everyone. Her family attended Antioch Baptist Church, and she attended school in a one-room schoolhouse her mother founded.
She grew up near Kings Mountain National Military Park, but the land was not owned by the National Park back then. Everyone around here just called it the battleground.
When Bess was 12, she attended the one-hundred-fiftieth anniversary of the Battle of Kings Mountain. The year was 1930. President Herbert Hoover was the keynote speaker. Her mother had responsibilities during the celebration, so Bess and her siblings were free to wander.
During an interview with Bess eight years ago for her 100th birthday, she remembered the throngs of people in attendance at the battleground for the celebration. “The President’s speech was good; I remember seeing the speaker’s stand. Most of all,” she said, “I remember having the whole day free with all those people I didn’t know.” She had never seen so many gathered in one place.
After college, Bess became a teacher. During the throes of World War II, she did her part by knitting hats and gloves for servicemen. She even worked in the Charlotte Shell Plant. But her heart called her to do more.
She spoke with her principal when she heard she could support the war effort by serving in the Red Cross overseas. She applied for and was accepted into the Red Cross with his permission. She worked in Hilo and was stationed at a Rest Camp in Hawaii National Park, where soldiers returning from the war were on R&R. Soldiers received five days off to enjoy activities such as golf, crafts, archery, biking, reading, and horseback riding. Bess’s job was to boost morale, and she worked 15-hour days to that end.
While working in Hawaii, Bess met her future husband, Marriott Phifer, a native of Kings Mountain. Due to her duties, she didn’t see him much when he was at the camp. When asked if they ever dated in the Pacific, Bess replied, “When they told me they needed me to go to Guam, I got a week off. I spent a right smart time with Marriott that week,” she recalled with a smile.
The following week, she was in Guam. While there, Bess was assigned to a field hospital processing the troops freed from prison camps. “Most had spent four or five years as prisoners. And to see those fellows…” her voice trailed off. “I stayed up all night trying to process who they were, to gather a little information about them.
“They looked like death standing… practically every one of them. I had seen a lot of wounded because, in Guam, I stayed at the field hospital. There were 200 to 300 doctors there. I ate in the same places the men ate. In that hospital, all the wounded fellows were there. They couldn’t go home because they were waiting for transportation.
“All those fellows and no complaints from them,” she pauses. “That was what I noticed the most; they didn’t complain. Some were missing legs and arms. None in the beds could get up.
“I helped set up a place where the guys could have a magazine to read or listen to the radio. These guys hadn’t had radios or anything like that for years. Some of them didn’t even know who they were.”
When discharged and on her way stateside, Lieutenant Bess Alice Hambright witnessed General Douglas MacArthur’s signing the Peace Treaty on the USS Missouri. She spent the next 28 days traveling home to her family.
After the war, she returned home to Hambright Road and married Marriott Phifer in a double wedding with her sister. Together, Bess and Marriott had four children: Dr. Reta Phifer, Doyt Phifer, Connie Savell, and M.D. Phifer Jr., along with one granddaughter, Lesley Phifer.
Bess served her community, her nation, and all those men who truly needed her most on the Isle of Guam. In every case, she did her job exceptionally well. And those who know her are grateful for her service.
Happy 108th birthday, Bess Alice!
