F-Company LogoThis is a tribute to my father-in-law, Donald Leroy Meredith and his WWII Army Unit, F-Company, 172nd Infantry, 43rd Division, Pacific Theater.

I had known him for about 17 years and he never mentioned his service in World War II until I visited the Company F Reunion with him. After that, he enjoyed sharing many stories and I greatly benefited from becoming a part of the Company F family.

Most of my information is based on correspondence and conversation with Leonard Hall who wrote a book, Brothers of the Fox, the story of Company F, published in 1986. Mr Hall can be reached by writing: Leonard G. Hall, 10 Circle G, Orange, TX.

F Company
Annual Family Reunion:

The 2006 F Company Family Reunion was held in Guntersville, Alabama on July 20-22, 2006. This may have been the last "official" reunion. It was great. I would like to thank all those who worked to put it together for the F-Company veterans and the families who attended. Links to the 2006 reunion photos and the Flag Disposal Ceremony are at the bottom of the page. Also there are links to other reunions I attended and a Company F Photo.


Donald Leroy Meredith
Apr. 28, 1921 - Dec. 24, 2001
and bride, Mary Jane Hill
Jan. 23, 1925 - Apr. 19, 2003.
Married Feb. 14, 1942.

At the 2004 reunion, Leonard Hall told me about two websites that are very intersting for the F-Company family. FOX COMPANY 1941 -1945, is by Peter Flood who is the son of F-Company 1stSgt, Francis E. Flood. Peter has done a great job with this website. He has rosters of F-Company members dating back to the beginnings of the company.

The other was "USS President Coolidge" by scuba diver, Michael McFadyen, who has written an extensive documentaion of the SS President Coolidge as it lies on the floor of the Pacific. The link Mr. Hall gave me no longer works but one can find information by doing searches.

I have a list of F-Comapny members with information supplied by Mr. Hall. I do not have my list posted on the Internet but will provide copies via regular mail if I am contacted by interested persons. Mr Hall also provided me with much more information which I will be addding to my list as time permits.

When General Douglas MacArthur promised, "We shall return." it was men and women like those in Company F who made the promise come true.

Here are the names of the men of F Company who sailed to combat on the SS PRESIDENT COOLIDGE:


Richard Bell,
Robert Bell,
Howard Bohannon,
Trinidad Borrego,
William Campbell,
Lieutenant Henry Carver,
Arthur Cooper,
Raymond Coyner,
Theron Clough,
Captain Alfred DeAngelis,
Emit "Tex" Ellison,
Francis E. Flood,
Derrel B Frazier,
Johnny Green,
Ollis D. Griffin,
Leonard G. Hall,
Charlie Hampton,

Lloyd Hedrick,
Dolphus C. Kennedy,
Herbert H Lee,
Willard Mitchell,
Warren B. Mullins,
Henry Pietilla,
John P. Price,
Marion O. Savage,
Delbert Selman,
Woodrow Silvia,
Leonard Simmons,
Chester Starcher,
Lionel St. Gelais,
William D. Sullivan,
Patricio Torrez,
Chester Wise,
Minto Gilstrap.


Donald Leroy Meredith joined the unit later.

Company F Action

Don Meredith's name is mentioned in the book six times by my count as he joined the unit in New Zealand after they had been in the Pacific Theater for some time. I do not know the dates of when he arrived. The ship used to transport the whole 172nd Infantry to the war zone was the SS President Coolidge. It hit a mine and sank off the coast of Espiritu Santos, a large island in the New Hebrides group. All the men were able to reach shore safely except one, Captain Edward Euart, who died saving others.

In my opinion, all of the men and women who served in World War II were heroes. They left their families behind and sailed off to unknown parts of the world not to retake the Phillipines but simply to do their duty, to follow orders. They had no idea where their movements stood in the big picture of the war. They shared in deadly battle, in sickness, in fun, in pranks and in the overall misery that is war. The sum is measured in the result that the enemy did surrender and we in this country enjoy the freedoms they preserved for us today.

Below is one exerpt from the book, Brothers of the Fox which gives one example of the terror of war experienced on a daily basis by these men.

"Last night was a hellish nightmare. The enemy had infiltrated Company F's defenses and had bayoneted two men to death, wounded others seriously, and had lost some of their own in bitter hand to hand combat. This attack followed one bitter banzai attack two days earlier, and the strain was beginning to tell on some of the company's most stable soldiers.

During the day, the machine gun section had been supplemented by the addition of a fifty caliber air cooled machine gun. Also, Ellison's squad had been moved into the breach where the Japs had broken through last night. Doc Savage and Don Meredith had taken over the fifty caliber, while Ellison and Hall manned the squads thirty caliber. Platoon sergeant, Bill Sullivan and section sergeant, Theron Clough furnished rifle support on the right flank.

Ellison and Hall instead of utilizing the normal two man slit trench dug individual trenches at oblique angles to one another in an effort to increase their field of fire. Other precautions were taken just prior to nightfall as both groups and individuals moved from positions to booby trap all availiable approaches into the perimeter. ...

Hardly had darkness descended when grenades started exploding from different spots all around the perimeter. Ellison was greatly distressed with repeated noises to the rear, but Hall, who was too sick to really care, assured him that a piss ant would have trouble penetrating the perimeter..."

Company F, 4th Platoon Photo
Year 2006 Reunion Photos, Hampton Inn, Guntersville, AL
Year 2006 Flag Disposal Ceremony
Year 2004 Reunion Photos, Hot Springs, Arkansas
Year 2002 Reunion Photos, Lake Guntersville State Park
Year 2001 Reunion Photos, Lake Guntersville State Park
Year 2000 Reunion Photos, Lake Guntersville State Park
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