Histories

The grim realities of war were brought home to Newton citizens for the first time when Otis Hays recevied word from the U. S. Navy department that his son Victor O. Hays, seaman second class had been killed in action while in performance of his duties toward his country.

The eighteen-year-old hero was the son of Otis and Fern Hays and was born in this city on July 25, 1923. He spent most of his life here with the exception of a year and a half he resided with his parents in Salina. He was a member of the First Baptist church and the Boy Scouts and in January, 1941, quit school to enlist in the United States navy.

He was sent to the Great Lakes Naval Training school and returned home in March, 1941, for a ten day visit with relatives after which he was sent to San Diego, Calif. He was fond of his chosen work and altho could have remained on the west coast expressed a desire to go to Hawaii, to which place he was sent durning the early summer. He was a patient in the base hospital at Pearl Harbor for three months and was released from that place the day of the Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese.

In a letter to his mother written January 22, 1942, he told of his expectaions of seeing her soon so it is presumed he was enroute to the states.

The death of Victor was the first Newton casualty in the recent war although another soldier Pvt. Robert Barr died of pneumonia at Camp Pendleton, Ore., during December. An unusual incident concerning the death of these two boys is that both were formely employed at the Regent theatre in this city where they both won many friends in their dealings with the public.

He is survived by his father, his mother Mrs. Fern Hays and a sister, Mrs. Verdun Thomas.


Memorial services for Second Class Seaman Victor Otis Hays, the first Newton boy killed in action in the present war will be held at 3:00 o'clock Sunday afternoon at the First Baptist Church. The Rev. E. E. McFarlane, pastor of the church will speak at the service and will be assisted by the Wayne G. Austin post of the American Legion, The Whitesell-Finnell post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Home Guard.

Services for the young hero which were to have been held in February were postponed for several weeks due to rumors which persisted that he had been transferred from his ship prior to the sinking of the USS Neeches and which proved false.


He was aboard the USS Neeches when it was torpedoed somewhere in the "Pacific" on January 21 and was among 56 boys who made the supreme sacrifice for our country, more than 100 boys were saved.