Lynne's Lens
Bradley School, 1940
It sits out in the middle of nowhere, abandoned now and surrounded by farmland. It is accessible by an infrequently used dirt road, and if you weren't looking for it, you'd never find the Bradley School, home to area students from 1940 - the early 1990s. This is where the younger Neill kids went to school, and in a small community such as Bradley, it is where many of the town's social functions took place for decades.
The one-story structure was built by the WPA in 1940 after the previous two-story structure was condemned, and Josephine Neill's much younger brother, Sam (born 1922), was likely in the first graduating class at the new school.
After graduation, Sam left tiny Bradley and the family farm to attend college at Southwest Tech in Weatherford, OK. It is doubtful that he graduated before joining the U.S. Army Air Corps to become a pilot, but that was no matter -- duty called, and Sam wanted to fly.
During the time that Sam was in flight school nearby, his older sister (by two years), Ernestine, recalled Sam taking out his plane and buzzing the family farm two miles from the school, to the delight of his widowed mother, adoring sisters, and other onlookers.
Yes, Sam was quite a character, full of fun and spirit, and being the youngest of seven children, he was likely a bit spoiled, too. But, that didn't mean that he wasn't a hard worker; in fact, he excelled in pilot training and received his wings on July 29, 1943, two days before his 21st birthday.
To celebrate, Sam married his girlfriend, Jerry, on the same day, in Frederick, OK, and I can imagine that the whole family showed up for the graduation and wedding with great excitement. Sam's mom, Lena, probably shed a few happy tears as she welcomed a new daughter into the family. I imagine that she also spent a moment missing her husband, James "Ott", who died when Sam was only four. He would have been so proud of his youngest child and very pleased to see all of the family together under such happy circumstances.
Ott's oldest child, Josephine, would have been there with her husband, Buford. Also in attendence would be Ruben and Frankie, who, although they weren't blood relatives to the Neills, had lived with the family for so long that everyone considered them their own. Of course, older sister Carrie and her husband would make the trek from OKC to Frederick for the special day, and Ernestine, Sam's senior by a mere two years and his favorite childhood playmate, wouldn't for anything miss seeing her baby brother earn his wings and get married.
Big brother, J.O., was likely the only member of the family to not make the festivities. A Marine, he was aboard the U.S.S. New Orleans in the Pacific theater on this special day, but he surely sent his well wishes.
Soon after graduating, Sam became a pilot flying Marauders in the 597th Bomber Squadron, 397th Bomber Group. The group remained stateside until 1944, when it was called overseas. Sam left his young bride, large family, and the flat, hot plains of Oklahoma for the cooler coastal climate of Rivenhall, England, where his group was stationed in April of 1944.
In the months to come, Sam must have flown several dangerous bombing missions before and during the long and bloody D-Day invasion, likely receiving flak from Nazi anti-aircraft guns strategically placed along the beaches of France and even inland. He probably felt very lucky every time he returned, exhausted but safe, to Rivenhall. Unfortunately, his luck didn't last long.
During a mission to bomb bridges in western Paris on June 24, 1944, a month shy of his 22nd birthday, Sam's plane went down. The July 11th issue of the Daily Oklahoman reported that Sam was missing over France, the 1,082nd Oklahoman listed to date as missing since the beginning of the war. (The same issue listed Okahoman casualties to that point as 1,205 killed in action, 1,082 missing in action, 642 prisoners, and 1,728 wounded).
Soon after, Sam's status was changed to FOD (finding of death), and a marker was placed in his name at Epinal Cemetery in France.
Back in Bradley, the small town mourned. Everyone was so distraught at losing one of their own that a memorial for the young pilot was organized to say goodbye to Sammy, as everyone at home knew him.
As Dr. Jerry G. Nye, who was in the 4th grade at Bradley School at the time, recalled in a 2007 Lindsay News article about Pearl Harbor, "When Lt. Sammy Neill, the brother of J.O. Neill, was killed when the B-26 bomber he was piloting was shot down in Europe, a memorial service was held in the Bradley School gym. We were too young to attend, but we realized the tragedy of war when a young man we knew paid the ultimate price."
After the war, Sams' mother, Lena, and his sister, Carrie, made the sad trip to a tired and battered but very grateful France to find him and say a final goodbye to the baby of the family.
As for the Bradley School, it remained open for decades and served in various capacities until the area's population dwindled so much that the district was combined with nearby Alex, and the school closed in the early 90's. Like Sammy, who rests so far from home and family, it now sits alone and half forgotten in the quiet farm fields in the middle of nowhere.
Bradley School, 1940
It sits out in the middle of nowhere, abandoned now and surrounded by farmland. It is accessible by an infrequently used dirt road, and if you weren't looking for it, you'd never find the Bradley School, home to area students from 1940 - the early 1990s. This is where the younger Neill kids went to school, and in a small community such as Bradley, it is where many of the town's social functions took place for decades.
The one-story structure was built by the WPA in 1940 after the previous two-story structure was condemned, and Josephine Neill's much younger brother, Sam (born 1922), was likely in the first graduating class at the new school.
After graduation, Sam left tiny Bradley and the family farm to attend college at Southwest Tech in Weatherford, OK. It is doubtful that he graduated before joining the U.S. Army Air Corps to become a pilot, but that was no matter -- duty called, and Sam wanted to fly.
During the time that Sam was in flight school nearby, his older sister (by two years), Ernestine, recalled Sam taking out his plane and buzzing the family farm two miles from the school, to the delight of his widowed mother, adoring sisters, and other onlookers.
Yes, Sam was quite a character, full of fun and spirit, and being the youngest of seven children, he was likely a bit spoiled, too. But, that didn't mean that he wasn't a hard worker; in fact, he excelled in pilot training and received his wings on July 29, 1943, two days before his 21st birthday.
To celebrate, Sam married his girlfriend, Jerry, on the same day, in Frederick, OK, and I can imagine that the whole family showed up for the graduation and wedding with great excitement. Sam's mom, Lena, probably shed a few happy tears as she welcomed a new daughter into the family. I imagine that she also spent a moment missing her husband, James "Ott", who died when Sam was only four. He would have been so proud of his youngest child and very pleased to see all of the family together under such happy circumstances.
Ott's oldest child, Josephine, would have been there with her husband, Buford. Also in attendence would be Ruben and Frankie, who, although they weren't blood relatives to the Neills, had lived with the family for so long that everyone considered them their own. Of course, older sister Carrie and her husband would make the trek from OKC to Frederick for the special day, and Ernestine, Sam's senior by a mere two years and his favorite childhood playmate, wouldn't for anything miss seeing her baby brother earn his wings and get married.
Big brother, J.O., was likely the only member of the family to not make the festivities. A Marine, he was aboard the U.S.S. New Orleans in the Pacific theater on this special day, but he surely sent his well wishes.
Soon after graduating, Sam became a pilot flying Marauders in the 597th Bomber Squadron, 397th Bomber Group. The group remained stateside until 1944, when it was called overseas. Sam left his young bride, large family, and the flat, hot plains of Oklahoma for the cooler coastal climate of Rivenhall, England, where his group was stationed in April of 1944.
In the months to come, Sam must have flown several dangerous bombing missions before and during the long and bloody D-Day invasion, likely receiving flak from Nazi anti-aircraft guns strategically placed along the beaches of France and even inland. He probably felt very lucky every time he returned, exhausted but safe, to Rivenhall. Unfortunately, his luck didn't last long.
During a mission to bomb bridges in western Paris on June 24, 1944, a month shy of his 22nd birthday, Sam's plane went down. The July 11th issue of the Daily Oklahoman reported that Sam was missing over France, the 1,082nd Oklahoman listed to date as missing since the beginning of the war. (The same issue listed Okahoman casualties to that point as 1,205 killed in action, 1,082 missing in action, 642 prisoners, and 1,728 wounded).
Soon after, Sam's status was changed to FOD (finding of death), and a marker was placed in his name at Epinal Cemetery in France.
Back in Bradley, the small town mourned. Everyone was so distraught at losing one of their own that a memorial for the young pilot was organized to say goodbye to Sammy, as everyone at home knew him.
As Dr. Jerry G. Nye, who was in the 4th grade at Bradley School at the time, recalled in a 2007 Lindsay News article about Pearl Harbor, "When Lt. Sammy Neill, the brother of J.O. Neill, was killed when the B-26 bomber he was piloting was shot down in Europe, a memorial service was held in the Bradley School gym. We were too young to attend, but we realized the tragedy of war when a young man we knew paid the ultimate price."
After the war, Sams' mother, Lena, and his sister, Carrie, made the sad trip to a tired and battered but very grateful France to find him and say a final goodbye to the baby of the family.
As for the Bradley School, it remained open for decades and served in various capacities until the area's population dwindled so much that the district was combined with nearby Alex, and the school closed in the early 90's. Like Sammy, who rests so far from home and family, it now sits alone and half forgotten in the quiet farm fields in the middle of nowhere.