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With Three Sons In Navy, 'Mom Slocum' Called Ideal War Mother By Servicemen

With Three Sons In Navy, 'Mom Slocum' Called Ideal War Mother By Servicemen image
Parent Issue
Day
22
Month
October
Year
1945
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Copyright Protected
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Donated by the Ann Arbor News. © The Ann Arbor News.
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With Three Sons In Navy, ‘Mom Slocum’ Called Ideal War Mother By Servicemen

"Mom Slocum"—they call her.

Not only because she has three sons In the Navy and three other children at home, but also because many of the servicemen In Ann Arbor know her as an ideal war-time mother.

And for Mom Slocum the war Is not yet over—not as long as there's a serviceman on campus who might bound up her steps in need of advice, or a room for his sweet-heart, or a "home away from home" for himself. And the war will not be over for Mom until her three sailor boys return to remove the service flag from her window themselves.

But In the meantime, she and her husband. James R. Slocum, carry on at their family home, 1117 Forest Ave., where they have lived and raised their children for more than 20 years.

Keeps Self Busy

At the present time Mrs. Slocum is chairman of knitting for four different organizations, the Ann Arbor Woman's Club, MOMs, Red Cross, and Russian relief. During her six years in Red Cross work she has handled 5,500 articles, seeing to it that the raw materials were given out to workers, gathered the finished garments in, packed and shipped them overseas.

She herself has delivered eight afghans for wheelchair patients at Percy Jones hospital and already has more to go. During 1944 she sold $40,000 worth of War Bonds and during the seventh drive alone, sold $12,000 worth.

"But," she says, "you should be more interested in what the boys are doing.

"They have all fought in the Pacific," Mom began. "Right now Jim is probably floating through the same waters over there where Grandpa Slocum, a whaler, sailed 90 years ago. Grandpa Slocum went around the world in a sail boat and it took him five years."

One On An LST

Seaman, 1/C, James R. Slocum jr., 23 years old, is on an LST and been at Batangas on Luzon, and when last heard from was to go to Hokkaido which is only about 20 days from 'Frisco, he has informed his mother. He Is engaged in transporting Army troops, ambulances and drivers.

During the last battle at Okinawa, his LST was shot so full of holes, it was only kept from sinking by being tied to a tanker.

He enlisted in the Merchant Marines two years ago and transferred to the Navy last August. After his boot training at Great Lakes he volunteered for submarine duty but was assigned to the small ship and since March has seen action at Pearl Harbor, Saipan and Okinawa.

James Is married to the former Vera Comiskey and they have daughter, Linda, now two and half years old.

Petty Officer, 3/C, John O. Slocum Is 21 years old and has been In the Navy three years. He did his fighting since December, 1943, by handling torpedoes and rockets aboard the aircraft carrier Cabot at Peart Harbor, the Marshalls, the Gilberts, Truk, Yap, and was in the first battle of the Philippines.

Received Back Injury

Early in his Navy career while in training at Great Lakes, he received a back injury which put him in a cast for five months before he went overseas. He is awaiting his honorable discharge at present and has been attending school four nights a week at Alameda, Calif., in preparation for his entry Into the University upon his turn home.

Seaman, 1/C, Donald T. Slocum, 20, enlisted when he was 17 years old. He became a gunner’s mate at Great Lakes and was assigned to the destroyer escort Otterstetter and prowled for subs in the Atlantic, near Gibraltar, in South America, Iceland, Cuba, and ran into a nest of subs near Great Britain during the treacherous early days of the war.

After V-E day, his ship went through the Panama Canal to Pearl Harbor and Saipan and he is now somewhere near Iwo Jima.

Don’s day-by-day record of his sea experiences in the Pacific disclosed that he was often called upon to aid in the rescue of planes that had crashed before they could reach deck. Many of the accidents were caused by storms in the area which made it almost impossible for the planes to land on a carrier.

One of his buddies was washed overboard in a storm. Eight others went in after him to bring him back on deck an hour later. But the crew worked over the boy four hours and then had to give up. Several of the others were in bad shape, one especially who had gone under the bow of the boat while trying to rescue the drowned man, but they recovered, Don reported.

Mr. Slocum, senior, fought in World War I and now holds the office of adjutant in the local organization of Disabled War Veterans. He is employed at the Stanger Furniture Co. as an accountant. The rest of the family is composed of two younger sons, Howard and Hugh, and a daughter, Mary Ann.

Among Mrs. Slocum’s treasured possessions she holds high a silver cake plate presented to her not long ago by a group of her grateful admirers on campus. It Is engraved “To Mom Slocum...from Co. F." It seems the group wanted to show her in some tangible way how much they appreciated her parties which she gives for servicemen once a month with the aid of various organizations In the city.

Four members of the Slocum family of 1117 Forest Ave., who are still serving their country are Mrs. James B. "Mom" Slocum (upper left) and her sons, Seaman, 1/c, James R., jr. (upper right) Seaman, 1/c, Donald T. (lower left), and Petty Officer, 3/c, John O. (lower right). Mr. Slocum, senior, is a veteran of World War I. "Mom" Slocum and the three sailors have already been "in action" for a total of 14 years and are still going strong.