Company remembers three employees lost in WWII
Memorial Day, an American holiday observed on the last Monday of May, honors men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. Originally known as Decoration Day, it originated in the years following the Civil War and became an official federal holiday in 1971.
During World War II, 92 employees, or 25 percent of Mississippi Power’s workforce entered the armed forces. Three employees made the ultimate sacrifice for America.
John Pittman
Born in Lauderdale Co., John Pittman was an accounting clerk in the billing office when he was called into service.
The Master Sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Force was headed to Boxted, England, on Nov. 19, 1944, when the aircraft departed on the airstrip near Luxembourg. The plane never arrived at its destination and was not seen or heard from after the takeoff.
Pittman is memorialized at the Tablets of the Missing in the Ardennes American Cemetery in Neupre, Belgium.
Lash Rushing
A lineman in his hometown of Hattiesburg before the war, Elmer Lash Rushing served in the U. S. Army as a private in the 548th Infantry, Replacement Company. The replacement company is the basic replacement delivery unit on the battlefield.
He was wounded on the Italian front and died on March 4, 1945.
John Ellard
Born in the small town of Pittsboro in Calhoun Co., John Ellard was a commercial clerk at the General Office before he went overseas.
Ellard was captured when Bataan and Corregidor fell and later died in a Japanese prison camp.
Mississippi Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), produces safe, reliable and environmentally responsible energy for more than 188,000 customers in 23 southeast Mississippi counties. With nearly 160 megawatts of approved solar energy capacity, Mississippi Power is the largest partner in providing renewable energy in the state of Mississippi. Visit our websites at mississippipower.com and mississippipowernews.com, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
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