While enjoying the quiet life of retirement on his farm north of Lohman, 90-year-old Artwin "Art" Ehrhardt recounted in his youth there was rarely an opportunity to venture any further than the borders of Cole County.
By NATHAN HAVENNER | Messenger-Inquirer | Published: May 23, 2021 CENTERTOWN, Ky. (Tribune News Service) Navy Fireman 3rd Class Welborn Lee Ashby, a casualty of the Dec. 7, 1941, Pearl Harbor attack, will finally be laid to rest among his family in his hometown of Centertown in Ohio County on Memorial Day. Ashby was 24 years old and serving aboard the USS West Virginia during the surprise attack. The ship was struck by multiple enemy torpedoes, and 106 crewmen, including Ashby were killed. He was reported to be the first World War II casualty from Ohio County. Ashby s remains were recovered during salvage operations of the ship but were unable to be identified at the time. He was buried as an unknown in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii. In 2017, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency exhumed 35 caskets from the cemetery containing the remains of USS West Virginia casualties. DNA samples provided by his family led to Ashby s identification in 2019.
Memorial Day burial planned for Ohio Co. sailor killed at Pearl Harbor
Memorial Day burial planned for Ohio Co. sailor killed at Pearl Harbor By Jill Lyman | May 7, 2021 at 2:34 PM CDT - Updated May 7 at 11:10 PM
OHIO CO., Ky. (WFIE) - There are more details now for the funeral plans of a Ohio Co. man who died during the attack at Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941.
As we reported, the remains of Navy Fireman 3rd Class Welborn Ashby of Centertown were finally identified in November 2019.
After getting identified, Ashby will now come home to Centertown, Kentucky, for burial.
We’re told a service will be on Memorial Day, May 31, 2021 at Bevil Brothers Funeral Home in Beaver Dam.