Kings: A Military family at heart

HEMINGWAY—Durwood King of Hemingway’s Center Community is not only a military veteran, but has a family history of military service with his brother, Garfield King, his two sons, Layne King and the late Lanny King, as well as son-in-law, Layne Bleess.
Durwood, a native of Arustus County, Maine, decided early on there were not sufficient employment opportunities for a young man like him, so he volunteered for the Navy at age 17. His parents had to sign for him to enlist, and Durwood was immediately sent to Great Lakes, Illinois for basic training). When finished there, he was sent to Charleston, SC, where he was stationed aboard the USS Gheraredy GMS 30 for service. His tour was interrupted when he was sent back to Great Lakes for machinist training, and upon completion, he went back to Charleston aboard the Gheraredy.
Durwood’s military service would be interrupted again when he met Mary Cook, who was working in Charleston while he was there. The two married at Citadel Square Baptist Church on June 28, 1952. .
Having gone to Boston, he left the military in April 1954. Durwood looked for employment, but was not happy with what he was found. When a recruiter came knocking on their door and Mary answered, she thought, “He’s gone now, for sure”.
And gone he was.
It didn’t take much to convince him that the military was a good place to be with the pay increase for reenlisting what it was, so he went back into the Navy in July 1954. This time he was on board the USS Johnnie Hutchings DE 360, where he served until the ship was put out of commission.
Durwood’s service then took him to Norfolk, Va., where he met the USS Ross DD 563, which was also put out of service in Orange, Texas in 1959. Once again he found himself back in Charleston with the Gearing DD 710. In 1960 he saw land duty once more when he was sent to the Reserve Training Center in Raleigh, N. C.
More service would follow aboard the Bigelow DD 942 in Mayport, Florida and with this ship he saw duty in Vietnam. This tour in Mayport lasted for six years and led to his retirement from the Navy in 1970 as a Master Chief Petty Officer.
By that time Mary’s parents had come to live in Hemingway and her mother’s health was poor, so they came to Hemingway, eventually purchasing some property in the Center Community. There, the couple built a home and became very active in the Center Baptist Church and community affairs. Their three children graduated Pleasant Hill High School. Not one to depend on military benefits for his livelihood, Durwood went to work for the South Carolina Public Service Works Authority—later Santee Cooper—as they built a new plant in Georgetown. He would spend a total of 20 years with that company. His final retirement coming in September of 1990.
In port on the Ivory Coast in 1959, the crew got orders to intercept a Portuguese Cruise Ship with over 100 Americans on board. This ship had been hijacked by chasing pirates. The men finally located the ship, but Brazil had already granted them amnesty. Nonetheless, it caused quite a sensation at their oldest son’s school when he told his class that his daddy was on a pirate ship. The teacher notified them that their son was telling tall tales, but as a child, he just misunderstood the facts. The word “pirates” seemed too fascinating to pass up.
Interested in guns, Durwood still doesn’t miss an opportunity to attend gun shows and his hobbies include hunting, fishing and traveling throughout the country.
Durwood’s oldest son, Layne, retired from the Navy November 1995 after 23 years of service, where he achieved the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer. Layne is currently vice-president of Good Will Industries in Memphis, Tenn.
Durwood’s son-in-law, Layne Bleess retired as Master Sergeant from the Air Force in November 1997 with 20 years of service. Bleess is now employed as a supervisor with Valero Oil Refinery in Benicia, California.
Garfield King, Durwood’s only brother, served in the US Marines from 1950-53, where he received numerous outstanding medals and citations. He went on to become an educator and kept close to his service buddies after his military service ended.
Youngest son, Lanny King, attended United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md. by special appointment where he received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Operations Analysis in 1978. His was an ever upward illustrious career for 16 years gaining the rank of Prospective Commanding Officer of the USS Carney, DDG-64 until his life was cut short at age 39 on Dec.14, 1995 from a sudden illness.
Durwood’s family moved with him to where his ships were home based, allowing the children, which included a daughter, Lori, years of wonderful experiences and exposure to military life. To say the least, theirs has been and still is, in heart, a military family.