Hometown
Pine Bluff, Arkansas
Honored By
Zillah Irby
WORKED IN OFFICE OR SUPPLY SECTION AT PINE BLUFF ARSENAL (ALL SHIFTS AND WEARING BRACES ON BOTH LEGS TO HIPS; BRACES WERE METAL AND WEIGHTED 10 POUNDS). WALKED ON CRUTCHES. VERNON HAD POLIO IN 1925 AT AGE 8. POLIO LEFT HIM A PARAPALEGIC. HE WISHED SO MUCH TO ENTER THE SERVICE AND BECOME A PILOT. HE DID TRAIN IN PINE BLUFF AND LEARNED TO PILOT SMALL PLANES, BUT OF COURSE, WAS NOT IN ANY BRANCH OF SERVICE.