In 1961, J.C. Fairley was elected president of the Hattiesburg chapter of the NAACP.  He remembers being warned of the danger of accepting such a high profile position by another civil rights leader, Medgar Evers.

 John Frazier made a highly publicized attempt to become the first African-American to enroll at the University of Southern Mississippi in March of 1964. Fairley recalls accompanying Frazier to the USM campus and the welcome they received. He also explains how they successfully integrated 90% of Forrest County’s hotels and restaurants in just one day.

 June 12^th marks the 50^th Anniversary of the death Medgar Evers. Mississippi Moments salutes the brave Mississippians who stood up for what was right during that turbulent time. Please enjoy this extended version of the original broadcast episode.

In 2005, Joseph Hammonds of Sand Hill was serving in Iraq with the 150^th Combat Engineer Battalion. He remembers searching for stockpiles of weapons and the danger posed by improvised explosive devices or I.E.D.s. 

Hammonds recalls earning a Combat Action Citation for surviving an I.E.D. attack while on patrol in the spring of that year. He reflects on the heavy price paid by tank crews who often took the lead in convoys.

While in Iraq, Hammonds’ grandfather passed away and he was denied leave time to attend the funeral. He explains how missing that funeral possibly saved the lives of his friends.

Senator Theodore Smith of Corinth was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives in 1936.  He recalls the push to establish a state highway program and marvels at the number of highways that the state managed to pave for $40 million.

According to Smith, many backroom deals were struck at the King Edward Hotel.  He reflects on how the center of power shifted from the Governor’s Office to the Legislature during his political career.

Hattiesburg native, Robert St. John opened his first restaurant, The Purple Parrot, in 1987. He explains his decision to have multiple dining formats in the same building.

St. John has authored seven cookbooks and his weekly food column is syndicated in thirty newspapers.  In this extended version of the original episode, he discusses how his love of traditional Southern cooking, seafood and Creole cuisine has shaped his own cooking style and how Southern cooking has evolved in the past twenty-five years.

When Frank Forsyth of Foxworth watched the lone B-29 bomber fly over the camp where he had lived as a POW for three years, he was unaware that it was carrying a nuclear bomb in its belly.  Soon after the bomb was dropped on the nearby town of Nagasaki, he was set free to wander the country.  In this extended version of the radio broadcast, Forsyth recalls the shock of seeing the completely destroyed city. He also talks about returing to the USA before re-enlisting in the Marines.

Happy Memorial Day from Mississippi Moments.

Dr. James Moye of Laurel was a bomber pilot during WWII.  He remembers the day his B-24 was shot down over Austria and how he and his crew were captured by the Germans.

In this extended version of the radio broadcast, Moye details the highly organized intelligence gathering operations conducted by the British prisoners. He also recounts his three harrowing escape attempts.

This is an entertaining episode and a good way to reflect on the sacrifices made by our troops during WWII as Memorial Day approaches.

Hunter Kimbrough, of Bay St. Louis, was 13 when he met his brother-in-law: noted writer and social activist, Upton Sinclair. He remembers Sinclair as nice, but a little eccentric.

In this extended version of the radio broadcast we hear many interesting details about Sinclair's dealings with the famous Russian director Sergei Eisenstein.

Kimbrough also tells the story of the day that he and Sinclair were arrested for trying to make a speech.

Gulf Coast resident Hunter S. Kimbrough met many important Mississippians during his lifetime. He recalls his family’s long association with Mrs. Jefferson Davis

Kimbrough also met Judge Hardy and Captain Jones, the founders of Hattiesburg and Gulfport.

He describes Mississippi Governor and Senator Theodore Bilbo as a political opponent and family friend.

   In April of 1974, Hattiesburg native General Sidney Berry was appointed Supervisor of the U.S. Army’s West Point Military Academy. He recalls the job interview with General Creighton Abrams and how that meeting affected his tenure at the Academy.

   In 1975, Congress authorized the admission of women to West Point.  Berry discusses overseeing the transition and how the West Point Code of Honor was put to the test during a cadet cheating scandal.

In 1881, Laz Lopez opened the South’s first seafood factory in Biloxi. Julius Lopez, Jr. recalls his grandfather’s rags to riches story.

At its peak, Lopez-Elmer was the largest seafood packer in the country.  Lopez discusses the company’s glory days.