By Lee Henry
The Sunshine Girls visited Robert L. Pannell (“Bob”) this spring and enjoyed hearing some of his stories as a Veteran. Pannell is a U.S. Navy Korean War veteran who grew up on a farm in Wythe County. Pannell told us he loved the farm, the fish hatchery, and the trout streams. He said he was 9 years old, and all his friends, most of them cousins, lived in the next hollow over. As Pannell told his story, it wasn’t the first time we’ve heard this expression “down the holler.” It always makes us smile whenever we hear it.
Pannell ended up in Radford, where he graduated from Radford High School following the sale of his farm. After graduation, a chief petty officer came to the school and recruited Pannell and his buddy Bill. They joined together and ended up boarding the same ship. Pannell was on a D.E. Destroyer Escort—a maintenance ship that carried everything from ammunition to supplies for any repairs. His home base was Newport, R.I., and he went to the Navy Damage Control Training Center in Philadelphia for 16 weeks. There, Pannell learned everything from welding and woodworking to fixing torpedoes.
Pannell went on to tell us about the wet training on the USS Buttercup and the fires they had to put out where they had to remove their RBA’s (recruit breathing apparatus) in training. He said the smoke was awful, burning your eyes, but all part of the training to learn how to get through these situations should they happen on the ship’s lower deck.
Pannell’s experiences in the Navy took him all over the southern Mediterranean, Tunisia, North Africa, Italy, Spain, Turkey, and Greece.
Pannell shared one story mentioning when he and the sailors snuck over to the beach on a little boat tied up to the destroyer. He said they would go to the stern and walk across the catwalk, down the ladder on the fantail of the submarine, and board a little boat. Pannell and co. would go to the Riviera and hang out. He said some of the guys would drink cognac, but he didn’t join in as he was never a drinker. Another activity they enjoyed on their travels was watching the bullfights. Pannell smiled, telling us about all the yelling that they would do.
We then asked Pannell how he met his wife, Helen. He explained they met through friends on a blind date. They were married in 1954 and had four sons, seven grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Pannell’s sister worked for C&P Telephone Company which brought him to Troutville. His entire career was with the same company (C&P) when he was hired on July 3, 1955, by Glen Pullen of Fincastle.
Pannell said Glen was glad to have him and told him to report to work the next day. He laughed when he told us that he had to remind Glen that it would be on the July 4 holiday.
Pannell started his first job digging six-foot pole holes, then became a lineman, a cable splicer, and worked his way up to engineer assistant. We had fun talking about all the name changes of that phone company and technology as it is today. We smiled when we noticed Pannell and his wife still have a landline and were very satisfied with their phone service.
The Sunshine Girls love visiting veterans and hearing their stories. We encourage everyone to take time out of their Memorial Day weekend to remember those veterans we’ve lost over the years. If you live near a veteran, take a minute to drop by for a visit and thank them for their service. You may learn a little history while you’re there. They really do have some great stories to tell.
