PEMBROKE — One of the few things Carmable Revels remembers about her brother is that he died while serving his country, but now she has something she can hold on to.
On Friday, Revels, 92, put on the U.S. Army “dog tags” worn by her brother, Furman Williams Jr., for the first time and let them drape across her neck as she sat in her home in Pembroke. She swore that day she would never take them off.
“It makes me feel like I’m close to him,” she said.
Cliff Davids, an oral historian who knew a close friend of Williams, was able to track down Revels in 2001 and show her the dog tags, the Bronze Star, Silver Star and Purple Heart awarded to Williams, but was unable to give them to Revels. This time around they were hers to keep.
He was able to convince the family of Williams’ friend that Revels should have the medals and other items, Davids said.
Revels looked upon the medals with joy. Although they had not seen each other since they were children, she knew her brother was a brave man.
“I’m proud of him,” Revels said while holding the items close to her. “He must have been a good soldier to get all of these medals.”
“He was a brave warrior,” Davids said.
According to a story about Williams printed in The Robesonian in 2001, he fought in the Korean War and received his Bronze Star for his actions on June 2, 1951, in Pangori, Korea, where he engaged the enemy under heavy enemy fire. Williams received his Silver Star as result of his actions in a subsequent battle. During that battle Williams left the safety of his position and attacked a charging enemy soldier using hand grenades and rifle fire.
Williams died in 1959, while stationed in Germany. According to The Robesonian article, he drowned while trying to save a small child.
Revels did not know any of these details until 2001. Before then, all she knew was that her brother died while serving in the military at age 26.
The last time she saw him was after her mother died in 1934, before they were separated because they had different mothers. Her brother went with his father and ended up at an orphanage in Asheville after his father died when Williams was 6 years old. Williams grew up at the orphanage, and joined the Army after graduating high school.
Davids was able to make the connection between Williams, who is of American Indian descent, and his sister through a friend Williams considered his brother while growing up in the orphanage. Davids met the man in about 1990 while working on the orphanage’s alumni association’s 100th anniversary celebration.
Fred Kurfees grew up in the orphanage with Williams and they considered themselves to be like brothers. Kurfees was given Williams’ medals and other articles because orphanage administrators believed the deceased soldier had no living blood relatives.
Revels had tried to locate her brother many times with no luck. .
“I was hurt, and I was glad because he (Davids) was the only person who helped me,” she said.
Kurfees made it a point to talk to Davids before his death. Kurfees spoke of Williams’ bravery in the military and how it should be highlighted as part of the alumni event. Davids took the lead and dug into Williams’ life, and the possibility of living relatives in Pembroke.
Davids struck gold.
Davids met with Revels in 2001 and was able to show Revels her brother’s medals, some pictures and other items, but Kurfees and his family refused at the time to turn them over to Revels. He gave it another try and succeeded.
Revels’ daughter, Barbara Locklear, remembers her mother often praying for answers and for help finding her brother. She has some closure now, Locklear said.
“I thank God, really, for answering her prayers,” Locklear said. “I really am thankful.”
To share Williams’ sacrifice, they plan to donate his medals to the Museum of the Southeast American Indian at The University of North Carolina at Pembroke so others will know the positive role Americans Indians have played in the military.
“We’re putting the final chapter of Williams’ story down,” Davids said. “It’s history in the making.”
