Warren Ralph HUSTED

Warren spent his childhood at 221 W. Main St, Youngsville, PA, on the banks of the Broken Straw Creek, with an older sister, Elizabeth (1918 - 2003) and younger brother, Theodore (1922 - ).   He graduated from the historic Youngsville High School in 1937.

In 1938 Warren entered Houghton College in Houghton, NY and completed 4 years of pre-med studies. When asked why he went to Houghton College, He simply replied, “Because it was cheap.”
(It is noted that Houghton is a Wesleyan Methodist school and Warren’s family were devout Methodists.)
It is believed that Warren was pressured by his parents to take pre-med courses because;

He denied this, but offered no other reason for perusing a pre-med major.

In 1939 Warren met Mildred Anna SMITH, who was also in pre-med studies, working toward a nursing degree.  They both say that they met when he had a date with her room mate.  When he came to pick up his date, Mildred answered the door and told him that her roommate could’t go because she was ill with a cold, “But,” she added, “I’m available.”  So he took Mildred on the date instead.  They continued dating throughout college. Warren loved taking hikes in the nearby hills and said that Mildred was the only one who could keep up with him.

After completing 4 years of pre-med studies in 1942, Warren left college.  He did not continue to Med School and offers no reason for leaving college, other than saying, “There was a war on.”

(Note:  After his death, an old report card was found which indicated that Warren was a mediocre student, which may have been a factor.)

Warren enlisted in the Army and was assigned to Medic Basic Training.  He was promoted to Cpl. and was transferred to Laboratory Technical Training at Lawson Hospital, Atlanta, GA.  While there he was able to take advantage of a Specialized Training Program, in which the Army allowed him to attend classes at Georgia Tech where he took 2 semesters in Chemical Engineering.  He would have continued the studies, however, the Army canceled the program.

(Note: Warren never completed a college degree.  He once confided that he only short by a few History credits.)

Warren was given a furlough and went to Poughkeepsie, NY where he and Mildred Smith were married on Oct 3, 1943.

After a couple of weeks honeymoon, Warren reported as a medic to an Ordinance Battalion in Ft Stewart, GA.  The unit was then went to Ft Campbell KY in preparation for deployment to Austria.  During a routine medical exam it was discovered that he had a hernia.  The subsequent surgery and rehabilitation halted any prospect of being transferred to the European Theater of WWII with his unit.

After rehabilitation Warren was re-assigned to Ft Jackson in Columbia SC, where he was the NCOIC (Non Commissioned Officer in Charge) of the VD lab and morgue from 1944 to 1949.   During this tour of duty, he was assigned TAD (Temporary Additional Duty) to the Cadre for MASH 1.  (Basically, he was in charge of initial outfitting and training.) Once the MASH unit was fully trained and functional, they were deployed to Austria and Warren was returned to his duties at Ft Jackson.

In Apr of 1944, Mildred delivered a son, two months premature.  Named Howard HUSTED after Warren’s father, the baby only survived an hour.  In Sept 1945 the couple had a second son, Richard Warren HUSTED.

Mildred had remained with her family in Poughkeepsie after their marriage, mainly because of WWII.  A few months after Richard was born she joined Warren in Columbia, SC where the family resided in the enlisted quarters at Ft Jackson.

In Feb 1947 they had a third son, Raymond Howard HUSTED, named after both Mildred and Warren’s parents, Raymond SMITH and Howard HUSTED.

In 1949 Warren was encouraged by his superiors to apply for a commission in the Medical Admin Corps., which he did.  His application for a commission was approved, however, citing a shortage of Radar Officers, the Army commissioned him in the Coast Artillery Corps.

(Note: At military gates, the guards wave in enlisted personnel and salute the officers.  Warren loved to tell that on his first day as a 2^nd Lt. he drove in the gate and received his salute.  Warren immediately stopped and got out of the car.  The guard was both shocked and scared, fearing that he had done something wrong, but was surprised when Warren thanked him and handed him a silver dollar.  It is a custom in the military for an officer to give a silver dollar for his first salute.)

Warren was transferred to Ft Bliss, in El Paso, TX to attend radar school.  He tells that on graduation from radar school, his class was lined up alphabetically and they just went down the line, issuing duty assignments.  The fellow just before him was sent to a unit in Korea, while Warren was sent to a unit in Alaska.  Warren said that he later learned that the fellow just before him never actually set foot in Korea – his landing craft had been hit by hostile fire, killing all aboard. 

Warren’s Anti Aircraft Btn. was in Fairbanks, AK. and was one of the last all Black units of the segregated Army.  Because Alaska was not a state then, all service members and their dependents had to be cleared for “overseas” travel, so in July, 1951 Warren reported to Ft Lewis near Tacoma, WA for overseas screening.  Warren’s youngest son, Raymond was found to have a heart murmur and could not be cleared for overseas travel, so the family remained in Lakewood, WA, a suburb of Tacoma WA, while Warren proceeded unaccompanied to Fairbanks.

(Note: Raymond’s heart condition completely disappeared before adolescence.)

After two years in Alaska, Warren was transferred to a Nike Missile site in Hanford WA.  Having become settled, Mildred balked at yet another move, complaining that she wanted a “stay at home” husband.  Warren applied for and was granted a release from active duty in 1954, however, he remained with the Army Reserve, advancing to Major and eventually earning his Army Reserve Retirement in 1980.

After leaving active duty Warren worked in the quality control department at the Kaiser Aluminum plant in Tacoma, WA.  When Kaiser closed their Tacoma plant they recommended him to The Boeing Co. where he also worked in quality control.

When his sons joined Cub Scouts Warren became active with Cub Pack Committee.  When the boys moved on to Boy Scouts, Warren started working as a Boy Scout District Commissioner and became active in council activities.  With a love of the outdoors he also joined the Tacoma Mountaineers in 1954.  He completed the Basic Mountaineering course, having climbed Mt St Helens, Mt Adams and other Cascade peaks.  The family would often go camping or on outings, either on their own or with the Scouts or with the Mountaineers. If there was a minus tide, the family would camp on the dunes near Ocean City on the Washington coast to dig Pacific Razor clams. In the late 50s and early 60s Warren took up hunting.  Although not very successful, it provided another good excuse for an outing, especially when his older son joined him.

In the mid 60’s Warren was laid off from Boeing and he attempted a number of unsuccessful sales jobs, from kitchen knifes to waterless cookware to life insurance.  This was also during the early days of Ocean Shores and he earned part time money by driving prospective buyers on weekend day trips to see the property there.

Things had not been smooth at home for a long time. Warren and Mildred had slept in separate bedrooms since the late 50’s.  Warren started staying over with friends and eventually moved out all together in the mid 60’s.  In early 1967, Warren and Mildred were divorced.

Warren had been introduced to Mary (LeMASTERS) STEWART  by a mutual friend and on Oct 18, 1968 they were married and settled in Lacy WA., a suburb of Olympia, WA.  Warren found work in the quality control department at Continental Can Co. and Mary worked for the State Dept of Labor and Industries.

In Jun 1970 Mary gave birth to Warren’s fourth son, Brian Lee HUSTED.

Warren became a Grandpa for the first time in Apr 1972 with the birth of Richard’s son, Christopher Lee HUSTED and again in July 1976 with the birth of Richard’s second son, Trenton James HUSTED.

In the early 70s’ Warren and Mary offered themselves as a temporary Foster home and they estimate that during the 5 years they were in the program they were able to house and help an estimated 85 kids.

Mary retired in 1975 and Warren retired in 1982.  To celebrate their retirement Warren and Mary went on a round the world tour, leaving Brian with relatives in Alder WA.  On their return in Dec 1982, they discovered that Brian had been doing better in school in Alder than he had in Lacy, so they moved Alder WA.  In 1984 they moved to nearby Eatonville WA where Warren and Mary became active with the Masons and Eastern Star.

In 2002 Warren and Mary decided that they needed to be closer to the emanates of larger towns and moved back to Lacy where Warren remained active with Masons and the American Legion.

In Nov 2009, Warren again became a grandfather with the birth of Brian’s son, Zachary Warren HUSTED.

Warren suffered a massive coronary and died in Jan 6, 2010 while vacationing in Hawaii.