August 2021 – John Durwood Abbott
Merchant Marines / U.S. Army 1945-1947

John Durwood Abbott was born November 4, 1922, in Wesson, Arkansas, the only child of Henry C. and Carrie May Abbott. John left school after the 7th grade to work on tugboats towing barges from Houston, Texas, to Mobile, Alabama. He joined the maritime services in early 1945 and was assigned to the Tosetalle, a T-2 fuel tanker, where he spent much of his time as helmsman. His ship crossed the Pacific Ocean, avoiding mines and at least one Japanese submarine. In August 1945, they were 800 mines off the coast of Okinawa when “the bomb” was dropped. He received his honorable discharge in September and immediately joined the U.S. Army.

After bootcamp at Camp Stoneman, Calif., he boarded a transport ship headed to Iwo Jima by way of Guam and Saipan, where he served for a year overseas. He received his honorable discharge in July 1947 and was awarded the World War II Victory Medal and lapel button for his time in the Army.
John returned to the midsouth and attended Hemp Hill Diesel School in Memphis, intending to bolster the knowledge he had obtained during his time in the service. After his marriage in 1948 to Janie Reamonia Millican, his plans changed. To pursue his interest in horology (the study and measurement of time), he moved his family to Farmerville, La., to do on-the-job-training under two of his cousins who were watchmakers and jewelers.

John opened his first jewelry store in Camden, Ark., where he also worked part-time as a security guard at a local ordinance plant. Once he moved his family and business to Gurdin, Ark., his business flourished. He attracted the attention of the men who worked for the Missouri-Pacific Railroad and quickly became the official watch inspector for the railroad. He eventually was the only person allowed to work on watches for the railroad workers. About 1952, he unrooted everything and moved to Millington, Tennessee, where he opened a jewelry shop on Navy Road and did a booming business for almost 20 years. He eventually opened a small shop in Munford, and another in Frayser. Ready for a change, he closed his stores in the early 1970’s and moved his family to Australia. He quickly found work in horology there; but after a couple of years, it was time to return home. He reopened his businesses in Millington and Frayser with his wife as bookkeeper. Her death in 2010 irrevocably changed things, and in 2018 he decided it was time to retire. He spends his days working around his house and property in Drummonds and can usually be found tinkering in his garage or cutting his yard.

He is a member of the Tipton County Veterans Council and American Legion Post 237. John was nominated for Veteran of the Month by Kathy Desjarlais.