I have known Alma since the 5th grade, starting at Paramount Elementary School in Azuza California. At school during lunch hour, Alma worked in the cafeteria. There was an outside serving window that you would walk up to and order your ice cream and Alma would serve you what you wanted. Alma met my mother (Mildred Ebling) there at school for she also worked at the cafeteria as a cashier.
In the 5th or 6th grade we were both in a play together, I played the part of "Prince Charming" and Alma played the part of the "Wicked Step Mother", she sure could do the cackle great!
Both Alma and I were both put back and had to serve in the 3rd grade twice. Years later Alma told me what happened on that day, in her classroom they lined up in two lines, one line was for the students going into the 4th grade and the other line was for those staying in the 3rd grade again. Alma said she tried to move over into the line that was going on to the 4th grade, but the teacher kept putting her back in the other line. In looking back on that, it was a good thing for both of us, for we would later be in some of the same classes at Paramount and also Slauson Middle School and Azuza High School (God is good).
Alma was one of the nicest and kindest girls in school. She was also a good older sister to her other two sisters, Linda, and Joanne (her brother Howard was her mother's favorite of all her children). When one of her sisters did something wrong and Irene wanted to know who did it, Alma would tell her mother that she did it so the other sister would not get punished. Her mother Irene would be harsher on her sisters then with Alma.
During Alma's sophomore year in high school a wonderful thing happens to her, over the school's loudspeaker we were notified to assemble in the school's auditorium. We found out that one boy and one girl were to receive "Sophomore Girl" and "Sophomore Boy" of the year award, each received a trophy. This award was picked by the teachers, not the students. The girl's trophy was awarded to Alma, it reads "Alma Johnson, Outstanding Sophomore Girl, Class of 62, Azusa High School". Alma's mother kept this trophy for many years, it is still in the family.
Just before Alma's senior year at school, her family move out of Azusa for a time, but Irene wanted Alma to graduate with her friends that she had grown up with over the years. So, Alma went to live with her blood Aunt Gloria and her uncle Vincent Masongsong, they lived at 1152 W. Greenhaven Street, in Covina, California. Their home was in the Azusa School District, so Alma would be able to continue her senior year at Azusa High School.
When Alma and I were seniors in high school, I asked her to marry me, she said yes, but later broke off the engagement before we graduated that year in 1962, she said I was too controlling. After high school Alma got a job at a Sears Catalog Store in Azusa. Sometime around 1963 Alma got engaged a 2nd time to her aunt (Pauline (aka Polly) Virginia Williams)) younger brother, Larry Richard Williams (born 23 Aug 1941). He would later break off the engagement (thank God). Years later Larry's sister Polly told us that he had been married 4 times!
A short time later in 1963 my dad asked Alma to write to me, I was in the Marine Corps at that time (I enlisted during the Cuban Missile Crisis). We started to write to each other, being stationed at Camp Pendleton I would come home for the weekends. We started to date again, in early November of 1963 I went to the base PX (Post Exchange) and bought an engagement ring for Alma. I was able to get liberty for that weekend, so on Friday afternoon, November the 8th, I took the bus to Azusa. On the afternoon of the following day, Saturday November 9th, I took Alma out to dinner at the North Woods Inn at 540 N Azusa Ave, Covina, California. Before going into the restaurant and still in the car, I proposed to Alma, she said yes and both of us agreed to a March wedding. After dinner we went to the theater and watched a romantic comedy starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine called "Irma la Douce".
It was during our 2nd engagement that Larry got in touch with his sister Polly again and asked about Alma, she told him Alma is marrying Tom Ebling and to leave her alone!
On Friday the 13th of March I got one week leave, made it up to Azusa by bus, and arrived just in time for our wedding rehearsal that evening. The following day at 2:00 PM we were married at the first Baptist Church of Azusa (our home church). Later that afternoon we headed for Santa Barbara for our honeymoon. We got to Thousand Oaks and still had at least another hour of driving, so we decided to spend the night in one of the motels there in Thousand Oaks. The following morning (Sunday) we made it up to Santa Barbara, we visited the Santa Barbara Mission and then checked into a motel that was right of the beach. In the evening we went to a Japanese restaurant for dinner. For some crazy reason I thought Japanese food was very similar to Chinese food (I like fried rice very much). The people serving us were very polite and prepared our meal on the table in front of us. We found out we did not like most of the Japanese food that we ordered. We finished our dinner as soon as we could and headed down the street to a place that served up ice-cream and order that.
We spent a couple of days in Santa Barbara, then headed up to Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa (located in the town of San Luis Obispo). We toured the mission and then headed up to Hearst Castle, located off Highway 1, which is the Pacific Coast Highway leading up to Carmel and Monterey. We did the "downstairs tour" at Hearst Castle, and I must say it was most enjoyable and very interesting place to visit, Alma and I were very glad that we had this location on our honeymoon itinerary.
At the end of our honeymoon we headed back to Oceanside and applied for Alma's government allotment and filled out the paperwork for off base housing. Now that we were married, Alma would receive a government allotment, with that and the money that I made as Private First Class, we made a total of $170 a month. The reason I remember that is because our tithe to church was $17 a month.
After the honeymoon I reported back to Camp Vado del Rio. I remember a few days later having a talk with my Sgt. Wade, when he found out that I had got married, he said to me, "If we wanted you to have a wife, we would have issued you one!". That kind of remark is something that sticks in your head, and to this day I have never forgotten it.
Alma lived with her mother (Irene) for a time until our apartment became available. During this time, I was up in Azusa for the weekend, Alma, her mother, and I went to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) to put Alma's 1954 Plymouth Belvedere in her married name and in my name as joint owners. While there, Irene told Alma (in front of me and the rest of the people there) not to put the ownership in both are names, but Alma would have none of that, and told her mother no.
Alma and I lived off base at an apartment complex in Oceanside California called Sterling Homes (we and other families living there called it "Cockroach Paradise"). This apartment complex which was on a 56.6-acre site with 647-units, located at 620 Second Street (Mission Avenue) was for enlisted personnel and their families. Construction for these apartments started in 1944 and was completed in 1945. Known throughout the Corps for its paper-thin walls (you could hear the neighbors next door shuffling cards) and world-class cockroaches, Sterling Homes was initially built as temporary housing for construction workers who helped build Camp Pendleton at the height of World War II. The housing project was never abandoned, however, and through the years became an embarrassment for the Corps (it was torn down in 1985). We lived in a 8-plex upstairs apartment on Tarawa Street (many of the street names in this complex were named after battles in the Pacific, like Guadalcanal and Peleliu). Our living room was 13 x 12-1/2 feet, or 225 square feet. Our bedroom measure 10 x 11 feet. There was also a post office in our housing complex and Alma would walk to it every day. A few miles away was Mission San Luis Rey, which we visited from time to time. There was also Midway Drive-In a few blocks from us. I remember Alma and I going to it and watching the Beatles in their movie called "A Hard Day's Night".
On Saturday June 13, 1964, I took Alma to the annual Camp Pendleton Rodeo, featuring rough riding, steer roping and other rodeo events by marines and navy men assigned in the area. I remember one marine asking me if Alma was my girlfriend, I responded back sarcastically, "no she's, my wife!". It is funny how things stand out in your memory, I was just happy to be married, and that Alma was more than just my girlfriend.
It was in the 4th quarter of 1964 that we found out that Alma was pregnant (the baby's due date would be in the 1st of July) and then a couple months later in December we found out that I was being sent overseas. So, in a relatively short period of time, we had some great news and not so great news.
As we were preparing for me going overseas, we checked out of Sterling Homes and Alma went and stayed with her mother for a time. But just before I left for overseas my parents agreed to have Alma stay with them. I must say, leaving one another was the hardest thing that Alma and I ever went through, both of our hearts just ached because of this stressful situation we found ourselves in. There is a medical term that describes this condition that we were both going through, it is called "broken heart syndrome".
I arrived at Camp Schwab Okinawa (by troop transport ship) on the 3rd of February 1965, but by 22nd of March I was in DaNang, South Vietnam. By June of 1965, I went to my 1st Sergeant Garret and asked him if I could get leave to go home and be there when Alma had our baby. He was very understanding but recommended not doing that, he said it would just extend my time in DaNang and I would have to say goodbye to Alma a 2nd time before coming back to Vietnam. I listened to him and followed his advice. I also bought a box of Crooks cigars at the PX to pass out to my follow marines when the baby was born. Alma delivered our son Thomas Job Ebling on the 8th of July 1965.
On February 7, 1966 (my twenty-second birthday), I and some of my fellow marines left DaNang on a Pan American (Boeing 707) jet. Our destination was Okinawa, we would be there for several days picking up our gear that had been stored there back in March of 1965 at Camp Schwab.
Around the 11th of February we flew out of Okinawa for the Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, located in southern California. This was a great day because I got to see my little family, wife Alma and my son Tommy. My parents were also there to meet me.
I had 30-day leave, so mom and dad watched over our son Tom and Alma, and I went on a second honeymoon. The first night was spent at a motel at San Simeon California. The next morning, we drove a few miles to Hearst Castle, this time we went on the "upstairs tour". After the tour, which we enjoyed very much, we headed up to San Francisco and check into a motel there. The following day we visited the San Francisco Zoo. The thing that we remember the best was in the indoor Lion House (today it no longer exists). The lion keeper brought in a female lion, when the male lions saw her, they all started to roar. Since we were inside the building that roaring seemed very loud indeed, something that the average person would not forget about. Today I can't remember if we headed further up the coast or if we headed back home. But we did have a very enjoyable time on this second honeymoon.
After my 30-day leave was over I reported to my new duty station which was MABS-37 (Marine Airbase Squadron 37) MWSG-37 (Marine Wing Support Group 37) 3dMAW (3rd Marine Aircraft Wing) MCAS (Marine Corps Air Station) El Toro, (near East Irvine), California. I was assigned to the motor transport section there on base. This would be my last duty station in the Marine Corps.
Alma and I were able get into off base housing called "Wherry housing", it was just across the street from the air base. If I remember correctly, we lived on Midway Drive in a 4-plex upstairs apartment.
I was released from active duty on Friday the 10th of February 1967, but I still had to the middle of November of 1968 to serve in the inactive reserves. Around the end of 1967 I got the news that Alma was pregnant with our second son David, his due date would be around the middle of August 1968.
I was very fortunate to get a job with GTE (General Telephone & Electronics) after separating from the Marine Corps in 1967.
Around the 1st part of July 1968, I received a letter from the Marine Corps telling me that I was going to be recalled back to active duty. At this time, I only had 4 months left in the inactive reserves. In the letter was also an attachment to be filled out for a hardship waiver. We filled it out telling them that Alma was 8 months pregnant with our 2nd son and that our first son Tommy had medical problems. A week or two later we got a written response telling us that they had reconsidered and that I was not going to be recalled to active duty, PRAISE GOD! I am certain that if I had been recalled I would have been sent back to South Vietnam. This period of time from January 1968 to December 1969 was a very bad time for our troops in South Vietnam, we lost 28,208 killed in action, God was merciful, sparing me from returning to South Vietnam and possibly being counted among the dead.
Our son David was born on the 12th of August, 1968 at Inter-Community Hospital, in Covina, California (we were living at 415 South Vernon, in Azusa at this time). I was able to be with Alma during the birth (in a waiting room nearby).
Because of the bad smog and little Tom's asthma I put in for a transfer with GTE. We left Azusa California and rented a duplex located at 1119 1st Street, Wenatchee Washington on September 24, 1972. The Wenatchee area is a great place to raise a family and GTE was a great company to work for, God has really blessed us!
Alma and I bought our 1st home on the 4th of January 1979, at 1130 Grant Road, East Wenatchee, Washington.
We lived in the Wenatchee area for 48 years, we had wonderful church family and friends, we first attended Calvary Bible Church, then Wenatchee Baptist Church, then Wenatchee Foothills Foursquare Church, then Free Methodist Church, then Bethel Baptist Church.
Among Alma's many friends that she met, she had two that she consider her very best girlfriends in the Wenatchee area, they were Jan Shrable and Lynne Mason, they were wonderful friends with Alma, she loved them dearly.
When Alma was young she always wanted to be a school teacher, years later she was able to help Jan Shrable, assessing her at a Christian school in Wenatchee and East Wenatchee area, she enjoyed that very much.
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Alma's DNA
Alma's Maternal Haplogroup is U5b1b1
Alma's maternal line stems from a branch of U called U5b1b1. Haplogroup U5b1b1 is a relatively young but widespread branch. The members of U5b1b1 trace their maternal lines back to a woman who lived only 7,000 years ago. Given this young age, the geographic spread of U5b1b1 is somewhat astounding.
In migrations that may have began in the Iberian Peninsula, women carrying U5b1b1 crossed the Mediterranean Sea from either Spain or Italy into northern Africa, where their descendants can now be found in Morocco among the indigenous Berbers and their descendants. Others moved north and east instead, moving all the way to eastern Scandinavia by about 6,000 years ago, where it can be found in the Saami, or Lapps, of northern Finland.
Comment on above:
Alma's maternal Great Grandmother was Aurora Garcia, born on 4 January, 1874, in Cádiz Spain.
Cádiz, Spain is only 58 miles NW from Tangier, Morocco.
Tangier is and was a Berber town.
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Alma's Paternal Haplogroup Group is E1b1a8 (U175)
Alma's paternal ancestor came from West Africa, probably during the Arab slave trade. By the way E1b1a8 is not so rare in North Africa, generally around 2-3% in Algeria.
Haplogroup E1b1a8 goes back to the Mandika (aka Mandigo) Afrikans Warriors.
E1b1a8, also named U175- West Africa. YCC E1b1a8) is defined by marker U175. The supposed "Bantu haplotype" found in E-U175 carriers is "present at appreciable frequencies in other Niger-Congo languages speaking peoples as far west as Guinea-Bissau.
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Alma's GEDmatch Kit number is M917962 under the name of Alma Ebling.
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Alma's Ethnicity Estimate (as of 27 Sept 2020)
MyHeritage (beta)
kit # 23-C33E75
European 96.9%
Northwestern European 68.5%
British & Irish 35.0%
Irish, Scottish, and Welsh 5.9%
French & German 14.4%
Southern Europe 23.5%
Spanish & Portuguese 12.4%
Italian 7.7%
North and West Europe 29.6%
Broadly Southern European 3.4%
America 0.9%
Native American 0.9%
Comment on above:
From word of mouth from family kin, Alma was part Cherokee on her 2nd Great Grandmother side of the family. Her name was Cynthia Ann Weldon (11 Jul 1847-19 Mar 1907). Cynthia parents were William Barnes Weldon (15 Nov 1787-11 Jul 1847) and Gillian Cook (15 Sep 1792-3 Dec 1876). Cynthia Ann Weldon married Rev John Cambel Autry (26 Feb 1811-4 Sep 1886) in 1861 at Denton County, Texas (Cynthia was the 3rd wife of Rev John Cambel Autry). This Rev John Cambel Autry was the brother to Elijah Henry Autry (15 Aug 1813-22 Nov 1858) who was the Great Grandfather of Orvon Grover Autry, better known as Gene Autry the cowboy singer.
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Cynthia Ann (Weldon) Autry, Alma's 2nd great-grandmother = 1/4 Cherokee (25%)
Samuel Tilden Autry, Alma's Great-grandfather = 1/8 Cherokee (12.5%)
Ethel Joanna (Autry) Johnson, Alma's grandmother = 1/16 Cherokee (6.25%)
Howard Clifford Lee Clarence Johnson, Alma's father = 1/32 Cherokee (3.125%)
Alma (Johnson) Ebling = 1/64 Cherokee = 1/64 Cherokee (1.5625%)
Alma's DNA (23&Me) shows her Native American = 0.9%
So, Alma's 2nd great-grandmother, Cynthia Ann (Weldon) Autry was indeed approximately 1/4 Cherokee Indian
In the 5th or 6th grade we were both in a play together, I played the part of "Prince Charming" and Alma played the part of the "Wicked Step Mother", she sure could do the cackle great!
Both Alma and I were both put back and had to serve in the 3rd grade twice. Years later Alma told me what happened on that day, in her classroom they lined up in two lines, one line was for the students going into the 4th grade and the other line was for those staying in the 3rd grade again. Alma said she tried to move over into the line that was going on to the 4th grade, but the teacher kept putting her back in the other line. In looking back on that, it was a good thing for both of us, for we would later be in some of the same classes at Paramount and also Slauson Middle School and Azuza High School (God is good).
Alma was one of the nicest and kindest girls in school. She was also a good older sister to her other two sisters, Linda, and Joanne (her brother Howard was her mother's favorite of all her children). When one of her sisters did something wrong and Irene wanted to know who did it, Alma would tell her mother that she did it so the other sister would not get punished. Her mother Irene would be harsher on her sisters then with Alma.
During Alma's sophomore year in high school a wonderful thing happens to her, over the school's loudspeaker we were notified to assemble in the school's auditorium. We found out that one boy and one girl were to receive "Sophomore Girl" and "Sophomore Boy" of the year award, each received a trophy. This award was picked by the teachers, not the students. The girl's trophy was awarded to Alma, it reads "Alma Johnson, Outstanding Sophomore Girl, Class of 62, Azusa High School". Alma's mother kept this trophy for many years, it is still in the family.
Just before Alma's senior year at school, her family move out of Azusa for a time, but Irene wanted Alma to graduate with her friends that she had grown up with over the years. So, Alma went to live with her blood Aunt Gloria and her uncle Vincent Masongsong, they lived at 1152 W. Greenhaven Street, in Covina, California. Their home was in the Azusa School District, so Alma would be able to continue her senior year at Azusa High School.
When Alma and I were seniors in high school, I asked her to marry me, she said yes, but later broke off the engagement before we graduated that year in 1962, she said I was too controlling. After high school Alma got a job at a Sears Catalog Store in Azusa. Sometime around 1963 Alma got engaged a 2nd time to her aunt (Pauline (aka Polly) Virginia Williams)) younger brother, Larry Richard Williams (born 23 Aug 1941). He would later break off the engagement (thank God). Years later Larry's sister Polly told us that he had been married 4 times!
A short time later in 1963 my dad asked Alma to write to me, I was in the Marine Corps at that time (I enlisted during the Cuban Missile Crisis). We started to write to each other, being stationed at Camp Pendleton I would come home for the weekends. We started to date again, in early November of 1963 I went to the base PX (Post Exchange) and bought an engagement ring for Alma. I was able to get liberty for that weekend, so on Friday afternoon, November the 8th, I took the bus to Azusa. On the afternoon of the following day, Saturday November 9th, I took Alma out to dinner at the North Woods Inn at 540 N Azusa Ave, Covina, California. Before going into the restaurant and still in the car, I proposed to Alma, she said yes and both of us agreed to a March wedding. After dinner we went to the theater and watched a romantic comedy starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine called "Irma la Douce".
It was during our 2nd engagement that Larry got in touch with his sister Polly again and asked about Alma, she told him Alma is marrying Tom Ebling and to leave her alone!
On Friday the 13th of March I got one week leave, made it up to Azusa by bus, and arrived just in time for our wedding rehearsal that evening. The following day at 2:00 PM we were married at the first Baptist Church of Azusa (our home church). Later that afternoon we headed for Santa Barbara for our honeymoon. We got to Thousand Oaks and still had at least another hour of driving, so we decided to spend the night in one of the motels there in Thousand Oaks. The following morning (Sunday) we made it up to Santa Barbara, we visited the Santa Barbara Mission and then checked into a motel that was right of the beach. In the evening we went to a Japanese restaurant for dinner. For some crazy reason I thought Japanese food was very similar to Chinese food (I like fried rice very much). The people serving us were very polite and prepared our meal on the table in front of us. We found out we did not like most of the Japanese food that we ordered. We finished our dinner as soon as we could and headed down the street to a place that served up ice-cream and order that.
We spent a couple of days in Santa Barbara, then headed up to Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa (located in the town of San Luis Obispo). We toured the mission and then headed up to Hearst Castle, located off Highway 1, which is the Pacific Coast Highway leading up to Carmel and Monterey. We did the "downstairs tour" at Hearst Castle, and I must say it was most enjoyable and very interesting place to visit, Alma and I were very glad that we had this location on our honeymoon itinerary.
At the end of our honeymoon we headed back to Oceanside and applied for Alma's government allotment and filled out the paperwork for off base housing. Now that we were married, Alma would receive a government allotment, with that and the money that I made as Private First Class, we made a total of $170 a month. The reason I remember that is because our tithe to church was $17 a month.
After the honeymoon I reported back to Camp Vado del Rio. I remember a few days later having a talk with my Sgt. Wade, when he found out that I had got married, he said to me, "If we wanted you to have a wife, we would have issued you one!". That kind of remark is something that sticks in your head, and to this day I have never forgotten it.
Alma lived with her mother (Irene) for a time until our apartment became available. During this time, I was up in Azusa for the weekend, Alma, her mother, and I went to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) to put Alma's 1954 Plymouth Belvedere in her married name and in my name as joint owners. While there, Irene told Alma (in front of me and the rest of the people there) not to put the ownership in both are names, but Alma would have none of that, and told her mother no.
Alma and I lived off base at an apartment complex in Oceanside California called Sterling Homes (we and other families living there called it "Cockroach Paradise"). This apartment complex which was on a 56.6-acre site with 647-units, located at 620 Second Street (Mission Avenue) was for enlisted personnel and their families. Construction for these apartments started in 1944 and was completed in 1945. Known throughout the Corps for its paper-thin walls (you could hear the neighbors next door shuffling cards) and world-class cockroaches, Sterling Homes was initially built as temporary housing for construction workers who helped build Camp Pendleton at the height of World War II. The housing project was never abandoned, however, and through the years became an embarrassment for the Corps (it was torn down in 1985). We lived in a 8-plex upstairs apartment on Tarawa Street (many of the street names in this complex were named after battles in the Pacific, like Guadalcanal and Peleliu). Our living room was 13 x 12-1/2 feet, or 225 square feet. Our bedroom measure 10 x 11 feet. There was also a post office in our housing complex and Alma would walk to it every day. A few miles away was Mission San Luis Rey, which we visited from time to time. There was also Midway Drive-In a few blocks from us. I remember Alma and I going to it and watching the Beatles in their movie called "A Hard Day's Night".
On Saturday June 13, 1964, I took Alma to the annual Camp Pendleton Rodeo, featuring rough riding, steer roping and other rodeo events by marines and navy men assigned in the area. I remember one marine asking me if Alma was my girlfriend, I responded back sarcastically, "no she's, my wife!". It is funny how things stand out in your memory, I was just happy to be married, and that Alma was more than just my girlfriend.
It was in the 4th quarter of 1964 that we found out that Alma was pregnant (the baby's due date would be in the 1st of July) and then a couple months later in December we found out that I was being sent overseas. So, in a relatively short period of time, we had some great news and not so great news.
As we were preparing for me going overseas, we checked out of Sterling Homes and Alma went and stayed with her mother for a time. But just before I left for overseas my parents agreed to have Alma stay with them. I must say, leaving one another was the hardest thing that Alma and I ever went through, both of our hearts just ached because of this stressful situation we found ourselves in. There is a medical term that describes this condition that we were both going through, it is called "broken heart syndrome".
I arrived at Camp Schwab Okinawa (by troop transport ship) on the 3rd of February 1965, but by 22nd of March I was in DaNang, South Vietnam. By June of 1965, I went to my 1st Sergeant Garret and asked him if I could get leave to go home and be there when Alma had our baby. He was very understanding but recommended not doing that, he said it would just extend my time in DaNang and I would have to say goodbye to Alma a 2nd time before coming back to Vietnam. I listened to him and followed his advice. I also bought a box of Crooks cigars at the PX to pass out to my follow marines when the baby was born. Alma delivered our son Thomas Job Ebling on the 8th of July 1965.
On February 7, 1966 (my twenty-second birthday), I and some of my fellow marines left DaNang on a Pan American (Boeing 707) jet. Our destination was Okinawa, we would be there for several days picking up our gear that had been stored there back in March of 1965 at Camp Schwab.
Around the 11th of February we flew out of Okinawa for the Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, located in southern California. This was a great day because I got to see my little family, wife Alma and my son Tommy. My parents were also there to meet me.
I had 30-day leave, so mom and dad watched over our son Tom and Alma, and I went on a second honeymoon. The first night was spent at a motel at San Simeon California. The next morning, we drove a few miles to Hearst Castle, this time we went on the "upstairs tour". After the tour, which we enjoyed very much, we headed up to San Francisco and check into a motel there. The following day we visited the San Francisco Zoo. The thing that we remember the best was in the indoor Lion House (today it no longer exists). The lion keeper brought in a female lion, when the male lions saw her, they all started to roar. Since we were inside the building that roaring seemed very loud indeed, something that the average person would not forget about. Today I can't remember if we headed further up the coast or if we headed back home. But we did have a very enjoyable time on this second honeymoon.
After my 30-day leave was over I reported to my new duty station which was MABS-37 (Marine Airbase Squadron 37) MWSG-37 (Marine Wing Support Group 37) 3dMAW (3rd Marine Aircraft Wing) MCAS (Marine Corps Air Station) El Toro, (near East Irvine), California. I was assigned to the motor transport section there on base. This would be my last duty station in the Marine Corps.
Alma and I were able get into off base housing called "Wherry housing", it was just across the street from the air base. If I remember correctly, we lived on Midway Drive in a 4-plex upstairs apartment.
I was released from active duty on Friday the 10th of February 1967, but I still had to the middle of November of 1968 to serve in the inactive reserves. Around the end of 1967 I got the news that Alma was pregnant with our second son David, his due date would be around the middle of August 1968.
I was very fortunate to get a job with GTE (General Telephone & Electronics) after separating from the Marine Corps in 1967.
Around the 1st part of July 1968, I received a letter from the Marine Corps telling me that I was going to be recalled back to active duty. At this time, I only had 4 months left in the inactive reserves. In the letter was also an attachment to be filled out for a hardship waiver. We filled it out telling them that Alma was 8 months pregnant with our 2nd son and that our first son Tommy had medical problems. A week or two later we got a written response telling us that they had reconsidered and that I was not going to be recalled to active duty, PRAISE GOD! I am certain that if I had been recalled I would have been sent back to South Vietnam. This period of time from January 1968 to December 1969 was a very bad time for our troops in South Vietnam, we lost 28,208 killed in action, God was merciful, sparing me from returning to South Vietnam and possibly being counted among the dead.
Our son David was born on the 12th of August, 1968 at Inter-Community Hospital, in Covina, California (we were living at 415 South Vernon, in Azusa at this time). I was able to be with Alma during the birth (in a waiting room nearby).
Because of the bad smog and little Tom's asthma I put in for a transfer with GTE. We left Azusa California and rented a duplex located at 1119 1st Street, Wenatchee Washington on September 24, 1972. The Wenatchee area is a great place to raise a family and GTE was a great company to work for, God has really blessed us!
Alma and I bought our 1st home on the 4th of January 1979, at 1130 Grant Road, East Wenatchee, Washington.
We lived in the Wenatchee area for 48 years, we had wonderful church family and friends, we first attended Calvary Bible Church, then Wenatchee Baptist Church, then Wenatchee Foothills Foursquare Church, then Free Methodist Church, then Bethel Baptist Church.
Among Alma's many friends that she met, she had two that she consider her very best girlfriends in the Wenatchee area, they were Jan Shrable and Lynne Mason, they were wonderful friends with Alma, she loved them dearly.
When Alma was young she always wanted to be a school teacher, years later she was able to help Jan Shrable, assessing her at a Christian school in Wenatchee and East Wenatchee area, she enjoyed that very much.
_____
Alma's DNA
Alma's Maternal Haplogroup is U5b1b1
Alma's maternal line stems from a branch of U called U5b1b1. Haplogroup U5b1b1 is a relatively young but widespread branch. The members of U5b1b1 trace their maternal lines back to a woman who lived only 7,000 years ago. Given this young age, the geographic spread of U5b1b1 is somewhat astounding.
In migrations that may have began in the Iberian Peninsula, women carrying U5b1b1 crossed the Mediterranean Sea from either Spain or Italy into northern Africa, where their descendants can now be found in Morocco among the indigenous Berbers and their descendants. Others moved north and east instead, moving all the way to eastern Scandinavia by about 6,000 years ago, where it can be found in the Saami, or Lapps, of northern Finland.
Comment on above:
Alma's maternal Great Grandmother was Aurora Garcia, born on 4 January, 1874, in Cádiz Spain.
Cádiz, Spain is only 58 miles NW from Tangier, Morocco.
Tangier is and was a Berber town.
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Alma's Paternal Haplogroup Group is E1b1a8 (U175)
Alma's paternal ancestor came from West Africa, probably during the Arab slave trade. By the way E1b1a8 is not so rare in North Africa, generally around 2-3% in Algeria.
Haplogroup E1b1a8 goes back to the Mandika (aka Mandigo) Afrikans Warriors.
E1b1a8, also named U175- West Africa. YCC E1b1a8) is defined by marker U175. The supposed "Bantu haplotype" found in E-U175 carriers is "present at appreciable frequencies in other Niger-Congo languages speaking peoples as far west as Guinea-Bissau.
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Alma's GEDmatch Kit number is M917962 under the name of Alma Ebling.
_____
Alma's Ethnicity Estimate (as of 27 Sept 2020)
MyHeritage (beta)
kit # 23-C33E75
European 96.9%
Northwestern European 68.5%
British & Irish 35.0%
Irish, Scottish, and Welsh 5.9%
French & German 14.4%
Southern Europe 23.5%
Spanish & Portuguese 12.4%
Italian 7.7%
North and West Europe 29.6%
Broadly Southern European 3.4%
America 0.9%
Native American 0.9%
Comment on above:
From word of mouth from family kin, Alma was part Cherokee on her 2nd Great Grandmother side of the family. Her name was Cynthia Ann Weldon (11 Jul 1847-19 Mar 1907). Cynthia parents were William Barnes Weldon (15 Nov 1787-11 Jul 1847) and Gillian Cook (15 Sep 1792-3 Dec 1876). Cynthia Ann Weldon married Rev John Cambel Autry (26 Feb 1811-4 Sep 1886) in 1861 at Denton County, Texas (Cynthia was the 3rd wife of Rev John Cambel Autry). This Rev John Cambel Autry was the brother to Elijah Henry Autry (15 Aug 1813-22 Nov 1858) who was the Great Grandfather of Orvon Grover Autry, better known as Gene Autry the cowboy singer.
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Cynthia Ann (Weldon) Autry, Alma's 2nd great-grandmother = 1/4 Cherokee (25%)
Samuel Tilden Autry, Alma's Great-grandfather = 1/8 Cherokee (12.5%)
Ethel Joanna (Autry) Johnson, Alma's grandmother = 1/16 Cherokee (6.25%)
Howard Clifford Lee Clarence Johnson, Alma's father = 1/32 Cherokee (3.125%)
Alma (Johnson) Ebling = 1/64 Cherokee = 1/64 Cherokee (1.5625%)
Alma's DNA (23&Me) shows her Native American = 0.9%
So, Alma's 2nd great-grandmother, Cynthia Ann (Weldon) Autry was indeed approximately 1/4 Cherokee Indian
I have known Alma since the 5th grade, starting at Paramount Elementary School in Azuza California. At school during lunch hour, Alma worked in the cafeteria. There was an outside serving window that you would walk up to and order your ice cream and Alma would serve you what you wanted. Alma met my mother (Mildred Ebling) there at school for she also worked at the cafeteria as a cashier.
In the 5th or 6th grade we were both in a play together, I played the part of "Prince Charming" and Alma played the part of the "Wicked Step Mother", she sure could do the cackle great!
Both Alma and I were both put back and had to serve in the 3rd grade twice. Years later Alma told me what happened on that day, in her classroom they lined up in two lines, one line was for the students going into the 4th grade and the other line was for those staying in the 3rd grade again. Alma said she tried to move over into the line that was going on to the 4th grade, but the teacher kept putting her back in the other line. In looking back on that, it was a good thing for both of us, for we would later be in some of the same classes at Paramount and also Slauson Middle School and Azuza High School (God is good).
Alma was one of the nicest and kindest girls in school. She was also a good older sister to her other two sisters, Linda, and Joanne (her brother Howard was her mother's favorite of all her children). When one of her sisters did something wrong and Irene wanted to know who did it, Alma would tell her mother that she did it so the other sister would not get punished. Her mother Irene would be harsher on her sisters then with Alma.
During Alma's sophomore year in high school a wonderful thing happens to her, over the school's loudspeaker we were notified to assemble in the school's auditorium. We found out that one boy and one girl were to receive "Sophomore Girl" and "Sophomore Boy" of the year award, each received a trophy. This award was picked by the teachers, not the students. The girl's trophy was awarded to Alma, it reads "Alma Johnson, Outstanding Sophomore Girl, Class of 62, Azusa High School". Alma's mother kept this trophy for many years, it is still in the family.
Just before Alma's senior year at school, her family move out of Azusa for a time, but Irene wanted Alma to graduate with her friends that she had grown up with over the years. So, Alma went to live with her blood Aunt Gloria and her uncle Vincent Masongsong, they lived at 1152 W. Greenhaven Street, in Covina, California. Their home was in the Azusa School District, so Alma would be able to continue her senior year at Azusa High School.
When Alma and I were seniors in high school, I asked her to marry me, she said yes, but later broke off the engagement before we graduated that year in 1962, she said I was too controlling. After high school Alma got a job at a Sears Catalog Store in Azusa. Sometime around 1963 Alma got engaged a 2nd time to her aunt (Pauline (aka Polly) Virginia Williams)) younger brother, Larry Richard Williams (born 23 Aug 1941). He would later break off the engagement (thank God). Years later Larry's sister Polly told us that he had been married 4 times!
A short time later in 1963 my dad asked Alma to write to me, I was in the Marine Corps at that time (I enlisted during the Cuban Missile Crisis). We started to write to each other, being stationed at Camp Pendleton I would come home for the weekends. We started to date again, in early November of 1963 I went to the base PX (Post Exchange) and bought an engagement ring for Alma. I was able to get liberty for that weekend, so on Friday afternoon, November the 8th, I took the bus to Azusa. On the afternoon of the following day, Saturday November 9th, I took Alma out to dinner at the North Woods Inn at 540 N Azusa Ave, Covina, California. Before going into the restaurant and still in the car, I proposed to Alma, she said yes and both of us agreed to a March wedding. After dinner we went to the theater and watched a romantic comedy starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine called "Irma la Douce".
It was during our 2nd engagement that Larry got in touch with his sister Polly again and asked about Alma, she told him Alma is marrying Tom Ebling and to leave her alone!
On Friday the 13th of March I got one week leave, made it up to Azusa by bus, and arrived just in time for our wedding rehearsal that evening. The following day at 2:00 PM we were married at the first Baptist Church of Azusa (our home church). Later that afternoon we headed for Santa Barbara for our honeymoon. We got to Thousand Oaks and still had at least another hour of driving, so we decided to spend the night in one of the motels there in Thousand Oaks. The following morning (Sunday) we made it up to Santa Barbara, we visited the Santa Barbara Mission and then checked into a motel that was right of the beach. In the evening we went to a Japanese restaurant for dinner. For some crazy reason I thought Japanese food was very similar to Chinese food (I like fried rice very much). The people serving us were very polite and prepared our meal on the table in front of us. We found out we did not like most of the Japanese food that we ordered. We finished our dinner as soon as we could and headed down the street to a place that served up ice-cream and order that.
We spent a couple of days in Santa Barbara, then headed up to Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa (located in the town of San Luis Obispo). We toured the mission and then headed up to Hearst Castle, located off Highway 1, which is the Pacific Coast Highway leading up to Carmel and Monterey. We did the "downstairs tour" at Hearst Castle, and I must say it was most enjoyable and very interesting place to visit, Alma and I were very glad that we had this location on our honeymoon itinerary.
At the end of our honeymoon we headed back to Oceanside and applied for Alma's government allotment and filled out the paperwork for off base housing. Now that we were married, Alma would receive a government allotment, with that and the money that I made as Private First Class, we made a total of $170 a month. The reason I remember that is because our tithe to church was $17 a month.
After the honeymoon I reported back to Camp Vado del Rio. I remember a few days later having a talk with my Sgt. Wade, when he found out that I had got married, he said to me, "If we wanted you to have a wife, we would have issued you one!". That kind of remark is something that sticks in your head, and to this day I have never forgotten it.
Alma lived with her mother (Irene) for a time until our apartment became available. During this time, I was up in Azusa for the weekend, Alma, her mother, and I went to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) to put Alma's 1954 Plymouth Belvedere in her married name and in my name as joint owners. While there, Irene told Alma (in front of me and the rest of the people there) not to put the ownership in both are names, but Alma would have none of that, and told her mother no.
Alma and I lived off base at an apartment complex in Oceanside California called Sterling Homes (we and other families living there called it "Cockroach Paradise"). This apartment complex which was on a 56.6-acre site with 647-units, located at 620 Second Street (Mission Avenue) was for enlisted personnel and their families. Construction for these apartments started in 1944 and was completed in 1945. Known throughout the Corps for its paper-thin walls (you could hear the neighbors next door shuffling cards) and world-class cockroaches, Sterling Homes was initially built as temporary housing for construction workers who helped build Camp Pendleton at the height of World War II. The housing project was never abandoned, however, and through the years became an embarrassment for the Corps (it was torn down in 1985). We lived in a 8-plex upstairs apartment on Tarawa Street (many of the street names in this complex were named after battles in the Pacific, like Guadalcanal and Peleliu). Our living room was 13 x 12-1/2 feet, or 225 square feet. Our bedroom measure 10 x 11 feet. There was also a post office in our housing complex and Alma would walk to it every day. A few miles away was Mission San Luis Rey, which we visited from time to time. There was also Midway Drive-In a few blocks from us. I remember Alma and I going to it and watching the Beatles in their movie called "A Hard Day's Night".
On Saturday June 13, 1964, I took Alma to the annual Camp Pendleton Rodeo, featuring rough riding, steer roping and other rodeo events by marines and navy men assigned in the area. I remember one marine asking me if Alma was my girlfriend, I responded back sarcastically, "no she's, my wife!". It is funny how things stand out in your memory, I was just happy to be married, and that Alma was more than just my girlfriend.
It was in the 4th quarter of 1964 that we found out that Alma was pregnant (the baby's due date would be in the 1st of July) and then a couple months later in December we found out that I was being sent overseas. So, in a relatively short period of time, we had some great news and not so great news.
As we were preparing for me going overseas, we checked out of Sterling Homes and Alma went and stayed with her mother for a time. But just before I left for overseas my parents agreed to have Alma stay with them. I must say, leaving one another was the hardest thing that Alma and I ever went through, both of our hearts just ached because of this stressful situation we found ourselves in. There is a medical term that describes this condition that we were both going through, it is called "broken heart syndrome".
I arrived at Camp Schwab Okinawa (by troop transport ship) on the 3rd of February 1965, but by 22nd of March I was in DaNang, South Vietnam. By June of 1965, I went to my 1st Sergeant Garret and asked him if I could get leave to go home and be there when Alma had our baby. He was very understanding but recommended not doing that, he said it would just extend my time in DaNang and I would have to say goodbye to Alma a 2nd time before coming back to Vietnam. I listened to him and followed his advice. I also bought a box of Crooks cigars at the PX to pass out to my follow marines when the baby was born. Alma delivered our son Thomas Job Ebling on the 8th of July 1965.
On February 7, 1966 (my twenty-second birthday), I and some of my fellow marines left DaNang on a Pan American (Boeing 707) jet. Our destination was Okinawa, we would be there for several days picking up our gear that had been stored there back in March of 1965 at Camp Schwab.
Around the 11th of February we flew out of Okinawa for the Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, located in southern California. This was a great day because I got to see my little family, wife Alma and my son Tommy. My parents were also there to meet me.
I had 30-day leave, so mom and dad watched over our son Tom and Alma, and I went on a second honeymoon. The first night was spent at a motel at San Simeon California. The next morning, we drove a few miles to Hearst Castle, this time we went on the "upstairs tour". After the tour, which we enjoyed very much, we headed up to San Francisco and check into a motel there. The following day we visited the San Francisco Zoo. The thing that we remember the best was in the indoor Lion House (today it no longer exists). The lion keeper brought in a female lion, when the male lions saw her, they all started to roar. Since we were inside the building that roaring seemed very loud indeed, something that the average person would not forget about. Today I can't remember if we headed further up the coast or if we headed back home. But we did have a very enjoyable time on this second honeymoon.
After my 30-day leave was over I reported to my new duty station which was MABS-37 (Marine Airbase Squadron 37) MWSG-37 (Marine Wing Support Group 37) 3dMAW (3rd Marine Aircraft Wing) MCAS (Marine Corps Air Station) El Toro, (near East Irvine), California. I was assigned to the motor transport section there on base. This would be my last duty station in the Marine Corps.
Alma and I were able get into off base housing called "Wherry housing", it was just across the street from the air base. If I remember correctly, we lived on Midway Drive in a 4-plex upstairs apartment.
I was released from active duty on Friday the 10th of February 1967, but I still had to the middle of November of 1968 to serve in the inactive reserves. Around the end of 1967 I got the news that Alma was pregnant with our second son David, his due date would be around the middle of August 1968.
I was very fortunate to get a job with GTE (General Telephone & Electronics) after separating from the Marine Corps in 1967.
Around the 1st part of July 1968, I received a letter from the Marine Corps telling me that I was going to be recalled back to active duty. At this time, I only had 4 months left in the inactive reserves. In the letter was also an attachment to be filled out for a hardship waiver. We filled it out telling them that Alma was 8 months pregnant with our 2nd son and that our first son Tommy had medical problems. A week or two later we got a written response telling us that they had reconsidered and that I was not going to be recalled to active duty, PRAISE GOD! I am certain that if I had been recalled I would have been sent back to South Vietnam. This period of time from January 1968 to December 1969 was a very bad time for our troops in South Vietnam, we lost 28,208 killed in action, God was merciful, sparing me from returning to South Vietnam and possibly being counted among the dead.
Our son David was born on the 12th of August, 1968 at Inter-Community Hospital, in Covina, California (we were living at 415 South Vernon, in Azusa at this time). I was able to be with Alma during the birth (in a waiting room nearby).
Because of the bad smog and little Tom's asthma I put in for a transfer with GTE. We left Azusa California and rented a duplex located at 1119 1st Street, Wenatchee Washington on September 24, 1972. The Wenatchee area is a great place to raise a family and GTE was a great company to work for, God has really blessed us!
Alma and I bought our 1st home on the 4th of January 1979, at 1130 Grant Road, East Wenatchee, Washington.
We lived in the Wenatchee area for 48 years, we had wonderful church family and friends, we first attended Calvary Bible Church, then Wenatchee Baptist Church, then Wenatchee Foothills Foursquare Church, then Free Methodist Church, then Bethel Baptist Church.
Among Alma's many friends that she met, she had two that she consider her very best girlfriends in the Wenatchee area, they were Jan Shrable and Lynne Mason, they were wonderful friends with Alma, she loved them dearly.
When Alma was young she always wanted to be a school teacher, years later she was able to help Jan Shrable, assessing her at a Christian school in Wenatchee and East Wenatchee area, she enjoyed that very much.
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Alma's DNA
Alma's Maternal Haplogroup is U5b1b1
Alma's maternal line stems from a branch of U called U5b1b1. Haplogroup U5b1b1 is a relatively young but widespread branch. The members of U5b1b1 trace their maternal lines back to a woman who lived only 7,000 years ago. Given this young age, the geographic spread of U5b1b1 is somewhat astounding.
In migrations that may have began in the Iberian Peninsula, women carrying U5b1b1 crossed the Mediterranean Sea from either Spain or Italy into northern Africa, where their descendants can now be found in Morocco among the indigenous Berbers and their descendants. Others moved north and east instead, moving all the way to eastern Scandinavia by about 6,000 years ago, where it can be found in the Saami, or Lapps, of northern Finland.
Comment on above:
Alma's maternal Great Grandmother was Aurora Garcia, born on 4 January, 1874, in Cádiz Spain.
Cádiz, Spain is only 58 miles NW from Tangier, Morocco.
Tangier is and was a Berber town.
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Alma's Paternal Haplogroup Group is E1b1a8 (U175)
Alma's paternal ancestor came from West Africa, probably during the Arab slave trade. By the way E1b1a8 is not so rare in North Africa, generally around 2-3% in Algeria.
Haplogroup E1b1a8 goes back to the Mandika (aka Mandigo) Afrikans Warriors.
E1b1a8, also named U175- West Africa. YCC E1b1a8) is defined by marker U175. The supposed "Bantu haplotype" found in E-U175 carriers is "present at appreciable frequencies in other Niger-Congo languages speaking peoples as far west as Guinea-Bissau.
_____
Alma's GEDmatch Kit number is M917962 under the name of Alma Ebling.
_____
Alma's Ethnicity Estimate (as of 27 Sept 2020)
MyHeritage (beta)
kit # 23-C33E75
European 96.9%
Northwestern European 68.5%
British & Irish 35.0%
Irish, Scottish, and Welsh 5.9%
French & German 14.4%
Southern Europe 23.5%
Spanish & Portuguese 12.4%
Italian 7.7%
North and West Europe 29.6%
Broadly Southern European 3.4%
America 0.9%
Native American 0.9%
Comment on above:
From word of mouth from family kin, Alma was part Cherokee on her 2nd Great Grandmother side of the family. Her name was Cynthia Ann Weldon (11 Jul 1847-19 Mar 1907). Cynthia parents were William Barnes Weldon (15 Nov 1787-11 Jul 1847) and Gillian Cook (15 Sep 1792-3 Dec 1876). Cynthia Ann Weldon married Rev John Cambel Autry (26 Feb 1811-4 Sep 1886) in 1861 at Denton County, Texas (Cynthia was the 3rd wife of Rev John Cambel Autry). This Rev John Cambel Autry was the brother to Elijah Henry Autry (15 Aug 1813-22 Nov 1858) who was the Great Grandfather of Orvon Grover Autry, better known as Gene Autry the cowboy singer.
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Cynthia Ann (Weldon) Autry, Alma's 2nd great-grandmother = 1/4 Cherokee (25%)
Samuel Tilden Autry, Alma's Great-grandfather = 1/8 Cherokee (12.5%)
Ethel Joanna (Autry) Johnson, Alma's grandmother = 1/16 Cherokee (6.25%)
Howard Clifford Lee Clarence Johnson, Alma's father = 1/32 Cherokee (3.125%)
Alma (Johnson) Ebling = 1/64 Cherokee = 1/64 Cherokee (1.5625%)
Alma's DNA (23&Me) shows her Native American = 0.9%
So, Alma's 2nd great-grandmother, Cynthia Ann (Weldon) Autry was indeed approximately 1/4 Cherokee Indian
In the 5th or 6th grade we were both in a play together, I played the part of "Prince Charming" and Alma played the part of the "Wicked Step Mother", she sure could do the cackle great!
Both Alma and I were both put back and had to serve in the 3rd grade twice. Years later Alma told me what happened on that day, in her classroom they lined up in two lines, one line was for the students going into the 4th grade and the other line was for those staying in the 3rd grade again. Alma said she tried to move over into the line that was going on to the 4th grade, but the teacher kept putting her back in the other line. In looking back on that, it was a good thing for both of us, for we would later be in some of the same classes at Paramount and also Slauson Middle School and Azuza High School (God is good).
Alma was one of the nicest and kindest girls in school. She was also a good older sister to her other two sisters, Linda, and Joanne (her brother Howard was her mother's favorite of all her children). When one of her sisters did something wrong and Irene wanted to know who did it, Alma would tell her mother that she did it so the other sister would not get punished. Her mother Irene would be harsher on her sisters then with Alma.
During Alma's sophomore year in high school a wonderful thing happens to her, over the school's loudspeaker we were notified to assemble in the school's auditorium. We found out that one boy and one girl were to receive "Sophomore Girl" and "Sophomore Boy" of the year award, each received a trophy. This award was picked by the teachers, not the students. The girl's trophy was awarded to Alma, it reads "Alma Johnson, Outstanding Sophomore Girl, Class of 62, Azusa High School". Alma's mother kept this trophy for many years, it is still in the family.
Just before Alma's senior year at school, her family move out of Azusa for a time, but Irene wanted Alma to graduate with her friends that she had grown up with over the years. So, Alma went to live with her blood Aunt Gloria and her uncle Vincent Masongsong, they lived at 1152 W. Greenhaven Street, in Covina, California. Their home was in the Azusa School District, so Alma would be able to continue her senior year at Azusa High School.
When Alma and I were seniors in high school, I asked her to marry me, she said yes, but later broke off the engagement before we graduated that year in 1962, she said I was too controlling. After high school Alma got a job at a Sears Catalog Store in Azusa. Sometime around 1963 Alma got engaged a 2nd time to her aunt (Pauline (aka Polly) Virginia Williams)) younger brother, Larry Richard Williams (born 23 Aug 1941). He would later break off the engagement (thank God). Years later Larry's sister Polly told us that he had been married 4 times!
A short time later in 1963 my dad asked Alma to write to me, I was in the Marine Corps at that time (I enlisted during the Cuban Missile Crisis). We started to write to each other, being stationed at Camp Pendleton I would come home for the weekends. We started to date again, in early November of 1963 I went to the base PX (Post Exchange) and bought an engagement ring for Alma. I was able to get liberty for that weekend, so on Friday afternoon, November the 8th, I took the bus to Azusa. On the afternoon of the following day, Saturday November 9th, I took Alma out to dinner at the North Woods Inn at 540 N Azusa Ave, Covina, California. Before going into the restaurant and still in the car, I proposed to Alma, she said yes and both of us agreed to a March wedding. After dinner we went to the theater and watched a romantic comedy starring Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine called "Irma la Douce".
It was during our 2nd engagement that Larry got in touch with his sister Polly again and asked about Alma, she told him Alma is marrying Tom Ebling and to leave her alone!
On Friday the 13th of March I got one week leave, made it up to Azusa by bus, and arrived just in time for our wedding rehearsal that evening. The following day at 2:00 PM we were married at the first Baptist Church of Azusa (our home church). Later that afternoon we headed for Santa Barbara for our honeymoon. We got to Thousand Oaks and still had at least another hour of driving, so we decided to spend the night in one of the motels there in Thousand Oaks. The following morning (Sunday) we made it up to Santa Barbara, we visited the Santa Barbara Mission and then checked into a motel that was right of the beach. In the evening we went to a Japanese restaurant for dinner. For some crazy reason I thought Japanese food was very similar to Chinese food (I like fried rice very much). The people serving us were very polite and prepared our meal on the table in front of us. We found out we did not like most of the Japanese food that we ordered. We finished our dinner as soon as we could and headed down the street to a place that served up ice-cream and order that.
We spent a couple of days in Santa Barbara, then headed up to Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa (located in the town of San Luis Obispo). We toured the mission and then headed up to Hearst Castle, located off Highway 1, which is the Pacific Coast Highway leading up to Carmel and Monterey. We did the "downstairs tour" at Hearst Castle, and I must say it was most enjoyable and very interesting place to visit, Alma and I were very glad that we had this location on our honeymoon itinerary.
At the end of our honeymoon we headed back to Oceanside and applied for Alma's government allotment and filled out the paperwork for off base housing. Now that we were married, Alma would receive a government allotment, with that and the money that I made as Private First Class, we made a total of $170 a month. The reason I remember that is because our tithe to church was $17 a month.
After the honeymoon I reported back to Camp Vado del Rio. I remember a few days later having a talk with my Sgt. Wade, when he found out that I had got married, he said to me, "If we wanted you to have a wife, we would have issued you one!". That kind of remark is something that sticks in your head, and to this day I have never forgotten it.
Alma lived with her mother (Irene) for a time until our apartment became available. During this time, I was up in Azusa for the weekend, Alma, her mother, and I went to the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) to put Alma's 1954 Plymouth Belvedere in her married name and in my name as joint owners. While there, Irene told Alma (in front of me and the rest of the people there) not to put the ownership in both are names, but Alma would have none of that, and told her mother no.
Alma and I lived off base at an apartment complex in Oceanside California called Sterling Homes (we and other families living there called it "Cockroach Paradise"). This apartment complex which was on a 56.6-acre site with 647-units, located at 620 Second Street (Mission Avenue) was for enlisted personnel and their families. Construction for these apartments started in 1944 and was completed in 1945. Known throughout the Corps for its paper-thin walls (you could hear the neighbors next door shuffling cards) and world-class cockroaches, Sterling Homes was initially built as temporary housing for construction workers who helped build Camp Pendleton at the height of World War II. The housing project was never abandoned, however, and through the years became an embarrassment for the Corps (it was torn down in 1985). We lived in a 8-plex upstairs apartment on Tarawa Street (many of the street names in this complex were named after battles in the Pacific, like Guadalcanal and Peleliu). Our living room was 13 x 12-1/2 feet, or 225 square feet. Our bedroom measure 10 x 11 feet. There was also a post office in our housing complex and Alma would walk to it every day. A few miles away was Mission San Luis Rey, which we visited from time to time. There was also Midway Drive-In a few blocks from us. I remember Alma and I going to it and watching the Beatles in their movie called "A Hard Day's Night".
On Saturday June 13, 1964, I took Alma to the annual Camp Pendleton Rodeo, featuring rough riding, steer roping and other rodeo events by marines and navy men assigned in the area. I remember one marine asking me if Alma was my girlfriend, I responded back sarcastically, "no she's, my wife!". It is funny how things stand out in your memory, I was just happy to be married, and that Alma was more than just my girlfriend.
It was in the 4th quarter of 1964 that we found out that Alma was pregnant (the baby's due date would be in the 1st of July) and then a couple months later in December we found out that I was being sent overseas. So, in a relatively short period of time, we had some great news and not so great news.
As we were preparing for me going overseas, we checked out of Sterling Homes and Alma went and stayed with her mother for a time. But just before I left for overseas my parents agreed to have Alma stay with them. I must say, leaving one another was the hardest thing that Alma and I ever went through, both of our hearts just ached because of this stressful situation we found ourselves in. There is a medical term that describes this condition that we were both going through, it is called "broken heart syndrome".
I arrived at Camp Schwab Okinawa (by troop transport ship) on the 3rd of February 1965, but by 22nd of March I was in DaNang, South Vietnam. By June of 1965, I went to my 1st Sergeant Garret and asked him if I could get leave to go home and be there when Alma had our baby. He was very understanding but recommended not doing that, he said it would just extend my time in DaNang and I would have to say goodbye to Alma a 2nd time before coming back to Vietnam. I listened to him and followed his advice. I also bought a box of Crooks cigars at the PX to pass out to my follow marines when the baby was born. Alma delivered our son Thomas Job Ebling on the 8th of July 1965.
On February 7, 1966 (my twenty-second birthday), I and some of my fellow marines left DaNang on a Pan American (Boeing 707) jet. Our destination was Okinawa, we would be there for several days picking up our gear that had been stored there back in March of 1965 at Camp Schwab.
Around the 11th of February we flew out of Okinawa for the Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, located in southern California. This was a great day because I got to see my little family, wife Alma and my son Tommy. My parents were also there to meet me.
I had 30-day leave, so mom and dad watched over our son Tom and Alma, and I went on a second honeymoon. The first night was spent at a motel at San Simeon California. The next morning, we drove a few miles to Hearst Castle, this time we went on the "upstairs tour". After the tour, which we enjoyed very much, we headed up to San Francisco and check into a motel there. The following day we visited the San Francisco Zoo. The thing that we remember the best was in the indoor Lion House (today it no longer exists). The lion keeper brought in a female lion, when the male lions saw her, they all started to roar. Since we were inside the building that roaring seemed very loud indeed, something that the average person would not forget about. Today I can't remember if we headed further up the coast or if we headed back home. But we did have a very enjoyable time on this second honeymoon.
After my 30-day leave was over I reported to my new duty station which was MABS-37 (Marine Airbase Squadron 37) MWSG-37 (Marine Wing Support Group 37) 3dMAW (3rd Marine Aircraft Wing) MCAS (Marine Corps Air Station) El Toro, (near East Irvine), California. I was assigned to the motor transport section there on base. This would be my last duty station in the Marine Corps.
Alma and I were able get into off base housing called "Wherry housing", it was just across the street from the air base. If I remember correctly, we lived on Midway Drive in a 4-plex upstairs apartment.
I was released from active duty on Friday the 10th of February 1967, but I still had to the middle of November of 1968 to serve in the inactive reserves. Around the end of 1967 I got the news that Alma was pregnant with our second son David, his due date would be around the middle of August 1968.
I was very fortunate to get a job with GTE (General Telephone & Electronics) after separating from the Marine Corps in 1967.
Around the 1st part of July 1968, I received a letter from the Marine Corps telling me that I was going to be recalled back to active duty. At this time, I only had 4 months left in the inactive reserves. In the letter was also an attachment to be filled out for a hardship waiver. We filled it out telling them that Alma was 8 months pregnant with our 2nd son and that our first son Tommy had medical problems. A week or two later we got a written response telling us that they had reconsidered and that I was not going to be recalled to active duty, PRAISE GOD! I am certain that if I had been recalled I would have been sent back to South Vietnam. This period of time from January 1968 to December 1969 was a very bad time for our troops in South Vietnam, we lost 28,208 killed in action, God was merciful, sparing me from returning to South Vietnam and possibly being counted among the dead.
Our son David was born on the 12th of August, 1968 at Inter-Community Hospital, in Covina, California (we were living at 415 South Vernon, in Azusa at this time). I was able to be with Alma during the birth (in a waiting room nearby).
Because of the bad smog and little Tom's asthma I put in for a transfer with GTE. We left Azusa California and rented a duplex located at 1119 1st Street, Wenatchee Washington on September 24, 1972. The Wenatchee area is a great place to raise a family and GTE was a great company to work for, God has really blessed us!
Alma and I bought our 1st home on the 4th of January 1979, at 1130 Grant Road, East Wenatchee, Washington.
We lived in the Wenatchee area for 48 years, we had wonderful church family and friends, we first attended Calvary Bible Church, then Wenatchee Baptist Church, then Wenatchee Foothills Foursquare Church, then Free Methodist Church, then Bethel Baptist Church.
Among Alma's many friends that she met, she had two that she consider her very best girlfriends in the Wenatchee area, they were Jan Shrable and Lynne Mason, they were wonderful friends with Alma, she loved them dearly.
When Alma was young she always wanted to be a school teacher, years later she was able to help Jan Shrable, assessing her at a Christian school in Wenatchee and East Wenatchee area, she enjoyed that very much.
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Alma's DNA
Alma's Maternal Haplogroup is U5b1b1
Alma's maternal line stems from a branch of U called U5b1b1. Haplogroup U5b1b1 is a relatively young but widespread branch. The members of U5b1b1 trace their maternal lines back to a woman who lived only 7,000 years ago. Given this young age, the geographic spread of U5b1b1 is somewhat astounding.
In migrations that may have began in the Iberian Peninsula, women carrying U5b1b1 crossed the Mediterranean Sea from either Spain or Italy into northern Africa, where their descendants can now be found in Morocco among the indigenous Berbers and their descendants. Others moved north and east instead, moving all the way to eastern Scandinavia by about 6,000 years ago, where it can be found in the Saami, or Lapps, of northern Finland.
Comment on above:
Alma's maternal Great Grandmother was Aurora Garcia, born on 4 January, 1874, in Cádiz Spain.
Cádiz, Spain is only 58 miles NW from Tangier, Morocco.
Tangier is and was a Berber town.
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Alma's Paternal Haplogroup Group is E1b1a8 (U175)
Alma's paternal ancestor came from West Africa, probably during the Arab slave trade. By the way E1b1a8 is not so rare in North Africa, generally around 2-3% in Algeria.
Haplogroup E1b1a8 goes back to the Mandika (aka Mandigo) Afrikans Warriors.
E1b1a8, also named U175- West Africa. YCC E1b1a8) is defined by marker U175. The supposed "Bantu haplotype" found in E-U175 carriers is "present at appreciable frequencies in other Niger-Congo languages speaking peoples as far west as Guinea-Bissau.
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Alma's GEDmatch Kit number is M917962 under the name of Alma Ebling.
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Alma's Ethnicity Estimate (as of 27 Sept 2020)
MyHeritage (beta)
kit # 23-C33E75
European 96.9%
Northwestern European 68.5%
British & Irish 35.0%
Irish, Scottish, and Welsh 5.9%
French & German 14.4%
Southern Europe 23.5%
Spanish & Portuguese 12.4%
Italian 7.7%
North and West Europe 29.6%
Broadly Southern European 3.4%
America 0.9%
Native American 0.9%
Comment on above:
From word of mouth from family kin, Alma was part Cherokee on her 2nd Great Grandmother side of the family. Her name was Cynthia Ann Weldon (11 Jul 1847-19 Mar 1907). Cynthia parents were William Barnes Weldon (15 Nov 1787-11 Jul 1847) and Gillian Cook (15 Sep 1792-3 Dec 1876). Cynthia Ann Weldon married Rev John Cambel Autry (26 Feb 1811-4 Sep 1886) in 1861 at Denton County, Texas (Cynthia was the 3rd wife of Rev John Cambel Autry). This Rev John Cambel Autry was the brother to Elijah Henry Autry (15 Aug 1813-22 Nov 1858) who was the Great Grandfather of Orvon Grover Autry, better known as Gene Autry the cowboy singer.
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Cynthia Ann (Weldon) Autry, Alma's 2nd great-grandmother = 1/4 Cherokee (25%)
Samuel Tilden Autry, Alma's Great-grandfather = 1/8 Cherokee (12.5%)
Ethel Joanna (Autry) Johnson, Alma's grandmother = 1/16 Cherokee (6.25%)
Howard Clifford Lee Clarence Johnson, Alma's father = 1/32 Cherokee (3.125%)
Alma (Johnson) Ebling = 1/64 Cherokee = 1/64 Cherokee (1.5625%)
Alma's DNA (23&Me) shows her Native American = 0.9%
So, Alma's 2nd great-grandmother, Cynthia Ann (Weldon) Autry was indeed approximately 1/4 Cherokee Indian
