It always seems worse to me when a young person dies. I've oftened wondered if Elbert suffered from PTSD. He served during WWII and even though he didn't see combat as a foot soldier, it would still be frightening to go through what everyone went through during WWII.
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Stories about Elbert as told to me (Sandra Grissom Hudson) by his brother, John Henry Grissom
Dad liked to jig or clog dance. I remember going to some of those. Different people would have them on a Saturday night. The last one I can remember was across the road from the store where Dorothy (Payton) Grissom's brother and Dad had a store on 450. Dorothy and Bill were living there at the time. Elbert was 3 1/ 2 years older than me so that would have made him 14 or 15 at the time of the dance. Elbert had taken firecrackers to the dance. Grace (Ray) Grissom's father, Ben Ray, was sort of a fiddle player. He would just saw away at it.
Elbert started putting firecrackers on the windowsill and then he started lighting them. The men started running when they heard the firecrackers explode. William Gaffney was visiting at the time and was woozy from some white lightning that he had. William Gaffney had a cigarette. He picked up a firecracker and touched the cigarette to the firecracker. He didn't get hurt as it wasn't a big firecracker. But that stopped the dance. Almost everyone was angry and they started yelling at Elbert. They yelled at me too because I was outside with Elbert.
When I was 16, I joined the Navy. It was June 26, 1942, and I was hitchhiking around Salem. There was a sign at the library which said "Uncle Sam wants you!" In the picture, Uncle Sam was pointing at you.
I went in and signed up. Had to get my signature notarized. I came back home after dark and Mom and Dad already knew that I had joined the Navy. I had stopped in Bedford and maybe had told someone there who told Mom and Dad.
I lit the coal-oil lamp and went to Mom and Dad's bedroom door. I told Dad he was going to have to go with me to get my papers notarized. Mom didn't want me to go even though she didn't say so. You could tell by her demeanor that she didn't want me to go.
The next Monday, Elbert and a friend went to the recruiting station and signed up to go into the Navy.
My Dad, Everett, had to go to a notary so that I could go into the service. He was backing up my telling a lie about my age.
I was sworn in at Louisville, Kentucky.
Fay Williams was attempting to fly his airplane but couldn't get it started. It was a bi-plane. He set up a tripod by hooking the plane wheels onto a fence where he repaired the plane. The tail was damaged and he fixed it.
I can remember Elbert being there one day when Fay was working on his plane. After Fay repaired the plane, he took Elbert on a flight.

The lucrative trip to Bedford:
Elbert and I went to Bedford to sign up for our $20-a-week stipend that we received after we were discharged from the Navy. They gave us that for a year.
We took Dad's truck and saw Mr. Kern walking toward Williams. He asked us where we were going. WE told him Bedford. He said that was where he was going and would we mind to take him with us. We said that would be fine with us. He rode in with us and we told him where to meet us so he could ride back to his home with us. At 2 pm, we met him at the designated place. That is when he told us he had bought two sacks of feed. He asked if we could picked the feed up for him. We went to the feed store and picked up two bags of feed and delivered them to where Mr. Kern lived on Stumphole Road.
We unloaded his two bags of feed and he asked what he owed us. We told him he did not owe us anything. He said "No, I can't let you do it for nothing." He gave my brother a coin. I can still see him take his coin pouch out of his pocket and dig down into the pouch for a coin.
Elbert said "Do you know how much he gave me?" He had given my brother a dime for taking him to and from Bedford and loading and unloading two bags of feed. Elbert and I had a good laugh over the dime.
************End of stories from John Grissom about Elbert ***************************
1945 December 28, Draft Registration Card. Lawrence County, Indiana.
White. 5' 11.5" Tall. 170 lbs. Blue eyes. Blonde Hair. Ruddy Complexion. Jesse Elbert Grissom. RR #1, Williams, Lawrence, Indiana. 23 years old. Born: Lawrence County, Indiana. May 1, 1922. Person who will always know your address: Everett Grissom, RR #1, Williams, Indiana (Father). Employer: Unemployed.

1949 6/20 - BIRTH - Jesse Elbert Grissom (5/1/1922-6/20/1949) - Elbert Grissom Funeral Held. A verdict of accidental drowning was returned by Coroner R. E. Wynne, of Bedford, in the death of Jesse Elbert Grissom, after the body of the 27-year-old Navy man was recovered at about 2:30 last Thursday morning from White River, near Williams. Grissom had drowned Monday night while attempting to swim the river about two miles below the Williams dam. His brother, John Grissom, and E. R. Hegemeier found the body in a big bend below the covered bridge, where twigs and trash had formed a sort of natural barrier, about three-quarters of a mile from where the youth started to swim. Grissom had served for about eight years in the Navy and had re-enlisted for a two-year period after being at home for about six months. No wallet, identification papers, or the like were on the body when it was located. The remains were brought to the Queen Funeral Home here for funeral preparations. Young Grissom was born May 1, 1922, to Everett and May Grissom, in Lawrence Co.. He was assigned to the Witek, DD 848, as a seaman first class, and had a unit citation for heroic deeds and a World War II medal. His parents make their home in Williams (rest of article wasn't available) (Newspaper article 7/1/1949)

When Jesse Elbert (s/o Mae King and Everett) Grissom was born on May 1, 1922, in Spice Valley, Indiana, his father, Everett, was 36 and his mother, Mae, was 35.

1945 December 28, Draft Registration Card. Lawrence County, Indiana.
White. 5' 11.5" Tall. 170 lbs. Blue eyes. Blonde Hair. Ruddy Complexion. Jesse Elbert Grissom. RR #1, Williams, Lawrence, Indiana. 23 years old. Born: Lawrence County, Indiana. May 1, 1922. Person who will always know your address: Everett Grissom, RR #1, Williams, Indiana (Father). Employer: Unemployed.

Grissom, Jesse Elbert - 5-1-1922 - 6-20-1949 (27y) - s/o Everett and Mae (King) Grissom - WW II US Navy veteran - He was my father's brother.
Uncle John Grissom and another man found his body. I can't imagine how hard that would have been. Elbert's dad, Everett, and brothers, Elmer and Harold, saw him drown. I was always told that he had been drinking before he went into the river. My Dad, Harold, tried to talk Elbert out of swimming right then. I was also told that he actually swam back and forth once and drowned when he started on the third trip across. I always wondered if he had PTSD.
He was a Seaman 2nd Class S2C - he enlisted June 26, 1942 along with his brother, John Henry Grissom. John was not 18 at the time. Everett had to sign for him. John lied about his age.

2018 August 2 - John said that his brother Elbert was on a destroyer that sunk a Japanese boat. The Japanese sailors were in the water.

John said that Elbert told him how eerie it was right before a battle would start.
***** End of stories about Elbert *************

Elbert Grissom, 27, of Williams, a Navy veteran of eight years and an excellent swimmer, lost his life last night when he attempted to swim White River approximately two miles below Williams Dam. Home on a 30-day furlough, Grissom, who recently re-enlisted for six more years of Navy service, drowned between 9:00 and 9:30 while his father, two brothers and other relatives were unable to rescue him. Members of his family were fishing near the covered bridge, south of the dam. Searchers today, including State Police, Sheriff Zelbert Hawkins and several fishermen, used boats and grappling hooks in an effort to locate the body. Sheriff Hawkins and Deputy Homer Roberts also searched the river last night and early this morning. Because the river at Williams is now approximately one foot below flood stage members of the searching party reported difficulties due to the swift current. Carried Down River. Grissom was reported to have gone nearly one-quarter of a mile down the river before disappearing beneath the surface. Reports at Williams said Grissom earlier had asked a brother, Harold, to swim across the river with him. The brother, according to information received here, refused because it was getting dark and suggested the swimming be put off until today. Later Grissom's three nieces, whose names were not learned, reported he kicked off his boots and stated he was going to swim the river. His father, Everett, and another brother, Elmer, were in a motor boat some distance away. When Grissom entered the river the nieces notified the brother, Harold, who was several yards down the river and along the bank. The brothers and father said they heard him struggling in the water but failed to reach him before he disappeared. Grissom, veteran of World War Two, is also survived by the mother, Mrs. May Grissom; two other brothers, Leland Grissom, Dover Hill, and John Grissom, New Albany; two sisters, Mrs. Thelma Mefford and Mrs. Ruth Inman, both of New Albany. A brother, William Grissom, was killed by a train in Mitchell nearly a year ago. (Bedford Times-Mail, Tue., 6-21-1949)
"Search continued today ... State Police and Sheriff Zelbert Hawkins said searchers in 9 boats yesterday used barbed wire and grappling hooks over a half mile area but failed to bring the body to the surface. Two strands of barbed wire have been stretched across the river one foot below the surface. This will prevent the body from floating down river any great distance. River Above Normal. Since the river is approximately eight feet above normal below the dam, Sheriff Hawkins said searchers are meeting with many difficulties because of the swift current. The body disappeared in nearly 15 feet of water Monday night. A trip was made to New Albany yesterday for some large hooks which have been welded together in order to fashion an extra grappling hook. Several volunteers, most of them fishermen, are assisting officials in the search for the body ... " (Bedford Daily Times-Mail, Tue., 6-22-1949)
"The body of Jesse Elbert Grissom ... was located and recovered early today. E. R. Hegemeier, who lives near the scene, and a brother ... John Grissom of Donora, Pa.; discovered the body about 2:30 a.m. today and notified officials here. They reported the body was floating and had been washed against brush nearly three-quarters of a mile below where the drowning occurred. Two barbed wires had been stretched across the river however the body was found approximately one-quarter of a mile south of the second wire. After securing the body, the two men notified officials here. State Policemen Joe O'Brien and James Sutton, Sheriff Zelbert Hawkins and Coroner R. E. Wynne arrived a short time later and the body was removed to the Queen Funeral Home at Shoals where funeral plans were being completed this afternoon. Coroner Wynne said Grissom was dressed in trousers and a shirt when he entered the river late Saturday night. He said a wallet which had been clipped over the belt was missing and had apparently been washed away by the current. The body had been in the water for more than 48 hours. Grissom was home on a 30-day furlough and had joined his father, two brothers and other relatives on a visiting party Saturday ... A native of Lawrence county ... he was born at Williams ... He recently completed 8 years in the Navy ... Upon completing his furlough, he was to have rejoined his ship at New London, Conn. During World War Two, he served with the Asiatic-Pacific Fleets. Awarded Citation. He participated in the Philippines liberation and was awarded a citation. His rank ... was not reported ... " (Bedford Daily-Times Mail, Bedford, IN, Thur., 6-23-1949)
A verdict of accidental drowning was returned by Coroner R. E. Wynne, of Bedford, in the death of Jesse Elbert Grissom, after the body of the 27-year-old Navy man was recovered at about 2:30 last Thursday morning from White River, near Williams ... found the body in a big bend below the covered bridge, where twigs and trash had formed a sort of natural barrier, about three-quarters of a mile from where the youth started to swim ... No wallet, identification papers, or the like were on the body when it was located ... Young Grissom was born May 1, 1922, to Everett and May Grissom, in Lawrence Co. He was assigned to the Witek, DD 848, as a seaman first class, and had served during the second World War in the American theater; the Asiatic-Pacific theater, and during the Philippine liberation, and had a unit citation for heroic deeds and a World War II medal. His parents make their home in Williams ... (7-1-1949)
Indiana Death Certificate 18444, Lawrence County: ". . . Condition Leading to Death: Accidental Drowning. . . . Attempt to swim White River at flood stage. Swift current. . ."