Ben Lay
Ben “Opal” Lay (March 7, 1922 – March 26, 1945) was a sailor from Oneida who was killed at sea during World War II.
See Also: Scott Countians killed in war
Biography
Born March 7, 1922, Ben Opal Lay was the son of Leander W. Lay (1895-1954) and Cordelia Rector (1899-1969).
Following a divorce from Leander, Cordelia remarried to Joseph Ray Potter (1881-1946). They had several more children, including Ruie Mae Smith (1923-1983), Cleta Rayburn (1924-2013), Jim Potter (1937-2020) and his twin brother George, and Samuel Frazier Potter (1940-2007). Her brother was Porter Ben Rector, a prominent elected official in Scott County.
When the 1940 census was taken, Opal Lay lived with his mother, stepfather and siblings. His father lived with a cousin, Jesse Neal.
When Opal registered for the draft, he was working for Carl Rector, his mother’s brother, who owned a store in Huntsville.
He married Doris Laxton (1925-2008) — the daughter of Scott County Sheriff Esau Laxton — and they had a son, long-time Oneida Mayor Jack E. Lay.
World War II
S1 Lay enlisted in the U.S. Navy, and was assigned to the U.S.S. Halligan. The Halligan was sunk by a mine off the coast of Okinawa on March 26, 1945. The head-on collision with the mine ripped off the bow of the destroyer, and half the crew was lost — including 19 of 21 offers on board.
The senior surviving officer, Lt. Russell Hartranft Jr., wrote to Lay’s mother: “Ben was listed as missing after the sinking of the Halligan but careful review of all the facts of the case has resulted in a change of his status to killed in action. The sinking of our ship occurred on March 26th in the late afternoon while we were patrolling a few miles off Okinawa. Suddenly there was a very large underwater explosion, probably caused by a mine. The forward magazines exploded and completely demolished the forward part of the ship, including the bridge. About one half of the crew was lost. Ben was at his battle station in the upper handling room of a forward five-inch gun when the blast occurred. No member of the gun crew has since been seen. Your son had been aboard the ship since January 1944 and had quickly made a place for himself in the gunnery division. He was scheduled to be advanced to Gunner’s Mate third class on the first of April. Ben had seen action with the ship in all of the recent major Pacific campaigns. The loss of your son is felt very profoundly by all of us who are left.”
Aftermath
SFC Lay is listed on the Honolulu Memorial in Hawaii. The memorial is also known as the “Courts of the Missing.” He was awarded the Purple Heart.
He is listed on the VFW Post 5669 Memorial Wall in Oneida, the Scott County Veterans Memorial in Huntsville, and the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial in Knoxville.
Doris remarried to Clifford Josh Thompson (1923-2003), also a prominent elected official in Scott County, and they had several more children, including Cookie Allen, Tammy Wright, Steve Thompson and Roger Thompson.