Henry Handley

Henry Lee (Hank) Handley Jr. was born in Wylam, Alabama on January 30, 1925 to Henry Lee Handley and Hortense Urena Greer Handley. He died August 31, 2015 in Searcy, Arkansas. He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers, Alfred B. Handley and Gerald A. Handley and four sisters Bertha DeMott, Hortenese Anderson, Cordelia Handley, and Mary Elizabeth Handley. He is survived by nephew Duane Handley (wife, Becky), and niece Anita Handley Wallace (husband, Kay).
The Alfred Handley family moved to McRae, Arkansas around 1910. Henry Sr. took his family to Alabama for a few years of work, where Henry Jr. was born but the family soon returned to McRae where Henry Sr. passed away in October 1936 leaving the widow and children to care for the farm. Henry Jr. or "Hank" attended school and played basketball in McRae Schools and joined the Navy along with his two brothers early in WWII.
Hank served as a gunner in the U.S. Navy on the U.S.S. EVANS which received a Presidential Unit Citation. The text of which reads "For extraordinary heroism in action as support destroyer on radar picket station number 15 during an attack by approximately 100 enemy Japanese planes, 40 miles northwest of the Okinawa Transport Area, May 11, 1945. Fighting valiantly against waves of hostile suicide planes plunging toward her from all directions, the USS Evans sent up relentless barrages of anti-aircraft fire during one of the most furious air-sea battles of the war. Repeatedly finding her targets, she destroyed 14 enemy planes, assisted in downing three others and, by her vigilance and superb battle readiness, avoided damage to herself until subjected to a coordinated attack by five Japanese planes. Shooting one down clear of the ship, she was crashed by the other four with devastating effect. With all engineering spaces flooded and with fire raging amidships, the gallant officers and men of the EVANS fought desperately against almost insurmountable odds and, by their indomitable determination, fortitude and skill, brought the damage under control, enabling their ship to be towed to port and saved. Her brilliant performance in this action reflects the highest credit upon the EVANS and the United States Naval Services."
After leaving the Navy, he rejoined the family that had moved to San Diego, California where he had a career with the U.S. Postal Service. He was again called back to gunner duty for the U. S Navy during the Korean Conflict.
Hank was of the Baptist faith and a serious student of God's word. Always dedicated to family, he cared for first his widowed mother and then a widowed sister and finally his younger brother, Gerald, who passed away July 9, 2015. Only after all immediate family passed did he finally return to his beloved Arkansas to live with his nephew, Duane and his wife Becky. No man more appreciated peace and harmony than Hank and he strived for a life as simple, natural and righteous as possible. May he rest in peace.

Visitation begins at 1:00 p.m. Thursday, September 3, 2015, at Smith-Westbrook Funeral Home, Beebe, with funeral beginning at 2:00 p.m. Burial will be in Beebe Cemetery. Arrangements by Smith-Westbrook Funeral Home, a certified Veterans Care provider.