F3c Welborn Lee Ashby, of Centertown, was killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor, Dec. 7, 1941. Ashby’s remains will be buried in his hometown of Centertown this Memorial Day, May 31, 2021. (Photo courtesy of Chris Kern.)
CENTERTOWN, Ky. — F3c Welborn Lee Ashby, of Centertown, who was killed during the Dec. 7, 1941, attack at Pearl Harbor, while serving aboard the battleship USS West Virginia, is being returned to his hometown for burial.
For almost 80 years, Ashby remained unidentified and was buried at the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. Due to modern research techniques and the help of DNA supplied by his sister Martha (Christian) and nephew Mark Christian, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency positively identified Welborn’s remains on 11/19/2019.
Service will be held on Memorial Day, May 31, 2021, at Bevil Brothers Funeral Home in Beaver Dam. Visitation will begin at 10 a.m. and the service will be at 1 p.m. Burial will be at Centertown Cemetery with full military honors, followed by a “Missing Man fly-over” by Smoke on Aviation.
Ashby was born Oct. 19, 1917, in Centertown. He was the second of six children born to Otis and Inez Ashby. Welborn Ashby was nicknamed “Tiddly” because of his fondness for playing Tiddlywinks with his friends. Welborn Ashby graduated from Centertown High School in 1936 and enlisted in the Navy Sept. 24, 1940. He was the first WWII casualty from Ohio County. The Centertown American Legion and Route 96 through Centertown are named in his honor.
For additional information contact Chris Kern at kern_christopher@comcast.net or 804-592-9167.