Early history of Newcastle's Guard unit

Hannah Gross
NLJ Correspondent
With Leonard Cash
 
Historian Leonard Cash begins his final segment of his series on Newcastle’s armory in this week’s installment of “History on Main.” 
According to records from the June 25, 1964, edition of the News Letter Journal, local attorney Thomas L. Whitley became a major in the U.S. Army Reserves. 
“Whitley is the Judge Advocate Corps and has just returned from a two-week military law school in Charlottesville, VA,” the article said. 
Another local resident was promoted within the National Guard, according to a news article from Oct. 7, 1965. Capt. James Parrish became the battery commander of the Newcastle unit. He was promoted from first lieutenant to captain, succeeding Capt. Donald Boyer as the battery commander because Boyer was assigned to headquarters in Casper. 
The Dec. 21, 1967, issue of the paper said that the National Guard units of Newcastle and Gillette were combining due to “the reorganization of the Wyoming Army National Guard.” Parrish remained
commander of the combined troop and Lt. Richard Reeder from Gillette became the executive officer. 
Many years later in the Aug. 7, 1980, issue of the local paper, Parrish was transferred and became the post commander for the ARNG Training Site at Camp Guernsey. In addition to serving as commander for the Newcastle/Gillette unit, he was the chief maintenance and transportation officer for the Cheyenne state headquarters. 
The News Letter Journal reported some unfortunate news on Jan. 11, 1996. Government agencies, including the National Guard, were reevaluating cost efficiencies, which created the possibility of Newcastle’s unit, which only had one employee, to be closed. The Wyoming National Guard had many vacancies that were “hard to fill” because the jobs were mostly field artillery units, which was for men only. There were hopes of attracting out-of-state people, both men and women, to fill the vacancies so that they could be close to “full strength.”
However, Cash said the unit in Newcastle was closed and moved to Gillette. Upon the governor’s approval, the local state armory building was sold to Wyoming State Forestry. 
Before ending his series on the armory, Cash went through his records and wanted to mention a few of the main people who were involved with the local armory. 
The first was Kenneth “Kenney” Franklin, who was born in 1928. According to Cash, he was in charge of the armory in Newcastle that was in the original downtown building for a number of years before being transferred to Cheyenne. 
Cash also wanted to mention Ralph Russell “Rusty” Currey, who started his military career in Newcastle. Cash said his ashes are buried near the east side of the present state forestry building.  
Currey died at age 76 on April 30, after a long illness, according to an article from May 6, 1998. The Worden Funeral Chapel held memorial services for him on May 3, conducted by First United Methodist Pastor Gene Hagerman. The service was followed by “special military honors,” and a memorial was dedicated to Hospice of Weston County and Michael’s Senior Center in Currey’s honor.
Currey was born on Oct. 19, 1916, in Nebraska before moving to Newcastle when he was 6. In December 1933, he joined the National Guard while still in high school and later joined the U.S. Army during World War II. He went to Australia and New Guinea, and after he was discharged, he reenlisted in the National Guard for a total of 33 years. He eventually became a sergeant major before retiring in 1968. 
Currey married Lorraine Walkup in Sundance on Sept. 20, 1941, and they had four children. In addition to serving in the military, Currey worked in the bentonite plant by Upton (with Cash’s grandfather) for nine years before working in the Newcastle refinery as a mechanic for 27 years until 1981. He also worked for the Civilian Conservation Corps and built a parking lot for Devil’s Tower, a dam at Dayton, and ranger stations at Shell and Greybull. Currey was a member of VFW Post 2156 and the senior center.
In addition to Currey, Cash mentioned Adjutant General Charles Wing. 
According to an internet article in Cash’s records, Wing was born Jan. 8, 1933, in Hot Springs, South Dakota. Cash said his mother was Mary Wing, who was a longtime nurse in Newcastle. 
Charles Wing grew up in Newcastle and graduated from high school in 1950. He then went to the University of Wyoming and received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education, as well as a doctorate in education. He was a teacher, counselor, principal, and assistant superintendent in Cheyenne for 25 years. On Oct. 8, 1954, he married Jo Dell Riddle in Rawlins, and together they had four children. 
Before graduating from high school, Wing enlisted in the National Guard unit of Newcastle in 1949 as a private. He served in the unit for less than four years but rejoined again in 1958, serving until his retirement in Jan. 8, 1995. 
“He received an ROTC commission as a second lieutenant in 1954 upon graduating from the University of Wyoming,” the article said. In 1987, Gov. Mike Sullivan appointed Wing as adjutant general.
The final person of significance Cash included in his mentions was Adj. Gen. R.L. Esmay. He never lived in Newcastle, but he was one of the main people responsible for bringing the armory to Newcastle and getting the cavalry barns next to it built.
“He was head of the National Guard at the state level and came to Newcastle on several occasions and was a big influence on the cavalry barns,” Cash said. 
According to the newspaper from Dec. 7, 1961, Esmay, who was the director for the Selective Service since 1940, was promoted to lieutenant general. He had been promoted to major general in 1954. 
“The promotion to the three-star rank was announced at the Governor’s ball in Cheyenne and was effective Dec. 2,” the article said. “He was been Wyoming’s adjutant general since 1929 and also held that post from 1921-23.” 
The May 3, 1962, issue of the News Letter Journal reported Esmay’s retirement on May 15 at the age of 63, after serving in the military for 47 years. He had been the state civil defense director since 1950, which was a position he held after retirement. He started his military career in 1915 as a private in the Wyoming National Guard (probably in Cheyenne, Cash said, although he is unsure) and served in active duty along the Mexico border until World War II. 
“He became a brigadier general in 1949 and major general in 1954,” the article said. He also was the former president of the Adjutant General Association of the United States. 
According to the newspapers from Nov. 11 and 18, 1965, Esmay was in the Warren Air Force Base Hospital in Cheyenne, “critically ill” after suffering a heart attack in his home. He died in the hospital on Nov. 5, with his funeral services held the following Monday. He had served as adjutant general for 35 years.
And that wraps up Cash’s series on the armory. He plans on moving down the street and starting a new series on the News Letter Journal building for next week’s installment of “History on Main.” 
 
The News Letter Journal/Leonard Cash history series continues in next week’s issue.