THE ET CETERA CHRONICLES - WILLIAM E. ARNOLD, JR.

When William Edward Arnold, Jr.  bailed out of his two-engine training plane jumped to safety in field near Wrightsville in the early days of February 1944, it caused quite a stir among Wrightsville residents.

Arnold's plane was on a mission from Ellington, Texas to Warner Robins when large amounts of smoke from a forest fire interfered with his projected flight path.  No one here knew Arnold, but they did know his father.

Arnold's father got a telegram that his son was in a poker game and needed money.  Nothing was mentioned about his close brush with death.

The senior Edward Arnold was known to movie goers around the country.  he was best known for his roles in Come and Get it, You Can't Take It With You, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and Meet John Doe as well as the first Nero Wolfe in the movies.

Some movie goers may have recognized Edward, Jr., who appeared in about a dozen films before the age of 20.