Oconeean learns what father really did in WW2

An Oconee woman knew that, in the Second World War, her dad was in a group selected to carry out an experiment on a far away Atlantic island.  But until recently, Janie Shipley did not know why her dad, Robert Grey Shipley Sr., was sent to try to grow vegetables on the volcanic island of Ascension.  Turns out, it was a successful effort at hydroponics, a method of gardening that uses no soil.  The year was 1945, the final WW2 year.  With the atomic bombing of Axis power Japan, there was worry going forward whether future populations, in desolate conditions, could grow their own food to sustain life.  Serviceman Shipley and team were able to grow veggies, as attested by an article that appeared in the National Geographic the same month the A-bombs were dropped.  Mr. Shipley llved to be 103.  Even at the century mark he lived an active life.  One of his goals was an autobiography, which he did not complete.  That’s where Janie Shipley’s cousin, Evan Smith, came in.  An experienced newspaperman in Greenville, Smith used his spare time to finish the story.  After much research for his book, “Here By The Owl”, Smith found the true reason why the U-S military was so intent to learn if food could be grown in barren conditions.  The author supplies the answer in an interview, part of which airs on 101.7/WGOG NEWS, along with Janie Shipley’s account of the life of her father.