Vereen Bell

Vereen M. Bell was an American novelist and naval officer who was killed in action during World War II.

Early life

Born in Cairo, Georgia, to Jennie Vereen and Judge Reason Chesnutt Bell, Vereen Bell attended public schools before graduating from the Davidson College in North Carolina in 1932.

Career

After writing several short stories and editing magazines, Bell wrote the novel Swamp Water, set in the Okefenokee Swamp. It was originally published in 1940 as a serial in the Saturday Evening Post. The novel was successfully adapted as a film (B&W) of the same title in 1941 and again as a color film, Lure of the Wilderness, in 1952.
Bell continued writing while serving in the Navy in World War II. In May 1944, he was observed pecking at a typewriter in a stateroom on his ship, the. The working title of his last work was, The Renegade Queen.

Death

In World War II, Bell was a lieutenant assigned as an intelligence officer to Composite Squadron VC-10 aboard the USS Gambier Bay, an escort carrier. In the Battle off Samar, on 25 October 1944, the Gambier Bay was part of a task force attacked by Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's "Center Force". Bell rushed to the ready room to put on his flying gear but was ordered by the VC-10 commander, Lt. Cdr. Edward Huxtable, to remain on board. Bell survived the sinking of the Gambier Bay that morning but succumbed to exposure and delirium sometime during the evening of the 26th.

Legacy

"Vereen Bell Highway" was named after Bell in Ware County, Georgia.
Davidson College now awards the Vereen Bell Award for creative writing in his honor.