Sgt. Ed Sevigne, an instructor at the Ft. Benning Jump School, was expecting to receive orders any day for Germany.

Smokey and Mama West were also at Ft. Benning for a few days, visiting and babysitting Buster’s twins.

Ed and Smokey talked. “Buster and I are fixin’ to go to Germany, and I probably won’t see you anymore,” he said.

“Why don’t we get married?”

Ed agreed. They decided to marry right away and planned a big military wedding. There was no time to lose. Ed had to talk it over with Papa West and get his permission to marry Smokey. They jumped in Mama West’s Chevy and drove to Greenbrier.

Papa West was watching a baseball game on TV when they arrived. Ed asked him for permission to marry Smokey.

“Man, yeah, you can marry her!”

Ed had to be back at Ft. Benning the next morning for duty by 6 a.m. and Papa and Mama West offered to drive him to the Greyhound bus station in Decatur. Smokey wanted to go too, but Mama West had other ideas.

On the way to Decatur, Mama West laid down the law to Ed. “I want you to understand one thing,” she said. “If you ever have an intention to hurt that girl in anyway, you know where you got her, you can bring her back.”

Ed rode a Greyhound all night, arriving at Ft. Benning the next morning in the nick of time.

The following weekend, he returned to Greenbrier where Papa West had been pondering the forthcoming marriage. “I don’t want a big military wedding,” he announced.

“What do you mean?” asked Ed.

“I’ll drive you and Smokey to Iuka.”

On Jan. 24, 1956, Papa warmed up his ’52 Ford pickup and made ready to head to Mississippi. Smokey, who was only 17, wasn’t enthusiastic about an Iuka marriage. Finally, Papa and Ed coaxed her into the pickup and they sped off to the county courthouse. When they arrived, Smokey was reluctant to get out of the truck. Ed got her by one arm and Papa West by the other one and they walked her into the courthouse. Then another problem developed. The Judge wanted $5.

“I’ve only got two bucks,” said Ed. “Papa, have you got three bucks?”