Front Page
Fannin County Witness to History: John F. Day, Jr.
By Malinda Allison, Fannin County Historical Commission
Jun 30, 2026
Print this page
Email this article

Fannin County Witnesses to History

A Joint Project of the Sam Rayburn House Historic Site and the Fannin County Historical Commission

Celebrating America 250 with Spotlights of Fannin County Citizens Who Participated In or Witnessed  Historical Events

John F. Day was born in 1909 in Eden, Texas.  He moved to Bonham around 1930 to work at the Bonham Cotton Mill, having just graduated from Texas A&M as a textile engineer.   In 1934 he married Cile (Cornelia Lucille) Hackley, daughter of Dwight and Lucille Hackley, in Bonham.

In 1940 he went on active military duty in the US Army, and he would remain on active duty for the next 30 years.

He sailed into Pearl Harbor on December 1, 1941, just six days before the Japanese attack.  He went to Java and then to Australia.  He became Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s Headquarters Commandant and later served in New Guinea and the Philippines.

Col. Day remained on active duty serving in the Japanese Occupation after the war. He was particularly proud of the commendation from the Japanese government for this work in constructing orphanages in northern Japan.

Cile Hackley died in 1948. Col. Day remarried Josephine Polito in 1950.  They lived in Florida for many years.

Col. Day died in 2000 and is buried at Willow Wild Cemetery alongside Cile.

His son wrote a book about his father’s military career based on his diary and letters.