 William Farrow was born in Darlington , South Carolina , on 24 September 1918 . His father Isaac was employed at a cigarette company in Raleigh , North Carolina ; his mother Jessie , born in 1897 , was the daughter of a wealthy tobacco warehouse owner . At age sixteen , William became an Eagle Scout . He graduated from St. John 's High School in May 1935 , and went on to attend the University of South Carolina . 
