Marion County Remembers

PFC Mac C. Merrifield (service # 2715610 )  was born September 16, 1891 in Smithfield (Wetzel County), WV to Elery Newton Merrifield and Minerva Ellen (Flowers) Merrifield. Out of the 10 Merrifield children, Mac was born 5th.  One May 27, 1917, Mac married Fara Gladys Martin in Marion County, WV, near Bringamon Church in Marion County, when he was 25 years old and she was 18. Mac registered for the draft on June 5, 1917. He listed himself as tall and slender with blue eyes and brown hair. At the time, he was working as a farmer in Worthington, WV.  On July 8, 1918, Mac departed Hoboken, NJ on the U.S.S. Leviathan as part of the 79th Division's 314th Infantry machine gun company.  There are lots of sources on this, but weirdly enough this random wiki had the best summary of what happened. Check out the reference list for more detailed accounts. "Upon arrival at Brest, France, they continued training until September 1918, then took part in the Meuse Argonne Offensive....

In Memory of Pvt. James H. ("Harry") Shuttlesworth, who died in France merely one day before the end of WWI (November 10, 1918). Harry Shuttlesworth was born July 29, 1895 in Ohio (though his gravestone reads 1896). He gave "mine laborer" as his occupation on his draft card, and listed his town of residence as Worthington, WV when he enlisted in the military on June 5, 1917.  His card also lists that he was of medium height with a slender build, gray eyes, and brown hair. At his time of death, he was a member of Company B of the 128th Infantry Regiment, assigned to the 32nd Division. "In the closing months of the war, the 128th Infantry participated in several major campaigns including Alsace, Aisne-Marne, Oise-Aisne and Meuse-Argonne. For their fury in combat, the nickname "Les Terribles" or "The Terrible Ones" was given to them by the French. As they pierced the famed Hindenburg Line, the 32nd became known as the "Red Arrow" Divi...

 World War I Deaths Thomas R. Atha (USMC)* Thomas Bennett (Army)* Buie W. Boydoh (Army)* Lloyd E. Brown (Army)* Abie L Burke (Army)* Charles E. Cartright (Army)* Thomas M. Conner (Army)* Gerardo Dapruzzo (Army)* Harold Davis (Army)* William W. Elder (Army)* Albert Gerkin (Army) Arlie Haught (USMC)* Carley R. Hawkins (Army)* Fred R. Heintzelman (Army)* Bert H. Humphrey (Army)* Earl W. Kiger (Army)* Lonnie W. Lawrence (Army)* Mac C. Merrifield (Army)* Fred C. Miller (Army) Karl H. Miller (Army) Nick Monell (Army)* James H. Shuttlesworth (Army)* Zarah West (Army)* James Worman (Army)* Raymond Wright (Army)* * Listed on the Veterans' Memorial in Veterans' Square, Fairmont, WV NOT a complete list -- it turns out that the plaque on the Jefferson Street Bridge has a large number of additional names

While most of my posts on this blog will be about Marion County, WV, I'd be remiss to not acknowledge all 14 of the West Virginia casualties of the HMT Rohna. 31st Signal Construction Battalion: PVT Paul Dawson (Marion County) 322nd Fighter Control Squadron: PFC Howard Jenkins (McDowell County) PVT Leroy Lanham (Upshur County) PVT Glenn McClung (Raleigh County) PFC Odell Shepherd (McDowell County) PVT William Wade (Lincoln County) 853rd Aviation Engineer Battalion: SGT Raymond Bolyard (Preston County) T5 Leland Brown (Clay County) * PFC Julius Calvert (Raleigh County) PVT Denver Parsons (Boone County) PVT Harry Ridgway (Ritchie County) CPL Harry Smith (Hampshire County) U.S. Army Air Force: SSGT John Brezinskey (McDowell County) U.S. Infantry: SGT Raymond McDaniel (Kanawha County) * T5 is the equivalent of a Colonel today

In 2015, the Marion County Public Library was preparing for the arrival of an extensive WWII exhibit, and I decided to do research on our county in that same time frame. Imagine my surprise when reading the roll call of the dead that a name looked familiar- Paul Dawson. Looking at local yearbooks confirmed that this Paul Dawson, whose name I'd never heard at a family gathering, was the brother of my maternal grandfather. At the time, I didn't do much research into his life, but on Memorial Day, I began in earnest. Here's his story.  Isaac Paul Dawson (service number 35742383 )  was born July 12, 1919 in Farmington, WV, the son of Wilbert Howard Dawson and Olive Osa Fletcher . He had two siblings, Wilbert Harold Dawson , and Maxine Vivian Dawson Stover . It is my understanding that everyone but Maxine went by their middle names. Paul was a graduate of the Farmington High School Class of 1938. On October 16, 1940, at age 21, Paul registered for the draft. His draft card rea...