PFC William Ellsworth Layman (WWII)


PFC William "Bill" Ellsworth Layman was born November 10, 1923 in Fairmont, WV, the son of Ellsworth and Martha (McMillan) Layman. William was the oldest of two kids, with a younger sister named Barbara who was around 5 years younger than him. In 1930 and 1940, Ellsworth was working as an electrician at the Domestic Coke Plant in Fairmont, while the family lived at 610 Ohio Avenue (a short distance from the old East Fairmont High School/new East Fairmont Middle).

1941, William graduated from East Fairmont High School. The 1941 Orion yearbook stated that during his time at EFHS, he participated in Student Council, Latin Club, French Club, Glee Club, and Basketball, and was the Circulation Manager for the Yellow Jacket school newspaper. He was also an assistant in the business department of the Orion Yearbook Staff.

This one really struck home for me, because like William, my great uncle Jim Erdie graduated from EFHS in 1941, and also played basketball. Usually this research is a little impersonal, but it's hard when you realize how much lives can overlap. Bill was actually one of four 1941 EFHS graduates who died in WWII-- the others were Leonard "Leo" Brown, Howard Dodd, and Tom Knox.

610 Ohio Avenue is where the family still resided on June 30, 1942, when 18-year-old William registered for the draft at the Professional Building in downtown Fairmont. At that time, William was working for Mr. Bernard Sampson of the Sampson Engineering Company in Fairmont. He listed himself as 6'1" and 174 pounds, with blue eyes, brown hair, and light skin.

William, who went by Bill, entered into the US Marine Corps. He was part of the 2nd Battalion, Company D, 26th Marines, 5th Division. In April 1944, he was stationed at Camp Pendleton. By September 1944, they had been relocated to Camp Tarawa in Hawaii, with their mail being received care of San Francisco. In February of 1945, the 5th Division was transported to Iwo Jima, where they landed on February 19, proceeding to fight their way across the island. TogetherWeServed lists Bill's last job as being "Mortar Crewman"-- someone who "sets up, aims, fires, cleans, and maintains a 60 mm or 81 mm mortar" (Military Yearbook Project)

PFC William Ellsworth Layman died in battle on Iwo Jima on March 15, 1945. Over 2,000 5th Division Marines and Navy Corpsman were killed in action or died of wounds and close to 8,000 were wounded during the Battle of Iwo Jima.

He was initially buried in the 5th Marine Division Cemetery on Kazan Retto, but was later disinterred as part of the "WWII Dead Program" and reburied at the Arlington National Cemetery on January 12, 1949. His grave is located at section 12, lot 6973. Bill was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

Sources and Further Information:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CPL Olen Jay Canfield (WWII)

Image
Remembering Tec5 Olen Jay Canfield (Levels Road) January 10, 1919 - September 6, 1944 ---- Tec5 Olen Jay "Skeeter" Canfield (Service #35275107) was born January 10, 1919 in Norton, WV, the son of John and Sarah (Fansler) Canfield. Norton is about six and a half miles from Elkins, in Randolph County. Their family spent the next few decades in Marion County (1920-1940 Census) with John working as a general laborer (1920), lumber cutter at the sawmill (1930), and WPA Road Laborer (1940). The 1940 Census specifies their location as Levels Road, and gives Olen's occupation as "new laborer."  ---- Military Service: Olen entered the draft in Colfax on October 16, 1940. At the time, he was unemployed. Olen was 6'3 1/2" and 165 lbs with brown hair, brown eyes, and light brown skin. "Skeeter" enlisted on February 10, 1942 at Fort Hayes in Columbus, Ohio. His occupation was listed as "metal rolling." In the service, Olen was part of
Read more

1LT Frank Kinsey Evans (WWII)

Image
Remembering 1LT Frank Kinsey Evans (Fairmont) April 28, 1916 to May 13, 1944 "He is a gentleman in whom we place absolute trust." - 1934 FSHS Yearbook ------ 1LT Frank Kinsey Evans was born in Fairmont, WV on April 28, 1916 to William and Ora (Kinsey) Evans. William was the Chief Clerk for a local coal company. The family lived in a variety of locations in Fairmont, all on West Side: 1910 Census: 416 Madison Street 1920 Census: 224 Spring Street 1930 Census: 724 Mt. Vernon Avenue 1940 Census: 414 Gaston Avenue Education Frank graduated from Fairmont Senior High School in 1934. The 1933 yearbook states that Frank's ambition was to become an engineer, while his classmates said of him in the 1934 Maple Leaves "He is a gentleman in whom we place absolute trust." While at Fairmont Senior, he participated in Hi-Y and French Club. Next, Frank enrolled at Fairmont State Teachers College (now Fairmont State University). Frank was the student manager of the Fighting Teach
Read more

CPL Edward Lee Bane (WWII)

Image
Corporal Edward Lee Bane was born December 14, 1911 in Murraysville, Pennsylvania to Kelly Herman Bane and Jesse (Masters) Bane. Unfortunately, his mother died March 9, 1916 of pneumonia following several days of lagrippe and measles, leaving behind three children-- Fred (7), Edward (4), and Marguerite (2). By 1920, Edward (8) was living on Dunkard Mill Road just outside of Farmington, where his father was working as an engineer at the local gas plant. By then, Kelly had married Rose Bradley, with Edward's half-brother, Robert Harry Bane, soon to arrive.  Edward registered for the draft on October 16,1940. He listed himself as 5'8" and 160 pounds, with blue eyes, brown hair, and light brown skin. By then he had married Elizabeth Hoskinson and was living at 511 Rose Avenue in Fairmont, West Virginia. He was working at the Fairmont Supply Company on 10th Street. In 1941, Edward and Elizabeth were living at 411 1/2 Walnut Ave, and both were still working at the Fairmont Suppl
Read more