SSGT James Russell Trisler (WWII)

Remembering SSGT James Russell Trisler (Watson/Fairmont)

November 27, 1910 - June 20, 1944*

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* Note: June 20, 1944 seems to be the day that he was declared dead, rather than the day that he actually died

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SSGT James Russell Trisler (service # 35275214) was born November 27, 1910 in Watson, West Virginia (Fairmont), the son of James L. and Laura (Howard) Trisler. James, who seems to have gone by his middle name, Lawson, was a coal miner (1910 census).

By 1918, the family was living in Thornton, WV, about five miles outside of Grafton. Lawson was working as a brick setter for the Thornton Fire Brick Company when he completed his WWI draft card on September 12, 1918. Family records on Ancestry and Findagrave show that Lawson died in 1918, but I haven't been able to find a death certificate or grave marker reflecting that date. The findagrave page for Lawson's son, Carl, says that Lawson died of the Spanish Flu in the fall of 1918.

The family remained in Thornton through January of 1920 (1920 Census) before moving back to Fairmont. The 1920 Fairmont City Directory shows the Trislers living at 534 Market Street, and later 204 Merchant Street (1923 City Directory). Laura married Frank Ansel on August 22, 1923, with the family remaining in Fairmont.

James Russell Trisler attended 3 years of high school at East Fairmont, which was within walking distance of his family home. At age 19, James, who went by his middle name, Russell, worked as a night watchman at the steam railroad (1930 census). 

On June 25, 1933, he married Genevieve Shackelford in Harrison County, WV. They had one child together, Donald Ashford Trisler (1936-1978). The duo divorced around 1939, and both remarried.

Military Service and Second Marriage:

Russell entered the draft on March 5, 1941. He was unemployed and living with his mother at 508 East Park Avenue. He listed himself as 6'1" and 160 lbs, with gray eyes, brown hair, and light skin. Russell enlisted in the military on February 11, 1942 at Fort Hayes in Columbus, Ohio.

Russell married Sarah Evelyn O'Neal on February 1st, 1943, while he was stationed at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

Operation Neptune:

Russell was a member of the 101st Airborne Division, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, Company A when they landed in Normandy as a part of Operation Neptune, the air portion of the D-Day invasion. 

SSGT James Russell Trisler was declared dead on June 20, 1944, and was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart. The citation reads:

"The following Soldiers: SSG James R. Trisler and SGT John R. Flores (A/502nd PIR) earned the Purple Heart (Posthumously) for military merit and for wounds received which resulted in their deaths during their parachute drop on the invasion of German Occupied France. Their bodies were found on the beach of Normandy." (SOURCE)

Survivors and Legacy:

SSGT James Russell Trisler is buried at the Normandy American Cemetery in Normandy, France, and honored on the "Marion County Veterans Killed in Action" Memorial at Veterans Square in Fairmont, WV. He is also honored on the West Virginia State Veterans Memorial in Charleston, WV.

Russell was survived by his wife, Sarah, and his son from his first marriage, Donald. He was also survived by his mother, step-father, and six siblings. His brother PFC Howard W. Trisler also fought in WWII, serving in the 411st Airborne Quartermaster Company.

Sarah never remarried after Russell's death, but lived until 2005, when she died at age 86 in her home state of Georgia.

Sources and More Information:




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