PFC Jennings Owen Chriswell (WWII)

Remembering PFC Jennings Owen Chriswell (Fairmont)

January 12, 1921 - October 8, 1944

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PFC Jennings Owen Chriswell  (Service #35386762) was born in Fairmont, WV on January 12, 1921, the son of Jennings (William) and Katherine (Amama) Chriswell. 

Jennings W. was an engineer for the Traction Company in Monongah (1920 census). In August of 1920, Jennings W. and Katherine announced that they had married secretly the previous October, before welcoming baby Jennings in January of 1921. 

By 1930, their family had moved to Mill Fall, and Jennings W. was serving as a Power Plant Superintendent. Katherine died August 31, 1931 at age 32 of eclampsia, seven months into her last pregnancy. She was preceded in death by one child, one-year-old Paul, and survived by her husband and three kids under the age of 13. Jennings William remarried, adding two more half-siblings to their blended family.

Education and Marriage:

Jennings Owen graduated from Fairmont Senior High School in 1940. While there, he played on the football team and was a member of the Letterman's Club. He went on to attend Fairmont State Teachers College for at least one year.

The football section of the 1940 Fairmont State Teachers College yearbook, The Mound, says of Jennings: "Jennings Chriswell, Half, from West Side, proved his capability as a running mate to Captain Billingham and was the leading ground gainer for the footballer in his first year in college ball."

On December 14, 1941, Jennings married his Fairmont Senior classmate Rosemary Bower (class of '41).

Military Service:

Jennings Owen Chriswell entered the draft on February 16, 1942. At the time he worked at 718 Locust Avenue, known since 1943 as The College Lunch. Jennings lived at 325 View Avenue in Fairmont with his wife, Rosemary. Jennings was 5'8" and 170 lbs, with blue eyes, brown hair, and light skin.

Jennings was a member of the 80th Infantry Division, 305th Engineer Combat Battalion, Company B.

The October 7, 1944 Morning Report records that on the previous day, Company B did the following: "Company left Pont A Mousson by motor convoy at 0830 and arrived at new area 1/2 mile south of Ville Au Val at 0900. Traveled 3 mile." 

On October 8, 1944, PFC Jennings Owen Chriswell was killed in action due to a trachea wound from a bullet or missile (Hospital Admission Report). He is interred at the Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in Saint-Avold, France.

Survivors and Legacy: 

Jennings was survived by his wife, Rosemary Bower Chriswell, his father, step-mother, and four siblings (two brothers and two sisters). He was preceded in death by his younger brother, Paul.

Jennings' application for inclusion on the WV Veterans Memorial also lists him as Jennings Owen Chriswell, Sr., with a son named Jennings Owen Chriswell, Jr, but no other information about Jennings, jr. has been located as of publication time.

PFC Jennings Owen Chriswell is honored on the "Marion County Veterans Killed in Action" Memorial at Veterans Square in Fairmont, WV, and at the  West Virginia Veterans Memorial in Charleston, WV. 

Sources and More Information:

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