PFC John Yelcich (WWII)

Remembering PFC John Yelcich (Fairmont)

June 5, 1922 - May 13, 1944

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PFC John Yelcich (service #35744765) was born June 5, 1922 in Fairmont to Thomas and Mary (Ribic) Yelcich. Thomas, born in Yugoslavia, worked as a coal miner. 

In 1930, the family lived in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, but by 1935 had moved back to Fairmont, where they lived at 133 Bourbon Street.

John was the oldest of eight children-- three boys, five girls. The 1940 census shows that John had only attended his freshman year of high school before entering the work force, most likely at Barnes School or Fairmont Senior High School.

Military Service:

On June 30, 1942, John entered the draft. He is listed as being 5' 10 1/2" and 155 lbs, with brown hair, brown eyes, and a dark complexion. At the time, he was working for Bethlehem Steel's Industrial Collieries Corporation in Barrackville, WV, Mine #7.

John enlisted in Clarksburg on November 30, 1942, and became a member of the 338th Infantry, 85th Division during WWII. 

The Sons of Liberty Museum states of the 85th:

"The 85th began to arrive in Italy in the middle of March 1944, and by the end of the month the Division was assembled as a unit. Two weeks later it took over the Allied sector near Mintumo and found itself playing a prominent part in the Allied offensive to break through the Gustav Line, made contact with our forces hemmed in at Anzio, and raced to Rome. The attack began on May 11, and after four days of bitter initiation to war, the 85th had beaten off numerous counterattacks and had cracked the line. Speeding north, the Division trampled over the famed Hermann Goering Panzer Division, and triumphantly entered Rome on June 4. The 85th went right on out the other side of the city and pursued the Germans for 40 miles before being relieved."

PFC John Yelcich was killed in action on May 13, 1944. He was awarded the Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal for his service. His remains are unfortunately unaccounted for, but he is honored on the Tablets of the Missing at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial in Nettuno, Italy.

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