Marion County Remembers

Remembering S1C Frank Bill Corder January 8, 1925 - December 18, 1944 ---- "It was only by the combined might of the winds and the seas that Spence was silenced and finally laid to rest—honorably buried at sea as is befitting a brave and rugged seaman!"  -Rear Admiral Henry A. Armstrong ---- S1C Frank Bill Corder (Service Number 8280798) was born January 8, 1922 in Raleigh County, WV, the son of Frank T. and Roena (Wadsworth) Corder. The 1920 Census shows their family as residing in Fayetteville, but Frank B's draft card lists Raleigh County as the place of his birth. In 1930, their family lived in Belle, WV, where Frank T. was a bookkeeper at the chemical plant (1930 census). They remained in Belle, though Frank T.'s position at the chemical plant evolved to Senior Foreman, Shipping and Filling (1940 Census). Frank attended DuPont High School for at least 8th grade and 9th grade, possibly longer though no yearbook verification has been available as of publication. Mi...

Remembering WT1C William Layton Slaughter, Jr. (Huntington) May 17, 1922 - December 18, 1944 ---- "It was only by the combined might of the winds and the seas that Spence was silenced and finally laid to rest—honorably buried at sea as is befitting a brave and rugged seaman!"  -Rear Admiral Henry A. Armstrong ---- WT1C Layton William Slaughter, Jr. (Service Number 5603473) was born on May 17, 1922 in Huntington, WV, the son of CPL Layton William Slaughter, Sr. and Georgia (Bias) Slaughter. CPL Slaughter, Sr. served in the Army in both WWI and WWII. Their family, which included Layton's older sister Carol, lived in Huntington through at least 1924 (1924 Huntington City Directory).  By 1930, Layton, Sr. and Georgia were divorced, and he had remarried (1930 Census). Georgia, Carol, and Layton (Jr) lived with Georgia's mom and brother on Hannan Road in Mason County (1930 Census). Georgia soon married Howard Dillard. Their family remained in Glenwood, Mason County, where H...

Remembering MM2C Wallace William Whitehair August 22, 1922 - December 18, 1944 ---- MM2C Wallace William Whitehair (Service Number 02664611) was born August 22, 1922 in Detroit, Michigan (IDPF), the son of Charles and Justine Dorothy (Clevenger) Whitehair. In 1930, their small family was living at 55 Savoy Street in Tallmadge, Ohio. Charles was working as a "Pit man" at a rubber shop (1930 Census). Sometime between 1930 and 1938, Charles and Justine divorced. She married Joe Christy, and in 1940 Justine and 16-year-old Wallace were living with Joey, Justine, and Wallace's two infant half-siblings (Joe, Jr, and Julius). They lived at 281 Dunbar Avenue in Dunbar (Kanawha County), West Virginia, where Justine and Joe both worked as nurses. During his academic career, Wallace attended elementary school in Spencer (WV), Lincoln Junior High School, and graduated from Dunbar High School ( Sissonville Sailor Is Killed in Pacific , The Charleston Daily Mail) . The same article rep...