Marion County Remembers

Remembering MSGT Robert G. Martin (Farmington) October 16, 1923 - November 30, 1944 ---- MSGT Robert G. Martin (Service Number 15019842) was born in Farmington, WV on October 16, 1923, the son of George and Mary (Joliff) Martin. George was a coal miner (1930-1950 Censuses), and their family lived on East Run in Farmington with George's widowed mother. Robert was the oldest of seven children- four boys, three girls. Robert attended Farmington High School, from which he graduated on June 5, 1941 (1945 Lincolneer Yearbook).  Military Service: On June 24, 1941, Robert, age 17, enlisted in the Army Air Corps at Fort Hayes in Columbus, Ohio. At the time, he was 5'9" and 154 lbs (Army Enlistment Record). Robert became a member of the 674th Bomber Squadron, 417th Bomber Group, Light. On November 30, 1944, Robert was an Engineer on board Douglas A-20G Havoc 43-22228, piloted by 1LT James E. Inglehart. Their plane took off from Pitoe Airstrip, with an intended destination of Halmah...

Remembering PFC John Yelcich (Fairmont) June 5, 1922 - May 13, 1944 ---- 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 Div...

Remembering MSGT Richard Glassco Tennant (Farmington) October 3, 1918 - May 8, 1943 ---- Master Sergeant Richard Glassco Tennant (Service # 15012411) was born October 3, 1918 in Farmington, WV to Loren and Willa "Pearl" (Davis) Tennant.  Loren worked as a telegraph operator (1920 census) for the railroad. Unfortunately, Loren died in 1927, leaving Pearl unemployed in Farmington with their three children- Ruth (11), Richard (8), and Edna (7), living at Parish Run specifically. Richard attended Farmington High School, graduating with the class of 1937. While at Farmington High School, he played baseball and football ("Richard Tennant, Lost in May 1943, Is Reported Dead ," Fairmont Times) .  The 1944 Lincolneer Yearbook says of Richard: "Dick," a bombardier has been missing in the Pacific theater of war since May 8, 1943. He is a graduate of our school in the class of 1937. He enlisted in the Air Corps in 1939 and has been in Panama and the South Pacific sinc...

Remembering TSGT Mark Douglas Rollins (Fairmont) December 24, 1916 - November 11, 1944 --- TSGT Mark Douglas Rollins (Service #15171212) was born in Fairmont, WV on December 24, 1916, the son of Mark Hannah Rollins & Helen (Fleming) Rollins. At the time of Mark Douglas' birth, their family resided at 217 Albert Court ( Fairmont West Virginian, December 26, 1916 ).  Mark Hannah worked for the Fairmont Motor Car Company on the corner of 5th Street and Fairmont Avenue as a mechanic, while their family lived at 915 Field Street off of Locust Avenue ( 1918 WWI Draft Card ). By 1920, their family was living at 310 Pennsylvania Avenue (1920 Census) while Mark Hannah worked as a mechanic. In 1927, Mark and Helen divorced and both remarried. The 1930 census shows 13-year-old Mark Douglas Rollins living with his father and step-mother at 219 Madison Street. Mark Hannah was still a mechanic. On November 25, 1936, Mark Douglas married Margaret Elizabeth Rowan at First Presbyterian Church i...

Remembering S1C Dale Franklin Cox (Fairmont) May 7, 1926 - October 29, 1944 ---- S1C Dale Franklin Cox (Service #7555747) was born in Fairmont, WV on May 7, 1926, the son of Lester and Anna (Smallwood) Cox. Their family lived on Country Club Road, where Lester was a City Truck Driver (1930 Census). On February 10, 1938, Lester died of Angina Pectoris at age 41 in Weston (where the family was living), leaving Anna as a single mother of 7 kids, ages 2 to 16. Anna and her kids moved to 34 Freeland Street in Fairmont. In the 1940 census, 14-year-old Dale was listed as a "new worker." Military Service: On November 17, 1942, Dale enlisted in the United States Navy Reserve in Charleston, WV at age 16. On March 21, 1944, he boarded the destroyer escort U.S.S. Eversole (DE-404). On October 28, 1944, the U.S.S. Eversole was sunk in the Leyte Gulf by two torpedos from the Japanese submarine I-45. While many crewmembers made it to the surface, a tremendous explosion (believed to be an an...

Remembering S1C William Emmett "Bill" Buckey, Jr. (Fairmont) September 15, 1923 - October 24, 1944 ---- Early Life: S1C William Emmett Buckey, Jr. (Service #7004347) was born in Fairmont, West Virginia on September 15, 1923, the son of Emmett (Sr.) and Ada (Talkington) Buckey. Willian Sr. and Ada met while they were both students at Fairmont State Normal School (now Fairmont State University) and married in 1915. The 1912 FSNS yearbook, The Mound, says of William: "His future--ask Ada." The 1920 census lists the duo as residing in Morgantown, with William's occupation as "student." In 1923, William became the principal of Fairmont Senior High School, after graduating from WVU with a Master's degree in 1922. Their family lived at 804 Locust Avenue when William Jr. was born and throughout his whole life (1923 City Directory-1945 City Directory). Education and Enlistment: William, Jr, known in his high school yearbooks as "Bill," graduated f...

Remembering MTSGT Edward Payson McCray (Fairmont/Norwood) October 7, 1912 - September 16, 1944 ---- Master Technical Sergeant Edward Payson McCray was born in Fairmont, West Virginia on October 7, 1912, the son of Charles and Lulu (McGinnis). Charles was a mail carrier, and a farmer, in the Winfield District (Rt 3, 1910-1920 Census). Lulu filed for divorce in Michigan on July 28, 1926, after 31 years of marriage. It was finalized on January 13, 1927, and she married Charles Morley shortly thereafter. Edward lived with his mother and stepfather, also a farmer, in Benton, Ohio (1930 Census).  College, First Military Service, and Marriage: Edward graduated from East Fairmont High School in 1930, and attended Fairmont State College (now Fairmont State University) in 1931 and 1932.  Edward initially entered the service on December 2, 1933, beginning with an Aviation Maintenance Squadron in Quantico. On March 28, 1937, he married Margery Ethel Thompson (a doctor's assistant) in...

While most of my posts on this blog will be about Marion County, WV, I'd be remiss to not acknowledge all 14 of the West Virginia casualties of the HMT Rohna. 31st Signal Construction Battalion: PVT Paul Dawson (Marion County) 322nd Fighter Control Squadron: PFC Howard Jenkins (McDowell County) PVT Leroy Lanham (Upshur County) PVT Glenn McClung (Raleigh County) PFC Odell Shepherd (McDowell County) PVT William Wade (Lincoln County) 853rd Aviation Engineer Battalion: SGT Raymond Bolyard (Preston County) T5 Leland Brown (Clay County) * PFC Julius Calvert (Raleigh County) PVT Denver Parsons (Boone County) PVT Harry Ridgway (Ritchie County) CPL Harry Smith (Hampshire County) U.S. Army Air Force: SSGT John Brezinskey (McDowell County) U.S. Infantry: SGT Raymond McDaniel (Kanawha County) * T5 is the equivalent of a Colonel today

In 2015, the Marion County Public Library was preparing for the arrival of an extensive WWII exhibit, and I decided to do research on our county in that same time frame. Imagine my surprise when reading the roll call of the dead that a name looked familiar- Paul Dawson. Looking at local yearbooks confirmed that this Paul Dawson, whose name I'd never heard at a family gathering, was the brother of my maternal grandfather. At the time, I didn't do much research into his life, but on Memorial Day, I began in earnest. Here's his story.  Isaac Paul Dawson (service number 35742383 )  was born July 12, 1919 in Farmington, WV, the son of Wilbert Howard Dawson and Olive Osa Fletcher . He had two siblings, Wilbert Harold Dawson , and Maxine Vivian Dawson Stover . It is my understanding that everyone but Maxine went by their middle names. Paul was a graduate of the Farmington High School Class of 1938. On October 16, 1940, at age 21, Paul registered for the draft. His draft card rea...