Marion County Remembers

Remembering SGT Harry Edgell  May 22, 1912 - June 26, 1945 ---- SGT Harry Edgell (Service Number 35386728 )  was born May 22, 1912 in Marion County, West Virginia, the son of Raymer and Mary (Snyder) Edgell.  Their family lived in the Lincoln District near Mannington, where Raymer was a farmer (1910, 1920 Censuses).  At time of publication, I could not find a 1930 census record for Harry, who would have been around 18, but the 1940 census shows Harry imprisoned at the Moundsville Penitentiary near Wheeling, WV. Based on newspaper articles, he'd been imprisoned since at least 1936, including two jail-breaks ("Catch Convicts in West," "Three Fugitives Caught by Police"). Military Service: On October 16, 1940, Harry, now employed by "various farmers," entered into the draft. He gave his home address as Mannington. Harry was 5'8" and 130 lbs with blue eyes, blonde hair, and light skin (Draft Card). He enlisted in the Army, and presumably turned hi...

Remembering 1LT John Comuntzis (Fairmont) May 12, 1914 - September 7, 1944 ---- "A man more pure and bold and just, was never born on earth." -1932 Fairmont Senior High School Yearbook ---- 1LT John Nicholas Comuntzis (Service Number O-343115) was born in Fairmont, WV on May 12, 1914, the son of Nicholas and Cornelia (Tutulis) Comuntzis. Nicholas and Cornelia were Greek immigrants who settled in Marion County, Nicholas in 1891 and Cornelia around 1913 (" N.J. Comuntzis Dies Suddenly This Morning ," The West Virginian). Their family owned a confectionary store on Adams Street in Fairmont (see "The Comuntzis Confectionary" at bottom) beginning in 1904.  In 1919, the Comuntzis family's world was rocked when Nicholas Comuntzis died suddenly at 41 of meningitis. Cornelia was left to raise four-year-old John and three-year-old Pauline by herself. John graduated from Fairmont Senior High School in 1932, where he played football and was a member of the Kl?ub (...