Marion County Remembers

Typhoon Cobra: West Virginia Casualties From the National WWII Museum: "On December 18, 1944, Typhoon “Cobra” struck an American flotilla supporting General Douglas MacArthur’s invasion of the Philippines. Task Force (TF) 38, under the command of Admiral William Halsey, included seven Essex-class carriers, six light carriers, eight battleships, four heavy and 11 light cruisers, along with approximately 50 destroyers. Conducting combat operations in and around Leyte during the late fall as part of MacArthur’s return to the Philippines, many of Halsey’s vessels were running low on fuel and supplies. Planning to support future combat operations in and around the Philippine archipelago, TF 38 set sail for a replenishment rendezvous point 400 miles due east to meet with fleet oilers and associated support vessels. The planned rendezvous location allowed TF 38’s vessels to remain close to the area of operations but safely outside the range of ground based Japanese aircraft. Replenishing...

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...

Remembering S1C Clyde Walter Pierce (Fairmont) November 24, 1924 - December 18, 1944 ---- "As a sailorman on the Hull he was intensely proud of his ship and of its ability to meet any situation presented by the enemy. But it was not the Japanese, but an unprecedented storm, that caused the Hull to founder and go to the bottom." - Clyde Peirce [SIC] Was Lost at Sea ( The Fairmont Times ) ---- S1C Clyde Walter Pierce (Service Number 05600436) was born in 1925, the son of Hinton "Doc" and Edna (Merrifield) Pierce. In some records, and on Hinton and Edna's gravestones, their last name is recorded as Peirce. Hinton was no stranger to war, having served in Headquarters Co of the 342nd Field Artillery during WWI. He and Edna married in 1922. In 1930, their family was living at 507 Guffey Street in Fairmont, WV, where Hinton was a clerk at a local printing office (1930 Census). By 1940, still at 507 Guffey Street, he was listed as a linotype operator for the Fairmont Ne...