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| Pfc. James Garris (left) served with the 9th Infantry Division in Normandy with the troops shown on right. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=32590068&PIpi=98358053 https://9thinfantrydivision.net/cutting-the-peninsula/ |
James Herbert Garris never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on June12, 1917 in North Carolina. His parents were also both born in North Carolina. His father worked as garage machinist and later an auto mechanic. James had three older sisters and one older brother. His mom died when James was 10 years old.
James travelled to Georgia to enlist in the army on July 20, 1941. He had completed four years of high school and was working in a textile mille before he enlisted. He became a private first class in Company A, 1st Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division.
The 47th Infantry Regiment saw action in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Sicily. It was then sent to England to prepare for the invasion of Europe. Pfc. Garris and the 47th IR walked onto Utah Beach on D+4. Within a few days it cut off the last escape route for the Germans to leave the Cotentin Peninsula. Pfc. Garris died on June 23, 1944 during the 47th Infantry Regiment's next assignment to capture the port of Cherbourg.
His grave is at Berea Baptist Church Cemetery in Asheville, North Carolina.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
To mark having over 100,000 visits to my project to honor the fallen of WW2 on their 100th birthdate, I created this video to share. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100
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