 |
| Cpl. Ernest McIllwain was killed on the date this photo of a 2nd Infantry Division engineer was taken, July 30, 1944. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/80495428/ernest-g-mcillwain http://xtrooper.net/carbines.html |
Ernest "Doc" McIllwain never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on October 2, 1918 in Missouri. His parents Samuel and Minnie were born in Missouri and Illinois, respectively. His father worked as a farmer. Ernest had two older brothers, an older sister who died in childhood, and a younger brother. By 1940 Ernest's mother had died. He married Emma Garret in November 1941.
After joining the army, Ernest was trained as a medic. He became a Tech 5 in the 2nd Medical Battalion attached to the 2nd Infantry Division.
The 2nd Infantry Division arrived on Omaha Beach on D-Day +1. Doc McIllwain was killed in action on July 30, 1944 when the 2nd Infantry Division was breaking out of Normandy.
His grave is at Fisher Cemetery in Fisher, Arkansas. I don't know what happened to his widow.
Last year on this date I profiled Navy Cross hero Harry Barker, 3rd Marine Division. You can read about Harry here.
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!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
God bless all who fought for our freedom!! They were and some still are the Greatest Generation. My dad flew PBY-5s during the war in the Atlantic against U-Boats.
ReplyDelete