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| Sgt. Marvin Webster served with the 4th Infantry Division in Normandy. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/99110053/marvin-d-webster http://abmc.nomadmobileguides.com/Normandy.php?page=narrative&id=cont-3069 |
Marvin Webster never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on October 13, 1918 in Pennsylvania. His parents Ardell and Martha were also both born in Pennsylvania. His father worked as a concrete building contractor and later as a farmer. Marvin had a older sister, four younger brothers (three of whom served in the armed forces the war) and one younger sister. By 1940 Marvin had completed four years of high school. He was living at home and worked as a knitting mill operator.
He was drafted into the army on June 5, 1941. He became a sergeant in Company D, 1st Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. The 4th ID landed on Utah Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Sgt. Webster was reported missing in action the next day. He found his way back to his unit but that news did not reach home to put his family at ease. His leadership was displayed when he took command of his squad when he squad leader was absent. He was killed in action on June 21, 1944.
Sgt. Webster was posthumously awarded the Silver Star. His citation reads in part as follows:
Sgt. Webster displayed outstanding courage and utter disregard for his pwn personal safety by returning twice to the emery lines after the battalion had withdrawn from a French town. Although he was nearly deaf from concussion of shells, he moved forward to the enemy lines, the fist time, and successfully recovered a machine gun that a wounded man had lost.
The second time Sgt. Webster went up to the enemy lines, he shot two Germans, and freed two of his wounded comrades who had been captured by the enemy. Although exposed to heavy enemy fire, he never hesitated in the performance of the dangerous missions. The high qualities of courage, initiative, determination, and devotion to duty displayed by Sgt. Webster were in keeping with the finest traditions of the military service and reflected great credit upon himself and the military service.
His grave is at Bradford County Memorial Park in Towanda, Pennsylvania.
Last year on this date I profiled Medal of Honor hero Truman Olson, 3rd Infantry Division. You can read about Truman 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
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