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| Malcolm Blackman served with the 1st Infantry Division in Normandy. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/35868219/malcolm-o_-blackman https://www.ww2online.org/image/1st-infantry-division-soldiers-normandy-cliffs-june-1944 |
Malcolm O. Blackman never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on January 13, 1919 in Alabama. His parents Samuel and Mary were also both born in Alabama. His father worked as a farmer. Malcolm had two older brothers, two older sisters, three younger sisters, and two young brothers. By 1940 Malcolm was working as a farmer laborer, having completed one year of schooling.
He was drafted into the army on November 11, 1942. He became a private first class in Company I, 3rd Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division (Nicknamed "The Big Red One"). The 1st ID saw action in North Africa and Sicily. PFC Blackman joined his unit as a replacement, perhaps in time for Sicily. In November 1943 it was sent to England to prepare for the Normandy Invasion.
PFC Blackman landed on Omaha Beach on the afternoon of D-Day. Artillery fire was heavy and PFC Blackman's battalion still had to deal with the many mines scattered across the beach at Easy Red. The beach was secured by the end of the day and within five days, the 1st ID had advanced twelve miles inland. Opposition was light on June 11, 1944 as PFC Blackman's regiment moved to take Caumont. He was killed in action that day.
His grave is at Dothan City Cemetery in Dothan, Alabama.
ROBERT STACK
The well known actor and Unsolved Mysteries host Robert Stack was also born on this day. As a teen he set world records in skeet shooting. His acting career got off early with his first motion picture appearance in 1939. Over the next few years he appeared in movies including one with Jimmy Stewart (Mortal Storm) and one with Jack Benny (To Be or Not To Be).
He joined the navy in 1942. Over the next three and a half years he served as an aerial gunnery officer/instructor with the rank of lieutenant.
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| https://blog.togetherweserved.com/2015/08/04/lt-robert-stack-us-navy-served-1942-1945/ |
Last year on this date I profiled Charles Gardiner, 4th Infantry Division. You can read about Charles 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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