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| Albin Mrace and his two older brothers Anton and Frank all lost their lives in WW2 serving their country. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/143771215/albin-john-mrace |
Today, I chose to write about two men born on May 5, 1919. The other one is Gerald Henderson, a multiple Purple Heart recipient and Distinguished Service Cross hero.
Albin never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on May 15, 1919 in Ely, Minnesota. His Slovenian speaking parents Anton and Mary were both born in what became Yugoslavia. They came to America in 1904/1905. His father worked as an iron miner. Albin had two older brothers (Anton and Frank), an older sister, and three younger brothers.
Albin enlisted in the US Navy in September 1937. By 1941 he was a water tender second class on the battleship USS West Virginia.
West Virginia was sunk by seven torpedoes and two bombs during the Japanese Pearl Harbor surprise attack on December 7, 1941. Quick fire control action counter-flooded the ship so it didn't capsize like the Oklahoma. As a water tender, Albin was likely below decks and may have been killed from the torpedoes or in the effort to counter-flood the ship. The crew tried to fight the fires until 2 pm when they finally abandoned ship. Over 100 West Virginia sailors were killed in the attack including Albin Mrace.
Brother Anton, seven years his senior, was drafted into the army in March 1942. His brother Frank, four years his senior, also joined the army (date unknown). Anton served as a TEC 4 in the medical department of the 358th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division (nicknamed "Tough Hombres") while Frank became a staff sergeant in the 289th Field Artillery Battalion.
The 90th ID landed on Utah Beach on D-Day and D+1. Anton was killed in action on July 23, 1944 while his regiment was still in Normandy. The 289th FAB was sent to the Pacific. Frank was killed in action on April 10, 1945.
All three brothers are buried at Ely Cemetery in Ely, Minnesota.
AS YOU CAN SEE THERE IS NO PHOTO OF THE MRACE BROTHERS. IF ANYONE CAN FIND ONE, PLEASE LET ME KNOW SO WE CAN ADD IT.
Last year on this date I profiled P-38 pilot Robert Crosswait. You can read about Robert 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
3 Gold stars for one family is quite a sacrifice. They certainly came to the US to contribute to this nation, and become Americans. God bless the Mrace brothers and their family.
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