WW2 Fallen - Marlin Miller, 77th Infantry Division

77th Division crosses Antilao River a week after Lt. Miller was killed on Leyte.
https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-P-Return/USA-P-Return-19.html

Marlin H. Miller could have been 100 years old today. 

He was born on February 28, 1917 in South Dakota. He had six sisters and one brother. He was on the high school basketball team at Ree Heights High School in 1934. After finishing high school he worked in a CCC camp, and later worked in a post office and then a farmers' elevator.

Miller joined the army on March 17, 1942 as a private and during the course of the war became a first lieutenant in the 306th Infantry Regiment, 77th Infantry Division. In July 1944 he was part of the successful recapturing of Guam. Next, his unit participated in the fighting in the Philippines on Leyte.

Lt. Miller died on the third anniversary of Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1944. On that day the 306th Infantry Regiment landed near Deposito in Ormac Bay and they destroyed the Kamijo Battalion at Ipil.

Location where Lt. Miller died on December 7, 1944
https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USA/USA-P-Return/USA-P-Return-19.html

His remains were returned to be buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery.

Thank you Marlin for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Marlin.


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WW2 Fallen - Minoru Nakayama + JFK Assassination Tie-In

Sgt. Nakayama served in the Cannon Company, 442nd Infantry Regiment with these soldiers.
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/435934438904209833/

Minoru Nakayama could have been 100 years old today. 

He was born on February 27, 1917 in California. His parents were both born in Japan. His father was a house gardener. Minoru had an older brother and sister. He had three younger brothers and a younger sister. By 1940 he had completed all four years of high school and was still living with his parents while working as a gas station attendant.

Minoru enlisted in the army on July 9, 1941, before the war began. After the war started his family was sent to an internment camp in Topaz, Utah. Minoru rose to the rank of tech sergeant in the storied all Japanese-American 442nd Infantry Regiment. cannon company. He would have provided artillery support with either 105mm howitzers or 155mm howitzers.

He was wounded in July 1944, but stayed with his unit. Casualties in the cannon company were lower than the losses in the rifle companies, but there were still seven cannon company soldiers who died during the war including Sgt. Nakayama who died of wounds on April 16, 1945, just three weeks before the war ended in Europe. This was during the regiment's last major offensive to crack the Gothic Line in Italy.

His remains were returned to be buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery.

Thank you Minoru for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Minoru.


Kennedy Assassination Tie-In

WW2 Navy vet John Connally rides with President Kennedy the day Kennedy was killed.
http://usstracer.info/nov1963.html

Unlike Sgt. Nakayama, Navy officer John Connally survived the war and went on to a distinguished government service. This is the same Texas Governor John Connally who was seriously wounded in the presidential convertible with President Kennedy by the same bullet that shot Kennedy. Connally was born on February 27, 1917, just as Minoru Nakayama. Connally served in the US Navy during World War 2. Early in the war he was an aide to Admiral James V. Forrestal and he also worked on the invasion of North Africa planning for General Dwight Eisenhower. He transferred to the South Pacific were he served on carriers and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. After serving as governor of Texas, Connally went on to serve as Secretary of the Treasury for Richard Nixon. He died in 1993. 


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WW2 Fallen - Arthur Isken, 3rd Armored Division, MIA 55 years

Soldier from Pvt. Isken's 36th Armored Infantry Regiment near Stolberg, Germany where Isken died.
http://36thair3ad.homestead.com/OriginalPhotos36thAIR.html

Arthur C. Isken could have been 100 years old today. 

He was born on February 26, 1917 in Illinois. His parents were also both born in Illinois. His father was a farmer. Arthur had an older brother. By 1940 Arthur was living with his widowed mother. With an 8th grade level education, we worked as a laborer.

Arthur was a private in the 36th Armored Infantry Regiment, 3rd Armored Division. The 3rd Armored arrived in Normandy two weeks after D-day. It was part of the First Army. By September it was approaching the German border in the vicinity of Aachen.

Pvt Isken was reported killed on September 26, 1944 near Stolberg, but his body was never found. Forty-one years later, construction workers found his dog tags.  Further investigations found human remains nearby and subsequent DNA matching was able to ID it as Pvt. Isken. 

The location of the 3rd Armored Division a couple of weeks before Pvt. Isken died.
http://home.scarlet.be/~sh446368/3rd-armored-breaching-siegfried-line.html

His remains were finally returned to be buried at Zion Lutheran Church Cemetery, Bethalto, IL in 1999.

Thank you Arthur for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Arthur.


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WW2 Fallen - Albert Castagnoli, 85th Infantry Division

Pvt. Castagnoli's 339th Infantry Regiment advances on Formia during the month he died, May 1944.
http://user.pa.net/~cjheiser/ct9/339main.htm

Albert F. Castagnoli could have been 100 years old today. 

He was born on February 25, 1917 in Illinois. His mother was also born in Illinois. His father was born in Italy and worked as a coal miner. Albert had two younger brothers and two younger sisters. Albert completed one year of high school and was working as a machinist before the war.

He enlisted in the army on May 21, 1942 and became a private in Company F, 339th Infantry Regiment, 85th Infantry Division which had been activated six days prior. His unit first saw action in Italy in March 1944 on the Minturno-Castelforte front. With his background, it is likely that Pvt. Castagnoli would have been asked to communicate with the Italian civilians encountered by his company.

Facing the Gustav line, the 85th Division launched an attack on May 11, taking Solacciano, Castellonorato, and Formia. Pvt. Castagnoli died on May 12, 1944.

Map showing area where Pvt. Castagnoli was killed.
http://www.custermen.com/History85.htm

His remains were returned to be buried at Rock Island National Cemetery.

Thank you Albert for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Albert.


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WW2 Fallen - Leonard Tracy, 88th Infantry Division

G.I.s from 88th Infantry Division, Pvt. Tracy's unit.
https://www.pinterest.com/bokphilsberry/us-_88th-infantry-division-blue-devils-in-wwii/

Leonard B. Tracy could have been 100 years old today. 

He was born on February 24, 1917 in Vermont. His parents were also both born in Vermont. His father was a laborer in a lumber mill and later a sawyer in a saw mill. Leonard had three older sisters and a younger sister. By 1940 Leonard was still living with his parents. He had completed high school and was working as a salesman.

Leonard enrolled in the army on July 10, 1942. He was a private in the 88th Infantry Division which was activated five days later as one of the first all draftee divisions in the war. It first saw action in Italy at Monte Cassino in January 1944. It was the first unit to enter Rome in June. 

Pvt. Tracy died on September 25, 1944 when the 88th assaulted the Gothic Line.

Position of 88th Infantry Division the week Pvt. Tracy was killed.
http://www.benning.army.mil/library/content/Virtual/Donovanpapers/maps/

Pvt. Tracy's remains were not returned to America. He is buried somewhere in Italy.

Thank you Leonard for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Leonard.


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WW2 Fallen - Ira Wilson, USS Atlanta

Ira Wilson (left), captain of Cornell University boxing team, later Lt (jg) USS Atlanta.
photo from 1937 Cornell University yearbook

Ira Washington Wilson could have been 100 years old today. 

He was born on February 23, 1917 in New York. His mother was born in New Jersey and her parents were both born in Russia, which may explain why she would pick Washington as Ira's middle name in tribute to her family's new home country. His father was born in Pennsylvania and worked as a high school teacher. Ira had one older sister. By 1940 Ira had completed 4 years of college at Cornell University, were he had been captain of the boxing team, and was working as a buyer in the men's furnishings industry. He was still living with his parents.

Ira became a Lieutenant, Junior Grade, US Naval Reserves. He served on the light cruiser USS Atlanta. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Atlanta_(CL-51)

During a night action that came to be know as the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, the Atlanta was part of an America naval force that engaged two Japanese battleships, one cruiser and six destroyers on November 12-13, 1942. A torpedo from one of the Japanese destroyers struck Atlanta's forward engine room on the port side. Shortly thereafter Atlanta suffered friendly fire from the USS San Francisco and was hit by an estimated nineteen 8-inch shells. A third of the crew was killed including Lt. Wilson.

Painting depicting the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, November 13, 1942
http://imgur.com/gallery/pXT1e

His is honored at an Arlington National Cemetery grave site. The death date on his headstone is off by one year and one day reflecting a practice of not giving a date of death on missing sailors until one year had passed without a recovered body.

Thank you Ira for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Ira.


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WW2 Fallen - Carmelo Parisi, Saipan Medic

Private Parisi was a medic on Saipan like this corpsman treating an injured soldier.
https://www.pinterest.com/blt6129/pacific-theater-2nd-division/

Carmelo Parisi could have been 100 years old today. 

He was born on February 22, 1917 in New York. His parents were both born in Italy. At the time of the 1920's census, Carmelo was not living with his parents, so it is possible he was an orphan. He was living with dozens and dozens of other young boys age 13 or younger, including a Charles Parisi who could have been his brother. Ten years later the census showed he was living at the Boys Home Mission of the Immaculate Virgin, Mt. Loretto Institution. 

Carmelo Parisi became a private and served as in the Medical Department, which meant he would have been trained as a medic. Pvt. Parisi was assigned to the 27th Infantry Division which arrived on Saipan on D-day plus 1. Due to the nature of their work, hundreds of medical corpsmen became casualties during the Battle of Saipan. Pvt. Parisi died on July 9, 1944, two days after a major Japanese banzai attack overran elements of the division and the last official date of the battle.

His remains were returned to be buried at Long Island National Cemetery.

https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=2780246&ref=acom

Thank you Carmelo for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Carmelo.


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!

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