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| Staff Sergeant Javis East served in the 1st Special Service Force in Italy. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/29432960/javis-melvin-east https://www.soc.mil/ARSOF_History/articles/v5n2_better_country_page_3.html |
Javis Melvin East never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
Announcement: Later this month we will be starting a project that will result in the stories of all 400,000 plus of the World War 2 fallen at one online location. There will be an accompanying smart phone app to allow users visiting any war memorial to scan the fallen serviceman's name and be linked to his story. Watch this blog or join the WW2 Fallen 100 Facebook page to learn of upcoming details.
He was born on January 25, 1920 in West Warren, Utah. His parents Alfred and Cora Ann were also both born in Utah. His father worked as a farmer and later as a dairy laborer. Still later he was supervisor of city streets. Javis had three older sisters, three younger brothers, and one younger sister. By 1940 Javis had completed one year of high school and was still living at home. He found work in construction and at the local airport.
He enlisted in the army in October 1941. Eventually he volunteered for the 1st Special Service Force, where he served in the 1st Regiment. This elite American-Canadian commando unit was created in the summer of 1942 with a goal to be deployed in winter combat, likely in Norway. The Americans in this unit were all volunteers but they joined up not knowing any details about the unit, only being told it was a parachute unit. The men were trained to fight behind enemy lines and worked on specialized skills like skiing, rock climbing, and demolitions.
The 1st SSF's first combat assignment in July 1943 was to retake the Alaskan island of Kiska from the Japanese, but the enemy withdrew before it happened. It was next sent to fight in the Italian mountains in November 1943. The attack on a peak known as La Difensa was considered impossible by the Germans, but the 1st SSF was able to do this in early December. It became the basis for the 1968 movie The Devil's Brigade.
A month later the 1st SSF was still fighting in the Italian mountains. It assaulted Monte Majo and Monte Vischiataro on January 8. The commando unit held on to its hard fought gains, but not without furthers losses. Sgt. East as killed on January 14, 1944. Unit losses in the mountains were an unbelievable 76% killed, wounded, or hospitalized due to exposure, illness and frostbite.
His grave is at Ogden City Cemetery in Ogden, Utah.
This story is also told at https://www.fold3.com/page/638678434-javis-m-east/stories as part of the Stories Behind the Stars project, Utah pilot.
Last year on this date I profiled Leyte Gulf fallen Larus Payton, USS Birmingham. You can read about Larus 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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