PVT William Henry Hodges

courtesy of Mary Agnes Hammett

PVT William Henry Hodges was born in Centerville, Mississippi on 22 Jan 1925 the 3rd child of John Thomas and Annabel (Dier) Hodges.  His father was a farm equipment salesman for many years.

William was drafted in March 1943. After his training he was sent to Europe and on 7 Aug 1944 he was transferred from the replacement depot to the Medical Detachment and then attached to I Company 116th Infantry.  Working as a medic he was himself wounded on 27 Aug 1944 and evacuated to hospital where he died of his wounds that same day.  

PVT Hodges was repatriated and is buried with his parents in the Roselawn Memorial Park in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

PVT Charles Emmett Lawman

PVT Charles Emmett Lawman was born 9 Mar 1923 in Hickory Ridge, Arkansas to Lawrence and Lillian May (Welty) Lawman. The family had a rice farm.

Charles entered the Army in March 1943.  He completed basic training and was sent to Europe and transferred from the replacement depot to C Company 116th Infantry on 17 Jul 1944.  PVT Lawman was killed in action on 27 Aug 1944.

PVT Lawman was repatriated in 1948 and was buried in Otwell Cemetery in Craighead County, Arkansas.

Older brother, Earnest, served in the US Army Air Corps as a SSG during the war.

PVT Pearlie Ernest Neilson

PVT Pearlie Ernest Neilson was born 4 Apr 1910 in Hawley, Massachusetts. He was the 10th of the 11 children born to Otto and Randina (Ericksen) Neilson. Both parents were natives of Norway and Otto had immigrated in 1884 and gone back to marry Randina bringing her over in 1887. Otto first farmed near Hawley then moved the family to Pittsfield, Massachusetts where he worked as a teamster and then as a carpenter. Pearlie's older brother Reynold died in France in 1918 and his mother died in 1925. He did not advance beyond the 8th grade. Pearlie married Bernice Funk in May 1936 and the couple lived in Pittsfield at 51 Parkside Avenue and he worked for the Public Works department of the city of Pittsfield. Sister Eva would die in 1937. The family then rented a house at 235 Melbourne Road, needed because Pearlie and Bernice had 2 girls before 1940.

Pearlie was drafted the day before his son was born in December 1943. Friends and family threw him a going away party before he left for his first training station, Fort Devens, Massachusetts. PVT Neilson was then sent overseas and on 11 Aug 1944 he was transferred from the replacement depot to B Company 116th Infantry. He was struck by shell fragments from an artillery shell on 26 Aug 1944 which ranged from his throat down to his feet. Despite the immediate treatment, including the removal of a kidney, PVT Neilson died of his wounds on 27 Aug 1944. 

PVT Neilson was repatriated in 1948 returning aboard the USAT Greeneville Victory and he was re-interred in the Pittsfield Cemetery in Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

Brother, PFC Reynold Henry Neilson, was killed in action 12 Apr 1918 while serving with F Company 104th Infantry, 26th Division in France.

PVT David Hugh McDonald

PVT David Hugh McDonald was born 16 Nov 1908 in New York City, New York.  He was the son of William J. McDonald. In 1927 he married Josephine Ethel Knapp and they had a daughter soon after. By 1943 they had moved to Stamford, Connecticut where David worked.

David was drafted in January 1944 and after basic training was sent to Europe. He was transferred from the replacement depot to M Company 116th Infantry on 7 Aug 1944. PVT McDonald was killed in action on 27 Aug 1944.

PVT McDonald rests forever in the Brittany American Cemetery.

PVT Robert Vastine Tennesen

courtesy of Dana

PVT Robert Vastine Tennesen was born 29 Sep 1924 in West Nanticoke, Pennsylvania. He was the 2nd of 5 children born to Thomas Edward and Agetha G. (Vastine) Tennesen. His father was working as a coal miner in 1930 and the family was living at 68 West Poplar Street in West Nanticoke, Pennsylvania which they rented at $15 a month from Agetha's brother. By 1940 they had moved next door to 70 West Poplar, a home that was valued at $2000 but Thomas was supporting his family on a reported 1939 income of $216. Robert only completed 2-years of high school. When he registered for the draft in 1942, he had moved to Burlington, New Jersey and gone to work for Materease Brothers or United Aero Products in Burlington. 

Robert was drafted in August 1943. After completing his basic military training he was sent to the European theater and assigned to B Company 116th Infantry. He was briefly hospitalized in January 1944 for a severe cold. He was hospitalized again in June 1944 for an ear infection. PVT Tennesen was killed in action on 27 Aug 1944 in the effort to drive the Germans out of the city of Brest, France.

PVT Tennesen was repatriated in 1948 and re-interred in the Beverly National Cemetery in Beverly, New Jersey. 

We should note that Robert's date of birth and his unit of assignment on his headstone are incorrect both likely due to a clerical error but he might have been assigned to the 253rd Infantry before being assigned to the 116th. 

Robert's brother, Melvin Ray Tennesen, also served in the U.S. Army during WW2.

SGT Daniel J. Mulligan

courtesy of Time Traveler

SGT Daniel J. Mulligan was born 20 May 1924 in Mount Pleasant (now Valhalla), New York. He was the first-born and only son of the 2 children born to Daniel Michael and Helen L. (Collins) Mulligan. His father worked as a pressman in the printing industry. In 1940, the family lived at 9 Shelly Avenue, Mount Pleasant in a home that was valued at $4400. The elder Daniel reported a 1939 income of $2200.

Daniel was drafted in January 1943. After his basic training he was sent to other unknown units and promoted to SGT before being transferred from the replacement depot to B Company 116th Infantry on 11 Aug 1944. SGT Mulligan was killed in action on 27 Aug 1944. SGT Mulligan was awarded the Silver Star but we do not know the particulars of that award.

SGT Mulligan was repatriated in 1948 and re-interred in All Souls Cemetery in Pleasantville, New York where he rests forever near family.

His maternal uncle, John Joseph Collins, served in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1946. His sister, Rita Joan Mulligan married a West Point graduate, Kenneth James Knowles, who retired from the U.S. Army as a LTC.

SGT Ellis Durell Bryan

Courtesy Jerry and Evelyn Austin

SGT Ellis Durell Bryan was born  24 Oct 1923 to William Wyatt and Cordia Octavia (Prestridge). This was likely Randolph County, Alabama as this is where the family was farming in 1920 and was renting a farm in 1930.

Ellis was drafted in October 1943.  He was assigned to C Company 116th Infantry in time for the D-Day landings on Omaha Beach which he survived.  On 18 Aug 1944 he was promoted to SGT.  On 27 Aug 1944 he was killed in action.

SGT Bryan now rests forever in Tyus Baptist Church Cemetery in Tyus, Georgia. 

Brother James Hoyt Bryan served in the Navy during the war. 

PFC Caleb D. Marion

PFC Caleb D. Marion was born 30 Mar 1920 the 8th of 12 children born to John Dee and Carrie Blanche (Reeves) Marion. His father worked as hired help on a farm, his mother as a washerwoman. In 1942 Caleb was working as a farm hand.

Caleb was drafted in January 1943. After he completed his basic training he was sent to England and then assigned to B Company 116th Infantry. He was with that unit when it embarked for the amphibious assault at Omaha Beach. He was wounded about 15 Jun 1944 and sent to hospital. He returned to the unit and was killed in action on 27 Aug 1944.

PFC Marion now rests in the Brittany American Cemetery.

Caleb's grandfather, Lazarus Sidney Marion, served as a SGT in E Company 53rd North Carolina Infantry in the Civil War. Grandfather, Benjamin J. Baker was a PVT in H Company 21st North Carolina Infantry.

2LT Robert Allen Funk

2LT Robert Allen Funk was born 7 Oct 1919 in Shenandoah, Iowa to Floyd Jack and Ethel Fairrell (Ingram) Funk.  His father was a drayman, gardener, and truck driver.  In 1940, Robert was working in the lumber industry and reported a 1939 income of $720. 

Robert enlisted in March 1942 at Fort Crook, Nebraska.  He had graduated high school.  After attending officer training, Robert went to England and was apparently assigned to I Company 116th Infantry prior to the D-Day landing.  2LT Funk was killed in action on 27 Aug 1944. 

2LT Funk was repatriated in 1948 and is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Shenandoah, Iowa.

PVT Eugene L. Hoffman

Courtesy Ken Ryesky

PVT Eugene L. Hoffman was born 10 Dec 1923 in Boston, Massachusetts the only son of Jacob and Bessie (Smorack) Hoffman.  Both parents were Jews who had immigrated fromPoland/Russia.  His father was a children's clothing jobber. 

Eugene was drafted in February 1943 and after training was sent to Europe.  On 21 Jun 1944 he was transferred from the replacement depot to Cannon Company 116th Infantry. On 16 Aug 1944 he was again transferred, this time to B Company 116th Infantry as a light truck driver.  PVT Hoffman was killed in action on 27 Aug 1944.


PVT Hoffman was repatriated and is buried in Mount Hebron Cemetery in Flushing, New York.

PFC Maurice Francis O'Connell

PFC Maurice Francis O'Connell was born 30 Jun 1924 in McQuady, Kentucky.  The oldest of the 3 sons of Alfred Francis and Beulah Marie (Keenan) O'Connell, Maurice married Helen Taul.

Maurice was drafted in March 1943 spent several months in the U.S. training and recovering from an injury before being sent overseas after 6 Jun 1944.  He was assigned to I Company 116th Infantry on 7 Aug 1944. He was killed on 27 Aug 1944 near Guilers, France.

His family waited until his body was returned to conduct a funeral.  He is buried in Ivy Hill Cemetery in Hardinsville, Kentucky.

There is an extensive story on Maurice's life by Perry T. Ryan which we've tried to avoid repeating but it is mentioned there that PFC O'Connell was awarded the Bronze Star.  We have yet to find the particulars on that award.

PFC George Michael Phillips Jr

PFC George Michael Phillips Jr was born 15 Dec 1918 in Georgetown, Pennsylvania (Luzerne County). He was the 2nd of 4 children born to George Michael and Grace (Eslick) Phillips. His father was a coal miner. Young George attended West Wyoming High School. George married Margaret Thomas in February 1939. The couple lived at 139½ East Bennett Street in Kingston, Pennsylvania and George worked in the shipping department of a cigar factory while Margaret as an examiner there. The couple reported a 1939 income of $1350 and rented their apartment for $22 a month. Then George took a job in New Jersey working for General Motors. George and Margaret had a daughter, Rachel, born in 1942.

George was drafted in November 1943. He attended training at Fort McClellan, Alabama, was then sent to Fort Meade, Maryland and then sent overseas and was assigned to I Company 116th Infantry. He landed with the unit at Omaha Beach on D-Day, 6 Jun 1944. PFC Phillips fought with the unit through the hedgerows, Saint-Lo and Vire. PFC Phillips was wounded on 27 Aug 1944 as the 116th Infantry began the attack on Brest, France. Evacuated to hospital, he died of his wound(s) on 27 Aug 1944

PFC Phillips was buried in the Brittany American Cemetery.

Brother, James Beddal Phillips, served as a PFC in the U.S. Army in the war. Margaret re-married but died in 1958.

SGT Arthur John Herman Ruhnke

SGT Arthur John Herman Ruhnke was born 19 Jun 1917 in Fenton, Iowa. He was the 4th of 8 children born to John August and Amanda (Dau) Ruhnke. His father farmed his own farm after having worked for others. Arthur worked the farm as well.

Arthur was drafted and eventually sent to the European theater. SGT Ruhnke was transferred from the replacement depot to I Company 116th Infantry on 7 Aug 1944 in the midst of fighting in the vicinity of Vire, France. SGT Ruhnke was killed in action on the attack on Brest.

SGT Ruhnke rests forever in the Brittany American Cemetery but the family also has a cenotaph for him in the

PVT John Harold Schemel

PVT John Harold Schemel was born 14 Oct 1925 in New York, New York. He was the 2nd child and only son of John and Emilia J. (Kupfer) Schemel. His father supported the family as a chauffeur/driver and they lived at 2020 Stanhope Avenue and, later, at 512 Fairview Drive. The elder John Schemel died in 1939 and this may be about the time the family moved. His mother supported the children by working as a flag maker earning only a reported $255 in 1939. Young John graduated from high school and began working as a clerk.

John was drafted in December 1943. After his basic military training he was sent to the European theater. PVT Schemel was transferred from the replacement depot to C Company 116th Infantry on 11 Aug 1944.  PVT Schemel was killed in action in the beginning of the fight to liberate Brest, France.

We are certain that PVT Schemel was repatriated and re-interred somewhere in the New York City area but we don't know where.

John's father served in the 7th Battery (G Battery) 4th Artillery Regiment U.S. Army at Fort David A. Russell which is now Francis E. Warren Air Force Base.

PVT Edwin Fredrick Kelley

PVT Edwin Fredrick Kelley was born 10 Mar 1922 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Joseph Hooker and Catherine M. (Mellor) Kelley.  His father was an auto mechanic. In 1940, Edwin was working as a plumber's helper.

Edwin entered military service in December 1942. He and Mary E. Reeves were married 18 Apr 1942 in Philadelphia and they had a son in January 1943.  He was shipped overseas in May 1943. We do not know to what unit(s) he may have been assigned in England, he was not assigned from the replacement depot to C Company 116th Infantry until 10 Jul 1944.  He suffered some sort of non-battle related injury on 24 Jul 1944 and it was serious enough for him to be evacuated and dropped from unit rolls.  He returned to the unit from the hospital on 10 Aug 1944.  PVT Kelley was killed in action on 27 Aug 1944.

PVT Kelley is buried in the Brittany American Cemetery.

Edwin's father served in the first World War as a PVT in the 103rd Engineer Battalion of the 28th Division and was wounded 3 times.  Brother Joseph Samuel Kelley served 1944-1945. Brother Wesley Louis Kelley served from 1944-1946. Mary, his wife, remarried. 

PVT Herbert Hook Mallow

PVT Herbert Hook Mallow was born 13 Nov 1911 in Xenia, Ohio. He was the youngest of 4 children born to Simon Peterson and Ida May (Hook) Mallow. The family farmed. "Herbie" attended Central High School in Xenia. He worked as an expressman and a salesman at Eavey Company in Xenia. On 11 Jan 1940 he married Mary Kathryn Belt, also of Greene County, Ohio.  They would have a son in October 1941.

Herbert was drafted in December 1943 and took his initial training at Camp Blanding, Florida.  He was sent to the European theater arriving on 16 Jun 1944. On 7 Aug 1944 he was transferred from the replacement depot to I Company 116th Infantry. He was again transferred on 14 Aug 1944 this time to A Company 116th Infantry. PVT Mallow was wounded on 27 Aug 1944 and evacuated to hospital but died of his wound(s) that same day.


PVT Mallow rests forever in the Brittany American Cemetery and has a cenotaph at Woodland Cemetery in Xenia, Ohio.

His wife would remarry. Their son, Richard, passed away in 2010. 2 grandchildren survive.

PFC Harry Bernhard Thompson

courtesy of SirromC

PFC Harry Bernhard Thompson was born 1 Sep 1924 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the oldest of the 2 sons born to Bernard Emanuel and Alice May (Ekternacht) Thompson. His father worked as electrician for the Philadelphia city school system. The family owned their home at 1726 North Bailey Street and lived there from before 1920. It was valued at $1700 in 1940. Harry's father reported a 1939 income of $1200 with which he supported the family of 4 and his mother who lived with them. Harry completed high school and then found work as a draftsman with the Hugh H. Eby Inc. company at 4700 Stenton Avenue in Philadelphia which made electronic components. 

Harry was drafted in March 1943. After completing his basic military training he was sent overseas probably arriving in England in May 1944. PFC Thompson was transferred from the replacement depot to C Company 116th Infantry on 17 Jul 1944. He fought with the unit in the liberation of Vire, France and participated in the drive to liberate Brest. PFC Thompson was killed in action on 27 Aug 1944. 

PFC Thompson is buried in the Brittany American Cemetery. 

Harry's father served in WW1 in the U.S. Navy leaving service as an E2c. Younger brother George Edward Thompson served in the U.S. Army 1946-1948.

PFC Amador Menendez Garcia

PFC Amador Menendez Garcia was assigned to M Company 116th Infantry for the D-Day invasion.  On 9 Jul 1944 he was promoted to PFC.  Wounded on 12 Jul 1944 and evacuated to the hospital he was returned to the unit from the replacement depot on 15 Aug 1944.  PFC Garcia was killed in action on 27 Aug 1944.

PFC Garcia is buried in the Brittany American Cemetery.

PFC William Walter Lehto

PFC William Walter Lehto was born 12 Jun 1916 in Elm River, Michigan to Waino Victor and Josphine (Lahnakoski) Lehto.  Both parents were natives of Finland. His father worked on a railroad as a section hand and later as a foreman. William worked for the railroad as well. On 29 Mar 1940 he married Edith Lyle Fillbrook.

William was likely drafted and entered the Army in September 1943. He was sent to the European theater and assigned to  K Company 116th Infantry.  PFC Lehto was killed in action on 27 Aug 1944.

PFC Lehto was buried in the Brittany American Cemetery. The couple apparently had no children and Edith would remarry in February 1946.

PFC Edward Perez Tepper

courtesy of Wednesday

PFC Edward Perez Tepper was born 13 Oct 1918 in Denver, Colorado. He was the only child of Zelig and Rose (Minzer) Tepper. His father, a native of what is now Belarus, was working as a laborer but at what we don't know. Mother Rose died just less than 3 months after Edward's birth in December 1918. She was just 19-years old. Zelig married Monya Esther Sukalinsky in 1919 and the couple would soon have 2 more children. Zelig would begin working as a driver for Windsor Farm Dairy. Edward would not live with his father and step-mother, instead he was sent to live with his maternal grandparents, Herman and Mary Minzer who owned a home at 1389 Raleigh Street in Denver. Grandfather Herman owned and operated his own harness shop. His father moved closer to his own parents in Saint Louis, Missouri where he died in 1933. Edward's step-mother remarried the next year. While that family remained in the Denver area, it is unclear if Edward ever had any relationship with his half-siblings. He completed high school at West High School in Denver and was working for the Denver Post Distributor while living with his grandparents when he registered for the draft in 1940.

Edward was drafted in November 1942. After his basic military training he was sent to the European theater. PFC Tepper was transferred from the replacement depot to K Company 116th Infantry on 24 Jul 1944 to serve as a rifleman. He would have fought with the at Vire and was with the unit as it attacked German forces in the city of Brest, France. PFC Tepper was initially reported by the unit as missing in action but was later found to have been killed in action on 27 Aug 1944. 

His grandmother, Mary Minzer, arranged for him to be repatriated in 1949 and PFC Tepper was re-interred near his mother in the Mount Nebo Memorial Park in Aurora, Colorado. 

Edward's is another record that has been altered by clerical error. While the internment card shows a death date of 5 May 1945 on the face (the original entry) and 21 Nov 1944 on the reverse (the "correction") the truth is that he went missing when killed on 27 Aug 1944 but that his body wasn't recovered until November 1944. Such is the fog of war.

PVT Frank John Stallone

courtesy of Stephanie Pepin

PVT Frank John Stallone was born 25 Oct 1913 in Mishawaka, Indiana. He was the 5th child of 12 and oldest surviving son of Angelo and Josephine (Diambrosio) Stallone. His mother had a daughter from her first marriage who did not live with the family and she had a fraternal twins who had died minutes after birth just 3 years before Frank was born. Angelo worked in a spinning mill to support his family who were living at 1031 Chestnut in Bristol, Pennsylvania. Then the family moved to Roselle Park, New Jersey where they lived at 422A Lurel Avenue and Angelo worked at the Karagheusian Rug Mill. Frank was still working at the rug mill in 1940 but the family had moved to 320 Seaton Avenue. Later that year Frank married Anna M Taddeo and the couple would have 2 sons.

Frank was drafted in November 1943. After his basic military training he was sent to the European theater in June or July 1944. PVT Stallone was transferred from the replacement depot to I Company 116th Infantry on 7 Aug 1944 while the unit was near Vire, France. PVT Stallone was wounded by artillery fire on 27 Aug 1944 while participating in the attack on German forces defending Brest. Evacuated to hospital he died of his wounds there that same day.

PVT Stallone is buried in the Brittany American Cemetery.

2 brothers also served during WW2. Charles Richard Stallone, served as an EM3c aboard the USS Harry Lee (APA 10) in the Pacific, Americo Richard Stallone, also served as an EM3c but aboard at least 2 destroyer escorts, USS Herzog (DE-178) and USS Sims (DE-154) in the Atlantic.

PFC Calvin D. Heimbach

PFC Calvin D. Heimbach was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on 19 Apr 1924 to Lloyd Elexis and Elizabeth (Remaley) Heimbach.  Lloyd worked for a building supply company in 1930 but in 1940 was working for the Work Projects Administration (WPA).

Calvin was working in construction when drafted in April 1943.  He was sent to Europe and transferred from the replacement depot to C Company 116th Infantry on 17 Jul 1944.  PFC Heimbach was killed in action on 27 Aug 1944.

PFC Heimbach is buried in the Brittany American Cemetery. Older brother, Russel Thomas Heimbach, served 1942-1946.

PVT Thomas Leonard Mullins

courtesy of J. Petersen

PVT Thomas Leonard Mullins was born 8 Jun 1925 in Yakima, Washington. He was the youngest of the 3 children of Frank Patrick and Vivian Catherine (Englehart) Mullins. His father was the proprietor of one of the 3 hotels in Yakima that Thomas' grandfather had built and later managed property in the city. His father earned a reported 1939 income of $2100 and the family lived at 316 North 16th Avenue valued at $5000. When Thomas registered for the draft in 1943 he was working for Pleasant Hill Orchards and living at the Washington Hotel owned by his family.

Thomas was drafted in December 1943 and after his basic military training was sent to the European theater. PVT Mullins was transferred from the replacement depot to I Company 116th Infantry on 7 Aug 1944 to serve as a rifleman. He was killed in action in the attack on German forces in Brest, France on 27 Aug 1944.

PVT Mullins was repatriated and re-interred in Calvary Cemetery in Yakima, Washington where he rests forever with several generations of his family..

Grandfather, Patrick had been mayor of Butte, Montana as well as a major developer in Yakima, Washington where he built 3 hotels.

PFC Ernest Russell Shifflett

courtesy of Shock

PFC Ernest Russell Shifflett was born 31 Jan 1921 in McGaheysville, Virginia. He was the 4th of 12 children born to Irvin Lee and Ella Virginia (Shiflett) Shifflett. Russell's (as he was known) father farmed in Greene and Rockingham counties.

Russell enlisted in the local National Guard unit, C Company 116th Infantry, in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He was still serving when the unit was Federalized on 3 Feb 1941. The unit was sent to Fort Meade, Maryland for administrative processing and training. As did most in the regiment, he likely expected to be discharged from active duty by Christmas 1941 but the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and Germany's declaration of war immediately following prevented that and Russell and his unit continued training by participating in the Carolina Maneuvers near Fort Bragg, North Carolina and continuing training at Camp Blanding, Florida. PFC Shifflett then shipped out for England with the 116th aboard the Queen Mary in September 1942. He then trained with the unit for the amphibious assault that was a planned part of the invasion of occupied France. He took part in the landing, fought with the unit through the bocage, Saint-Lo, Vire, and then to the attack to liberate Brest. It was in that last campaign that PFC Shifflett was killed in action on 27 Aug 1944.

PFC Shifflett was repatriated and re-interred in the Mount Olivet Cemetery in McGaheysville, Virginia.

Brother, Joseph Edward Shifflett, also served in the National Guard before the war and was a PFC in Headquarters 116th Infantry throughout the war. Brother, Robert McKinley Shifflett, also served as a PFC in the U.S. Army during WW2.

PFC Truman M. Prather

courtesy of Heber History

PFC Truman M. Prather was born 18 Nov 1917 in Acworth, Georgia. He was the oldest of the 9 children born to Willard McKinley and Edna Alice (Phillips) Prather. His father farmed in Paulding County, Georgia. By 1935 Truman had moved to Rome, Georgia. He was convicted of a federal crime and sentenced to the Federal Correctional Institution at Tallahassee, Florida which is where he was in 1940. He was recorded as being married in 1940 but was single by 1942.

Truman was drafted in October 1942. After his basic military training he was eventually sent to the European theater. PVT Prather was transferred from the replacement depot to B Company 116th Infantry on 17 Jul 1944. He was promoted to PFC on 13 Aug 1944. PFC Prather was killed in action on 27 Aug 1944.

PFC Prather was repatriated in 1948 and re-interred in New Hope Baptist Church Cemetery in Acworth, Georgia.

Herman Lee and Isaac Jackson Prather served in the U.S. Army in WW2. Eddie Ray Prather served in the U.S. Navy. Willard McKinley Prather Jr. served in the U.S. Army 1955-1958. Great-grandfather William Thomas Prather served as a PVT in G Company 39th Georgia Infantry (CSA) in the Civil War. Great, great-grandfather Isaac Prather served as a PVT in 23rd Alabama Infantry (CSA).