Engle, George C.

GEORGE CLAY ENGLE

MARINER
U.S. MERCHANT MARINES

George Clay Engle was born on May 20, 1918 in Van Wert, Ohio; however, he was raised in the small town of Monroe, Indiana. His parents were Delota Engle and Elmer Clay Engle. He had a brother named Hugh Engle, a half-brother named Robert Fowler, and a half-sister named Mrs. Homer Philips. His brother, Hugh, served in the U.S. Navy and later as a civilian contractor at Pearl Harbor.

George Engle attended Monroe High School in Monroe, Indiana and graduated in 1937. In school he was known as “Georgie” and was involved in multiple activities. These included the basketball team, the Hi-Y Club (YMCA youth club), and the Glee Club. In addition, he was the Class Officer and treasurer. According to Jim Engle (a classmate of George's at Monroe), George Engle was “a tall good-natured man with black hair and blue eyes”. During the Great Depression, he wallpapered houses with his sister-in-law around Decatur and also worked at the Central Soya plant. While at the plant, he was one of the workers who finished the first grain silos there.

He married his wife Mary Paul Phaffinger on May 4, 1940 and moved with her to Fort Wayne. While in Fort Wayne, George was employed at Joslyn Manufacturing. They had a daughter named Patricia Louise who died at birth on January 26, 1941.

George Engle joined the Merchant Marines in June of 1943. The Merchant Marines served on Liberty Ships which carried all of the cargo needed for the war effort across the Atlantic/Pacific Oceans. On the same day of George's enlistment into the Merchant Marines, Mary also enlisted in the Women's Army Corps. She eventually attained the rank of Corporal and would deploy to Australia in July, 1944. 

At only twenty-four years of age, George Engle was killed on February 1, 1944 when his Liberty Ship was attacked in the Mediterranean Sea. He was on the ship USS Edward Bates when it was hit by an aerial torpedo from a German Junkers 88. The ship sunk the next day off the coast of Oran, Algeria. Of the 91 passengers and crew, George was the only casualty and was lost at sea. His memorial is at the Decatur Cemetery in Decatur, IN. His wife Mary Paul, was notified of his death, while serving as a Private First Class in the Women's Army Corps at Camp Lee, VA. In July 1944, Corporal 

For his service and sacrifice Mariner Engle was awarded the Mariner’s Medal, Merchant Marine Combat Bar, Atlantic War Zone Medal, Mediterranean & Middle East War Zone Medal, and the WWII Victory Medal. 

Information researched and collected by Alia Bogan, 2018.

SOURCES

"Death of Monroe Marine Confirmed." The Berne Witness, 25 Feb. 1944.

“Decatur Daily Democrat 24 February 1944 — Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana’s Digital Historic Newspaper Program.” Newspapers.library.in.gov, newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=DCDD19440224.1.1&srpos=16&e=------194-en-20-DCDD-1--txt-txIN-George+Engle------. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

“Decatur Daily Democrat 24 July 1944 — Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana’s Digital Historic Newspaper Program.” Newspapers.library.in.gov, newspapers.library.in.gov/?a=d&d=DCDD19440724.1.3&srpos=8&e=------194-en-20-DCDD-1--txt-txIN-George+Engle------. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024.

“George Engle (1918-1944) - Find a Grave Memorial.” Www.findagrave.com, www.findagrave.com/memorial/40521972/george-engle. Accessed 29 Feb. 2024. 

George Engle's Gravestone. Ancestry, www.ancestryclassroom.com/mediaui-viewer/tree/104313070/person/260041256628/media/28854477-3ed0-4358-a2b5-6f864b0d76e5. Accessed 21 Nov. 2018.

George Engle with his wife Delota Engle. Ancestry, www.ancestryclassroom.com/mediaui-viewer/tree/104313070/person/260041256628/media/a45248f9-e669-4668-928a-ef0b1a48baa9. Accessed 21 Nov. 2018.

"Merchant Seamen." Smithsonian National Museum of American History, americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater/exhibition/6_3.html. Accessed 21 Nov. 2018.

"Monroe Seaman Reported Missing." The Berne Witness, 16 Feb. 1944.

Niles, Louise, et al., compilers. Memoria 1937. Vol. 1, Monroe High School, 1937.

Paul, Mindy. Instant messenger interview.

Roop Pearce, Margie. E-mail interview. 19 Dec. 2014.

Shortridge, Bud. "SS Edward Bates." Manuscript.

Torson, Janet. E-mail interview. 23 Aug. 2010.

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