Henry E. Markle was born on July 17, 1913 in the small community of Stamford, New York. His father was Byron Markle (1851–1922) and his mother was Helen M. Mauterstock  (1872–1941). They were married on October 15, 1890 in Shandaken, New York and had eight children, Henry being the youngest. When Henry was 5 years old the family moved to Oneonta, New York. His father worked as a house painter. On March 4, 1922, Byron died; Henry was 9 years old at the time.  Helen died on April 19, 1941, a few months before the United States entered World War II. Henry attended Oneonta High School, completing only his freshman year. At the age of 16 Census records indicate he was working in a silk mill in Oneonta. The 1930 U.S. Census recorded his family living on Rose Ave. in Oneonta. By 1940, U.S. Census recorded him living on Main St., Oneonta and working in a local glove factory.

In 1931 at the age of 18 he enlisted in the New York National Guard, Company G. In August 1940, National Guard Companies across the country were ordered into federal service in anticipation that the United States might be entering World War II. National Guard servicemen immediately entered active-duty in the U.S. Army. In October 1940, members of Company G, including Henry, with service number 20270287, marched to the train station in Oneonta. The Company was sent to Ft. McClellan, in Anniston Alabama, for basic training. Later Henry was sent to Hawaii for a year. It appeared that he was being prepared for Pacific theater of war. However, in March 1943, he was sent initially to Camp Beale, California and then Camp Hale, Colorado. Camp Hale specialized in mountain warfare. From there he went to Europe.

As part of the Normandy Landing on June 6, 1944 was the Battle of Cherbourg. In preparing for the invasion of Europe the Allied staff decided that a deep-water port was going to be needed to allow for reinforcements. Cherbourg was near Normandy and provided such a port. Henry was an infantryman in the 79th division, one of the first American units to enter Cherbourg. He was killed instantly on July 7 by a shell fragment while under heavy artillery fire from the Germans. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and according to Graves Registration documents  was originally buried in Blosville France and then re-interred, at the direction of his brother Byron, in the St. Laurent, France cemetery.    He was 31 years old.

If you notice anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact Jim Greenberg at nez13820@gmail.com. 

Sources:

American Battle Monuments Commission, Fold3, (https://www.fold3.com/publication/853/american-battle-monuments-commission : accessed January 3, 2023), database and images, https://www.fold3.com/publication/853/american-battle-monuments-commission

Find a Grave, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56647270/henry-e-markle, accessed January 3, 2023.

Headstone Inscription and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942–1949. Series A1 43, NAI ID: 7408555. Records of the American Battle Monuments Commission, 1918–ca. 1995. Record Group 117. The National Archives at Washington, D.C. 

Individual Deceased Personnel File 293, Markle, Henry E., Declassified IAW EO 13256.

New York National Guard enlisted men and noncommissioned officers activated for federal service during World War II. New York (State). National Guard. Infantry Division, 27th United States, Army. Infantry. New York State Military Museum and Veterans Research Center, Saratoga Springs, New York.

“Three Area Servicemen Give Lives for Country, Relative Are Advised”, The Binghamton Press, August 1, 1944, accessed via Newspapers.com on January 3, 2023.

U.S. WWII Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954, accessed via https://www.fold3.com/record/704445682/markle-henry-e-us-wwii-hospital-admission-card-files-1942-1954, January 3, 2023.

Year: 1920; Census Place: Oneonta, Otsego, New York; Roll: T625_1255; Page: 16B; Enumeration District: 210

Year: 1930; Census Place: Oneonta, Otsego, New York; Page: 6B; Enumeration District: 0027; FHL microfilm: 2341370

Year: 1940; Census Place: Oneonta, Otsego, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02717; Page: 7A; Enumeration District: 39-37

Supporting Files