Edgar Francis Beeman was born on December 19, 1921 in Rome, NY to Edgar Albro Beeman (1900-1959) and Edna Radell (1898-1987). His parents were married December 2, 1920 at St. Mary's church in Rome, NY. His dad was a truck driver from Rome, NY and his mom from nearby Boonville, NY.  During the 1920s, when Edgar was a child, City Directories for Rome, NY show his mom and dad living on Lewis St. in Rome. Subsequent U.S.Census (1930, 1940) records show his dad living in Rome, NY with family and his mom and him living on Clinton St. in Oriskany, NY with his uncle Alfred (his mom's brother). His mom and Alfred worked at Waterbury's Mill, one of the main employers in Oriskany at the time.

Edgar spent his childhood in Oriskany. He was an alter boy at St. Stephan's Church and attended services there regularly. Local newspaper accounts reveal that he liked to play horseshoes and occasionally entered tournaments. He was active in music while in school, playing with his school's band and with the village band. He entered public speaking competitions while at Oriskany Central School. He was also the vice-president of his senior class and on the basketball team. He graduated high school in 1940.

After graduation, he worked for Savage Arms Corporation in Utica, NY. Savage made the .45 caliber Thompson sub-machine gun, the .30 and .50 caliber Browning machine gun and the British Lee Enfield Rife during World War II. Newspaper accounts reported he worked for Union Fork and Hoe in Rome, NY for a time.

Edgar registered for the draft on February 15, 1942 and enlisted into the service with service number 12174306 on December 14, 1942 in Albany, NY. Newspapers of that day reported that the British 8th Army had Rommel on the run in North Africa. He was single and was 5'-9" tall and weighed 159 lbs at the time. He had brown eyes and brown hair. He received his basic training at Camp Phillips, Kansas and Camp Forest, Tennessee, and at one time was stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland. In June 1943 Pfc. Beeman returned home to visit his mom on a furlough from Fort Riley, Kansas. Pfc. Beeman left for overseas duty in early October 1943 with the 36th Division, 141st Infantry. German resistance in Italy had stiffened and the U.S. Army progress was slowing by then.

From January to June 1944, the 141st Infantry saw action in Italy during the Rome-Arno campaign.  During this campaign they encountered stiff enemy resistance and suffered heavy casualties. Pfc. Beeman was wounded in the shoulder by a shell fragment during this fighting. He received the Purple Heart for his wound and returned to duty in time to be with the 141st when it landed in southern France in early August 1944. Just days into this invasion, somewhere between Le Muy and Sisteron France, he was wounded again, this time in the stomach. These wounds were more serious and he died from them on August 19, 1944.

That same August he was buried in the Allied Cemetery in Naples, Italy. In June of 1945 and again in June 1946 his mother writes the military asking for his belongings and for any news of the circumstances surrounding his death. His mother was sent his belongings which consisted of a copy of the New Testament, a prayer book, two Rosaries (one in a leather case), one photograph, a bundle of postcards, a bloodied billfold and a few personal letters. His body was returned home in November 1948 and he was buried with full military honors in the Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Whitesboro, NY. A year after his death his mother ran a small piece in the local paper in memory of him.

If you see needed corrections or have additional information please contact Jim Greenberg via email at nez13820@gmail.com. This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project. This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen.

SBTSProject/New York/Oneida 

Sources

Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/122934605/edgar-f-beeman: accessed 06 August 2023), memorial page for Pvt Edgar F. Beeman (19 Dec 1921–19 Aug 1944), Find a Grave Memorial ID 122934605, citing Mount Olivet Cemetery, Whitesboro, Oneida County, New York, USA; Maintained by Shoff (contributor 47382152).

"Military Rites Conducted for Victim of War", The Rome Daily Sentinel, pg. 3., November 26, 1948.

"Oriskany Man Reported Dead", Utica Observer Dispatch, September 1944.

"Pfc Edgar Beeman Dies of Wounds", Rome Daily Sentinel, September 14, 1944.

The Rome-Arno 1944 U.S. Army Center for Military History Publication 72-20, accessed at https://history.army.mil/brochures/romar/72-20.htm on August 6, 2023.

United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. T626, 2,667 rolls.

Union Fork and Hoe Company, Washington Mills, New Hartford Historical Society, accessed at https://www.newhartfordhistory.com/union-fork-and-hoe, Sept. 1, 2023.

Year: 1940; Census Place: Whitestown, Oneida, New York; Roll: m-t0627-02702; Page: 2A; Enumeration District: 33-104

Supporting Documents