 Courtesy Daniel Boone Post No. 5578, VFW |
Remember...Johnnie Arvil Wallace
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Private Johnnie (sometimes spelled "Johnie") Arvil Wallace was born in Stark, Boone County, West Virginia, on May 9, 1922, the son of James Frank and Mittie May Adkins Wallace. Federal Census records of 1920 and 1930 show that James and Mittie's family consisted of brothers Millard, Bill, and Ted (in addition to Johnnie), and sisters Ida, Drusie, Ethel, and Letha.
Although Pvt. Wallace's death record in Boone County indicates he was married, his Army enlistment record states that he was "single, with dependents." At his enlistment, he stated that he had a grammar school education and was a coal miner.
Johnnie was assigned to the 330th Infantry, 83rd Division. He trained at Fort Thomas, Kentucky; Camp Atterbury, Indiana; and Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky. Pvt. Wallace was serving in France in 1944 when he was killed on October 11. For his service, Johnnie would receive the Purple Heart.
| In 1934, Johnnie's sister Letha Jane had married Albert H. Totten, who was also killed in the war; the remains of both men would be brought home to Boone County, where Johnnie was reburied in 1947 in the Wallace plot in Madison Memorial Park. Family lore holds that, in the event of their deaths, the two had a pact that they would be buried side by side. |  Grave marker, Johnnie A. Wallace |
Article contributed by Patricia Richards McClure.
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.
