Georgia Guard Stories of Sacrifice from the Marietta National Cemetery

By Maj. William Carraway

Historian, Georgia Army National Guard

Memorial Day is a solemn annual observance in which our nation pauses to remember those who gave their lives to secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and future generations. For this Memorial Day, the Georgia National Guard History office examines the stories of fallen Georgia National Guardsmen from World War II who rest in Marietta National Cemetery.

About the Cemetery

Marietta National Cemetery is the final resting place of nearly 19,000 of our nation’s veterans. The cemetery was established in 1866 as the Marietta and Atlanta National Cemetery to accommodate nearly 10,000 fallen Federal Soldiers from the Atlanta Campaign of the American Civil War.[1] Since that time, the cemetery has served as the final resting place for those who fell in our nation’s wars. Among them are seven members of the Georgia Guard who fell during World War II. The lineage of the units in which these Soldiers fell continue in service today in the Georgia Army and Air National Guard.

 

Sgt. Harold Wood, Co B, 121st Infantry Regiment

Sergeant Harold Milner Wood, Company B, 121^st Infantry Regiment

Harold Wood was born April 15, 1902. He enlisted in the Georgia Army National Guard’s Company B. 121st Infantry Regiment based in Barnesville. The Barnesville Blues conducted initial training with the regiment at Fort Jackson, S.C. and continued training during the Carolina and Tennessee Maneuvers. The 121^st landed on Normandy’s Omaha Beach July 4, 1944.[2] During the attempt to push entrenched German Soldiers out of La Haye du Puits in Northern France, Wood was killed in action July 13, 1944. He is buried in Marietta National Cemetery, Section K, Grave 4044 B.

 

TSgt. Emmett Asbell, Co M, 121st Infantry Regiment

Technical Sergeant Emmett Asbell, Company M, 121^st Infantry Regiment

Emmett Asbell was born September 14, 1915 in Bleckley County, Ga. Asbell enlisted in the Hawkinsville-based Company M, 121st Infantry and rose to the rank of 1st sergeant before his unit was accepted into federal service in September 1940. Like Wood, Asbell completed the pre-deployment training with the 121^st Infantry Regiment before fighting his way through the Normandy and Northern France campaigns. He was killed in action November 26, 1944 in Germany and is buried in Marietta National Cemetery, Section K, Grave 2008 I.

 

Lt. Col. William Waldo, 101st SP BN CAC

Lieutenant Colonel William Waldo, Headquarters Company, 101^st Separate Battalion, Coast Artillery Corps

William Slayton Waldo was born October 8, 1902. He was a long-time member of the 108th Cavalry having enlisted as a private in April 1921. He was promoted to staff sergeant in 1924, commissioned a second lieutenant in 1925 and promoted to first lieutenant two years later. In 1939, 1^st Lt. Waldo served as the adjutant of headquarters, 1^st Squadron, 108^th Cavalry when it converted to form a coast artillery battalion. Captain Waldo commanded Headquarters Company, 101st Separate Battalion, Coast Artillery Corps when it was accepted into federal service in September 1940. Waldo received promotion to major and lieutenant colonel before mobilizing for the Pacific Theater in 1943. Waldo fell ill while transiting the Panama Canal. He died December 9, 1943 in the Panama Canal Zone. He is buried in Marietta National Cemetery, Section Q, Grave 57.

 

Pvt. Herman D. Brinkley, Co B, 121st Infantry Regiment

Private Herman D. Brinkley, Company B, 121^st Infantry Regiment

Herman D. Brinkley of Lamar, Ga. joined the Barnesville Blues, Company B, 121st Infantry Regiment September 16, 1940 at the age of 18. He was killed in action in the vicinity of Isigny-sur-Mer, France July 16, 1944. He is buried in Marietta National Cemetery Section E, Grave 6544-1.

T4 Paull Callaway, Co D, 121st Infantry Regiment

Technician 4^th Grade Paul Callaway, Company D, 121^st Infantry Regiment

Paul Callaway joined Company D, 121st Infantry as a private January 24, 1941 at the age of 20. Callaway volunteered for airborne service and was assigned to the 551st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. He was killed in action January 6, 1945 during the Battle of the Bulge. He is buried in Marietta National Cemetery Section K, Grave 10293 C.

 

Pvt. Thomas Hudson, Battery F, 179th FA

Private Thomas F. Hudson, Battery F, 179^th Field Artillery

Thomas F. Hudson enlisted as a private in Battery F, 179th Field Artillery October 10, 1939 at the age of 21. He was transferred to the 110th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division. Private Hudson was killed in action August 2, 1944 near Saint Lo, France. He is buried in Marietta National Cemetery Section K, Grave 4002 E.

 

The 128th OS, May 1941

Technical Sergeant Thomas L. Johnson, 128^th Observation Squadron

Thomas Johnson enlisted in the 128th Observation Squadron at the age of 23 on March 31, 1941. In March 1943, the 128th was redesignated the 21st Antisubmarine Squadron and assigned B-25 Mitchells. On July 23, 1943, Thomas’ aircraft went missing in flight from Gulfport to Tampa. Also missing on the flight were 1st Lt. John Turner, TSgt. Edward Simpson and TSgt. J. R. Grogan, all of the Ga. National Guard. Johnson is memorialized in College Park Cemetery and Marietta National Cemetery, Section MA, Grave 4.

Photos courtesy of the Georgia Army National Guard Archives

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[1] Marietta National Cemetery, https://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/marietta.asp

[2] Carraway, William. It Shall Be Done:  The 121st Infantry Enters Fortress Europe. July 26, 2019. http://www.georgiaguardhistory.com/2019/07/it-shall-be-done-121st-infantry.html