WWII aviator and Greenwood native to be honored
Staff Sergeant Marvin Myers to be memorialized

By AMY TAYLOR
DBJ Contributing Writer

Sixty years after his plane crashed in France during World War II, a Greenwood airman is being memorialized both in his birthplace and also in Louhans, France. A D-Day memorial service is being planned by a group led by Sylvia Monin-Badey, a resident of the small French community. Their intent is to honor the memory of those Americans who were killed in their region while defending France and Europe from Nazi oppression. Staff Sgt. Marvin Myers of the U.S. Army Air Force was a member of the 10-man crew who lost their lives when their plane went down in thick fog on November 13, 1944. Myers was a part of the 320th Bomb Group of the U.S.A.A.F.’s 12th Air Force. He is buried in the Epinal American War Cemetery in Dinoze, France.

According to Mayor Harry Smith of Greenwood, “Ms. Monin-Badey called me last summer to inquire about airman Myers and told me of plans for the memorial service scheduled for the 6oth Anniversary of D-Day. She had already done research to find out his name, his date of birth, his service number, and that his father worked as a supervising foreman for BellSouth Telephone and Telegraph in Greenwood form 1944 to 1945. She also had discovered that he had some family who lived near Jackson.” Because of Monin-Badey’s interest, Smith’s interest was peaked as well. “We had a time trying to locate information about him, since his family no longer lived here. I began randomly calling ‘Myers’ in the phone listings. I also went through the veterans’ records and even school yearbooks, but he wasn’t listed. The Greenwood Commonwealth also ran a story seeking information on the Greenwood airman.” Smith did, however, discover Myers’ death recorded in The Greenwood Commonwealth on December 4, 1944. The obituary listed his parents as Mr. and Mrs. Henry W. Myers, who lived at 1301 Leflore Avenue, Greenwood.

Smith comments, “It was interesting corresponding back and forth with Ms. Monin-Badey. She sent me pictures of her community of Louhans, as well as a D-Day book to be presented at the memorial service planned for November 13 in France. She also extended an invitation to come to the service. She was interested in learning more about Greenwood, so I sent her pictures of points of interest here, such as the Court House and the City Hall.”

“Since Myers was being honored by the residents of Louhans, we were proud to honor him as well by adding an engraved brick bearing his name to Greenwood Veterans Monument.” The monument is located next door to the American Legion Hut on Claiborne Street. Smith concludes, “There are over 1,000 engraved bricks at the monument, which serves as a tribute to our veterans.” DBJ