Minyard Edward Irvin

I'm told he wanted to fight for his country and defend our homeland against the evil that had emerged in Europe the previous year. Therefore at age 17, he volunteered to join the Army. He entered his birthdate on all his government registration forms as 1922 instead of 1923 and entered service at Ft. McPherson Ga on February 6th, 1941.
After training and jump school, he was deployed with the 464th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion of the 17th Airborne Division. He earned a bronze star and purple heart during Operation Varsity at Wesel on March 24th, 1945 (see the book Talon Crosses the Rhine). The 464th was attached to the 507th during the operation as the 464th was rotated out of the US to the ETO (European Theater of Operations) and had the honor of being the first artillery unit to land in Germany. He was honorably discharged Aug 24th, 1945.
He received:
-American Theater Ribbon
-Good Conduct Medal AR600-68
-European African Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon with 1 Bronze Star
-Arrowhead Purple Heart AR600-45
-American Defense Service Medal with 1 Bronze Star
After the military, he returned home and met my Grandma Sarah, and they were married. Shortly after they were blessed with 4 children, two girls and then two boys, and made their home outside of Clarkesville on Highway 115. Papa worked as a carpenter and Grandma at the sewing plant in Clarkesville. They, like everyone from that era, had a fairly large garden (Large enough to need a tractor) complete with chickens and occasionally hogs too, they canned and put up food, and always used wood heaters for primary heat – always prepared for lean times. Papa was a quiet man and spoke in a deep gruff voice. He loved to read his “readers digest” books and enjoyed sitting at the corner of the house, shirt off, sunbathing, or eating an apple with his pocket knife. He and Grandma were later blessed with 7 grandchildren and that was their joy. The entire family would always visit on Easter or Christmas Eve – rooms filled with noise and love. Many days during the summer school break, Grandma and Papa would keep several of us grandkids and Papa would always have a “surprise” for us if we were good. Usually, it was an ice-cold watermelon we’d all eat outside or a box of ice cream he’d cut in perfect blocks with a butcher knife saving nearly half for himself.