PVT Melvin L. Young
We honor and remember PVT Melvin Lloyd Young of Charlie Company, 506th PIR, 101st Airborne Division.
Private (PVT) Melvin Lloyd Young of Charlie Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR), 101st Airborne Division, was born in Ferrum, Franklin County, Virginia, to Posey A. and Nettie E. (Stanley) Young on May 21, 1924. Melvin had two brothers, Clifford Nelson Possem and Bobby Allen Young, and one younger sister, named Eva Mae Young.
Melvin grew up on a farm run by the family. He signed up for the draft in Rocky Mount, Franklin County, Virginia, on June 30, 1942. He was employed as a delivery driver before he enlisted in Camden, New Jersey, on November 22, 1943.
The first morning report found at the NARA site was dated March 18, 1944, showing PVT Melvin Young assigned to Company B of the 1210th Service Unit (Station Complement) at Pine Camp, New Jersey. On April 10, he traveled with 97 EM by rail to Ft. Dix, where he was assigned to Company B of the 1229th SCSU Reception Center.
About two weeks later, on April 23, he was assigned to Company D of the 206th Infantry Training Battalion at Camp Blanding, Florida, where he received his basic infantry training.
After he had finished his basic infantry training, Melvin was transferred with 2325 EM to the Replacement Depot at Fort George Meade on August 24, 1944, and transferred to another battalion at Fort George Meade on September 10. On October 7, 1944, Melvin was in England, assigned to the Headquarters, 16th Replacement Depot.
No records have been found on his jump training in the U.S. I don’t like to assume while researching [assumptions are the mothers of all foul-ups], but Melvin probably volunteered for the paratroops at the time. Following heavy casualties in Operation Market Garden, replacements were going through the 101st Airborne Division jump school at Chilton Foliat, England, in October 1944, and were assigned to several units before deployment to Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. PVT Melvin Young is not on the October 1944 lists of Jump School graduates, but he may have received jump training and his wings at the end of October, beginning of November 1944.
On December 4, 1944, PVT Melvin Young was assigned to Charlie Co, 506th. Two weeks later, he was rushed to Bastogne, where the 101st Airborne Division tried to stop the last major German offensive, known as the Battle of the Bulge. 1st Battalion of the 506th first defended the town of Noville, which lies 8 km to the north of Bastogne, with Charlie company positioned on a wooded ridgeline to the east of Noville.
On December 20, after two days of arduous combat with the enemy, the 1st battalion paratroopers were forced to abandon their positions at Noville and withdraw to Foy, where they received orders to move to Luzery, taking over the task of the 101st divisional reserve. The men were not granted a long break from combat, as the next day, the Germans had penetrated the defensive positions along the Bourcy-Bastogne railroad tracks. Able and Charlie Company of the 1st Battalion, 506th PIR, were given the job of eliminating the threat.
It was a very tough day, with close-quarters combat against an enemy dug in at well-prepared positions in a wooded area. Around 4 PM, the fight was over, in which Charlie Company eliminated 65 Germans and took 80 prisoners, against losing four wounded paratroopers and three men killed in action. Among these three was PVT Melvin Young, who died of a gunshot wound in the back.
Another Screaming Eagle had soared to the ultimate height. 🦅
VT Melvin Young died at the age of 20 on December 21, 1944. He was first buried in a very shallow grave four days after his death. On January 22, 1945, he was reburied at the U.S. Military Cemetery #1 at Grand Failly, France, at Plot H, Row 12, Grave 286. On August 6, 1948, he was again disinterred, and his body was moved to the U.S. Military Cemetery at Hamm, Luxembourg, where he rests eternally at Plot I, Row 4, Grave 5.
Melvin was posthumously awarded a Purple Heart Medal.
May he rest in peace.
Happy Birthday in Heaven, Melvin.
Lest we forget. 🇺🇸
Sources:
FindaGrave
Family Search
Ancestry
NARA
IDPF
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