17th Ordnance Company was created when A Company, 19th Ordnance Battalion of the First Armored Division was deactivated at Fort Knox, Kentucky in August 1941. As part of 19th Ordnance, the company had trained alongside the 192nd Tank Battalion.
Pvt. Wayne Wilbur Colvin
Born: 17 January 1908 – Waterloo, Iowa
Parents: Archie B. Colvin and Maude McIntyre-Colvin
Siblings: 1 brother
– the family moved to Wyoming in 1917
Hometown: Cheyenne, Wyoming
– father died in 1930
Inducted:
– U.S.
PFC Aaron Arnold Combs
Born: 1 July 1919 – Bloomfield, Indiana
Parents: Homer Combs and Grace Quillen-Combs
Siblings: 1 sister, 2 brothers
Hometown: Bloomfield, Indiana
Enlisted:
– U.S. Army
– 15 January 1938 -Cambridge, Ohio
– since he was in
Pvt. Richard A. Combs
Born: 29 March 1920 – Kanawha, West Virginia
Parents: Herbert L. Combs and Nellie Minnear-Combs
Siblings: 3 sisters, 1 brother
Hometown: Elk City, West Virginia
– living in Three Mile, West Virginia when inducted
Enlisted:
–
PFC Earl Maurice Conover was the son of Wyatt Conover and Ila Epperson-Conover. He was born on September 17, 1917, in Columbia, Kentucky. With his two sisters, he grew up on Jamestown Street in Columbia, Kentucky, and was a 1935
Pvt. Robert Stellers Cook
Born: 23 October 1910 – Arkansas
Mother: Robert L. Cook and Mable Lipsey-Cook
Siblings: 1 sister, 2 brothers
Home: 629 East Block Street – El Dorado, Arkansas
– grew up in Magnolia, Arkansas
Enlisted:
– U.S.
Sgt. Ted Cook was born in Whitesburg, Kentucky, on August 25, 1919, to Floyd Cook and Ella Richardson-Cook. He had five brothers and three sisters and attended school in Whitesburg. He was a 1939 graduate of Whitesburg High School and
PFC John Albert Crago
Born: 3 April 1921 – Huntington County, Indiana
Parents: Charles O. Crago and Mabel V. Sharp-Crago
Hometown: Huntington, Indiana
Siblings: 4 sisters, 1 brother
Education: Lancaster High School – Lancaster, Indiana – 1940
Selective Service Registration:
Pvt. Albert Cuchessi Jr.
Born: 11 November 1917 – Newark, New Jersey
Parents: Albert Cuchessi Sr. and Eleanor Cuchessi
Siblings: 2 sisters, 2 brothers
Hometown: Newark, New Jersey
Employment: American Can Company – Newark, New Jersey
Selective Service Registration: 16
Cpl. George Steve Damos
Born: 13 October 1922 – Akron, Ohio
Parents: Steve and Mary Damos
Siblings: 1 brother
Home: 946 North Keystone Avenue – Akron, Ohio
Occupation: worked in the family’s restaurant
Enlisted:
– U.S. Army
– 12 July
T/5 Kenneth L. Dawson
Born: 12 June 1916 – Charleston, West Virginia
Parents: George W. Dawson and Arra Elkins-Dawson
– father died in 1933
– mother died in 1937
Siblings: 3 sisters, 8 brothers
Nickname: “Happy”
Hometown: Matoaka, West Virginia
PFC Prospero O. Delano
Born: 23 February 1916 – New York City, New York
Parents: Thomas Delano and Rose Montelone-Delano
Siblings: 2 sisters, 1 brother
Home: 1230 71st Street – Brooklyn, New York
Occupation: Paper Cutter – paper plant
Inducted:
Sgt. Billy Sunday Derrick
Born: 4 March 1922 – Kanawha County, West Virginia
Parents: William W. Derrick and Hester Young-Derrick
Siblings: 2 sisters, 2 brothers
Hometown: Falls, West Virginia
Selective Service Registration: 16 October 1940
– did not register which