Myrtile F. Norris
Private Myrtile Frank Norris, Serial: 32269392, 6th Infantry Battalion, 1st Armored Division, U.S. Army. Awards: Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster. He lived at 422 Cedar Street, Camden NJ. Buried at Plot A Row 13 Grave 25, Florence American Cemetery, Florence, Italy.
Private Myrtile Frank Norris was the son of Owen Charles Norris of 422 Cedar Street in Camden NJ. He was born in New Jersey in 1922. Growing up in North Camden, he attended the Cooper and Cassady Schools, and had also attended Camden High School. Prior to his induction into the Army in June of 1942, he had worked for the Scarborough Company at Darlington MD.
Private Norris was a member of the 6th Infantry Battalion, 1st Armored Division. He had seen action in North Africa, Sicily, and was at Anzio. He had been wounded on May 23, 1944, and had an opportunity to visit Rome before returning to combat. In a letter he sent to his father he wrote that he was as well as could be expected, and he asked that his father pray for him. He wrote of being awarded the Purple Heart after being wounded. After telling what a beautiful city Rome was, he wrote “It was a relief to get away from Anzio, that was hell.” He returned to his unit, only to lose his life in combat in the mountains north of Rome, killed in action in Italy on July 2, 1944.
Myrtile Norris was survived by his father, Owen Charles Norris, a sister, Edith Irene Norris, and five brothers, four of whom served in the Armed Forces — Marvin, Howard, Owen Jr., and Walter, who had been wounded and discharged from duty prior to the death of Private Norris — and Edward.
3 From So. Jersey Listed as Missing
Camden Courier-Post —
Nine Other Soldiers From This Area Reported Wounded
Three South Jersey soldiers are listed as missing, while a Camden flier with three brothers in the armed forces is among nine men from this area reported wounded by the War Department.
Missing:
Staff Sgt. Henry A. Popiolek, 1205 Lansdowne avenue.
Staff Sgt. Donald E. Ellis, 408 White Horse pike, Audubon.
Tech. Sgt. John C. Hargrove, 308 Madison street, Riverside.
Wounded:
Myrtile Frank Norris, of 422 Cedar street.
Norris, son of Owen Charles Norris, Sr., of the Cedar street address, was wounded somewhere in Italy on May 23, his father was notified in a telegram yesterday. The serviceman was attached to the Army Air Forces and had been in the service two years.
Before enlisting, Norris was employed by the Scarborough Company at Darlington MD. A brother, Warren, 26, was wounded a year ago in Sicily, resulting in his return to this country out of active service due to a stiff leg. Warren was employed at the Campbell Soup Company and entered the Army in September, 1942.
Other Brothers in Service
Other brothers in the service are Marvin Norris, 28, in the Army somewhere in the Pacific; Owen Charles Jr., 24, in the Air Corps in the Pacific, and Howard, 18, with the Navy, his whereabouts unknown.
Marvin was an employe of the Frankford Arsenal before joining the Army three months after Pearl Harbor. He went overseas last February and according to word received by his father is now recovering from a serious operation.
Owen was inducted early last year while operating a truck contracting business at Darlington, while Howard joined the Navy last year. He was an employee of the Cities Service Oil Company.