Prior to U.S. involvement in World War II, the 4th Division of the U.S. Army activated for service on June 1, 1940 at Fort Benning, Georgia. They trained stateside and arrived in England in January of 1944 for further training. The 8th Infantry Regiment was the first regiment of the 4th Division to land at Utah Beach on D-Day on June 6, 1944.

The survivors then fought in Normandy, northern France, Rhineland, the Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe campaigns. They received the Presidential Unit Citation for their valor during the Battle of the Bulge. They served Occupation Duty after the Victory of Europe on May 8, 1945 in Germany. The division returned to the U.S. in July of 1945, and the regiment was inactivated in March of 1946.

Green County soldier, Melvin Marty, served with Company A, 8th Infantry, 4th Division of the U.S. Army.

Melvin Albert Marty was born November 26, 1918 in Mount Pleasant in Green County to Albert and Fannie (Schultz) Marty.

From the 1920 through 1940 U.S. Census records, the Marty family lived in Mt. Pleasant Township in Green County. The family included father Albert, mother Fanny, and children Irene, Melvin, and Wilbert. Father Albert was a dairy farmer.

On October 16, 1940, Melvin A. Marty registered for the U.S. WWII Draft. His next of kin and his employer was his father Albert J. Marty at RFD 1 in Monticello.

On March 17, 1941, Marty enlisted in service for WWII at Milwaukee. He was a farm hand on general farms.

From the March 21, 1941 Wisconsin State Journal article titled “Area Draftees Leave for Texas,” the article stated “The following group of selectees, the majority of them from Madison and surrounding communities, left Camp Grant on Wednesday for the infantry replacement center at Camp Walters, Tex…” The list included Melvin A. Marty of Monticello.

On February 6, 1943 Melvin A. Marty applied for a marriage license at Edgefield, South Carolina to marry Mary E. Stoll of Monroe, Wisconsin.

From the October 10, 1944 The Capital Times article titled “Sgt. Melvin Marty Killed in Germany,” the article stated “Sgt. Melvin A. Marty, 25, one of the first men from Monticello to be inducted into the army during the present war, was killed in action in Germany Sept. 20, his wife has been informed by the war department. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Marty, Monticello...”

From the June 22, 1949 Wisconsin State Journal article titled “Reburial Rites Set Saturday for Sgt. Marty,” the article stated “Private reburial services for Staff Sgt. Melvin A. Marty…will be held ...

Sgt. Marty, son of Mr. and Mrs. Albert J. Marty, was born in Mt. Pleasant township. He was graduated from Monticello high school, where he was active in athletics, in 1936.

He assisted his father on the farm until he entered the army. He married Mary Ellen Stoll, Monroe, Feb. 6, 1943, at North August, Ga., where he was stationed at that time. His wife has since remarried.

At the time of his death, he was a member of Gen. Courtney Hodges’ First army and had been overseas nine months. One of the first men in the Monticello area to enter service, he had served for 3 ½ years. He was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously.

Surviving are his former wife, a daughter, Marilyn; his parents, a brother, Wilbert, and a sister, Irene, both of Monticello.”

SSGT Melvin A. Marty was repatriated and reburied in Highland Cemetery in Monticello in 1949.

Thank you, Staff Sergeant Melvin Albert Marty, for your service to and ultimate sacrifice for this country. We honor you and remember you.