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Remember...James Edward Marlier
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| James Edward Marlier, the only child of Ethel May Reese Marlier, an immigrant from Wales, and Victor Edward Marlier, a second-generation American from Pennsylvania, was born on March 9, 1920, in Follansbee, West Virginia, in Brooke County. The first record we have of his existence is the 1930 census. His household consisted of himself, both of his parents and his aunt from his mother's side, Ann Jones, who was a widow. They owned and lived in a home with the address 1314 Main Street in Follansbee. James Marlier attended Follansbee High School and graduated as a member of the class of 1939. Following high school, he attended the Carnegie Institute of Technology ("Carnegie Tech") at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which after a merger with the Mellon Institute in 1967 would become known as Carnegie Mellon University. He was influenced by his father, a hardworking general manager of the Follansbee Steel Corporation, and showed a special interest in engineering, becoming a member of the American Society of Metallurgists. Marlier was an active member in the Beta Theta Pi fraternity and graduated with the class of 1942. |  Courtesy Carnegie Mellon University Archives |
 The 800 block of Main Street in Follansbee, 1940. Brook County Public Library photo, courtesy Follansbee Timeline |
Marlier was married to Mary G. Blake of East Liverpool, Ohio, on November 6, 1942. He resided in East Liverpool until his enlistment on July 6, 1943. |
James entered into service with the U.S. Army during World War II as a research technician in July of 1943, at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, where he remained. Aberdeen Proving Grounds, established in 1917 for World War I, was the site of important research in armaments in World War II, and the site remains in use today. Innovative weapons were developed and tested on these grounds, immensely advancing technologies used within the Army. ("History of APG," Army Alliance: Aberdeen Proving Grounds, accessed 2 April 2018, http://armyalliance.org/about-apg/history-of-apg/.)
Two years after Marlier's assignment to Aberdeen Proving Grounds, on December 4, 1945, Marlier died suddenly of acute myocarditis. His body wasn't found until two days later, due to his living in an apartment removed from the Aberdeen barracks. His funeral was held on December 8, and he was buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Follansbee.
Article prepared by Piper Martin and Jenna Kahwash, George Washington High School Advanced Placement U.S. History
March 2018
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.
