H Company, 511 PIR

01/07/30 - 04/10/05 -

Citations: Parachutist Badge, Glider Badge, Occupation Medal (Japan)

Locations: Honshu, Japan

Wesley "Wes" O'Dell McCrary was born on January 7, 1930 and grew up in Clinton, Missouri. Wes attended Lathrop High School, but he left school early to enter the service on June 12, 1947 after enlisting at Fort Riley, Kansas. He took his basic infantry training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, then volunteered for the airborne. He earned his wings and graduated with class B-29 on November 15, 1947 which pleased his parents Robert and Mabel Walker.

Following Jump School, Wes was sent to join the 11th Airborne Division at Honshu, Japan for Occupation Duty, arriving on May 23, 1948. He was assigned to Company H of the 511th Parachute Infantry Division. Wes enjoyed his time with the Angels and returned with the Division to the United States when the 11th Airborne established itself at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, "The Home of the Airborne". Here Wes earned his GED on July 7, 1949 an a few months later, after after three years of service, he was discharged from the army on June 12, 1950 at Fort Campbell.

He went on to receive training as a bowling alley mechanic near his parents' home in Missouri, then moved in the mid-1950s to the Los Angeles, California area. While working at a bowling alley there, he also was available to give lessons, and one of his students was Marilyn Cassidy, an overseas operator for AT&T. They were married in 1956, and had seven children. One daughter enlisted in the Air Force, and their son enlisted in the Navy.

After Wes and his wife Marilyn were divorced, he traveled around the United States, and eventually settled on the coast of northern California where he married again. He and his second wife, both of whom loved animals, continued to live in that area until his death in 2005. She passed away shortly after he did.

Arrangements are currently being made for internment of the ashes of PFC Wesley McCrary and his second wife in a National Cemetery in California.


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