WWII Enlistment Record U.S. Army

Gerald M. Nanney
birth: 1916
Race: white
Nativity State: Tennessee
State of Residence: Tennessee
County: Weakley
Enlistment Date: Jan 4, 1944
Enlistment State: Georgia
Enlistment City: Fort Oglethorpe
Branch: No branch assignment
Banch Code: No branch assignment
Grade: Private
Grade Code: Private
Term of Enlistment: Enlistment for the duration of the War or other emergency, plus six month, subject to the discretion of the President or ortherwise according to law.
Componet: Selectees (Enlisted Men)
Source: Civil Life
Education: 4 years high school
Civil Occupation: Semiskilled occupations in production of grain-mill products, n.e.c.
Marital Status: Married
Height: 5 ft 10"
Weight: 111
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He was assigned to the 281st Engineer Combat Battalion, U.S. Corps of Engineers. They repaired bombed out bridges and built bridges ahead of the heavy armament. Served in Ardennes, Rhineland and Central Europe.

Honorable Discharge - he enlisted December 7, 1945 with rank Private First Class;  discharged December 6, 1948 with rank of Corporal.  He served in 281st Combat Engineer Battalion, 18th and 20th Corps, 3rd Army.

Gerald Mike Nanney (1916-2006) was a lifelong farmer in the Chestnut Glade Community.  He was not drafted into military service due to his occupation and his number of dependents.  However he chose to volunteer for service, leaving his wife, Mary Taylor Nanney, with three small children.  During his absence Mary was aided with the young family and the farming by their parents, J. B. and Flara Nanney and Eugene and Flossie Taylor.
 
Mike returned from service to find that Mary had purchased their dream farm with money she had saved from the checks he had sent home.  The little extra she needed had been borrowed from an aunt. The borrowed money had come from the aunt's most trusted bank - her chicken house.  Mike and Mary's children were Peggy, Patsy, Pansy, Paula and Gerald, Jr..