Birth & DeathElmer George Blackman was born January 17, 1920, to George and Nellie Blackman in New Albany, Indiana. Elmer was the second oldest of six children. Before entering the Army he was married to Anna Stickler, and they one child, a son. Elmer was killed in action on February 26, 1945, between Irrel and Bitburg, Germany. Blackman's grave is in the New Albany National Cemetery.
His grave is in G-37 at New Albany National Cemetery. The cemetery's location is marked on the map at the right.
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KIA in the River Nims |
Army InformationElmer was drafted into the U.S. Army and enlisted on May 6, 1944, as a Private. His service number was 35837913. After completing basic training he was assigned to "K" Company, 304th Infantry Regiment, 76th Infantry Division.
The 76th Division trained at A.P. Hill Military Reservation near Fredericksburg, Virginia, and then at Camp McCoy in Wisconsin. After training they shipped out to England in December 1944. February 1945 saw the division entering combat lines right on the edge of Germany. Blackman's unit was involved in the Ardennes Campaign and then, after Elmer's death, the drive into the Rhineland. |
Elmer Blackman and his family lived in rural Floyd County, out in the area between New Albany and Sellersburg on what is today Charlestown Road. His father worked at a wood mill as a laborer. Elmer had four sisters. His only brother, Gordon, served in Europe in the Army. At the time that Blackman enlisted in the Army he worked at the Anchor Stove and Range Company, which was an old company that had been in New Albany since the 1860s.
Elmer and Anna were married for several years before he went off to the war. We do not know the date of their wedding. Their son, Gerald, pictured above, was about three years old when Elmer was killed in combat.