Frank Keith Fendley
1946
Engineering
Clemson, South Carolina
Son of Frank K. Fendley and Minnie B. Findley
Army, Staff Sergeant
Company B, 135th Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division
Silver Star, Purple Heart
Mar 25, 1924
Sep 18, 1944
Killed in Action in Italy
Old Stone Church Cemetery, Clemson South Carolina
SE
Additional Information
Activities of the 34th Infantry Division at the time SSG Fendley was awarded the Silver Star medal and at the time of his death.
In January 1944, the Division drove into the Gustav line, took Mount Trocchio after a bitter fight, pushed across the Rapido, attacked Monastery Hill, and fought its way into Cassino, being relieved 13 February 1944. After rest and rehabilitation, it landed in the Anzio beachhead, 25 March 1944, maintaining defensive positions until the offensive of 23 May, when it broke out of the beachhead, took Cisterna, and raced to Civitavecchia and Rome. After a short rest, the Division drove across the Cecina River to liberate Livorno, 19 July 1944, and continued on to take Mount Belmonte in October. Digging in south of Bologna for the winter, the 34th jumped off, 15 April 1945, and captured Bologna on 21 April. Pursuit of the routed enemy was halted, 2 May, with the German surrender in Italy.Source: https://www.history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/cbtchron/cc/034id.htm
From an unofficial postwar report:
FENDLEY, FRANK K. – Staff Sergeant – Company “B”: Private Frank Fendley was promoted to corporal on January 20, 1944. Corporal Frank Fendley was promoted to sergeant on February I, 1944. Fendley was later promoted to staff sergeant. Staff Sergeant Frank Fendley was killed in action on September 18, 1944. Fendley was posthumously awarded a Silver Star Medal for gallantry near Cassino on January 30, 1944.
Patrick Skelly – 34 Infantry Divisions Historian
Related Images Click to Enlarge
Anderson Independent 03 October 1944 p.5