Jack L. Marlow (1944/06/06)

"Jack Marlowe Killed in D-Day Invasion" reported the Watsonville Register-Pajaronian.

Jack L. Marlow was born in Yuma, Arizona, in 1923, to Mr. and Mrs. R. R. Marlow. His brothers, Wayland and James, and sisters, Bonnie and Opal, joined Jack in the family home. The date of the Marlow family move to Aromas in the Pajaro Valley has not been established. He attended elementary school and two years of high school before leaving school.

After leaving school, Jack married Muriel and later had a son Ronald.

In 1943 Jack Marlow and his family were living in Yuma, Arizona, when he was inducted into the US Army at Phoenix on April 10. Muriel moved back to the family home in Aromas, and Jack reported to Camp Joseph T. Robinson in Arkansas for basic training.

“Following paratrooper training at Fort Benning, Georgia, Private Marlow was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division in training at Camp Mackall, North Carolina. In January 1944, the 82nd were sent to England to prepare for the invasion of France.
The 82nd Airborne was assigned the task of destroying vital German supply bridges and capture causeways leading inland across the flooded areas behind the Normandy beaches where seaborne forces would land to gain control of roads and communications...The poor weather conditions diminished the visibility of the initial "Pathfinder" aircraft. Many were unable to locate their designated drop zones. Some of the Pathfinders that went astray didn't activate their equipment in order to avoid misleading their regiments. In other cases, the presence of enemy troops precluded the use of guidance devices. Consequently, only ten percent of the troopers landed on the proper DZs. This scattering of troopers played to the All-American advantage since they were engaging a force of from 4 to 10 times their number.”

On D-Day June 6, 1944, Private Jack L. Marlow was killed in action while serving with his paratrooper unit. His remains were returned to the United States and buried in Pajaro Valley Memorial Park.

(NARA2; WRP August 10, 1944 1:2, The 82nd Airborne, Campaigns During WWII, http://www.ww2-airborne.us/division/ campaigns/france.html, [16 September 2008])

Creator: Nelson, Robert L.
Source: Remembering our own: the Santa Cruz County military roll of honor 1861-2010. Santa Cruz, CA: The Museum of Art & History, c2010.
Date: Undated
Type: OBIT
Coverage: 1940s
Rights: Reproduced by permission of Robert L. Nelson and The Museum of Art and History.
Identifier: RO-MARLOW

Citation

Nelson, Robert L. “Jack L. Marlow (1944/06/06).” Remembering our own: the Santa Cruz County military roll of honor 1861-2010. Santa Cruz, CA: The Museum of Art & History, c2010. SCPL Local History. https://history.santacruzpl.org/omeka/items/show/4453. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.