Elsie drove army trucks while waiting for her sergeant husband who never returned.

Paul D. Compton was born in 1914, to Henry and Data Compton, in Umatilla, Oregon; however, he spent many of his formative years in the Pajaro Valley. His brothers Donald, Philip, Wayne and Max, along with a sister Gwen, joined him in the Compton family. In 1933 Paul graduated from Watsonville High School and was employed by the Granite Construction Company. Compton married and worked as a truck driver in Reno, Nevada, until he entered the plumbing trade.

In January 1943, while living in Nevada, Paul Compton joined the US Army and was sent to Camp Bowie, Texas, for basic training. Advanced training at Camp Claibourne, Louisiana, followed. During his absence, his wife, Elsie, returned to Watsonville, established a residence and obtained employment as a driver in the Camp McQuaide motor pool.

Sergeant Compton was sent to England in April 1944 and joined the 823rd Tank Destroyer Battalion of the 30th Infantry Division. In July 1944 the Battalion was deployed to France to participate in the "Big Push."

Following the Battle of the Bulge in December,
“[The 30th Infantry Division] launched a counteroffensive on 13 January 1945 and reached a point two miles south of St. Vith, 26 January, before leaving the Battle of the Bulge and moving to an assembly area near Lierneux, 27 January, and to another near Aachen to prepare for the Roer offensive. The Roer River was crossed, 23 February 1945, near Julich.”

It was while fighting on February 23, 1945, that Sergeant Paul D. Compton was killed in action. His remains were buried in the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten. His awards include the Purple Heart.

(ABMC; NARA2; 1920 US Census; WRP March 9, 1945 1:3; WIKI, 30th Infantry Division; Photo-WHS)