Emmit Marcum

Emmit Ray Marcum (June 20, 1933 – Feb. 4, 1954) was a soldier from Oneida who died at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. shortly after the Korean War.

See Also: Scott Countians killed in war

Biography

Born June 20, 1933 in Scott County, Emmit R. Marcum was the son of Ezra Marcum (1902-1992) and Orlena Blevins (1905-1989). The Marcum family was prominent in the West Oneida communities of Pine Creek and Grave Hill for generations, and Emmit’s grandfather was Marion Marcum (1874-1951). His great-grandfather and second-great-grandfather — John Arthur Marcum Jr. and John Arthur Marcum Sr. — donated the land that Pine Creek United Baptist Church was built on. Likewise, the Blevins family had strong roots in the community. His maternal grandfather was William Huston “Huse” Blevins (1869-1964), a prominent figure in Republican politics.

His siblings included Virginia Mae Smith (1925-2005), Estalena Marcum (1927-1929), Agnes Gertrude Terry (1929-2021), Flonnie Rose Marcum (1935-1936), and Faye Matter.

He was a 1951 graduate of Oneida High School, and attended Lincoln Memorial University for two years.

Korean War

Marcum enlisted in the U.S. Army in September 1953. He was stationed at Fort Jackson in South Carolina and apparently developed an illness. He was flown to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, D.C. for treatment, and underwent an operation on his brain. He died on Feb. 4, 1954.

Aftermath

Marcum was buried at Marcum-Kidd Cemetery on Feb. 7, 1954, following a funeral service at Pine Creek United Baptist Church.

Although he is listed on the Scott County Veterans Memorial in Huntsville as one of Scott County’s Korean War dead, Marcum did not enlist in the Army until after the U.S. involvement in the war had ended.