George C. Marcum
George Caney Marcum (June 15, 1917 – Sept. 18, 1944) was a soldier from Oneida who was killed in France during World War II.
See Also: Scott Countians killed in war
Biography
Born June 15, 1917, George C. Marcum was the son of John Shermon Marcum (1865-1941) and Rebecca Jane Watson (1874-1927) of Oneida. The Marcum family was very prominent in the Pine Creek and Grave Hill areas of West Oneida, dating back several generations to John Arthur Marcum Sr. (1812-1905), who was George Caney Marcum’s great-grandfather. He had a great-uncle of the same name, George W. Marcum, who was killed during the Civil War.
George Caney’s siblings included William Calvin Marcum (1893-1968), Josie Brown (1895-1979), James Hillery Marcum (1896-1980), Lucy Jane Boyatt (1900-1988), Henry Clay Marcum (1905-1969), Frona Burg Marcum (1910-1994), and H. Andrew Marcum (1914-1983). He also had several half siblings: Edna Faye Terry (born 1933), Edna Faye Morgan (1933-2021) and Bettie Sue Marcum (1935-1935). They were John Shermon Marcum’s children with Erna Maye West (1901-1974), who he married in 1935 (George Caney’s mother died in 1927).
Andrew Marcum was also in World War II, serving as a corporal in the U.S. Army.
World War II
Pvt. Marcum enlisted in the U.S. Army on March 1, 1942 at Fort Oglethorpe, Ga. and was assigned to the 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 7th Armored Division. He and his brother, Cpl. Andrew Marcum, departed Scott County for basic training at the same time. They trained at Camp Polk, La. for one year, then spent six months in California.
He fought in the European theater of World War II. He was killed on Sept. 18, 1944, near Marieulles, France. As both of his parents were by that time deceased, it was his sister — Frona Burg Marcum — who was informed of his death in a telegram from the War Department.
Aftermath
Pvt. Marcum’s body was returned to Scott County in December 1948 for burial at Marcum-Kidd Cemetery. A funeral service was held at Bethlehem Baptist Church.
He received the Army Good Conduct Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the Marksmanship Badge, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the World War II Victory Medal, and the Purple Heart. He is listed on the VFW Post 5669 Memorial Wall in Oneida, the Scott County Veterans Memorial in Huntsville, and the East Tennessee Veterans Memorial in Knoxville.