Lenvil Crabtree

Lenvil Crabtree (March 22, 1912 – Jan. 15, 1945) was a Scott County native who was killed in action during World War II.

Biography

Born in Scott County on March 22, 1912, Lenvil Crabtree was the son of Russell Crabtree (1879-1921) and Emeline Crabtree (1894-1918) of Scott County.

Both of his parents died when Russell was a child. His mother died in 1918 at the age of 23, when Lenvil was only six, and was buried at the family cemetery in Oneida. His father died three years later at the age of 41 and was also buried at the family cemetery. After Emeline’s death in 1918, he remarried to Hettie Mae Coffey (1891-1981), whose first husband, Dade M. Duncan, had died in 1917.

Lenvil had two siblings who also died young. Lona Crabtree died in 1918 about 10 days after her first birthday. Eva Crabtree died of pneumonia in 1923 at the age of 12. There was also another brother, William Crabtree.

Lenvil had two half-siblings that were born after his father remarried: Odie Crabtree (1918-2008) and Earl Russell Crabtree (1921-1979). Earl was also a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving in World War II and Korea.

Lenvil married Sarah Amanda West of Scott County. They had four children: Norman Lee Crabtree (1993-1990), Oma Jean Pierce (1934-2015), Russell Lenord Crabtree (1937-2021), and Hoyle E. Crabtree (1938-1999). They apparently divorced, and Lenvil married Dorothy Mae Sheppard (1924-2011) of Illinois in 1939.

World War II

Pvt. Crabtree enlisted in the U.S. Army in Illinois, and was assigned to the 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division. He was killed on Jan. 15, 1945. Little additional information is available. The 30th Infantry Division was the first infantry division to enter Belgium and The Netherlands, and was instrumental in breaching the Siegfried Line in October 1944.

He was buried at the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery in Belgium. He is listed on the VFW Post 5669 Memorial Wall in Oneida and the Scott County Veterans Memorial in Huntsville.