Oscar Stanley

Oscar Stanley (Feb. 14, 1918 – Jan. 25, 1945) was a soldier from Scott County killed in action in Belgium in World War II.

See Also: Scott Countians killed in war

Biography

Born Feb. 14, 1918, Oscar Stanley was the son of Silas L. Stanley (1878-1946) and Etta Lee Reed (1889-1980).

His siblings included Beatrice Stanley (1909-1921), Walter R. Stanley (1912-2000), Conward Stanley (1914-1926), Eldridge Stanley (1916-1991), Bertie L. Baker (1920-1990), Duard R. Stanley (1922-2011), Hurstle Bailey Stanley (1924-1994) and Gertrude Lentz (1927-1987).

Walter, Duard and Hurstle also served in World War II. Conward was killed when he was struck by a train in Oneida in 1926, at the age of 12.

The Stanleys were originally from Stanley Creek near Buffalo, but Silas Stanley moved his family to Oneida. He moved to Florida between 1940 and 1945.

Oscar married Lena Mae England from Oneida, the daughter of Robert M. England and Anna Elizabeth Strunk.

World War II

2Lt. Stanley enlisted in the U.S. Army in February 1940 and was assigned to the 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division. He was listed at Fort Wadsworth in New York when the 1940 census was taken. His wife lived in Birmingham, Ala. He was killed on Jan. 25, 1945 in Belgium.

Aftermath

2Lt. Stanley was interred at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery in Belgium. He received the Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, a Combat Infantryman Badge, a Presidential Unit Citation, 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.

Lena remarried to Claude Ryan in Alabama in July 1947. He was also a World War II veteran. They had two daughters, Carol Salser and Nora Martin. She died in 2017 in Alabama.