In Memory of Carl Milton Bean, KIA 1944, Inducted Into Service At Camp Maxey 1942

Carl Milton Bean was born in Moorefield, Hardy County, West Virginia on October 28, 1918. Carl was the second child of Mr. Marcellus M. Bean and Mrs. Ethel Susan Bean. The Bean family was long established in Moorefield and Hardy County. When Carl was born, he joined an older brother, Marcellus, and the Bean house was soon populated with three younger siblings: Raymond, Mary Susan, and Ellis.

Carl spent his youthful days being educated in the public schools of Hardy County. He graduated in 1939 from Moorefield High School, and then attended nearby Shepherd College.

Carl was inducted into the United States Army as a private on December 28, 1942. Upon induction he was sent for training at Camp Maxey, Texas. It was while he was at Camp Maxey that Carl began another new chapter of his life, that of a husband.

In March of 1943, Miss June Dolan decided to pay a visit to Carl during his basic training. While June was at Camp Maxey the couple decided to wed and they were married in Texas on March 17, 1943.

In December, 1943 Carl was sent overseas to the European Theater with the 625th Ordinance Ammunition Company. Carl was killed in action while participating in Exercise Tiger on April 28, 1944.

Exercise Tiger, or Operation Tiger, was the code name for one in a series of large-scale rehearsals for the D-Day invasion of Normandy, which took place in April 1944 on Slapton Sands in Devon. Coordination and communication problems resulted in friendly fire deaths during the exercise, and an Allied convoy positioning itself for the landing was attacked by E-boats of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine, resulting in the deaths of at least 749 American servicemen.^[1][2] Because of the impending invasion of Normandy, the incident was under the strictest secrecy at the time and was only nominally reported afterwards.

Carl's body was buried at sea, and he was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart.

In recognition of his honorable service in World War II, and for his ultimate sacrifice, Carl Milton Bean's name is inscribed on the Tablets of the Missing at the Cambridge American Cemetery in Cambridge, England, and Carl's was one of the original names inscribed on the West Virginia Veteran's Memorial. Carl is also honored on the World War II memorial online registry by Jacqueline B. Coffroth.