Philmore Grant Minter

1922 - 1963  (41 years)

• Name	Philmore Grant Minter
  Birth	24 Mar 1922	Martinsville, Henry County, Virginia, USA   [1, 2]
  Gender	Male
  _UID	957E3DB5340942419A4C41CDC69D13C9F832
  Death	24 Mar 1963	Roanoke County, Virginia, USA   [2]
  Burial	Roselawn Burial Park, Martinsville, Henry County, Virginia, USA   [2]
  Notes	The following appeared in the Martinsville Bulletin on 6 June 2019, the 75th anniversary of D-Day. The original article was accompanied by several pictures, not reproducible here. Philmore Minter of Martinsville survived his D-Day invasion but not its effects. His family carries forward his legacy. By AMIE KNOWLES Special to the Bulletin In a glass-top case that holds a folded, stitched-star American funeral flag, visitors at the Bassett Historical Center often notice a World War II-era photograph of Company H, along with personal mementos of United States Army Staff Sgt. Philmore Minter's time in the service. The display, featuring an insignia, a patch and photographs, stands as a quiet reminder and learning experience honoring the sacrifice of the men in the company's 116th Regiment who served in the 29th Division. For seven decades after World War II ended, the exhibit creates a unique platform in which army veteran David Minter shares his father's story of military service as one of 34,250 Americans who stormed Omaha Beach during the D-Day invasion of Normandy, France, 75 years ago today. After completing a year of training at Fort Meade in Maryland, Company H left the states in September of 1942 with 85 enlisted men and nine officers. The soldiers trained in England specifically for the D-Day invasion. “What I think is, they knew they were going to use the 29th for Omaha Beach,” David Minter said. “They knew it would be a hard task ahead of time.” The morning of June 6, 1944, things didn't go according to plan. The first Americans arrived on Omaha Beach around 6:30 a.m., and Company H followed closely behind, landing between 7:15 and 7:45 a.m. Philmore Minter's company, a heavy machine gun unit, was supposed to support the first line of attacking infantrymen, but only a few of the units landed at their assigned points. The confusion forced each of Company H's three sections to use their own judgments, rather than follow the prearranged strategy. Three Martinsville-area guardsmen from Company H lost their lives during the invasion, including 1st Lt. Benjamin Kearfott of Martinsville, 1st Lt. Robert Williamson of Martinsville and Sgt. Noel Washburn of Henry County. Trinkets from war Philmore Minter left the beach with his life and a variety of objects he carried with him that day. The Minter family still owns Philmore Minter's water-stained New Testament Bible issued by Starling Avenue Baptist Church, a four-leaf clover attached to his dog tags and a silver dollar. The family also holds another heirloom close, a lighter given to Philmore Minter by war correspondent Ernie Pyle following the D-Day invasion. The gift meant so much to Philmore Minter that he had his own name engraved on one side of the lighter and Pyle's on the other. The Minter family researched the gift and found that Pyle gave out 10 lighters at the time. “None have ever surfaced,” David Minter said. It's possible that the other nine lighters remain in private collections, but they also could have been lost to time. Eventually, Minter said, he might loan or donate the World War II artifact to a museum, but he hasn't completed such plans. “I want to see the lighter placed for the people who will come after us,” he said. “I want to make sure that's a learning experience.” And other problems The mementos Philmore Minter brought home from war didn't stop with tangible objects. He also brought back devastating memories of the turmoil he encountered overseas. “Dad was shell-shocked,” David Minter said. That term, coined by Charles Myers in 1915, described World War I soldiers who experienced involuntary shivering, crying and fearfulness or had constant negative memory intrusions. The phrase served as a precursor to the modern Post Traumatic Stress Disorder diagnosis, often shortened to PTSD. “He was in and out of the veteran's hospital when I was growing up,” Minter said. In the late 1950s, Philmore Minter underwent insulin shock therapy, a treatment commonly used to treat psychiatric conditions at the time. Also called insulin coma therapy, medical professionals injected patients with large doses of insulin, which forced their bodies into a daily coma. Treatments often spanned several weeks. “It was supposed to eliminate some of the things that caused problems,” Minter said. “It only made it worse.” When the treatment failed, Philmore Minter sought guidance from a hospital in Roanoke. The team there prescribed medication and conducted multiple interviews about his time in the army. Unfortunately, he died at the hospital in March of 1963. Writing to Ruth Minter, Philmore's wife, a doctor at the Roanoke hospital informed the family of the patient's passing. David Minter recalled an aspect of the letter, when the doctor wrote that both he and the hospital staff honored and respected Philmore Minter. David Minter said he assumed the personnel's esteemed view came from the war stories his dad told during the interviews. His legacy lives Philmore Minter passed away less than 20 years after the D-Day invasion, but his memory lives on 75 years later through his son's dedication to telling his story. “Men of that generation, knowingly they got on those boats going in, knowing that their families would continue to be free,” David Minter said. “The young men of that generation had a dedication to family and country. They did what had to be done.” During his service, Philmore Minter regularly sent money back home to his mother to help raise his younger siblings. “A lot of folks just don't realize that,” David Minter said. “Talking about it helps dot the 'I's and cross the 'T's of history.” Along with seeing Philmore Minter's permanent display at the Bassett Historical Center, visitors to the facility, at 3964 Fairystone Park Highway, also can research Company H and the contributions the local soldiers made to the war effort. “Remembering the sacrifices that were made for our country is important and an important part of history. One has to know where they came from in order to know where they are going,” said Fran Snead, director of the Bassett Historical Center. “The Center always tries to support our veterans, and we appreciate the sacrifices that were made by not only the veterans, but by their families as well. It is because they sacrificed everything that we can be and enjoy anything.”
  Person ID	I1388	America
  Last Modified	6 Jun 2019

  
  

  Father	Musco Minter,   b. 12 Apr 1895, Dyer's Store, Leatherwood Community, Henry County, Virginia, USA d. 29 May 1974, Daytona Beach, Volusia County, Florida, USA (Age 79 years)
  Mother	Rosa Etta EGGLESTON,   b. 6 Jun 1894, Henry County, Virginia, USA d. 23 Jan 1973, USA (Age 78 years)
  Marriage	28 Dec 1915	Franklin County, Virginia, USA   [3]
  Family ID	F9	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Ruth Eliza BROOKS,   b. 25 Oct 1921, Union Hall, Virginia d. 8 Nov 2010, Martinsville City, Virginia, USA (Age 89 years)
  Marriage	31 Mar 1945	Franklin, Virginia, USA   [4]
  Children	1. Donald Barry Minter   d. Bef 2010, USA   2. David Philmore Minter
  Family ID	F3237	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	26 Oct 2018

  
  

• Event Map

  Death - 24 Mar 1963 - Roanoke County, Virginia, USA Burial - - Roselawn Burial Park, Martinsville, Henry County, Virginia, USA  = Link to Google Earth

  
  

• Documents

  Philmore Grant Minter (c. 1922) 1945 marriage certificate

  
  

• Sources

  [S68] 1930 US Federal Census. [S66] findagrave.com, November 2014 and later. [S488] Virginia, U.S., Marriage Registers, 1853-1935 at ancestry.com. [S253] Virginia, Marriage Records. 1936 - 2014 at ancestry.com, June 2015 and later.