Pvt. Aaron C. Bailey

Our Hometown Heroes

Aaron C. Bailey

Killed in Action In France

Aaron C. Bailey was Killed in Action along the front lines in France during World War II. His wife, Beatrice Gentry Bailey, was listed as living at Route D, Box 240, Griffin, when husband Aaron was killed. The couple married on July 9, 1934 in Etowah County, Alabama.

Born on August 11, 1912, in Hepzibah, GA., Bailey was a farm hand. He had a grammar school education. His parents were George Thomas Bailey and his mother Hulda E. Newman Bailey. He had two brothers, Paul Thomas Bailey, who died in 1991, and Eddie Marshall Bailey, who died in 1989. A sister, Fannie Lucille Bailey Scarbrough, died in 2007. The family had connections with the Highland Mills.

Pvt. Bailey enlisted on January 25, 1944. He reported to Ft. McPherson. Immediately after training he was sent to the front lines in France in July 1944. He served with the US Army in the 142nd Infantry, 36th Division. Pvt. Bailey would be killed in action in France a short three months later on October 14, 1944.

His wife, Mrs. Beatrice Gentry Bailey was notified of her husband’s death. Pvt. Bailey is buried in the Epinal American Cemetery, Lorraine, France. Wife Beatrice died on November 6, 1999, and is buried in Griffin. The couple had a son, George William Bailey, who was born in 1935. He died in 1967, and is buried in Heflin, Alabama.

Our Hometown Hero will be honored with a plaque installed in Griffin.