Morris W. Agnew
Biography: Morris Whitney Agnew “Monk” was born on July 14, 1922, in Little Elbow Lake, Minnesota. He was the son of Ernest Marshall Agnew and Anna Laura Good who was known by the nickname “Annie”. The family had moved to Montana in 1927, and then moved again to eastern Montana, finally ending up in Flathead County in 1934. Morris attended local schools through the grammar level.
Service Time: Morris registered for military service in 1943. When he was finally called up, he received his basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He was assigned to the 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion, which had been overseas since August of 1942. Morris would have joined the unit as a replacement and probably met up with the unit during their time in Italy. The 601st participated in the invasion landings at Salerno, Italy, on September 9, 1943.
The 601st made their assault at Anzio on January 22, 1944, and entered Rome in June. They then conducted their fourth assault landing in southern France on August 15th and advanced to the German border in the Vosges region. They participated in the reduction of the Colmar Pocket in February, 1945, and then converted to the M36 tank destroyer. Battling along the Siegfried Line until crossing the Rhine on March 22nd, they helped capture Nürnberg in April and ended the war occupying Hitler’s retreat at Berchtesgaden in Bavaria.
The 601st received credit for a total of nine campaigns with Morris possibly receiving credit for Naples-Foggia, Rome Arno, Southern France, Rhineland, the Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe. Morris left the service at the rank of Technician 5th Grade and would have at least received the EAME Ribbon and Good Conduct Medal.
After returning to Flathead County, Morris married the former Mildred Lucy McKensie on August 14, 1945, in Teton, MT. Records indicate that Morris would re-enlist in the military on January 11, 1946, at Salt Lake City, Utah. His enlistment is identified as for the Hawaiian Department, which went through many changes and continued to be considered as a critical military position for the U.S. in the Pacific. At that time, his occupation was listed as carpenter. After completing his second service, he returned to Flathead and he and Mildred are believed to have had two daughters but his relationship with Mildred would come to an end and he would marry Jean Joyce Braten in 1950. Jean had been born in Park County, Wyoming and was the daughter of Arthur Raymond Braten and Helen Brough Baker. The new couple would have additional children but that marriage would end as well and in 1969, he married the former Jean Guinard. We believe Morris would have a total of at least eleven children including two step-sons. Sadly his third marriage would end as well.
Morris worked as a logger and at some point as a taxi driver. In his spare time, he enjoyed reading and hunting and was a member of the VFW, Post#9932 in Hungry Horse, MT. Morris was living in Columbia Falls and on July 14, 1979, while working for Larry Wilson, he died as a result of a large pile of wood falling on him. He was buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Maple grove, Minnesota. I want to thank Morris’ step-son, Bear, for providing information and the photo used in this tribute. Thank you also to Find A Grave contributor, Carol, for the use of the grave marker photo.
