Russell L. Prewitt
Biography: Russell Lawrence Prewitt was born on September 30, 1919, in St. louis, Missouri. He was the son of Joseph Lawrence Prewitt and Dorothy Ada Dallett and graduated from local schools. He then found work at a metal fabrication company name Glazer.
On January 17, 1942, Russell married the former Cornelia Josephine Moloney who was born in Missouri and was the daughter of Joseph Patrick Moloney and Mary Christine Seibert. The new couple would make their home in St. Louis.
Service Time: Russell enlisted in the military on December 30, 1942, at Jefferson Barracks in Lemay, MO. After his basic training, he was evantually assigned to the 816th Tank Destroyer battalion which had been formed on May 11, 1942, at Camp Cooke, California.He trained with the unit in the U.S at a number of military facilities, including Fort Polk, Louisiana, Camp Shelby, Mississippi, Camp Atterbury in Indiana and Camp Swift, Texas, where they were attached to the 11th Tank Destroyer Group.
We unfortunately have little information on the unit’s activities until on February 20, 1945, when the unit was disbanded and the men were transferred to other units. Russell was transferred to another unit (possibly the 671st) which would take him to the Philippines.
When he finally returned home, Russell found work as a machinist and went go on to found his own business, the Premo Company. Russell and Cornelia would have six children, Russell Jr., born in 1943, Thomas in 1945, Michelle in 1950, Janet and Janice in 1952, and Jeffrey in 1956. In his spare time, Russell enjoyed stamp collecting and bowling and was a member of the Engineer’s Club and the Overland Historical Society.
Russell passed away on April 27, 1996, and was buried in the Mount Olive Catholic Cemetery in Lemay, Missouri. I want to thank Russell’s son, Tom, for providing the information and photos used in this tribute. Thank you also to Find A Grave contributor Carol Beck for the use of the grave marker photo.
