Orvis Gideon Myers – Major, United States Army

From a contemporary press report:

Orvis Gideon Myers, 77, a retired Army major who taught history in the Montgomery County schools from 1964 to 1983, died of cancer August 28, 1998 at the Leewood Nursing Home in Annandale. He lived in Annandale, Maryland.

Major Myers retired from the faculty of Rockville High School. Before that, he had taught at Sligo Intermediate School.

He served in the Army from 1942 to 1945 and from 1947 to 1964. During World War II, he served in antiaircraft units with the First Army in Europe. He participated in the Battle of the Bulge and the D-Day landings at Utah Beach. Commissioned in the Coast Artillery, his last assignment was in Korea.

Major Myers, who had maintained a home in the Washington area since the late 1950s, was a native of Altoona, Pennsylvaia. Before World War II and again from 1945 to 1947, he was a machinist with the Pennsylvania Railroad.

He had been a deacon and 38-year member of Ravensworth Baptist Church in Annandale. A Mason and Shriner, he was a member of Keena Temple Shrine and its Legion of Honor.

Survivors include his wife of 56 years, Jeanne, of Annandale; a son, Robert A., of Altoona; a daughter, Susan J. Myers of Bailey, Colo.; three brothers, Walt, of York, Maine, Rhymer, of Charlotte, and Robert, of New Jersey; four sisters, Shirley Ann Mays of Phoenix and Vyrl Neuhauser, Cartha Godfrey and Nancy Stevens, all of Maine; and four grandsons.

MYERS, ORVIS GIDEON

On Friday, August 28, 1998, of Annandale, VA, husband of Jeanne W. Myers; father of Robert Allen Myers and Susan J. Myers. Also survived by three brothers, Walter, Rhymer and Robert Myers; four sisters, Vyrl Neuhauser, Cartha Godfrey, Shirley Ann Mays and Nancy Stevens; four grandchildren, Dan and Tim McCurry and Karl and Joel Myers. Interment will be held on Friday, September 4, 1998 at 2 p.m. at Arlington National Cemetery. Memorial services will be held on Saturday, September 5 at 1 p.m. at Ravensworth Baptist Church, Annandale, VA. Contributions may be made to Hospice of Northern Virginia, 6400 Arlington Blvd., Suite 1000, Falls Church, VA 22042.

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard