Furman Henry Finklea, Jr., Class of 1936
Born 29 October 1914 in Hyman, South Carolina to Furman H. Sr., and Eulalia C. Finklea, Furman’s father was a prominent farmer and landowner in Florence county. Finklea was a graduate of the Pamplico High School, and attend The Citadel for two years, and the University of South Carolina for one year where he was a member of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity. He was a member of the Beulah Baptist Church, and the Florence Elks Lodge. He married Ms. Feances Fan Coleman. Private First Class Furman
See also LETTERS FROM THE FINKLEA HOMEFRONT
PFC Finklea was serving with Company L, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division when he was wounded in action in the vicinity of Brécey, France. He died of his wounds on 1 August 1944 after having arrived as a replacement ten days earlier.
PFC Finklea was interred in the temporary U.S. Military Cemetery at Marigny, located 7.5 miles west of Saint Lo, France. After the war, Finklea’s remains, at the request of his family, were returned to the U.S. and permanently interred in the family plot in Beulah Cemetery, Hyman, Florence County, South Carolina on 17 July 1949. He is memorialized on a bronzed plaque in the sanctuary of Beulah Baptist Church.
The inscription at the base of his grave marker reads, “The flower of youth is never more beautiful than when it bends toward the sun of righteousness.”
/SSmith
