Our Arklahoma Heritage: McCurtain County's Pfc. Wallie Striplin died in WWII English Channel explosion

On the steps of the McCurtain County Courthouse on May 1, 2000, a solemn and long-overdue promise was finally fulfilled.

For 56 years, the story of Private First Class Wallie Edward “Ed” Striplin, a local son lost to the ravages of World War II, had been suspended in the painful uncertainty of a “missing in action” notice.

That day, his family and community gathered to give him the hero’s tribute he had long since earned.

Born on May 18, 1923, to James and Sabra Striplin, Ed was the youngest of five children raised in the tight-knit community of Bethel.

Remembered by friends for his quick wit, easy humor, and love of horses, he was a beloved brother to Lela, Letha Ann, William, and Loyd.

In a heartbreaking twist of fate, his mother, Sabra, passed away just weeks after his death in 1944, never knowing the tragic, final chapter of her youngest son’s life.

Pfc. Striplin served with the 300th Engineer Combat Battalion, a unit tasked with the perilous and vital mission of clearing a path for the Allied invasion of Europe. On June 6, 1944, the battalion landed on Utah Beach as part of the D-Day landings, working under relentless enemy fire to clear mines and obstacles from the shore.

Just thirteen days later, on June 19, 1944, Pfc. Striplin was aboard a Landing Ship, Tank (LST) in the English Channel following a supply run. In the treacherous, mine-filled waters, the vessel struck a German mine and sank with devastating speed.

The explosion killed 94 soldiers from his battalion and 117 Navy sailors. Ed’s remains were never recovered. His name was inscribed on the Walls of the Missing at the Normandy American Cemetery in Colleville-sur-Mer, France, and his status was officially changed to “killed in action” in 1946.

More than half a century later, the tireless efforts of Frank Horner, a veterans service officer with VFW Post 4777, brought Pfc. Striplin’s story home. Horner organized the memorial service to provide a measure of closure for the family and honor a forgotten hero.

According to a report in the McCurtain Daily Gazette, Horner addressed the crowd as he presented a folded American flag from President Bill Clinton to Ed’s nephew, Therman Striplin. “This is his funeral service,” Horner declared.

The newspaper also reported that Pfc. Striplin was being posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Ribbon, and the World War II Victory Medal.

“I’m pleased to accept these for the Striplin family,” Therman said, his voice thick with pride and gratitude.

Today, Pfc. Striplin’s sacrifice is permanently etched into the heart of his community. A military marker for his cenotaph stands in Bethel Cemetery, where his parents and siblings are buried.

His name is also engraved on the county’s War Memorial Marker at the courthouse--a lasting tribute placed poignantly alongside that of his nephew, Staff Sgt. James W. Burns, another McCurtain County hero who gave his life for his country.