Marvin H. Mischnick, 99
Marvin H. Mischnick, 99, a 55-year resident of Elmhurst, and previously, a 44-year resident of Maywood, where he was born on Feb. 16, 1919. He graduated from Irving Elementary School in 1932, and Proviso High School (East), class of 1937. Marvin survived the tornado of 1920 that passed through Maywood and Melrose Park. He was a veteran of World War II and a life member of the Winfield Scott V.F.W. Post 2193 of Maywood and Melrose Park, Central Leyden Post 5979 River Grove, the 3rd Armored Division Associates, Veterans of The Battle Of The Bulge Association, and the American Legion. He was preceded in death by his mother Margaret Frega Mischnick, his father Herman (Harry) Mischnick, his brother, LaVerne Harris Mischnick, and his wife, Elaine Boettcher Mischnick. He is survived by a few cousins, and a few sisters-in-law, a brother-in-law, a nephew and niece, three great-nieces, and one great-nephew.
Marvin used to take candid pictures at weddings and was the first to photograph kids on Santa Claus’s lap in the department stores. He was 8 years old when Charles A. Lindbergh made his trans-atlantic solo flight from New York to Paris in 1927. Before that flight, Lindbergh flew the air mail from St. Louis to Chicago in 1926, and used “Checkerboard Field” in Maywood not far from where Marvin lived.
Marvin remembered Will Rogers and Wiley Post’s air crash in Point Barrow, Alaska. Marvin personally knew the great football player, Harold “Red” Grange, “The Galloping Ghost.”
At the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Marvin was already serving in the army, and it led to four and a half years with the 3rd Armored “Spearhead” Division. He participated in the landing at “Omaha Beach” in Normandy, France, on D-Day plus 18; for invasion of Fortress Europe for the liberation of France and Belgium; and the capture and occupation of Germany after the defeat of the Nazis. He served as the Division photographer in the G-2 intelligence section of the forward echelon, in the 23rd Armored Engineers Battalion in the U.S. First Army. He was awarded five battle stars for the European Theatre Medal, the presidential citation with two Oak Leaf clusters, the American Theatre Medal, the American Defense Medal, the Conduct Medal, the Victory Medal and the Germany Occupation Medal and French and Belgium decorations. He was proud to have served under General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
He had been photographed with many well-known dignitaries such as President Harry S. Truman, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, General Omar N. Bradley and others; and celebrities like Joe Louis, Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney, Jack Benny and others.
Marvin’s works related to his experiences during World War II can be found at the web address 3ad.com. He served with the Third Armored Division, which was the spearhead of all the allied armies on the western front and was the first unit to breach the Ziegfried Line. It was the unit that captured the city of Cologne; the Nazi Armored Force Headquarters at Paderborn; and the liberation of the concentration camp “Dora” at Nordhausen. The division advanced all the way to the Elbe River at Dessau, to where the U.S. first army met the Russians coming from the east.
Marvin was a charter member of the National World War II Memorial in Washington D.C. Marvin loved music and songs of the 1930’s and 1940’s and the early 1950’s, especially the music of the big dance bands. He played the harmonica and, with two high school friends, started a trio called “The HARMONICRATS.” A year or two later, another group became professionally known as “THE HARMONICATS.” Marvin was also a movie buff. Some of his photographs were published in the local Elmhurst newspapers several years ago. Regarding sports, over the course of his life, Marvin was a high school wrestler, a weight-lifter at the YMCA, and enjoyed ice hockey, baseball and softball.
Visitation was held at Ahlgrim Funeral Home, 567 S. Spring Rd., Elmhurst from 9-11 a.m. on Thursday, March 1, 2018. Interment Elm Lawn Cemetery. Arrangements provided by Ahlgrim Funeral Home. Call 630-834-3515 or visit ahlgrim.com.
