Ernest Lee Sanders (1928 - 2020)

Born 22 Sep 1928 in Pawnee Township, Sangamon, Illinois, United States

Ancestors

Son of Russell Lee Sanders and Mary Barbara (Schust) Sanders

Husband of Linda Ann (Diedrich) Sanders — married 29 Aug 1953 (to 19 Dec 2020) in Hilton, Monroe, New York, United States

Descendants

Died 19 Dec 2020 at age 92 in Brockport, Monroe, New York, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Stephen Sanders [send private message]

Ernest Sanders has German Roots.

Ernest Sanders has English ancestors.

Ernest Sanders has Scottish Ancestors.

Sgt Ernest Sanders served in the United States Army in the Korean War
Service started: 7 Feb 1951
Unit(s): 279th Infantry Fox Regiment, 45th Infantry Division
Service ended: 2 Feb 1953

Biography

Early Life

Ernest Lee "Ernie" Sanders was born on 22 September 1928 in Pawnee Township, Sangamon, Illinois, the second of three children of farm laborer Russell Lee Sanders and Mary Barbara Schust.^[1][2][3][4]

The family moved to Parma, Monroe, New York in 1938/1939 and originally lived and labored on the Gioia farm at 594 Curtis Road. They moved to the Bulger farm at 838 Manitou Road in Greece around 1946, where they worked as sharecroppers. They were provided with shelter, a little money, and a section of the farm on which they could grow their own food in exchange for their labor on the farm.^[5][6]

Ernest left school after the 8th grade to work.^[7][8] He originally found employment in 1944 as a factory worker at Duffy Mott Co. Inc., an apple processing company in Hilton/Hamlin, until 1947. He worked on the family farm from 1948 until 1949. From then until he began service in early 1951, he worked as a tow motor driver/tractor operator at Duffy Mott's, where he would haul loads of material on a tractor in the plant.^[7][9]

Adulthood

Military

Ernest was drafted into the United States Army on 1 January 1951 and was first a member of the 167th Infantry Division before being assigned to the 279th Infantry Fox Regiment of the 45th Infantry Division prior to his duty in Korea.^[8][10][8] He reported for duty on 7 February 1951 in Buffalo, New York. He was stationed first at Fort Jackson, South Carolina as a Private - where he obtained the rank of Corporal around December 1951 - before being transferred to Camp Atterbury, Indiana in April 1952.^[10][11][12] He was then transferred to San Francisco, California in June-July 1952 in preparation for his overseas assignment in Korea, which is when he joined the 45th Infantry Division.^[13][14]

He and his regiment were sent to Busan and eventually Incheon, and spent several months in Korea. This included some time spent at and around what is now the Korean Demilitarized Zone.^[8] Ernest, after spending six months and twenty days overseas and having since been promoted to Sergeant, returned home from Korea and was honorably discharged on 2 February 1953 at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey.^[15][16][7]

For his service, Ernest was awarded the Korean Service Medal with one Bronze Service Star, the Combat Infantry Badge, the United Nations Service Medal, the New York Medal for Merit, and the Korean War Service Medal. He stayed in the Army Reserve for five years after returning home.^[7][8]

After Military

After arriving back home from his service, Ernest returned to his job as a tow motor driver/tractor operator at Duffy Mott.

Ernest married Linda Ann Diedrich of Parma on 29 August 1953 at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Hilton. After honeymooning to his native Illinois, they made their home at 801 Manitou Road before moving in with Ernest's parents at 838 Manitou Road.^[16] Together, they had three daughters and a son, all of whom were born in Brockport.^[8] The family purchased a new home in the Westbrook Acres Tract of Brockport in late 1956 or early 1957, where Ernest and Linda lived for the rest of their lives.^[17][8] After having worked at Duffy-Mott's for roughly 37 years, Ernest started work at the Brockport Central School District as a custodian. He worked there for a decade before ultimately retiring.

He and his family were members of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Hilton. In his spare time, he enjoyed vegetable and flower gardening, square dancing, and visiting casinos. He also entered into various phases upon retiring, including one in which he would build wooden clocks in his workshop.^[8][18]

Death

Ernest passed away at his home in Brockport on the morning of 19 December 2020 at the age of 92, after a period of declining health. He was buried with military honors three days later in Parma Union Cemetery.^[18][19]

Sources

1. ↑ Ernest Lee Sanders, birth certificate [long form] (1928), Illinois Department of Public Health - Division of Vital Statistics, Springfield.
2. ↑ "United States Public Records, 1970-2009," database, FamilySearch, Ernest Lee Sanders, Residence, Brockport, New York, United States; a third party aggregator of publicly available information.
3. ↑ Ancestry.com: Ernest Lee Sanders in U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2011.
4. ↑ "United States Census, 1930," database with images, FamilySearch, Wilbur L Sanders in household of Russell L Sanders, Pawnee, Sangamon, Illinois, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) ED 81, sheet 1A, line 19, family 7, NARA microfilm publication T626 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2002), roll 558; FHL microfilm 2,340,293.
   NOTE: LISTED AS "WILBUR" IN THIS CENSUS, WHICH ENDED UP BEING HIS YOUNGER BROTHER'S NAME.
5. ↑ "United States Census, 1940," database with images, FamilySearch, Ernest Sanders in household of Russell Sanders, Parma Town, Monroe, New York, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 28-60, sheet 7A, line 2, family 146, Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940, NARA digital publication T627. Records of the Bureau of the Census, 1790 - 2007, RG 29. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 2012, roll 2679.
6. ↑ FultonHistory.com: "Additional Local Items", roughly halfway down the section. The Hilton Record, November 1942.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3} Sgt. Ernest L. Sanders - US 51051797, Separation Qualification Record, Army of the United States, 1952-1953.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7} Personal testimony.
9. ↑ "United States 1950 Census," FamilySearch, Ernest Sanders in the household of Russel Sanders, Greece, Monroe, New York.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} FultonHistory.com: "Local Service Men", right column roughly halfway down. The Hilton Record, 15 November 1951.
11. ↑ FultonHistory.com: "Local Service Men", right column roughly halfway down. The Hilton Record, 10 January 1952.
12. ↑ FultonHistory.com: "Brevities", left column, 7th paragraph down. The Hilton Record, 1 May 1952.
13. ↑ FultonHistory.com: "Brevities", left column, 10th paragraph down. The Hilton Record, 12 June 1952, pg. 5.
14. ↑ FultonHistory.com: "Local Service Men", right column roughly halfway down. The Hilton Record, 26 November 1952, pg. 6.
15. ↑ FultonHistory.com: "Brevities", middle column, fifth paragraph down. The Hilton Record, 5 February 1953, pg. 5.
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1} FultonHistory.com: "Sanders-Diedrich". The Hilton Record, 3 September 1953, pg. 1.
17. ↑ FultonHistory.com: "Brevities", right column, 7th paragraph down. The Hilton Record, 29 November 1956, pg. 5.
18. ↑ ^{18.0 18.1} Obituary of Ernest Lee Sanders from Thomas E Burger Funeral Home, Inc.
19. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #220027995