Herbert Roland Shenafield was born in 1919 to Arthur and Martha Shenafield who resided at 156 Walnut Street, in Spring City, Pennsylvania.  Martha was from Michigan as was Arthur’s mother. His father worked as a forge man at a local iron company, and later became the Street Commissioner in Spring City. The family later moved to 10 North Church Street in the city.

 Herbert was the second born of four siblings:  Martha, Herbert, Helen and Betty Jean.

 Herbert attended Spring City schools, completing two years of high school.  He obtained employment at the Belmont Iron Works, across the river in Royersford.   He was a member of the Jr. OUAM – Junior order of the United American Mechanics, a large (200,000 in 1937) organization founded in Philadelphia in 1853. He was also a member of the Sons and Daughters of Liberty Lodges, and a member of the Liberty Fire Company on Hall Street (still there today).  Herbert attended the Spring City Methodist Church and Sunday School, still at the same location today on 45 North Church Street.

Herbert entered the service in the Army on February 17, 1941, as part of Company B 111^th Infantry from Phoenixville before it was mustered into active duty.  He applied and was accepted into the all volunteer Paratroops, and served with Company H, 505^th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82^nd Airborne Division. The 82^nd Infantry Division was reorganized and re-designated as the 82^nd Airborne Division, in August 1942, as the first Airborne Division of the US Army.

Roland was shipped overseas in December 1943, to join the 82^nd in England, preparing for the Normandy landings in France in June.   The 82^nd division, along with the 101^st , landed behind enemy lines in Normandy the night of June 5-6^th to secure vital bridges for the amphibious forces landing on Utah and Omaha beaches the morning of June 6.

In September, Herbert’s Division was involved in Operation Market Garden, a massive parachute jump into the Netherlands to capture bridges into Germany.  The concept was to parachute deep behind enemy lines as an end run around the flanks of the heavily defended German lines in France.  This operation was conceived by British Field Marshall Montgomery as an attempt to shorten the war.  However, the operation was a complete failure, as the bridges were too far from the supply lanes, and infantry could not break through to the bridges.  The movie “A Bridge Too Far” describes a portion of this operation.  It was during this operation that Herbert met his fate.

Corporal Herbert Roland Shenafield was Killed in Action on October 4, 1944 in Holland.

His parents received the government telegram on Sunday, November 1^st.

Herbert was buried in a local military cemetery.  After the war, his remains were returned for burial in his home country. He was returned on the Army transport Barney Kirschbaum in March 1949.  This was the ‘funeral ship’ the also return heroes Joseph A. Kacanda from Phoenixville, Fred Manship, from Coatesville, and Earl Marshall from Spring City.

Herbert was buried at the Zion Lutheran Cemetery at 39 Bonnie Brae Rd & Schuylkill Rd, Spring City.

His brother Alvin and sister Betty served in the Army during the war, Betty as a WAC.