Captain Robert A. Maynard
Robert A. Maynard was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1920, and died at age 101 in Traverse City, Mich., in 2022. In his youth, he earned distinction as an Eagle Scout and high school class president.
The onset of World War II interrupted his college education. Japanese planes attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, and within a few months, Maynard was a soldier in the United States Army. (He first tried to enlist in the Navy but was rejected because of flat feet.)
While in training to become an artillery officer, he married Betty Harris. Their first child was born while he was deployed in Europe with the 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion.
Maynard completed his education at Albion College after the war. The growing family lived in southeast Michigan, where he worked for 24 years at the Cadillac Motor Car Division of General Motors. The couple would have four more children and enjoy 76 years of marriage before Betty’s death in 2019.
In 1980, the Maynards retired to Suttons Bay, Mich., where he served for decades in numerous church and community organizations. In the 1990s, he became more involved in veterans’ issues and attended at least one reunion with other Tank Destroyer Battalion members. He completed his “war diary” in 1998, relying primarily on his own recollections and wartime journals.
The onset of World War II interrupted his college education. Japanese planes attacked Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, and within a few months, Maynard was a soldier in the United States Army. (He first tried to enlist in the Navy but was rejected because of flat feet.)
While in training to become an artillery officer, he married Betty Harris. Their first child was born while he was deployed in Europe with the 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion.
Maynard completed his education at Albion College after the war. The growing family lived in southeast Michigan, where he worked for 24 years at the Cadillac Motor Car Division of General Motors. The couple would have four more children and enjoy 76 years of marriage before Betty’s death in 2019.
In 1980, the Maynards retired to Suttons Bay, Mich., where he served for decades in numerous church and community organizations. In the 1990s, he became more involved in veterans’ issues and attended at least one reunion with other Tank Destroyer Battalion members. He completed his “war diary” in 1998, relying primarily on his own recollections and wartime journals.
