Robert George Fenstermacher Jr. was born on December 12, 1921 to his parents Robert George Fenstermacher and Mae Richards(maiden) Fenstermacher in Scranton, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. 

Fenstermacher had five siblings; Jack Walter F (1916-1990), Donald Kenneth F (1923-2005), William Richard F (1925-2008), Charles Alvin F (1928-2002), and Louis May F (1929-2012). The family of eight lived in their family home at 700 Marion Street, Scranton, PA (pictured on the left).

 

 

Fenstermacher Jr. for his teen years went to Central High School, now Lackawanna College. In his early employment years, Robert Fenstermacher worked at Scranton Lace Company. The image on the right is his yearbook photo from his time at Central High School and an image of the Scranton Lace Company present day after it was abandoned.

When the war started on September 1, 1939, Fenstermacher was 17 and too young to serve in the army yet. While America was not quite involved in the war taking place in predominantly in Europe at the time, Fenstermacher got married to Edna Williams on May 29, 1943 in Arcadia, Florida. The couple never had the chance to have any children as Fenstermacher Jr. was told to enlist later that year.

At 20-years-old, Fenstermacher enlisted into the Army Air Corps on December 5, 1943 in his home town of Scranton, Pennsylvania. Fenstermacher and Edna moved down to Richmond, Virginia where he was stationed.

 

The photo on the left is a newspaper clipping of Robert Fenstermacher Jr. and his wife Mae Richards after they got married at Trinity Methodist Church in Arcadia, Florida.

The image above is of Fenstermacher's enlistment registration card. The image on the right is a photograph of Fenstermacher as a newly registered soldier.

The Scranton, PA 1930s Population Census.

The Scranton, PA 1940s Population Census.

Natalie Buss

Carlisle Area High School, Carlisle, PA

Mr. Wagner's AP US History

2022