Discovering a World War II hero: PFC Maryland J. Golden
BY ANN CIPPERLY
FOR THE OBSERVER
OPELIKA — While the family of Pfc. Maryland J. Golden knew their father had served in World War II and suffered serious injuries, they didn’t realize the depth of his service until his jumper jacket was discovered. Finding the jacket — which they didn’t know existed — led to learning about their father’s bravery as a member of the 82nd Airborne Division.
Golden served in the invasion of Sicily, the assault on Italy, D-Day, Holland, the Battle of the Bulge and the drive into Germany, ending with the victorious occupation of Berlin.
Golden grew up on a farm outside Tallassee as the middle child of three boys and two girls. He loved farm life. Drafted in July 1942, he served until September 1945. When he returned home, he married Beatrice Mann a year later, and the couple raised their family on a farm near his parents.
The couple had four children: Thera Herring, Agnes Tatum, Dr. Mickey Golden and Herbert Golden. He is remembered as a kind, patient father who worked third shift at the mill, while Beatrice worked second shift. Golden cared for the children when they came home from school.
Although he rarely spoke about his time in the war, his children occasionally asked about the scars on his neck. Golden would simply say he had been shot. The scars marked where the bullet entered and exited.
He continued to have shoulder problems from metal fragments that entered his body when he was shot, as well as issues with his knees and ankles from his years as a paratrooper. Golden died in 1983.
A Jacket Rediscovered
In 2022, while browsing eBay, Thera’s son, Dr. Torey Herring, spotted a paratrooper jacket with the name “Golden” on it that had been sold in 2017. Wondering if it could have belonged to his grandfather, he sent the photo to his mother and to Agnes. The discovery sparked the family’s curiosity — they had never seen the jacket before.
Agnes contacted the seller in Pearl River, Louisiana, who buys and trades military memorabilia. He said he had purchased the jacket in Tennessee. Then, this past January, Agnes heard that the jacket had been bought by Jeff Brown of Simpsonville, South Carolina.
Brown, whose family has served in the military for generations, collects military artifacts. A Desert Storm veteran, he once served as an escort for President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan when the Berlin Wall fell. He paid $2,600 for the jacket.
“I have always known that if somehow Pfc. Golden’s family contacted me, I would have to pass the jacket back to them,” Brown said. “When we made the connection, Agnes asked if it was possible to see the jacket and even possibly buy it. I told her absolutely yes to both.”
In April, Brown visited Agnes in Opelika so the family could see Golden’s jacket. Blood from one of his injuries remains visible on the front.
“It was like touching a person because we knew our father’s body had worn the jacket,” Thera said. “It was emotional,” added Agnes. “It was like getting a glimpse of my dad without him being here.”
As Golden’s children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren gathered, they shared stories — some tearful — remembering the wonderful man he had been.
Later, Agnes and Thera visited Brown in South Carolina to view his collection and see their father’s jacket displayed in a glass showcase. Brown shared research he had gathered on Golden’s military record. With that information, the sisters began conducting research of their own and uncovered an extraordinary story of courage.
The Soldier’s Story
Golden entered the Army in September 1942 and trained in Texas before being sent to Fort Benning for paratrooper school. He would often hitch rides home on weekends to visit his family’s farm. After completing training, he was assigned to Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Research revealed that Golden joined a new airborne division that paid soldiers $50 more per month. He departed New York City by ship with Gen. George S. Patton, traveling to Casablanca in North Africa, where American forces were fighting. From there, they prepared for the invasion of Sicily — Golden’s first of four major combat jumps.
In Africa, he was placed in a paratrooper division under Maj. James M. Gavin, one of the European theater’s most respected leaders. Because daytime jumps risked detection, the soldiers crossed the Mediterranean at night.
Many pilots missed their marks, scattering the paratroopers across 60 miles. It took three days to regroup for the mission in Sicily. During the invasion, Golden was shot in the neck and hospitalized.
Once his battalion conquered Sicily and prepared to leave, Golden — eager to rejoin his comrades — left the hospital and caught a ride with a newspaper reporter to meet his unit. For leaving the hospital early, he was charged as absent without leave (AWOL) for one day.
After additional training in Ireland, his battalion moved to Leicester, England, to prepare for D-Day.
Although he seldom spoke of the war, Golden told Agnes his leg problems stemmed from burst blood vessels during his D-Day parachute landing.
Turk Seelye, quoted in “The Greatest Way: D-Day and the Assault on Europe,” said Golden had broken a leg during the jump. Agnes later met Seelye at a reunion in Columbus, Georgia, where he shared what happened that night — June 6, 1944 — when Golden’s battalion parachuted into Normandy just after midnight.
“When they jumped, a lot of men were dropped in one area,” Agnes said. “One paratrooper was shot and couldn’t maneuver his parachute. My dad was above him and couldn’t get away, so his parachute didn’t fully open. He hit the ground so hard that it burst the blood vessels in his legs. He couldn’t walk. Soldiers dragged him into the hedgerows, gave him shots of morphine and left.”
The unit’s mission was to secure Sainte-Mère-Église to block the Germans as Allied forces landed on the beaches. A French family later found Golden and took him to a medical station.
Thera recalled that one of her aunts received a letter from Golden during that time.
“He asked her to name her baby boy after the two Frenchmen who helped him,” Thera said. “Their names were Fred and Joe, and she named the baby ‘Freddy Joe.’”
After recovering from his injuries, Golden rejoined his battalion for the Battle of the Bulge, the only operation in which soldiers were transported by truck rather than parachute. Later, he parachuted into Holland and helped secure the area from German forces.
While some troops were sent home, Golden stayed to fight as German reinforcements arrived. He fought through Germany and into Berlin, despite an injured knee and metal shards embedded in his foot. He was discharged in September 1945.
With combat parachute jumps in Sicily, Salerno, Normandy and Holland, Golden was one of only about 1,200 paratroopers to achieve that distinction.
Honoring a Quiet Hero
When Agnes and her husband later visited France, they took a train from Paris to Sainte-Mère-Église. At a museum, she left a note about her father, hoping someone connected to his story might reach out.
“I just wanted to thank them,” she said.
The family is grateful for the discovery of the jacket that led them to a fuller understanding of their father’s service. After seeing how respectfully Brown had preserved it, they decided it should remain in his care — with the promise that the family would have first opportunity to buy it if he ever chooses to sell.
An article about Golden, titled “The Quiet Man” by George R. Jacob, appears in the book “Echoes of the Warriors.” Jacob referred to him as “Goldie”:
“I wandered down to the end of the company street to the last tent. I glanced inside. Goldie was sitting on his bunk reading the Bible. Goldie and I sat and talked for a while. I learned he was from Alabama. I trusted Goldie. He had a quiet self-assurance.
By the way, and for the record book, Goldie checked himself out of a hospital to be with his outfit. He was charged with one day AWOL. However, this brave trooper racked up such a marvelous record of bravery that we don’t count the one day.
I have selected this passage for Goldie’s wife and children from the book of Timothy:
‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day — and not only to me, but to all who have loved his appearing.’
Goodbye to Goldie, another warrior whose record of six battles will echo through time. They may, with great pride, refer to him as their hero.”
