About 6500 Cleveland County residents served in the military during World War II. In 1944, The Shelby Daily Star, published a collection of photos of the men and women from Cleveland County who were serving in the armed forces. The first publication in January of that year led to a revised supplement in April, included in the back of this book. The publication, Honor Roll, Cleveland County, North Carolina: Men and Women serving in the Armed Forces of the United States of America, is accessible at Digital NC.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars sponsored the World War II monument honoring the 190+ Cleveland County men who died in service. It is located on the south side of the Court Square.
The list of those who died from Cleveland County was compiled by Paul Limerick of Shelby. One name is included on the monument that was conflated with another. Apparently “Robert Alvin Hord” should have read, “Robert Alvin Hoyle.” The name Robert A. Hoyle is correctly included; Robert Alvin Hord–who apparently never existed–was included erroneously at some point in the process.
Family and burial information about these men is found on Find a Grave. Their memorial pages have been compiled together in a “virtual cemetery” by Judith Parker-Proctor. It is here.
In 2005, Anita Price Davis and James M. Walker wrote a book, Cleveland County in World War II. It is still available for purchase on Amazon.
Cleveland County History 