Army Private Earnest Lee Boyett was born in Pensacola, Florida on April 2, 1920, the son of Charles William Boyett (1886-1956) and Elizabeth "Bessie" M. Godwin (1886-1956). His father supported his family as a laborer most of his life. As for Earnest, he moved out of the family home sometime around 1940 and took a job at NAS Pensacola in the Assembly & Repair shop. He also moved into 321 West Intendencia Street, the home of Mrs. Carmella Bellanova.
After the beginning of WWII, America called forth her warriors to complete the job of defeating the Axis powers. The increase in demand for more military personnel brought Earnest to the recruiting office where he enlisted on November 5, 1943. He was sent to Camp Blanding, Florida for processing and then on to basic training. He was trained as a "tankman" and eventually assigned to the 751st Tank Battalion who landed at Anzio on January 22, 1944. Here they became embroiled in a bloody slugfest with the German army with casualties high on both sides. Earnest would have still be in the states at this time but most likely Earnest joined the battalion prior to the "breakout" from Anzio on May 23, 1944. Then followed the liberation of Rome and the final capture of Mt. Belvedere in March 1945.
The final offensive began in April with the 751st in support of the 10th Mountain Infantry Division. Somewhere in this area, something happened to Earnest. Whatever it was caused a head injury that required a craniotomy (opening in the skull) most likely to "relieve the pressure" from a compound fracture he received of the frontal bone. Apparently, Private Boyett died from the injury on April 14, 1945 in Tole, Italy with the death being listed as "DNB" or died non-battle." Regardless, Boyett gave his life for his country and was brought home and buried in Pfeiffer's Mills Cemetery after the war in July 1949.
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