Side A:
Robert Sprague Beightler was born in 1892 in Marysville. A graduate of Marysville High School, he began his career as a soldier in 1911, when he enlisted as a private in Marysville's guard unit, Company E, Fourth Ohio Infantry Regiment. He served in Mexico from 1916-1917, World War I from 1917-1919, and World War II from 1940-1945. From his stint with the Ohio Infantry, he rose in rank to command the famous 37th Ohio National Guard Buckeye Division as Major General during WWII. Beightler was one of the most successful National Guard Generals and the only National Guard General to lead his troops through both training and combat in WWII. He was with his troops through 700 days of fighting in the South Pacific Theater. Fighting occurred on Bougainville Island and in the islands of New Georgia and the Philippines.
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Side B:
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At the end of World War II, Major General Robert Beightler was commissioned in the regular army. After processing his troops home, he returned to Ohio in December 1945 with the 37th Ohio National Guard. Beightler also served in international, national, and state leadership roles, including the military Governor for Okinawa, United States War Department General Staff, head of the Ohio State Highway Department, and Director and Board member of the Ohio Turnpike Commission. Robert Beightler died in February 1978 and was buried in Oakdale Cemetery. In 1969 and 2007, as a testimonial to his dedication to his country and success in leading the Buckeye Division in combat, the City of Marysville officially recognized his contributions by giving Fifth Street the honorary name "General Beightler Way."
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