Arnold L. Cleveland, 91, passed away Friday, Jan. 23, 2009 peacefully at Lake Pointe Assisted Living in Hartwell, Ga. He was preceded in death by his wife of 58 years, Modena Ethridge Cleveland.

Mr. Cleveland was born one of 12 children to King Henry and Emma Jones Cleveland on Jan. 25, 1917 in the Mount Hebron community of Hart County.After attending school and working area farms, he left Hartwell in 1935 for Civilian Conservation Corps camp in north Georgia, later in Oregon.In 1941, Mr. Cleveland joined the U.S. Army as a member of Company A, 12th U.S. Infantry, Fourth Division. During Christmas furlough in 1943, he married Modena Ethridge. Immediately after the wedding, he reported back to duty. On June 6, 1944, Mr. Cleveland stormed the beaches of Normandy landing on Utah Beach. Surviving the initial surge, he was wounded six days later and sent to England to recuperate. After several days, he woke up in the hospital to discover the bullet that wounded him hung from a string around his neck. It was a souvenir he held onto until his dying day. Mr. Cleveland returned to the front fighting across France, Austria and Germany. Discharged in September 1945, he was awarded numerous medals including four Bronze Campaign Stars and the Purple Heart. Mr. Cleveland returned to the Mount Hebron community where he purchased a home and began farming. He was a member of the Mount Hebron Baptist Church for 49 years.In 1952, he went to work for the Singer Company in Anderson, S.C. In 1965, he and Modena moved to Anderson where he became a member of the Varennes Heights Baptist Church for 43 years. He retired from the Singer Company in 1982.

He is survived by a brother, Harold Cleveland of Hartwell; sister, Evelyn Gaines of Anderson, S.C.; son and daughter-in-law, Gary and Brenda Cleveland of Athens, Ga.; daughter and son-in-law, Susan and Gerald
Traynham of Greenville, S.C.; four grandchildren, Chad Cleveland (and LeAnn) of Athens, Ga., Andrea Cleveland Lipford (and Kevin) of Perry, Ga., Andrew and Melissa Traynham of Greenville, S.C.; and four great-grandsons.

Visitation is scheduled for 2:30-4 p.m. Sunday at Strickland Funeral Home in Hartwell. Funeral services to follow. No graveside service. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Varennes Heights Baptist Church Building Fund, 411 Visage Drive, Anderson, SC 29626.