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Stories from the Greatest Generation

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A Virtual World War II Honor Roll

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Showing Results 57 - 64 of 1388

George S. Ayres
Army
George
S.
Ayres
DIVISION: Army,
Infantry
BIRTHPLACE: Oklahoma
THEATER OF OPERATION: Other
SERVED: Dec 23, 1940 -
0
1945
1
HONORED BY: The Dickinson County Heritage Center and The Eisenhower Foundation

BIOGRAPHY

George S. Ayres was born in 1903 in Oklahoma. He enlisted in the Army and served in the Infantry National Guard, December 23, 1940. In March of 1945, Ayres at the age of 42 was admitted into the US WWII Hospital for Injury Type 2 listed as a Internal derangement of the knee. He was discharged in June of 1945 because of his knee injury and was admitted into an invalided home to rehabilitate. Courtesy fold3.com

Joseph Backes
Army
Joseph
Backes
DIVISION: Army
Mar 17, 1910 -
BIRTHPLACE: Wakefield, KS
HIGHEST RANK: Cpl.
THEATER OF OPERATION: European
SERVED: Nov 20, 1942 -
0
0
MILITARY HONORS: Purple Heart
HONORED BY: The Dickinson County Heritage Center and The Eisenhower Foundation

BIOGRAPHY

Joseph Backes was born in Wakefield, KS. and was inducted into the Army November 20, 1942. He was wounded while serving in Europe.

Leonard A. Baer
Army
Leonard
A.
Baer
DIVISION: Army,
Co. D 34th Tank Battalion, 5th Army
Feb 28, 1922 -
BIRTHPLACE: Melrose Park, IL
THEATER OF OPERATION: European
SERVED: Sep 25, 1942 -
0
Nov 1, 1945
0
HONORED BY: George J. Green

BIOGRAPHY

Lenny, as he was known to all of his friends, was born on 28 February, 1922 in Melrose Park, IL. He was inducted in the Army of the United States on 25 September and activated 9 October 1942. He took his basic training at Camp Grant, Ilinois. He was sent to Tank and Mechanic school where he was assigned as a driver of a light tank. Participating in several training maneuvers and Camps in the United States as a tank driver with Company D, 34th Tank Battalion, 5th Armored Division. The 5th landed on Utah Beach on 24 July, 1944. They participated in the attack with the 3rd Army in early August in the breakout at Avrancehs, France. By August 8th they were in LaMans, fought in the battle of 'Falaise Gap,' then headed east and on August 20, 22, 23, and the 24th, the 5th Armored Division was all over the Seine River and headed to Paris where they paraded on through by the end of August heading nort east with the 1st Army. By September they were at Sedan where the 5th was the first unit across the Meuse River. Attacking east the 5th crossed the Our River and was also the first American Troops in Germany to reach the Siegfried Line. Heading north they were in St Vith in mid November and when the Battle of the Bulge started they fought at Monschu, Rotgen, Maubach, & Widen. On Lenny's 23rd birthday, February 28th, the 5th was in Hornbroek and heading north for 'The Ruhr' and crossed the Rhine at Wesel. The end of March they were at Munster and rapidly advancing, on the 12th of April they reached the Elbe River, and the 5th became the nearest American Division to Hitler's Berlin. On 23 April, Lenny's Company D, after two days of fighting at Tangermunde, raced 55 miles north to the Klotze Forest and fought the Von Clause Division. A newspaper article quoted Lenny. 'We lined up, and they started coming out of the woods at us and we were knocking them off, let me tell you. But they had a lot of stuff in there---armor, infantry, bazookas, oh, that 88 was something. It could go through a tank like putting your finger through a paper. They had horses, too, and a lot of those poor horses got killed. I guess they finally just said 'This is crazy' and gave up.' Klotze Forest was the last fight for Lenny and the 5th. Lenny told me that he had been blown out of two tanks in his fighting across Europe but no Purple Hearts. Two weeks later the war ended. His 4 battle stars are for Northern France-Ardennes-Rhineland and Central Europe. He was awarded European African Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon with four Bronze Stars, two Overseas Service Bar, one Service Strip Good Conduct, American Theater, WWII Victory Medal. On 26 September, 1945 he boarded a transport for the USA and on 15 December, 1945, he was separated from the Army at Fort Sheridan, Illinois.

David A. Baier
Army
David
A.
Baier
DIVISION: Army,
595th Signal Air Warning Battalion
Nov 24, 1920 -
BIRTHPLACE: Elmo, KS
THEATER OF OPERATION: Pacific
SERVED: Oct 13, 1942 -
0
Feb 2, 1946
0
HONORED BY: The Baier Family

BIOGRAPHY

David A. Baier was inducted into the army at Ft. Leavenworth on October 13, 1942. He attended boot camp in Missouri followed by radio school in Washington, DC. In January 1943, he was sent to radar school and diesel motor school in Florida. Later in the year, he was promoted to Sergeant and was part of the company cadre training new recruits. In July 1944, he took a troop train from Tampa, Florida to San Francisco, California to be deployed to the Pacific. He arrived in New Guinea on August 9. He was with the 595th Signal Air Warning Battalion. He was transferred to Biak Island about the time of the Battle of the Caves. He later rejoined the 595th in New Guinea. In August 1945, David was loading equipment onto LST's in New Guinea when they received the news that the atomic bomb had been dropped. He was on a ship in the Coral Sea sailing to the Philippines when Japan surrendered. While in the Philippines, he was promoted to Staff Sergeant. He was sent back to the States on December 12, 1945 and was discharged at Ft. Logan, Colorado on February 2, 1946. He re-enlisted in the army reserves and was home two hours before his wife, Corlia, died of tuberculosis. Shortly after, he had an X-ray taken and discovered that he had tuberculosis. He was hospitalized in Leavenworth, KS, and underwent experimental surgery. The doctor collapsed part of David's lung to try to stop the disease. David was one of the first to survive the surgery. Not long after, they began experimenting with antibiotics which proved to be a more successful treatment for TB. After recovering in Springfield, MO, he was discharged from the reserves in 1949 and returned to Abilene. He married Thelma Lee in 1951 and moved to the farm south of Abilene, at Donegal, where he resides today.

Cletis Bailey
Army
Cletis
Bailey
DIVISION: Army,
84th Infantry Division, 333 Regiment, K Company, 4th Platoon
Nov 30, 1925 -
HIGHEST RANK: Master Sergeant
THEATER OF OPERATION: European
SERVED: Aug 4, 1944 -
0
0
MILITARY HONORS: Bronze Star
HONORED BY: The Eisenhower Foundation

BIOGRAPHY

Celtis Bailey was born November 30. 1925 in Tennessee. Mr. Bailey graduated from Bradley Central High School and, shortly thereafter, was drafted into the U. S. Army, serving two years in the 84th Infantry Division, 333 Regiment, K Company, 4th Platoon. He saw action during the last of the Battle of the Bulge as a replacement. Bailey later was involved with the occupation of Germany, rising to the rank of Corporal E-5. He recalls the end of war resulting in some beer drinking. Following World War II, Mr. Bailey returned home and joined the Army Reserves. Three years later, he enlisted in the U. S. Air Force and, after a career that included two tours in the Republic of South Vietnam, Bailey retired as a Master Sergeant. Courtesy of American Veterans Service.

Dean F. Bailey
Navy
Dean
F.
Bailey
DIVISION: Navy
Jul 9, 1925 -
BIRTHPLACE: California
THEATER OF OPERATION: Pacific
SERVED: Sep 9, 1943 -
0
May 6, 1946
0
HONORED BY: Marlene Bailey

BIOGRAPHY

Served on the USS Mississippi Battleship in the South Pacific, Victory medal-Asiatic Pacific, Campaign medal-6 stars, Philippine Liberation Campaign Ribbon-2 stars

John P. Bailey
Army
John
P.
Bailey
DIVISION: Army
BIRTHPLACE: Jersey City, NJ
THEATER OF OPERATION: European
SERVED: May 1, 1943 -
0
0
HONORED BY: Wife, Peggy Bailey, children and grandchildren

BIOGRAPHY

Jack was drafted into World War II with his St. Peter's Prep graduating classmates of 1943. A Golden Gloves champion boxer, he proved to be a superb driver and sharpshooter. He was assigned to the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Forces (SHAEF), serving his country as driver and bodyguard to General Dwight D. Eisenhower. He lived and traveled with General Eisenhower on Hitler's former train, guarding Prime Minister Churchill whenever he visited. He protected Generals Eisenhower and Bradley, as well as British General Montgomery, when, two days after the invasion into Normandy, the Generals headed to France together on one small ship. He guarded Generals Eisenhower, Patton, and Bradley when they viewed the first concentration camp liberated by American forces, outside Gotha, Germany. He drove French General Charles de Gaulle, escorted Mrs. Patton to General Patton's funeral, and guarded President Truman during a conference with Stalin and Attlee in Potsdam. While stationed with General Eisenhower in Coombe Manor just outside London, Jack was wounded in an attack (earning a Purple Heart). Although wounded, he still managed to save three British civilians. For Jack's heroic actions, the Lord Mayor of Kingston-on-Thames honored Jack at a ceremony outside London on September 11, 2001; this was at the same time that the terrorist attacks in the United States were taking place. Jack spent much of his career as a salesman for Rheingold Breweries. During the heady years of the 'Miss Rheingold' contests, Jack and Peggy's loving and stable presence was rewarded with the honor of chaperoning the contestants. Luckily, Jack and Peggy's lessons on avoiding moral turpitudes were better received by their children and grandchildren. Jack spent his retired years writing his memoirs of WWII, accompanying Peggy on her daily adventures, and indulging his love of dogs by spending fun times at the dog park at Fleet Peeples Park on Lakemont. He volunteered with St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Winter Park, enjoyed lunch on Thursdays with his friends from the Stag Club, and was active in the University Club of Winter Park as well as the Irish-American Cultural Society of Central Florida, the Knights of Columbus and the American Legion. Jack was married to Margaret A. (Peggy) Bailey for 60 years. They had seven children, Carol Faas (Mike), Chip, Craig (Lynn), Brian, Keith (Pat), Merrell (Ralph Reichard), and Dwight Bailey. He also had seven grandchildren.

Gayle C. Bainter
Army
Gayle
C.
Bainter
DIVISION: Army,
76th Infantry Div.
Mar 30, 1920 -
BIRTHPLACE: Dresden, KS
THEATER OF OPERATION: European
SERVED: Feb 25, 1942 -
0
Dec 31, 1945
0
HONORED BY: Eisenhower Foundation

BIOGRAPHY

I consider it an honor to have served under General Eisenhower, and General George Patton in the European Theatre. I first saw action in the Battle of the Bulge, having landed in the same place the invasion forces did, and walking, it seemed, most of the way to Belgium. When the war in Europe ended my unit was just outside of Leipzig, Germany, but had to move back west because we were in the area designated the Russian Sector. The ship that I came home on landed in New York Harbor on Christmas Day, 1945.

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The mission of Ike's Soldiers is to honor Dwight D. Eisenhower's legacy through the personal accounts of the soldiers he led and share them with the world.

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"Humility must always be the portion of any man who receives acclaim earned in blood of his followers and sacrifices of his friends."
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Eisenhower Signature

Guildhall Address, London, June 12, 1945