Flashback: This is a photo of my Great Uncle Jim on my Mom’s side of the family. He's a true American hero. Little did I know that he served in the US Army during WWII on D-day at Omaha Beach. I received their Christmas card this year and he enclosed some background on his time during the war and thought I might be interested since we recently traveled over there. (In fact, if you missed my Normandy post from May 2008, you should definitely check it out.) Needless to say, I was very interested and amazed and proud of his accomplishments and his service to our country!
Jim was drafted in February 1943 at the young age of 20. He served with the 149th combat engineers as a Technician 5th Grade. His unit landed on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944 (known as D-day) during the first assault. After the assault, Jim was busy building bailey bridges and then rebuilding them in the morning after the Germans destroyed them. He also drove supply trucks to the front lines of many battles, including Battle of the Bulge which was the last big battle of the war in Europe. His unit battled through Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland and Central Europe. Jim was never wounded during his military career.
Jim received the Presidential Unit Citation from General Eisenhower for successfully completing the assigned mission on Omaha Beach which materially contributed to the successful establishing of the beachhead on D-day. He was also awarded the Distinguished Unit Badge, the European-African-Middle Eastern Theater Medal with 4 bronze battle stars and a bronze arrowhead, the WWII Victory Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, the Rifle Marksman Badge and the French Croix de Guerre ("Cross of War").
In 1946, Jim received an honorable discharge from the US Army and returned to Kansas where he worked as a Milk Route Forman for 15 years and went on to own and operate the General Store in their small town for 35 years. I actually remember "playing" in their store when we would visit family in Kansas. Today, Jim and my Great Aunt Millie remain in Kansas surrounded by their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and many family and friends.
As with all of the men and women who serve and fight for our great country, we thank you!
1 comment:
WOW, that is so cool... Thank you for that tribute to Uncle Jim. I will make sure one of his kids sees it and shows it to Jim and Millie
Love Mom
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