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| Pfc. Willie Putty was killed while the 4th Infantry Division attacked the city of Cherbourg, France. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/17177054 http://ww2daybyday.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-battle-of-cherbourg-ends.html |
Willie O. Putty never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on December 24, 1917 in Tennessee. His parents Edgar and Mary were also both born in Tennessee. His father worked as a farmer. Willie had two older brothers, three older sisters, and two younger sisters. Willie completed a grammar school education and worked on the family farm before the war.
He enlisted in the army on October 15, 1942. He became a private first class in Company C, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division (Nicknamed "Ivy Division").
The 4th ID landed on Utah Beach on D-Day. After securing the beachhead, the 4th ID pivoted north to capture the important port of Cherbourg. Pfc. Putty was killed on June 24, 1944 while his company was clearing bunkers and pillboxes. Cherbourg fell five days later. The 4th ID lost 800 killed from D-Day until the capture of Cherbourg.
His grave is at Gordonsville Cemetery in Tennessee. His headstone erroneously shows he served in the 47th Infantry Division which did not exist during World War 2.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100
Thanks for this blog post. I saw his grave today, 03 Jul 2021, searched the unit history and saw this unit did not exist in this campaign.
ReplyDeleteJeffrey, do you have information that Willie Putty was not at Cherbourg? I can correct this if I was in error. don@storiesbehindthestars.org
ReplyDeleteThank you for this post. Willie Putty is my uncle. For the longest time, we didn't know where he was killed. All we knew was that he participated in D-Day and was killed on June 24, 1944. Would you be able to provide your sources? I was recently given his 48 star flag that was draped over his coffin when he was brought home and I wanted to get patches for the regiment and division he served under.
ReplyDeleteAdam, would you like to see Putty's story added to the Stories Behind the Stars project so it can be read at any gravesite or memorial via smartphone? Email me at don@storiesbehindthestars.org.
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