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| Pvt. Homer Stone served in the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment in Belgium. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/47253625/ston |
Homer E. "Cotton" Stone never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on July 2, 1918 in Missouri. His parents Charles and Floy were also both born in Missouri. His father worked as a bus driver. Homer had two younger sisters and three younger brothers. He got the nickname "Cotton" due to his white hair. By 1940 Homer had completed two years of high school and worked as a truck driver. He was married to the former Virginia Evans. They had one child and would have two more.
He enlisted in the army on November 16, 1943 and volunteered for the airborne because it meant more money for his family. He became a private in the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment. I don't know if he was with his unit in Normandy for Operation Overlord or Holland for Operation Market Garden. His late enlistment date suggests he may have joined as a replacement.
On February 2, 1945, his regiment's after action report indicate that the 325th GIR was on the attack near the Siegfried Line and then had to hold against counterattacks that included tanks. Pvt. Stone died of battle wounds that day.
His grave is at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery in Lemay, Missouri. I don't know what happened to his widow or his three children.
Last year on this date I profiled B-29 pilot George Hutchison who died on the last day of the war. This story is one of the most touching that I found. I visited his grave when I was in Hawaii last year. You can read about George here.
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.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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