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| Brothers Byron and Billy Belt both lost their lives serving their country in WW2. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15499941/byron-roy-belt https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15499947/william-b_-belt |
Byron Belt never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on December 27, 1918 in Missouri. His parents Roy and Ethel were also both born in Missouri. His father worked as a farm laborer and later as a farmer. Byron had a younger brother and two younger sisters. By 1940 Byron had completed four years of high school and was working as a common laborer while living with his parents.
He was drafted into the army on August 1, 1941. He rose to the rank of tech sergeant in Company E, 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division (nicknamed "Golden Arrow Divison").
The 8th ID arrived at Utah Beach on July 4, 1944. The 8th ID captured Brest in August 1944 and fought in the Hürtgen Forest in November 1944. It crossed the Roer River on February 23, 1945. Sgt. Belt was reported missing the next day. His family got the news on March 12.
Two weeks later his brother Billy, a private first class in the 2nd Ranger Battalion, was the first man in his unit killed after crossing the Rhine River on March 28, 1945. Billy left a widow (who remarried and died in 2004) and two children.
The small hopes that Byron may have somehow survived the war were dashed when his parents got a letter from one of his fellow GI's in July letting them know he was standing next to Sgt. Belt when he was killed by an artillery shell.
The Belt brothers are buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in Macon, Missouri.
Last year on this date I profiled B-17 tail gunner Vern Barnett. You can read about Vern 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
Thank you so much for posting this. These are my uncles, my Mother was their little sister Imogene, born September 16, 1928. Photos and a painting of the two handsome young men in uniform were at my Grandma's house with their purple hearts. As a girl, I remember our family bringing flowers to their graves in Macon, Missouri every Memorial day. My Mother told stories of how her brothers doted on her when she was little, such as when working in the theater, getting her free passes.
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