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| Lt. Cecil Fuquay earned the Silver Star while leading his platoon in the Netherlands. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/5072017https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501st_Infantry_Regiment_(United_States) |
Cecil was born on December 10, 1918 in Daytona, Florida. His mother Lyndall was born in Florida. He had one younger sister. Cecil joined the Florida National Guard in July 1936, and in 1940 was living at home in West Palm Beach, Florida with his widowed mother and working as a salesman for the Coca Cola Bottling Company. He married the former Rennie Ruth Rutledge in October 1940 in Martin, Florida.
Cecil was called to active duty in December 1940. He went on to Officer Candidate School at Ft. Benning, received his 2nd Lieutenant bars, and was assigned to the 359th Infantry Regiment of the 90th Infantry Division. He later volunteered to become a paratrooper and was assigned to the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment. Lt. Fuquay completed his initial training at Camp Toccoa, Georgia and received his paratrooper wings in March 1943 at Fort Benning. At some point, he evidently divorced his first wife, and then married the former Mary Ruth Martin in October 1943 in Palm Beach, Florida.
The 501st PIR deployed to England in January 1944 as part of the 101st Airborne Division (the Screaming Eagles) and underwent extensive training for an airborne assault into German-held Europe. In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, Lt. Fuquay jumped with the 501st into Normandy, France where he participated in the battles of Carentan and Cherbourg.
The 501st returned to England in July 1944 to refit and train for their next combat operation. On September 17, 1944 the 501st PIR participated in the airborne assault into the occupied Netherlands known as Operation Market Garden. The 501st was tasked to capture four key bridges in the town of Veghel to secure them in support of an overland drive into Germany by the British 2nd Army. After successfully capturing the bridges intact, the 501st moved to secure the surrounding area from German defenses.
On September 24, 1944 Lt. Fuquay, serving as platoon leader of 2nd Platoon, Company A, 1st Battalion, led his paratroopers against enemy troops in an area near Eerde known as the Sand Dunes. The 2nd Platoon advanced thru the dunes, battling enemy machine-gun, mortar, and small arms fire and gradually pushed the enemy back. As the platoon reached a stretch of flat and barren ground, they suddenly came under fire from a hidden German tank. Lt. Fuquay and several others were killed instantly. He was awarded the Silver Star for his actions, but I have not been able to find the citation.
Lt. Fuquay was initially buried in Holland and was later reinterred in Woodlawn Cemetery, West Palm Beach, Florida.
Thank you Cecil for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Cecil.
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This profile was written by Bob Fuerst. "I’m a NASA engineer, B-17 Flying Fortress enthusiast, and amateur genealogist so this kind of research is an ideal outlet for me. But more than anything, it’s a way to express my sincere appreciation for The Greatest Generation and the sacrifices that they made, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice. They should never be forgotten and I’m grateful to Don for allowing me to play a small part in honoring them."
Last year on this date I profiled another paratrooper, Forrest Brewer of the 82nd Airborne Division. You can read about Forrest 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!
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Thank you for honoring my Grandfather on his 100th birthday.
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