 |
| Robert Gillis served as a private with the 78th Infantry Division in France and Germany. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/80554691/robert-gillis http://ww2awartobewon.com/wwii-archives/78th-infantry-division-ruhr-pocket/ |
Robert Gillis never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on January 7, 1919 in North Carolina. His parents William and Minnie were also both born in North Carolina. His father worked as a grocery store merchant but was unable to work by 1940. His mom then worked as a cotton mill spinner. Robert had one younger sister. By 1940 he had completed eight years of schooling. He was living with his parents and worked as a cotton mill cuts spreads.
He volunteered for the army on February 27, 1941. He originally served in the Coast Artillery Corps in Panama, Later he was assigned to Company M, Third Battalion, 311th Infantry Regiment, 78th Infantry Division (nicknamed "Lightning"). It arrived in France in November 1944.
The 78th ID faced the Germans across the Siegfried Line during the winter of 1944/1945. It crossed the Rhine at Remagen on March 8, 1945. Pvt. Gillis was wounded around that time and died of his wounds on March 12, 1945.
His grave is at Biscoe Cemetery in Biscoe, North Carolina.
Last year on this date I profiled Silver Star hero Howard Goodman, 1st Marine Division. You can read about Howard 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
No comments:
Post a Comment