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| Sgt. Verlis Felkins served with the 1st Cavalry Division in the Philippines. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/34091370/verlis-louis-felkins https://www.worldwarphotos.info/gallery/usa/pacific/philippines/1st-cavalry-division-assaults-a-japanese-held-village-in-philippines/ |
Verlis Louis Felkins never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on May 12, 1919 in North Fork, Arkansas. His parents Henry and Annis were born in Arkansas and Missouri, respectively. His father worked as a farmer in Arkansas and later Oklahoma. Verlis had two older brothers, two younger brothers, and six younger brothers. By 1940 Verlis had completed high school and was living at home.
He volunteered for the army on March 27, 1941. He became a sergeant in Troop C, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division. The 1st Cav retired the last of their horses in February 1943. It first fought in the Admiralty Islands in February 1944. It was part of the Leyte campaign in October 1944.
After the invasion of Luzon, the 1st Cav was one of the first units to reach Manila on February 3, 1945. By late spring it was fighting in the Bicol Region. Sgt. Felkins was killed in action on May 26, 1945 when the Americans were mainly engaged in mopping up operations.
One source indicates Sgt. Felkins was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, but I was not able to find any record of the citation.
His grave is at Ridgeland Cemetery in Collinsville, Oklahoma.
Last year on this date I profiled Bronze Star hero Herman Davis, 29th Infantry Division. You can read about Herman 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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