WW2 Fallen - Clyde Boyd, USS St. Louis, kamikaze attack

Petty Officer Clyde Boyd, seen with his bride Virginia, was on the USS St. Louis when it was hit by a kamikaze plane.
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=52817529
http://www.worldwarphotos.info/wp-content/gallery/usa/us-navy/USS_St._Louis_CL-49_being_hit_by_Japanese_kamikaze_Plane_off-of_LEYTE_Island.jpg

Clyde Roe Boyd never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on June 17, 1917 in Texas. His parents were also both born in Texas. His father worked as a farmer. Clyde had an older brother, two older sisters, and one younger brother. By 1940 Clyde had completed four years of high school and was working as a government foreman of laborers while still living with his parents.

He enlisted in the US Navy on January 23, 1941. Muster rolls show he was serving on the light cruiser USS St. Louis in December 1941 which means he was probably at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese bombed the Pacific Fleet. He rose to the rank of radioman 2nd class.

Muster rolls show he was serving on the light cruiser USS Honolulu in March 1944, likely transferred there while the St. Louis was undergoing repairs caused by damage from Japanese dive-bombers in January. He was again serving on the St Louis by September when it was back in California for an overhaul. It was during these repairs that Petty Officer Boyd married his wife Virginia on September 30, 1944.

By November 16 the St. Louis was on station in Leyte Gulf. On November 27 the St. Louis came under attack of kamikaze planes. Most missed but two of them hit, killing 16 men. Boyd was one of 21 men who were seriously injured. He was evacuated to receive better medical attention but he succumbed to his wounds on December 9, 1944.

His grave is at Oakwood Cemetery, Waco, Texas. Clyde had one daughter who was born after he died. His wife remarried after Clyde's death and she died in 2000.

Thank you Clyde for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Clyde.


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!

To mark having over 100,000 visits to my project to honor the fallen of WW2 on their 100th birthdate, I created this video to share. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY

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WW2 Fallen - DFC Hero Robert Brazier, Battle of Midway

Aviation Radioman Second Class Robert Brazier and painting depicting his plane by Robert D. Fiacco.
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=173284106
http://www.aviationarthangar.com/fiasbyrodfit.html

Robert Boyd Brazier never had a chance to reach 101 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom. I normally profile the fallen on their 100th birthday, but I am making an exception for Robert for reasons that will be clear below.

He was born on June 16, 1916 in Tooele, Utah. By 1920 he was being raised by his mother who was living with her widowed sister who worked at the county infirmary. His father was living in Arizona. Robert was a single child. Ten years later his mom was living and working as a cook in a boarding house in Tooele and claimed to be a widow in the census. Robert was not living with her. His mom was working as a housekeeper in Salt Lake City in 1940. At that point in the census she claimed to be divorced. Robert's father had remarried and was living in California. 

Meanwhile, Robert was living in San Diego, at the time of the 1940's census, where he was a seaman at the US Naval Training Station. Prior to joining the Navy on October 6, 1939 he had completed four years of high school. Robert married Helen Squire on November 28, 1941 while his ship the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga was being refitted in Seattle.

By early 1942 Petty Officer Brazier was an aviation radioman second class who along with the pilot flew obsolete Douglas TBD Devastators for the Saratoga's Torpedo Squadron 3 (VT-3). When the Saratoga was torpedoed on January 11, 1942 and sent stateside for repairs, VT-3 was transferred to the USS Yorktown. 

The Yorktown was damaged at the Battle of Coral Sea but was patched up sufficiently at Pearl Harbor to participate in the Battle of Midway. This month we recognize the 75th anniversary of this pivotal battle that ended any chance for the Japanese to defeat the Americans. That is why I chose to honor one of the heroes from this battle.

On the morning of June 4, 1942 the Americans located the Japanese carriers first, giving them the advantage of a first strike. Petty Officer Brazier was the gunner on the Devastator piloted by Captain Wilhelm Esders. VT-3 spotted the Japanese carrier Soryu and the 12 planes flew in at low  altitude to drop their torpedoes. VT-3 had an escort of six F4F Wildcats, but it was not sufficient to ward off a couple dozen Japanese Zeros or more. The Devastators were too slow and too lightly armored. The torpedo bombers were shot down one after another until only two were left. Because the Japanese fighters were engaged with the torpedo planes, the American dive bombers were able to take out three of the Japanese carriers within 20 minutes.The fourth was disabled later that day.

Petty Officer Brazier was in one of the two Devastators that dropped their torpedoes (both missed) and got away. Cpt. Esders asked Brazier to switch the radio signal to pick up the homing beacon to the Yorktown. Brazier replied he was too wounded to do it but he somehow summoned the strength and switched the radio signal. Esders was able to fly them back to the Yorktown, but it was under attack from Japanese bombers so he turned away to try landing on the Enterprise. He ran out of fuel before he could get there and ditched in the ocean. Esders was able to pull Brazier out of the plane before it sank and the two waited in a raft to be rescued. Brazier died of his wounds before Esders was picked up the next day.

Brazier was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroism during the Battle of Midway. The destroyer escort Robert Brazier, launched on January 22, 1944, was named in his honor.

Destroyer Escort Robert Brazier.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Robert_Brazier

Robert is remembered at the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial. I don't know what happened to his wife after his death.

Thank you Robert for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Robert.


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!

To mark having over 100,000 visits to my project to honor the fallen of WW2 on their 100th birthdate, I created this video to share. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100

WW2 Fallen - George Marcum, 7th Armored Division

Troops with the 87th Calvary Reconnaissance Squadron where Pvt. George Marcum served.
http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/62425-87th-cavalry-mechanized-recon-7th-armored-division/ 

George C. Marcum never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

For most of the country the big news for June 15, 1917 was the passage of the Espionage Act, two months after America entered World War I. However, for Rebecca and Sherman Marcum the big news for June 15 was the birth of their son George in Tennessee. Both parents were also both born in Tennessee. George's father worked as a farmer. George had three older brothers and an older sister. His mother died when he was 10 years old. His father, who was 52 years his senior, died in May 1941. George completed a grammar school level of education.

He went to Georgia and enlisted in the army on March 1, 1942. He served as a private in A Troop, 87th Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron attached to the 7th Armored Division.

The 7th Armored Division arrived on Omaha Beach in mid-August 1944. By mid-September most of the division had crossed the Moselle River, but was repulse when attacking across the Seille Rive near Sillegny. It was at this time that Pvt. Marcum was fatally wounded. Pvt. Marcum died on September 18, 1944, probably one mile southeast of Marieulles, France or at a nearby aid station.

The 87th CRS lost 112 men during the war.

Pvt. Marcum's grave is at the Marcum-Kidd Cemetery in Oneida, Tennessee.

Thank you George for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for George.


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!

To mark having over 100,000 visits to my project to honor the fallen of WW2 on their 100th birthdate, I created this video to share. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100

WW2 Fallen - Elmer Wald, Malmedy Massacre

These troops survived the infamous Malmedy Massacre. Pfc. Elmer Wald did not.
http://www.nww2m.com/2012/12/oral-history-spotlight-ted-paluch-malmedy-massacre-survivor/

On this Flag Day we honor Elmer Wald. Elmer never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on June 14, 1917 in Pennsylvania. His father was also born in Pennsylvania while his mother was born in Michigan. His father worked as machinist and died when Elmer was 10 years old. Elmer had two older sisters, one older brother and one younger sister. After Elmer's father died, his older brother helped support the family by working in a silk mill.  By 1940 Elmer had completed two years of high school and was still living with him family and worked as a laborer.

He enlisted in the army on January 13, 1941 after serving in the National Guard. He became a private first class in the 190th Field Artillery Battalion where he served as a medic. The 190th FAB was an independent unit that landed in Normandy on either D-Day or D+1. 

Pfc. Wald was captured by the 1st SS Panzer Division on December 16, 1944, the first day of the Battle of the Bulge. Rather than moving Pfc. Wald and fellow prisoners to the rear, The SS soldiers led the prisoners to a field near the Baugnez crossroads. They were machine-gunned with the survivors executed. The Germans left the bodies of the 84 dead in the snow. Pfc. Wald was one of those who was instantly killed. This atrocious action became known in history as the Malmedy Massacre. Pfc. Wald's frozen body was found a month later with his hands still raised above his head.

His grave is at Trinity Church Cemetery in Dalmatia, Pennsylvania.

Thank you Elmer for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Elmer.


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!

To mark having over 100,000 visits to my project to honor the fallen of WW2 on their 100th birthdate, I created this video to share. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100

WW2 Fallen - Bomber Pilot Arthur Friesz and Brother

Captain Arthur Friesz and his brother Robert both died in WW2 and are buried side by side.
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=93419761&ref=acom
University of North Dakota 1942 Yearbook.

Arthur Ralph Friesz never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on June 13, 1917 in North Dakota. His mother was also born in North Dakota and her parents were from Austria. Arthur's father was born in Russia, though his parents were German speaking. His father came to America when he was 8 years old. His father worked as a dry goods clerk and later as a commercial traveler for a wholesale fruits company. Arthur had one older brother, two younger brothers and one younger sister. At the time of the 1940's census Arthur had completed four years of high school and was attending the University of North Dakota in his third or fourth year where he was studying commerce. 

I was unsuccessful at determining which unit he served in. Even searching for other airman who died on the same day yielded no clues.  What we do know from a short hometown article is that Captain Friesz died on November 7, 1944. He was flying a four-engine bomber based out of Rome Army Airfield in New York and crashed into a hill near Troupsburg, New York, 160 miles away.

Arthur's younger brother Robert also attended the University of North Dakota where he was a student in 1942. He achieved the rank of 2nd lieutenant in Company I, 3rd Battalion,116th Infantry Regiment, 29th Infantry Division. He died on August 25, 1944 during the first day of the assault on Brest, France.

Arthur and Robert have side-by-side graves is at Mandan Union Cemetery in Mandan, North Dakota.

Thank you Arthur and Robert for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for the Friesz brothers.


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!

To mark having over 100,000 visits to my project to honor the fallen of WW2 on their 100th birthdate, I created this video to share. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100

WW2 Fallen - James Garris, 9th Infantry Division

Pfc. James Garris (left) served with the 9th Infantry Division in Normandy with the  troops shown on right.
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=pv&GRid=32590068&PIpi=98358053
https://9thinfantrydivision.net/cutting-the-peninsula/

James Herbert Garris never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on June12, 1917 in North Carolina. His parents were also both born in North Carolina. His father worked as garage machinist and later an auto mechanic. James had three older sisters and one older brother. His mom died when James was 10 years old. 

James travelled to Georgia to enlist in the army on July 20, 1941. He had completed four years of high school and was working in a textile mille before he enlisted. He became a private first class in Company A, 1st Battalion, 47th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division.

The 47th Infantry Regiment saw action in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Sicily. It was then sent to England to prepare for the invasion of Europe. Pfc. Garris and the 47th IR walked onto Utah Beach on D+4. Within a few days it cut off the last escape route for the Germans to leave the Cotentin Peninsula. Pfc. Garris died on June 23, 1944 during the 47th Infantry Regiment's next assignment to capture the port of Cherbourg. 

His grave is at Berea Baptist Church Cemetery in Asheville, North Carolina.

Thank you James for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for James.


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!

To mark having over 100,000 visits to my project to honor the fallen of WW2 on their 100th birthdate, I created this video to share. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100

WW2 Fallen - Twins Edwin and Erwin Steege

Erwin Steege served on the submarine USS Capelin
while twin brother Edwin served in Italy with these 34th Infantry Division troops.
http://www.oneternalpatrol.com/uss-capelin-289-loss.html
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/538672805420732600/ 

Edwin and Erwin Steege never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, these two twin brothers sacrificed their lives for our freedom.

They were born on June 11, 1917 in Iowa. Their parents were also born in Iowa. Their mother's parents were both from Germany. Their father worked as a farmer. Edwin and Erwin had two older brothers and one older sister, plus four younger brothers and two younger sisters. By 1940 Edwin had completed 8 years of school and was working on the family farm. His brother Erwin had moved out and joined the Navy in 1936.

In July 1939, Erwin was serving on the light cruiser USS Honolulu as a seaman first class. By June 1941 he was a torpedoman's mate third class serving on the submarine USS Seadragon. He was still there when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. He renewed his enlistment the next year and by June 1943 he was a torpedoman's mate first class on the newly commissioned submarine USS Capelin. The Capelin left Darwin, Australia for her second cruise on November 16, 1943. She was last seen on December 2 but never returned to port. The best guess is that she was sunk by a mine in the Celebes Sea.

Edwin enlisted in the army on May 3, 1941. He rose to the rank of sergeant in Company G, 2nd Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment (nicknamed "Ironman"), 34th Infantry Division (nicknamed "Red Bull"). The 34th ID saw combat in French Algeria, Tunisia, and Italy. Sergeant Steege was probably there for all of it, including 12 straight hard-fought months from Salerno to the Volturno to Monte Cassino to Anzio to Livorno. During this time Sgt. Steege would have heard that his brother's submarine was missing. On September 9, 1944 the 133rd IR attacked the Gothic Line near Florence. Resistance was light for a few days, but the troops lost quite a few men to mine fields and enemy fire when they approached the main German defensive position on September 12. Sgt. Steege was killed on September 13. 

The 34th ID suffered 16,401 battle casualties, including 2,866 men like Sgt. Steege who were killed in action.

Erwin is still lost at sea. Edwin's grave is at Harlington Cemetery in Waverly, Iowa.

Thank you Edwin and Erwin for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for Edwin and Erwin.


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!

To mark having over 100,000 visits to my project to honor the fallen of WW2 on their 100th birthdate, I created this video to share. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY

Follow on Twitter @ww2fallen100
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100