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| Lt. Robert Greene, 5th Infantry Division https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=59231084&ref=acom |
Robert J. Greene never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on August 24, 1917 in Pennsylvania. His parents were also both born in Pennsylvania. His father's parents were both from Ireland and his mother's parents were from England and Scotland. His father worked as a miner. Robert had an older brother and sister. He also had a younger sister and three younger brothers. By 1940 he had completed two years of high school and was living with his parents while working as an attendant.
He enlisted in the army on June 11, 1942 and became a second lieutenant in Company L, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division (nicknamed "Red Diamond / Red Devils").
The 5th ID was deployed to Iceland in May 1942 where it spent more than one year. In August 1943 it was moved to England to prepare for the invasion of Europe. I don't know if Lt. Greene attempted to contact any cousins he may have had in the British Isles. Lt. Greene's unit arrived on Utah Beach in early July 1944 and fought in numerous engagement in the Normandy campaign.
The 5th Infantry Division had advanced to Metz by early September. It would need to attempt another river crossing, something it had become expert at, having made crossings of six rivers since Normandy. Heavy rains on September 9 turned the ground to mud. The 2nd Infantry Regiment was in a sector that attacked a well organized German defense line between Amonvillers and Vennevilles. Repeated frontal assaults proved fruitless and resulted in heavy casualties including the death of Lt. Greene on September 9, 1944.
His grave is at St Patrick's Cemetery in Gallitzin, Pennsylvania.
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. Now more than 200 fallen have been profiled with more than 200,000 visits. Is there interest in seeing a similar video highlighting those from the group of second 100?
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100
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