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| Lt. Stanley Forsythe took part in the 18th Infantry Regiment's assault on Crucifix Hill during the Battle of Aachen. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=39576115&ref=acom https://dirkdeklein.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/crucifix-hill-map-18th-ir.jpg?w=750 |
Stanley Vinson Bray Forsythe never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on August 29, 1917 in Minnesota. His parents were also both born in Minnesota. They divorced in the early 1920s and and Stanley and a younger brother were raised by his mother's parents. His grandfather worked as an office fixtures repairman. He had a half-sister from his mother's second marriage. Both Stanley and his younger brother Robert served in the army during World War 2. Robert came home.
Stanley married Ethel M. Christensen on May 29, 1941. They had one son.
Stanley joined the army on December 2, 1942. He rose to the rank of 1st lieutenant in Company A, 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division (Nicknamed "Big Red One").
The 1st Infantry Division was already in action in North Africa when Stanley joined the army so he joined his unit at some point in the future. I don't know if he was part of the Big Red One's invasion of Italy or its D-Day assault on Omaha Beach. It is unlikely.
Lt. Forsythe was involved for sure in the Battle of Aachen. By this time 70 percent of the 1st Infantry Division were replacements. There was a joke among the 1st Infantry Division troops that World War 2 was fought by the 1st Infantry Division and 16 million replacements, due to its involvement from the start of the fighting.
The 18th Infantry Regiment launched its attack on Hill 231, call Crucifix Hill by the soldiers, on October 8, 1944. Lt. Forsythe was killed during the assault that day. The 1st Infantry Division lost 150 men during the Battle of Aachen.
His grave is at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis. I don't know what happened to his wife and son.
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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