WW2 Fallen - Glenn Midgarden, Americal Division + world's greatest drummer

Pvt. Glenn Midgarden was killed during a Japanese shore bombardment of Guadalcanal.
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=74814169&ref=acom

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

He was born on September 30, 1917 in North Dakota. His parents were both born in Norway. His father worked as a farmer. Glenn had one younger sister. By 1940 he had completed 8 years of schooling. He was living at home working on the family farm and served in the North Dakota National Guard.

Glenn's National Guard unit was activated into the regular army on February 10, 1941. He became a private in Company C, 1st Battalion, 164th Infantry Regiment, Americal Division.

The 164th IR was sent to the South Pacific in January 1942. It was deployed to Guadalcanal on October 13, 1942 to reinforce the Marines who had been on island since August. Pvt. Midgarden died on October 15, 1942, most likely as a consequence of nighttime shore bombardment by Japanese heavy cruisers.

His grave is at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

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

Buddy Rich

Also born on September 30, 1917 was Buddy Rich, who was recognized as "the world's greatest drummer" during his musical career. His entertainment career started early. He was the second highest paid child entertainer in the country during the 1920s sharing his virtuoso rhythm talents. As a youngster the bands he played for included Artie Shaw's and Tommy Dorsey's.

http://www.corpsstories.com/Famous%20Marines%20-%20Buddy%20Rich.htm

In 1942 Rich left the Tommy Dorsey Band to join the Marines. He served as a judo instructor but never saw combat. After two years, he was released due to medical reasons.

After the war, Rich continued his successful, influential musical career for another 40 years. He died in 1987.

The musical talents of the 408,000 fallen are lost, but we can be thankful for the talents they contributed to America's victory in World War 2.

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.

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

WW2 West Point Fallen - Rudyard Kipling Grimes, Philippine Scouts

West Point grad Rudyard Kipling Grimes became a captain and company commander
in the Philippine Scouts 57th Infantry Regiment.
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=25014766&ref=acom 

Rudyard Kipling Grimes never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on September 29, 1917 in Texas. His parents were also both born in Texas. His father worked as a newspaper editor. Rudyard had an older half-borther and two younger sisters. He graduated from West Point in 1939. Later that summer he married Azile Coffey.

By 1941 Rudyard has risen to the rank of captain leading Company M, 3rd Battalion, 57th Infantry Regiment. His wife moved with him to his station in the Philippines.

The 57th was part of the Philippine Scouts. It fought against the Japanese on the Bataan Peninsula after the war started. Company M successfully repulsed the first eleven Japanese attacks. It cost them all but three of their officers. His troops thought Captain Grimes had a charmed life because he could not be killed despite his continuous exposure to enemy fire. Lack of food and supplies finally forced the Americans to surrender. Mrs. Grimes was able to get out of the Philippines and return to the United States. Meanwhile, Captain Grimes was a survivor of the Bataan Death March and became a prisoner of war. He died in captivity on October 16, 1942. The cause of death is unknown.

His grave is at Elmwood Memorial Park, Abilene, Texas. His widow remarried after the war and lived until 2015.

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

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.

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

WW2 Fallen - Ralph Bedenbender, 40th Infantry Division + Medal of Honor hero

Pvt. Ralph Bedenbender served in the 40th Infantry Division in the Philippines.
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=73450243&ref=acom

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

He was born on September 28, 1917 in Illinois. His parents were also both born in Illinois. His father worked as a fam laborer and later as a farmer. Ralph had three younger brothers (one who served in the Navy during the war) and a younger sister. By 1940 Ralph had completed eight years of schooling. He was living with his paternal grandparents working as a farmhand. He married Dorothy Turner. They did not have any children.

He enlisted in the army on August 19, 1943 and became a private in Company D, 1st Battalion, 108th Infantry Regiment, 40th Infantry Division. The 40th first major action was the assault landing on Luzon, Philippines on January 9, 1945. It was followed up with another landing at Bamban. While opposition during the first landing was light, Bamban was a different story. The division battled the main Japanese force in the Bamban Hills, Fort Stotsenburg and Clark Field, the Zambales Mountains, Snake Hill, Storm King Mountain, the Seven Hills, and the mountain known as the Top of the World. He was killed on February 19, 1945.

His grave is at Palm Cemetery, Rushville, Illinois. His widow remarried after the war and died in 2011.

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

Medal of Honor Hero

Also born on September 28, 1917 was Yeiki Kobashigawa who was a second lieutenant in the 100th Infantry Battalion. Yeiki was born in Hawaii of Japanese born parents. He earned a Distinguished Service Cross for heroic action in Italy while a sergeant. Five decades later, a congressional review determined that prejudice kept Lt. Kobashigawa from earning the Medal of Honor. This oversight was corrected in 2000. He died in 2005.

http://humanevents.com/2013/06/17/medal-of-honor-roll-call-yeiki-kobashigawa/

This is then Sgt. Kobashigawa's Medal of Honor citation:

Technical Sergeant Yeiki Kobashigawa distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action on 2 June 1944, in the vicinity of Lanuvio, Italy. 

During an attack, Technical Sergeant Kobashigawa's platoon encountered strong enemy resistance from a series of machine guns providing supporting fire. Observing a machine gun nest 50 yards from his position, Technical Sergeant Kobashigawa crawled forward with one of his men, threw a grenade and then charged the enemy with his submachine gun while a fellow soldier provided covering fire. He killed one enemy soldier and captured two prisoners. Meanwhile, Technical Sergeant Kobashigawa and his comrade were fired upon by another machine gun 50 yards ahead. Directing a squad to advance to his first position, Technical Sergeant Kobashigawa again moved forward with a fellow soldier to subdue the second machine gun nest. After throwing grenades into the position, Technical Sergeant Kobashigawa provided close supporting fire while a fellow soldier charged, capturing four prisoners. On the alert for other machine gun nests, Technical Sergeant Kobashigawa discovered four more, and skillfully led a squad in neutralizing two of them. 

Technical Sergeant Kobashigawa's extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit on him, his unit, and the United States Army.


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.

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

WW2 Fallen - B-17 pilot Raymond Check + fighter ace brother Leonard

Captain Raymond Check flew B-17s in Europe.
His brother Leonard flew carrier based F6F Hellcats in the Pacific and was a fighter ace. Both were KIA.
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=56288521&ref=acom
http://www.americanairmuseum.com/unit/1056
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=64521549 

UPDATED June 26, 2018

Seventy-five years ago today newspapers in Captain Check's home state ran headlines like Reds Advance in Savage Fighting on Karelian Front and Flying Fortresses Raid Eastern End of Sicily. At home the favorite song was You'll Never Know by Dick Haymes. Folks were going to the movies to watch Leslie Howard in Spitfire or Robert Taylor and George Murphy in Bataan. That Saturday night, families could tune into their radios and listen to Your Hit Parade with Frank Sinatra on CBC and Ellery Queen on NBC.

June 26, 1943 was also a day that would see the demise of scores of Americans who died serving their country that day. One of them was Raymond Check who's 100th birthday was last year.

He was born on September 27, 1917 in North Dakota. His mother was born in Russia and his father was born in Poland. A later census shows they were German speakers both born in Germany. It was probably a case of shifting borders. His father worked as a railroad road master. Raymond had two older sisters and two older brothers. More about the brothers shortly.

He enlisted in the Army Air Forces on June 11, 1941. He became a captain and pilot in the 423rd Bombardment Squadron, 306th Bombardment Group, 8th Air Force which was equipped with B-17 Flying Fortresses.

In the summer of 1943 airmen were given the opportunity to go home after twenty-five missions.

Captain Check took off on his twenty-fifth mission on June 26, 1943, flying Chennault's Pappy III. It was a milk-run bombing mission of a German airfield in France. A big party was planned for the evening of their return. 

During the bomb run, Check's temporary co-pilot, Lt. Col. James W. Wilson (an old squadron leader who wanted to go on Check's final mission), removed his gloves to make some adjustments to the engine. During the final seconds of the bomb run, a German fighter swooped down unnoticed from the sun. One 20mm cannon shell hit Cap. Check in the neck, exploded and killed him. A fire started in the cockpit, badly burning Wilson's hands. A crewmate put out the fire with an extinguisher. Col. Wilson continued flying with a melted oxygen mask, steering with his arms above the elbows, since his hands were too badly burned.

Still under attack, a machine gun bullet hit the box of flares behind the pilot's seat. The flares exploded, created another fire and blowing open the bomb bay doors. Fortunately, there was a third pilot on board -- Lt. William Cassedy, Check's normal co-pilot, was acting as a waist gunner. 

Cassedy replaced Wilson in the co-pilot seat. With only one other uninjured man on board, Cassedy brought Chennault's Pappy III back to base. The radio was out and there were no remaining flares to announce an emergency landing. Instead of landing the plane into the wind as normal, Cassedy purposefully landed the plane downwind against incoming traffic. He wanted to avoid the reception group waiting to celebrate Check's 25th mission. It included an American army nurse who was going to marry Captain Check the next day.

His grave is at Cambridge American Cemetery and Memorial in Coton, England.

His older brother Leonard was also an aviator and no ordinary one at that. At the start of the war he was a fighter pilot on the USS Enterprise. He participated in the Battle of Midway, Battle of Eastern Solomons, Battle of Santa Cruz Island and many others. He transferred to the USS Hancock and attained the rank of Lieutenant Commander and squadron leader. During his career he shot down 12 Japanese planes, including four on one mission. He was highly decorated, having earned the Navy Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross, Silver Star, and Legion of Merit. More info here.

https://navy.togetherweserved.com/usn/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=334798

He died on January 5, 1945 in a midair collision with his wingman over the Philippines. His cenotaph memorial is at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu.

Raymond's other brother Gilbert was a colonel who served in both WW2 and Korea where he earned the Distinguished Service Cross and Silver Star. He died in 1987 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

What a family! Just one generation removed from the oppressed lands of Eastern Europe. 

Thank you Raymond and Leonard for your sacrifice and Gilbert for your service. Let's Earn It for the Check 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!

I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.

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

WW2 Fallen - William Lambert, USAT Dorchester + 4 Chaplains

Seaman William Lambert died when the USAT Dorchester was sunk by a German submarine. The story of the four chaplains who gave their life belts to others is the best known story of this sinking.
http://www.fourchaplains.org/the-saga-of-the-four-chaplains/
http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/3779/2024/1600/Final%20Painting2.0.jpg 

William N. Lambert, Jr. never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on September 26, 1917 in Massachusetts. His father was also born in Massachusetts and his mother was born in New York.  His father worked as a leather factory merchandize manager and later as a gas station attendant. William had a younger brother. By 1940 Will Jr. had completed two years of college. He was still living at home at the time.

He enlisted in the navy on October 28, 1940 and despite his higher than average level of education that may have led to him become an officer, he became a seaman second class on the schooner USS Bowdoin which supported surveying efforts to create airfields in Greenland.

While in the service he married in 1942.

At some point he was reassigned to the transport ship USAT Dorchester. It left New York in a convoy bound for Greenland on January 23, 1943. Between crew and troops there were 904 men on board. In the cold, moonless, starless early hours of February 3, the German submarine U-233 fired a torpedo that hit Dorchester forward of her starboard beam. It knocked out all power which greatly hampered efforts to safely abandon ship. Within 20 minutes the ship had sunk. Those men in the water did not last long in the 34 degree water temperature. The accompanying ships were only able to rescue 220 men. The loss of 684 men, that included seaman Lambert, was the worst loss of American lives from any Atlantic convoy ship during the war.

The best known story of the sinking of the Dorchester is that of the Four Chaplains. These four men handed out life belts until they were all gone and then removed their own to give to men without any. They went down on the ship praying.

Seaman Lambert is honored at the East Coast Memorial in Manhattan, New York. I don't know what happened to his widow.

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

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.

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

WW2 Fallen - Percy Miller 25th Infantry Division + hall of fame baseball player

Pvt. Percy Miller served with these men of the 25th Infantry Division in the Philippines
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=28462214&ref=acom
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/ASWAWlI2-kQCTXB1l4ZhLyNnB4nD6ue9UKFrg6T-19mKndzVNkcxSjk/

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

He was born on September 25, 1917 in New York. His parents were also both born in New York. His father worked as a farmer. I am not sure if his father died or if his parents divorced, but by 1930 his mother had remarried and his stepfather was also a farmer. Percy had an older sister and two older brothers. He also had two younger sisters and two younger half-sisters. By 1940 Percy had completed a sixth grade level of education and lived at home while working as a handyman.

He enlisted in the army on April 14, 1943. He became a private in the Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. Pvt. Miller joined the 25th ID as a replacement and was part of his unit's engagement in Luzon, Philippines. Pvt. Miller died on March 16, 1945 while fighting the Japanese in the Carabello Mountains.

His grave is at Pine Bush Cemetery in Kerhonkson, New York.

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

Phil Rizzuto

Also born on September 25, 1917 was the hall of fame New York Yankee shortstop Phil Rizzuto.
His career as a Yankee was interrupted when he enlisted in the Navy from 1943 to 1945 where he continued to play baseball.

Navy sailors and former MLB players Pee Wee Reese, Phil Rizzuto, and Hugh Casey.
Pee-Wee-Reese-Phil-Rizzuto-Hugh-Casey-Navy-1-1000x719.jpg 

After the war, Rizzuto returned to the Yankees where they won 10 AL pennants and 7 World Series with him playing shortstop. He was the AL MVP in 1950 and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984.

He died in 2007.

Among the fallen there were doubtlessly many athletes who could have set records and achieved hall of fame careers. Instead they rest in mostly forgotten graves.

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.

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

WW2 Fallen - Lester Taylor, 101st Airborne / National Gold Star Mother's Day

Cpl. Taylor, 101st Airborne, was killed in a successful attack near Best, Holland
that netted more than 1,000 prisoners and captured one of the needed bridges.
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=17313845&ref=acom
http://www.ww2marketgarden.com/battleatbest101stairbornedivision.html 

Today is National Gold Star Mother's Day, created by Congress in 1936 to recognize and honor the mothers who lost a son or daughter while serving in the US Armed Forces. 

Lester A. Taylor never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on September 24, 1917 in Tennessee. His parents were also both born in Tennessee. His father worked as a farmer. Lester had an older sister, six younger sisters, and a younger brother.

While in California, he enlisted in the army on January 30, 1942. He had been working as a farmhand. He decided to volunteer for the Airborne and ended up as a corporal in Company I, 3rd Battalion, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.

Cpl. Taylor was with his unit when they jumped into Normandy in the dark early hours of D-Day. He survived that battle and jumped into Holland on September 17, 1944 as part of Operation Market Garden. Its mission was to capture the railroad and road bridges at Best. The Germans destroyed the railroad bridge just as the paratroopers were getting close. The highway bridge remained in German hands for two days until the 502nd successfully captured the bridge leaving more than 300 enemy dead and taking more than 1,000 prisoners. Cpl. Taylor was killed during this battle.

His grave is at Restview Cemetery in Loretto, Tennessee.

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

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.

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

WW2 Fallen - Doolittle raider Edwin Bain

Sgt. Edwin Bain and his crewmates flew this B-25 on the famous Doolittle raid to bomb Japan.
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=56305660&ref=acom
https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/27-march-1942/

Edwin V. Bain, Jr. never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on September 23, 1917 in North Carolina. His father was also born in North Carolina while his mother was from up north in New York, but just one generation away from Ireland. Edwin Jr. had a younger sister. His father worked as a garage mechanic and later as a real estate salesman after moving to Chicago. Edwin Jr. stayed in North Carolina and lived with his sister at the home of his dad's father. His mom died of pellagra in 1934. 

Edwin joined the Army Air Corps on August 20, 1936. He was originally trained as a radio operator and repairman. When the war started he was a sergeant and trained gunner on B-25s. Early in 1942 he volunteered for a secret mission which turned out to be the Doolittle raid on Japan.  He was the upper turret gunner on the 14th plane to take off from the USS Hornet on April 18, 1942. His plane bombed Yokohama and safely made it to China where the crew all bailed out and evaded Japanese capture. 

After returning to America, Sgt. Bain's next assignment was the Mediterranean. By December 1942 he was flying missions as a gunner on B-26 Marauders.

He was killed in action on July 19, 1943. After a combat mission near Rome, his plane crashed into the Tyrrhenian Sea. His remains were not recovered.

His death is memorialized at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial.

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

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.

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

WW2 Fallen - B-29 airman Frank Crane

Sgt. Frank Crane last mission was on the 497th Bomb Group's B-29 Pacific Union.
http://www.worldwarphotos.info/gallery/usa/aircrafts-2-3/b-29/
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=151480146&ref=acom

Francis Joseph Crane never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on September 22, 1917 in Wisconsin. His mother was born in Indiana. His father was born at sea (Frank's grandparents were German immigrants).  His father worked as a planing mill woodworker and later an automobile repairman. Frank had a twin sister (Frances Josephine). He also had an older brother and younger brother who served in the navy during the war. 

Frank completed 4 years of high school and enlisted in the Army Air Corps in November 1940. He became a staff sergeant in the 869th Bombardment Squadron, 497th Bombardment Group, Twentieth Air Force which was equipped with B-29 Superfortresses. Sgt. Crane arrived with his fellow airman on Saipan in September 1944. They flew missions over Iwo Jima and Truk and eventually focused on Japan.

On January 14, 1945 Sgt. Crane was onboard the B-29 Pacific Union with a mission to bomb the Mitsubishi aircraft plant in Nagoya through heavy overcast. There were 73 B-29's on the mission. Five did not return, include Pacific Union which ditched in the ocean near Saipan. Four of the crew survived, but the rest, including Sgt. Crane, went down with the plane.

His cenotaph grave is at Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

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

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.

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

WW2 Fallen - B-17 engineer/gunner Albert Beyke

Sgt. Albert Beyke was the flight engineer on the B-17 Dear Mom.
http://www.americanairmuseum.com/aircraft/4380
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=37205286
http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2013/08/18/Belgian-town-honors-crew-of-Dear-Mom-a-U-S-bomber-shot-down-in-WWII/stories/201308180169 

Albert V. Beyke never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on September 21, 1917 in Ohio. His mother also born in Ohio and his father was born in Tennessee. His father worked as a farmer. Albert had two older brothers and an older sister. He also had three younger brothers and a younger sister. By 1940 Albert had completed one year of high school. He lived at home working on the family farm.

He enlisted in the army on April 14, 1942. He became a tech sergeant in the 331st Bombardment Squadron, 94th Bombardment Group, Eighth Air Force which was equipped with B-17s. The 94th arrived in England in April 1943 and flew its first mission in June. Sgt. Beyke was a flight engineer / top turret gunner.

On August 17, 1943 Sgt. Beyke was on the B-17 Dear Mom on a mission to bomb the Messerschmitt factory at Regensburg. Once over Belgium the 146 B-17s on the mission were expecting to pick up a P-47 escort. The Thunderbolts never showed up, but German fighters did. Dear Mom had the misfortune to be the first B-17 to go down. A FW-190 shot up Dear Mom's oil tanks and the plane flipped over on one side. The front of the plane exploded, killing six airmen, including Sgt. Beyke. The back part of the plane survived the explosion and four men jumped. Two of the crew were captured but two evaded capture and escaped safely. The plane crashed near Lummen, Belgium. Only half of the bombers on the mission returned relatively unscathed. More than 50 sustained heavy damage and aside from Dear Mom, another 23 were lost.

The Belgians built a memorial to honor the men from this plane. You can read more here.

His grave is at St. Mary Cemetery, Fort Recovery, Ohio. Three of his brothers served in the army during the war. All came home.

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

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.

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

WW2 D-Day Fallen - William Evans, 101st Airborne + NBA tie-in

Cpl. William B. Evans jumped into Normandy on D-Day with these men of the 3rd Battalion, 502nd PIR.
http://www.americandday.org/D-Day/Airborne_Division-Pathfinder-Plane_19.html
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=139703139&ref=acom  

William B. Evans never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.

He was born on September 20, 1917 in Kentucky. His parents were also both born in Kentucky. His father worked as a coal wagon driver. William had an older brother. By 1940 William had married and was living with his wife and his in-laws while working as a laborer. They had at least one son.

He enlisted in the army on May 13, 1942. At some point after that he volunteered to serve in one of the new parachute regiments. He became a corporal in the headquarters company, 3rd Battalion, 502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division.

Bad weather made it difficult for the 502nd to land in its designated drop zones on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Despite having fewer troops than anticipated, Corporal Evans' 3rd Battalion was able to take the two causeways linking up with Utah Beach. I don't know if Cpl. Evans was killed while achieving these objectives or earlier during the day.

His grave is at Park Cemetery, Greenfield, Indiana. His widow never remarried and died in 1987. I don't know what happened to his son.

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

Red Auerbach

Also born on September 20, 1917 was Red Auerbach, one of the most success coaches in NBA history. He was raised in Brooklyn and quickly found a talent for basketball. He attended George Washington University on a basketball scholarship and graduated with a master degree in 1941. He got a job as a high school basketball coach but after two years he joined the navy for three years of service. Among his navy duties was coaching basketball.

http://www.celticsbeagle.net/redtribute.html

After the war Auerbach continued his coaching career eventually becoming the legendary coach of the Boston Celtics where he became the winningest coach of all time (as of then) and won nine NBA championships. Auerbach died in 2006.

The lost sports accomplishments of the 408,000 fallen will forever remain unknown. Though their names are missing from the record books, let us still remember their names for the more significant accomplishments they achieved in sacrificing their lives for the freedoms we enjoy.

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.

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