WW2 Fallen - George Bouchard, 85th Infantry Division + "Mr" Betty White

Sgt. George Bouchard served with the 339th Infantry Regiment, shown here a couple weeks before his death.
https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=176629082&ref=acom
http://user.pa.net/~cjheiser/ct9/339txt3.htm 

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

He was born on October 5, 1917 in Michigan. His father was also born in Michigan, while his mother was from Illinois. His father worked as a street car conductor and later a factory laborer. George had two older brothers, two younger brothers and two younger sisters. All but the youngest brother served in the war: in the Navy, Marines, and Army. All came home. 

On August 19, 1939 George was married to Marion Harp and worked as a road laborer. They were divorces on December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. In a strange twist, they remarried on January 8, 1942. Perhaps this was because they had a daughter born later that year.

He enlisted in the army on January 4, 1943, leaving a job as a semi-skilled routeman. He became a sergeant in Company F, 2nd Battalion, 339th Infantry Regiment, 85th Infantry Division. The 339th IR was the first regiment of the 85th ID to see action in Italy in March 1944, north of Naples. By April the full division was facing the Gustav Line. At some point during his service in Italy, Sgt. Bouchard earned the Silver Star, a rare award given for valor. Sgt. Bouchard died on June 1, during the advance on Rome which fell three days later.

His grave is at Reese Cemetery, Springfield, Illinois. I don't know what happened to his widow and daughter.

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

Allen Ludden

Also born on October 5, 1917 was TV personality Allen Ludden, best known as the host of the popular game show Password. Ludden earned an MA in English from the University of Texas before joining the army. During the war he served in the Pacific Theater and earned a bronze star while ending up with the rank of Captain.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Ludden

His war bride died of cancer in 1961. Two years later he married the timeless Betty White. They remained married until he died of cancer in 1981. Betty White has never remarried.

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.

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