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| Sgt. Albert Meehan fought in the Battle of the Bulge with these 80th Infantry Divsion soldiers. https://www.ancestry.com/mediaui-viewer/tree/17793270/person/556770239/media/60555a25-6ad0-43c0-9d64-599950da97b4?_phsrc=zRz6&_phstart=successSource https://theamericanwarrior.com/2013/12/ |
James Albert Meehan, Jr. never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on December 4, 1917 in Pennsylvania. His parents James and Bess were also both born in Pennsylvania. His father worked as a gasoline station proprietor and later as a coal operator. Albert (his father went by James) had three younger brothers and two younger sisters. By 1940 he had completed three years of college and was working as a coal mine weighmaster. All of his brothers were eligible for the draft, but I could only find evidence that his youngest brother served and it was only for the last few months of the war.
He first enlisted in the Marines but he was discharged after contracting polio that left him with a weakened left side. After the war started he wanted to join again. Despite his ailment, his previous military training allowed him to enlist in the US Army on July 7, 1942.
He became a tech sergeant in the 318th Infantry Regiment, 80th Infantry Division (Nicknamed "Blue Ridge Division"). The 80th ID arrived in France in August 1944. It first saw action at Argentan in late August and raced across France to the river Sielle. By November it had advanced almost to Saarbrucken.
When the Battle of the Bulge started, the 80th ID was dispatched by General Patton along with the 4th Armored Division, to reconnect with the 101st Airborne Division encircled in Bastogne.
Sgt. Meehan was killed on December 25, 1944 while his regiment and 4th Armored Division tanks defeated the last Germans blocking the path to Bastogne.
His grave is at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Cheltenham, 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!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100
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