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| Sgt. Ray Schwein, 3rd Armored Division was born on the same day as Andrew Sisters lead singer Patty Andrews. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/93179451/raymond-rudolph-schwein https://www.cmgww.com/music/andrews/ |
Raymond Rudolph Schwein never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on February 16, 1918 in Kansas. His mother Hannah was also born in Kansas of Russian born parents and his father Henry was born in German speaking Russia. His father worked as a farmer and later as an odd job laborer. Raymond had five older brothers, one older sister, one younger brother and one younger sister. By 1940 Ray had completed three years of college and was working as an attendant. He married Margaret Griggs and they had a daughter in 1943.
He was drafted into the army on June 30, 1941. He became a staff sergeant in Company A, 1st Battalion, 36th Armored Infantry Regiment, 3rd Armored Division. The 3rd AD arrived in England in September 1943 and was sent to Normandy in late June 1944. It took heavy casualties in the Battle of St. Lo. While the division was closing the Falaise Gap, Sgt. Schwein was wounded on August 17 during the hard-fought attack on Fromental. His actions that day resulted in him earning a Silver Star. I was unable to find out more details but the division completed its objective the next day.
Sgt. Schwein recovered from his wound and returned to his unit. It was fighting in the Hurtgen Forest in December. Sgt. Schwein was killed on December 13, 1944 when his unit was fighting near Hoven, Germany.
His grave is at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial in Belgium. I don't know what happened to his widow.
Last year on this date I profiled U-Boat victim Milton Burford, Merchant Marines. You can read about Milton here.
PATTY ANDREWS
Also born on the same day as Ray Schwein was Patty Andrews, the youngest of the famous Andrew Sisters singing group and their lead singer. It is hardly possible to watch a program about World War 2 without hearing the Andrew Sisters sing. Who hasn't heard Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy? The Andrew Sisters were the most popular female singing group of the first half of the 20th Century. They sold up to 100 million records and had 46 top 10 songs. They were big supporters of the war effort, touring in all theaters and across America. Patty Andrews died in 2013.
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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