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| PFC John Childers, 77th Infantry Division https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20664355/john-t_-childers |
John T. Childers never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on February 18, 1919 in West Virginia. His parents Tilman and Norma were also both born in West Virginia. His father worked as a farmer until he died in 1930. John had one older brother, four older sisters and six younger sisters. By 1940 John had completed four years of schooling and lived with his widowed mother and sisters on the family farm.
He was drafted into the army on September 6, 1943. He became a private first class in Battery B, 304th Field Artillery Battalion, 77th Infantry Division. The 77th ID was sent to the Pacific Theater in March 1944. It participated in the recapture of Guam in July 1944 and Leyte in November-December 1944. It was next selected to participate in the invasion of Okinawa.
The 77th ID was tasked with taking the small island of Ie Shima. With that succeeded it relieved the 96th Infantry Division on the front lines on Okinawa on May 1, 1945. That was the day PFC Childers was killed.
His grave is at Green Valley Cemetery in Salt Rock, West Virginia.
JACK PALANCE
Born in Pennsylvania on the same day as John Childers was the son of Ukrainian immigrants, Volodymyr Palahniuk. He is better known by his acting name - Jack Palance. He worked as a coal miner as a youth and then became a professional boxer.
Palance served in the Army Air Forces during World War 2. He became a second lieutenant and B-24 co-pilot. He bailed out of a burning B-24 during a training flight in Arizona. His face was disfigured and 1940's plastic surgery gave him the distinctive look that made him a popular movie villain. He was discharged after his medical treatment was completed in 1944.
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| https://picclick.com/☆-Jack-Palance-Attack-ORIGINAL-1950s-Promo-Portrait-372170043340.html |
Last year on this date I profiled A-36 pilot Herbert Estep. You can read about Herbert here.
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.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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