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| PFC Chestine Jenks faced the main German attack in the Battle of the Bulge. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/26937839/winifred-chestine-jenks |
Winifred Chestine Jenks never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on July 15, 1919 in Wewahitchka, Florida. His parents Andrew and Daisy were born in Florida and Georgia, respectively. They divorced in 1929 but remarried in September 1930. His father worked as a deputy sheriff and later as a WPA foreman. Chestine had one younger sister. By 1940 he had completed two years of high school. He was living with his parents and worked as a refrigerator laborer.
He was drafted into the army in September 1941. He served 28 months in the Panama Canal Zone. When back in the states and with the rank of private first class, he was assigned to the Battery E, 592nd Field Artillery Battalion (equipped with 155mm howitzers) which arrived in Europe in November 1944. The 592nd FAB was attached to the green 106th Infantry Division whose first frontline line position was in the Ardennes Forest.
The 592nd FAB found itself directly in the path of the main attack by the Germans that began the Battle of the Bulge on December 16, 1944. Providing artillery fire as best it could, it was pulled out the next day to avoid being overrun. It moved almost every night to stay ahead of the advancing Germans. PFC Jenks was killed in action on December 19, 1944.
His grave is at Jehu Cemetery in Wewahitchka, Florida.
Last year on this date I profiled Medal of Honor hero Raymond Beaudoin, 30th Infantry Division. You can read about Raymond 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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