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| Lt. Eugene Steele earned the Silver Star serving with the 1st Armored Division in Italy. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/71626655/eugene-c_-steele https://www.pinterest.com/pin/513621532499371866/ |
Eugene Clyde Steele never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on September 4, 1919 in Liberty Mills, Indiana. His parents Rolla and Dessie were also both born in Indiana. His father worked as a farm manager and later as a farmer. Still later he worked as a stock buyer. Eugene had an older sister, two older brothers, and a younger sister. By 1940 Eugene was attending college. He found work as a bookkeeper.
He enlisted in the US Army in April 1941. He attended Officers Candidate School and became a first lieutenant in the Recon Company, 1st Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Division.
Lt. Steele first saw action in North Africa and then at Anzio, where he was wounded on March 31, 1944. An Indiana newspaper reported that he had earned both the Silver Star and the Bronze Star. I was, unfortunately, not able to locate either citation. Lt. Steele's wound was not serious enough to send him home and he returned to his unit. He was killed in action on June 7, 1944, when his unit was north of Rome.
His grave is at South Whitley Cemetery in South Whitley, Indiana.
HOWARD MORRIS
Another September 4, 1919 baby was Howard Morris, born in The Bronx. His comedic talents were put to work during World War 2 when, as a first sergeant in the army, he was assigned to a special unit tasked with entertaining the troops. Others in his unit that went on to successful entertainment carriers included Werner Klemperer (Hogan's Heroes) and Carl Reiner (The Dick Van Dyke Show).
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| https://www.metv.com/lists/7-nutty-things-you-never-knew-about-howard-morris-of-the-andy-griffith-show |
Last year on this date I profiled Gerald White, 8th Infantry Division, and famous radio commentator Paul Harvey. You can read about Gerald 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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