Earl enlisted in the U.S. Army on December 31, 1941 in
Dallas Texas at the age of 19.
Upon completion of basic training Earl was shipped overseas
to the European theater. He was assigned to the famous 29th Infantry
Division. This division was activated on February 3, 1941 and arrived in
England on October 5, 1942. The division saw 242 days of combat. The division
saw action on D-Day at Normandy, Northern France, the Rhineland and Central
Europe. The famed “Bedford Boys” from Bedford Virginia, who lost so many men on
D-Day from that small town, were members of the 29th.
Earl served with the 115th Infantry, 3rd
Battalion as a platoon leader and later company commander. He participated in
battles in and around St. Lo, Percy, Vire and Brest in France after D-Day. It
was at Brest in September 1944 that Earl received his Bronze Star. He also saw
action at Stahe, Kreuzrath, and Birgden in Germany. He was present for the
crossings of the strategically important Rhine and Elbe rivers. In November
1944 Earl was wounded in the hand and was sent back to England to recuperate.
Earl stayed in the military after the war and was at one point
stationed at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma. He was assigned to escort war dead from Ft.
Worth, Texas during the month of January, 1949.
When Earl left the service in January 1953 it was with the
rank of Major. He had received the Bronze Star, Combat Infantryman’s badge with
Oak Leaf cluster, Expert Infantry badge, Purple Heart, WWII Victory medal,
German occupation and the American Theater ribbon.
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