Relationship of Curtis Lynn Older
to
Robert Burton Older
(26 Nov 1922 - 03 Jan 2013)
Curtis Lynn Older is a
nephew of Robert Burton Older
Robert Burton Older (26 Nov 1922 to 03 Jan 2013)
1) landed at Normandy on the 25th hour of the D-Day Invasion in 1944
2) participated in The Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes)
Relationship of Robert Burton Older to Roy Burton Older:
1) Roy Burton Older
2) Robert Burton Older (son)
Relationship of Curtis Lynn Older to Roy Burton Older:
1) Roy Burton Older
2) Truxton James Older (son)
3) Curtis Lynn Older (grandson)
Form DD-214 for Robert Burton Older lists Normandy as a Battle or Campaign; as told by Bradley Burton Older to Curtis Lynn Older, Robert Burton Older went in on the 25th hour of the Normandy invasion in World War II. His Army serial number was 39 275 215. His grade was listed as Sergeant and he was inducted on 06 January 1943 at Los Angeles, California. He entered active service on 13 January 1943 and was separated from active service on 13 November 1945 at Ft. MacArthur, California. His military occupational specialty and number were Combination Welder 573.
Battles and Campaigns: Normandy, Northern France, Ardennes, Central Europe, and Air Offensive Europe.
Decorations and Citations: Good Conduct Medal, Victory Medal, European African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal. Honorable Discharge.
His active service in the United States was for 11 months and 11 days. His active service in the European Theater was 1 year 10 months and 20 days. He departed for Europe on 27 October 1943 and arrived in Europe on 3 November 1943. He departed Europe on 5 September 1945 and arrived in the United States on 16 September 1945. He attended 12 weeks of training at the AAFTC Chanute Field, Illinois, Electric Welding school. His permanent mailing address was given as 1245 Valleyview Rd., Glendale, LA Co., California. His military unit was the 918th Air Eng Sq.
His height was listed as 5’ 9” and weight as 137 pounds. Blue eyes and brown hair. He had one dependent at the time of enlistment. Place of birth was listed as Danville, Illinois, and date of birth was listed as 26 November 1922. His civilian occupation was given as Machine Operator 5-13.000. Race – white; Marital Status – married; and U. S. Citizen – Yes.
Identified Operations:
European-African-Middle Eastern (EAME)
Campaign Medal
- Egypt-Libya: June 11, 1942 – February 12, 1943
- Air Offensive Europe: July 4, 1942 – June 5, 1944
- Algeria-French Morocco: November 8–11, 1942
- Tunisia: November 12, 1942 – May 13, 1943
- Sicily: May 14, 1943 – August 17, 1943
- Naples-Foggia: August 18, 1943 – January 21, 1944
- Anzio: January 22, 1944 – May 24, 1944
- Rome-Arno: January 22, 1944 – September 9, 1944
- Normandy: June 6, 1944 – July 24, 1944
- Northern France: July 25, 1944 – September 14, 1944
- Southern France: August 15, 1944 – September 14, 1944
- Northern Apennines: September 10, 1944 – April 4, 1945
- Rhineland: September 15, 1944 – March 21, 1945
- Ardennes-Alsace: December 16, 1944 – January 25, 1945
- Central Europe: March 22, 1945 – May 11, 1945
- Po Valley: April 5, 1945 – May 8, 1945
December 16, 1944-January 28, 1945
In December 1944, in an all-out gamble to compel the Allies to sue for peace, Adolf Hitler ordered the only major German counteroffensive of the war in northwest Europe. Its objective was to split the Allied armies by means of a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through the Ardennes to Antwerp, marking a repeat of what the Germans had done three times previously--in September 1870, August 1914, and May 1940. Despite Germany's historical penchant for mounting counteroffensives when things looked darkest, the Allies' leadership miscalculated and left the Ardennes lightly defended by only two inexperienced and two battered American divisions.
On December 16, three German armies (more than a quarter-million troops) launched the deadliest and most desperate battle of the war in the west in the poorly roaded, rugged, heavily forested Ardennes. The once-quiet region became bedlam as American units were caught flat-footed and fought desperate battles to stem the German advance at St. Vith, Elsenborn Ridge, Houffalize and, later, Bastogne, which was defended by the 101st Airborne Division. The inexperienced U.S. 106th Division was nearly annihilated, but even in defeat helped buy time for Brigadier General Bruce C. Clarke's brilliant defense of St. Vith. As the German armies drove deeper into the Ardennes in an attempt to secure vital bridgeheads west of the River Meuse quickly, the line defining the Allied front took on the appearance of a large protrusion or bulge, the name by which the battle would forever be known.
A crucial German shortage of fuel and the gallantry of American troops fighting in the frozen forests of the Ardennes proved fatal to Hitler's ambition to snatch, if not victory, at least a draw with the Allies in the west. Lieutenant General George S. Patton's remarkable feat of turning the Third Army ninety degrees from Lorraine to relieve the besieged town of Bastogne was the key to thwarting the German counteroffensive. The Battle of the Bulge was the costliest action ever fought by the U.S. Army, which suffered over 100,000 casualties.
