Heroes: the Army

 

"...'At the time your husband was killed, we were fighting an intense action against a brutal attack by two German Divisions in the vicinity of Meijel, Holland. Naturally, in the face of such an assault, we were forced to give some ground..."

 

image of Robert Lee Rutledge

Robert Lee Rutledge.
Image taken approximately 1944

Robert Lee Rutledge
48th Armored Infantry Battalion
(7th Armored Division)
United States Army

Killed in Action: 29 October 1944

IMAGE of 7th Armored Division

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image of American Cemetery1

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image of American Cemetery4

 

    Above: Images taken on or about 21 July 2002 at the grave site of Robert Lee Rutledge at the American Cemetery in Margraten, Holland. The images were taken by Mr. Martien Salden and his wife. The Salden's are a very kind and generous couple from the area who assisted Ginger and her family in obtaining current images of her Dad's final resting place. Below is an e-mail message received along with the attached images.

    Web master note: When the war ended and the American Cemetery in Margraten was established, it became a matter of pride for local families to "adopt" a grave site of a fallen soldier to care for -- and in many cases, laying flowers on the grave on behalf of the family back home in America. As time progressed, the tradition was passed down to succeeding generations -- and the wonderful gesture continues!

    The mention of the B-17 crew is in reference to another lady who is searching for images of the final resting place of the crew of a B-17 shot down in the area. The hyper link to this series of images is listed below.

Thank you Mr and Mrs Martien Salden of Holland -- for caring!

 


 

Hello Ginger

Today we were at the War Cemetery in Margraten to visit the Grave of your Dad.

We brought him some flowers, gave him a big hello from you and his beloved ones and said some prayers for him.

We also made some pictures. They are attached on this mail.

I guess you prefer to have the printed ones. Because I made them with my digital camera you have to wait for a while. When they are printed I in a photo shop I will send them to you

Have a very nice weekend.

Martin

p.s. I also attached a link from a page I made for the daughter of a B-17 pilot who crashed above Holland.

She asked me if I could find the Graves of this crew. I found them and made with the pictures a page on internet.

You also can see some views of the Cemetery your Dad is resting.

 


 

Margraten Images: B-17 Crew

 

Original Story from messages received on 21 July 2002.

Story originally submitted on: 30 July 2002.

 

The material depicted above, The Search for Pfc Robert Lee Rutledge, was contributed by Mrs. Ginger Rutledge Gregory , who is the daughter of our subject depicted in this series of documents.

We wish to express our sincerest THANK YOU for the outstanding effort required to assist us in bringing the story of Robert Lee Rutledge forward for all to read and appreciate. Tireless dedication by wonderful folks such as Ms. Gregory will forever help in keeping THEIR memory alive -- the fine folks of America's Greatest Generation.

Should you care to look at additional material relating to this subject, you may do so by choosing the following links:

The Search for Pvt. Rutledge

The Search for Pvt. Rutledge Pt. 2

The Legacy of Pvt. Rutledge

A Daughter Lovingly Remembers Her Dad

American Battle Monuments Commission: WWII Honor Roll

 

We at World War II Stories -- In Their Own Words wish to offer our profound "Thanks" for the excellent material contributed by Mrs. Ginger Rutledge Gregory.

 

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World War II Stories -- In Their Own Words
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