George Edsel BURT

     
     George Edsel BURT was born on 9 September 1924 in Bibb County, Alabama, son of Irby Leon BURT and Birdie Clyde WATTS.¹ He was a farmer.
     George Edsel BURT appeared on a census, enumerated 15 April 1930, in the household of Irby Leon BURT and Birdie Clyde WATTS in Beat 2, Bibb County, Alabama.²
     George saw military service between 1943 and 1945 when he served as light machine gunner in 1st Platoon, E Company 513th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 17th Airborne Division during World War II. Regular soldiers earned only $17.50 per month pay while the paratroops earned an additional $50 per month danger pay. His first action was in the Battle of the Bulge from 25 Dec 1944 to 9 Feb 1945, suffering from severe frostbite. Shortly after returning from the hospital he took part in the largest airdrop of the war, known as "Operation Varsity", and was killed in action east of the Rhine River and north of Wesel, Germany. He was stationed in October 1944 in Camp Barton Stacey, Andover, England. He died on 24 March 1945 in Weisel, Germany, at age 20. Operation Varsity, a part of the Allied crossing of the Rhine, was the largest airborne assault of World War II. The 17th Airborne and the British 6th Airborne were dropped over the German city of Weisel. According to a letter from his commanding officer sent to his mother, George landed safely, but was shot by a sniper while gathering his equipment which he had lost when shrapnel cut his machine gun straps during the drop. Because of the very heavy enemy gunfire, the medics were not able to get him out for quite some time. When the fighting let up, he was finally loaded into an ambulance but died on the way to the field hospital.³ He was buried in Scottsville Cemetery, Bibb County, Alabama. He was originally buried in a Dutch cemetery near the village of Margraten. A special memorial service was held at the West Blocton Methodist Church in March 1946. His body was exhumed from its European cemetery in October 1948, and returned home for burial in the family plot at Scottsville Cemetery.⁴
     His obituary appeared 12 April 1945 in the "Centreville Press". The article read: "Pfc. GEORGE BURT KILLED IN ACTION: Pfc. George E. Burt, son of Mr. and Mrs. I. L. Burt, of West Blocton, was killed in action in the service of his country, crossing the Rhine March 4th [sic], 1945. He was a graduate of West Blocton High School and entered the service in 1943. He was serving as a paratrooper and flew from England on January 1st, with the 17th Airborne Division. He was survived by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. I. L. Burt, of West Blocton, four sisters, Mrs. John K. Brown, Oxnard, Calif., Mrs. Kenneth Dale, Praco, Ala., Mrs. Earl J. Kilby, Woodville, Va., and Wynelle Burt, West Blocton, Alabama; and four brothers, Mallory M. Burt, Great Lakes, Illinois; Vincent, Vernon [sic] and Billy Burt, of West Blocton..⁵