Pvt. Kenneth Gene Blanchard

BLANCHARD

Posted By: H.Vargus (email)
Date: 4/19/2021 at 16:16:44

PVT. K.G. BLANCHARD KILLED IN WAR ON ITALIAN FRONT

Pvt. Kenneth G. Blanchard, 18, only son of Mr. and Mrs. L.R. Blanchard, 215 Clinton street was killed in action somewhere in Italy on July 23 according to a message received by the parents this morning from the War Department.

Pvt. Blanchard had been slightly wounded in the Italian theater of operations on Jan. 26, a previous message had informed his parents and recovered sufficiently to return to action.

The last letter received by the parents from Pvt. Blanchard by was dated July 21, just two days before he received his fatal wounds.

He enlisted in the United States Army on June 15, 1943, after an unsuccessful attempt to get into the Navy. He took his first training at Ft. McClelland, Ala., and then was transferred to Ft. Meade, Md. He arrived in North Africa early in December of last year and then took part in many of the major Italian battles.

Pvt. Blanchard was born on October 15, 1925, at Illinois City, and spent most of his life there. He had made Muscatine his home for the last year and a half before entering the military service.

He was an only child and is survived by his parents. He attended the Illinois City Methodist Sunday School and was a member of the John Harold Kemble post, Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Source: Muscatine Journal and News Tribune: Muscatine, Iowa, August 10, 1944, page 1.

Notes: Kenneth was rejected by the Navy because of his height; he was over 6 feet tall.

He served with the 133rd Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division. Pvt. Blanchard was awarded a Purple Heart with an Oak Leaf Cluster. His body was interred in the Florence American Cemetery and Memorial, Florence, Firenze, Toscana, Italy. Plot A, Row 6, Grave 7.