The obit is simple.
Elmer B. Lindsey, 84, Weston, Mo., passed away Jan. 8, 2007, at his home. A visitation will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2007, at Vaughn Funeral Home, Weston.The funeral service will be at 10:30 a.m. Friday, Jan. 12, 2007, at the funeral home.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Diabetes Association in Elmer’s memory.
Elmer Byron Lindsey was born on Aug. 3, 1922, in Weston, to Nannie (Nower) and Jesse Lindsey. He was a lifelong resident of Weston except for the three years he spent serving his country in the U.S. Army.Elmer married Velva Rowland on April 25, 1953, in Weston.
He worked for International Harvester Company in Kansas City, Mo., for 30 years.
Elmer was preceded in death by his parents; two brothers, Walter and Percy Lindsey; and three sisters, Bessie Blankenship, Sarah Weigman and Marie Humes.He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Velva Lindsey, of the home; and nieces and nephews.
Arrangements by Vaughn Funeral Home, Weston, MO.
He was a lifelong resident of Weston except for the three years he spent serving his country in the U.S. Army.
But what a three years. Elmer was not a great general. Or a holder of the Medal of Honor. He was simply a dogface soljer, like millions of others. But he *did* have one thing that set him apart from the others.
He was drafted in 1942, and trained as a grunt. A simple dogface soldier. He was assigned to Company A, 27th Armored Infantry battalion, 9th Armored Division, nicknamed "The Phantom Division." He trained at Camp Funston, a part of Fort Riley, Kansas, and in the Desert Training Center, a huge, sprawling complex in the Mojave Desert of California that *contained* 29 Palms Marine Corps Base *and* Fort Irwin. The Desert Training Center was... huge. Interestingly enough, though the 9th Armored Division no longer exists, it has a battle honor that has caused it's colors to still be cared for by the 1st Infantry Division at Fort Riley. But more about that later.
The 9th Armored shipped over to England, and waited it's turn for combat. The 9th Armored Division landed in Normandy late in September 1944, and first went into line on 23 October, pulling patrol duty in a quiet sector along the Luxembourg-German border. When Field Marshal von Rundstedt launched Operation Wacht Am Rhein, better known to us as the Battle of the Bulge, the 9th, with no real combat experience, found itself up to its neck in Germans. The Division saw its severest actions at St. Vith, Echternach, and Bastogne, its units fighting in widely separated areas. The Division's stand at Bastogne fended off the Germans long enough for the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne to dig in for their epic defense of the city. Acquitting themselves well, the Phantoms set the stage for their greatest victory.
March, 1945. The war in Europe is going pretty well now, considering what it was like just three months previously. The division just crashed across the Ruhr at Rheinbach as a part of Operation Lumberjack. The reconnaissance troops of the 9th Armored discover an intact railroad bridge across the Rhine river. The bridge at Remagen.
Brigadier General Hoge (for whom Hoge Barracks at Fort Leavenworth is named) orders Combat Command B to seize the bridge. The 27th Armored Infantry led the way, capturing the bridge on 6 March. Sergeant Alexander Drabik was the first man across the bridge. Lieutenant Karl Timmerman was the first officer to cross.
Elmer? Elmer holds a unique first in the annals of warfare. On the 7th of March, 1945, after the engineers had made the requisite repairs, Elmer drove the first vehicle, a half-track, across the bridge - becoming the first soldier in history to drive a combat vehicle over a defended Rhine River. It's just a small thing - but it's something you can't take away from him.
He was a lifelong resident of Weston except for the three years he spent serving his country in the U.S. Army.
But what a three years.
Now is the time at Castle Argghhh! when we dance: In Memoriam.
The Armorer would like to credit John Reichley, a retired soldier and historian in his own right (who has a basement similar to The Armorer's, but full of uniforms) for the inspiration for this post and the details of Elmer's service.
Remagen Bridghead, 7 March 1945. Here, on the Ludendorf Bridge crossing the Rhine at Remagen, Combat Command B, 9th Armored Division -- headed by the 27th Armored Infantry Battalion -- with "superb skill, daring and esprit de corps" successfully effected the first bridgehead across Germany's formidable river barrier and so contributed decisively to the defeat of the enemy. The 27th Battalion reached Remagen, found the bridge intact but mined for demolition. Although its destruction was imminent, without hesitation and in face of heavy fire the infantrymen rushed across the structure, and with energy and skill seized the surrounding high ground. The entire episode illustrates that high degree of initiative, leadership and gallantry toward which all armies strive but too rarely attain, and won for the Combat Command the Distinguished Unit Citation.
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