BRISTOL, VT. - Walter Roger Bushey, age 92, of 480 Burpee Road in Bristol, passed away on Saturday, June 30th 2018 at his home.
He was born on October 17th 1925 in Vergennes, Vt., he was the son of Frank Henry and Beatrice (Langeway) Bushey.
He went to Vergennes Union High School and studied at the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
He served in World War II in the European Theatre. He was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
He married Shirley May Turpin on July 12th 1948 in Shoreham, Vermont. She predeceased him on September 12th 2011.
He retired from Simmonds Precision in Vergennes, Vt. after working there for 42 years.
He was a member of St. Ambrose Church in Bristol, Vt., a past member of Vergennes American Legion Post #14, Bristol American Legion #19, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and he was a Scout Master in the Boy Scouts in Burlington, Vt.
He was predeceased by his parents, two sisters, and three brothers.
Arrangements by the Brown-McClay Funeral Home on 4 South Street in Bristol, Vt.
Interment will be at the Mount St. Joseph Cemetery in Bristol, Vt.
During this Veteran's Day week it's important to remember what those who have served and those who are serving in uniform have done to allow us all to enjoy this remarkable freedom Americans hold so close .
Bristol resident and World War II Combat Veteran, Walter R. Bushey knows first hand the raw and unadorned truth about this precious gift.
Sgt. Bushey was part of the U.S. Army 14th Armored Division and landed with his unit on the shores of Marseilles in Southern France 29 October 1944.
As a 19 year old non commissioned officer, Mr. Bushey would soon be directing men during some of the most vicious and violent combat of the war.
“The Germans who had just recently occupied the area where we were, had run away and were regrouping further north,” he remembers.
Mr. Bushey's unit, the 19th Armored Infantry Battalion first moved to an area around Nice in southern France. The “Liberators” were on the march north and their mission was to restore freedom.
“We were headed for Alsace-Lorraine and the going was very rough with steep mountain roads and cliffs especially for our tanks and equipment,” he remembers. By early December Mr Bushey along with thousands of other GI's were completing fall and winter battles around the mountain towns they pushed into and Nazi defenses began to crack.
The Battle Of The Bulge
Hitler had become delusional. His fantasy included a pipe-dream that the allied coalition would dissolve when his Nazis elite forces including crack SS armored and armored infantry divisions applied pressure with their superior “Tiger” tanks and ruthless “SS storm-troopers.” Their surprise offensive was dubbed the “Battle of the Bulge.” Walter R. Bushey was there to see it and would have to fight for his life along with his brothers in arms.
“The Bulge was unexpected. There was snow and it was cold. The weather was bad and we couldn't get supplies in from the air. It was socked-in. The Germans used their Tiger tanks and artillery and the battle continued until we were able to use air power for supplies and to counter the attack.
We had summer weight gear and men were loosing fingers and toes to the cold.” The 14th Armored Division held and stopped the breakthrough that Hitler demanded. Mr. Bushey and hundreds of others were able to restored their depleted defensive lines, regroup, find some nutrition and attack.
“We knew that there were many P.O.W. Camps in Germany but nothing would prepare us for what we saw in the Nazi Death Camp at Dachau,” Mr. Bushey began. “32,000 prisoners were liberated and many others had been reduced to piles of rotting corpses.
We saw the ovens, some still containing the partially burned corpses of those who were unable to be cremated before our arrival. Once some of the healthier inmates realized what was going on they set upon some of their SS captors and killed them throwing their corpses on some of the piles of rotting corpses in the compound,” he remembers.
Even General Patton as hard a man as he was, wretched and needed some time to regain his composure after witnessing Dachau,” Mr. Bushey remembers.
Mr. Bushey survived the war, although wounded twice. He was awarded the Purple Heart and numerous campaign ribbons.
For a man who thought he was going to join the Army Air Corps and then was sent to the regular Army, his European war experience was extraordinary and as a civilian he continued his considerable work ethic, working 50-years in the areo-space industry with many of its top companies including Lockeed/ Martin, General Dynamics and Simmonds now Goodrich in Vergennes as an engineer.
Walter R. Bushey personifies what motivated American Veterans have done for all of us and what they are capable of.
He and his wife Shirley have been married 62-years. The Bushey's have seven children, 15 grandchildren, and 9 great great grandchildren.
Mr. Bushey is an avid reader and a wonderful conversationalist.
For his service to our country and his community, Mr. Bushey represents the gold standard of what we Americans are capable of.
He was born on October 17th 1925 in Vergennes, Vt., he was the son of Frank Henry and Beatrice (Langeway) Bushey.
He went to Vergennes Union High School and studied at the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
He served in World War II in the European Theatre. He was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
He married Shirley May Turpin on July 12th 1948 in Shoreham, Vermont. She predeceased him on September 12th 2011.
He retired from Simmonds Precision in Vergennes, Vt. after working there for 42 years.
He was a member of St. Ambrose Church in Bristol, Vt., a past member of Vergennes American Legion Post #14, Bristol American Legion #19, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and he was a Scout Master in the Boy Scouts in Burlington, Vt.
He was predeceased by his parents, two sisters, and three brothers.
Arrangements by the Brown-McClay Funeral Home on 4 South Street in Bristol, Vt.
Interment will be at the Mount St. Joseph Cemetery in Bristol, Vt.
During this Veteran's Day week it's important to remember what those who have served and those who are serving in uniform have done to allow us all to enjoy this remarkable freedom Americans hold so close .
Bristol resident and World War II Combat Veteran, Walter R. Bushey knows first hand the raw and unadorned truth about this precious gift.
Sgt. Bushey was part of the U.S. Army 14th Armored Division and landed with his unit on the shores of Marseilles in Southern France 29 October 1944.
As a 19 year old non commissioned officer, Mr. Bushey would soon be directing men during some of the most vicious and violent combat of the war.
“The Germans who had just recently occupied the area where we were, had run away and were regrouping further north,” he remembers.
Mr. Bushey's unit, the 19th Armored Infantry Battalion first moved to an area around Nice in southern France. The “Liberators” were on the march north and their mission was to restore freedom.
“We were headed for Alsace-Lorraine and the going was very rough with steep mountain roads and cliffs especially for our tanks and equipment,” he remembers. By early December Mr Bushey along with thousands of other GI's were completing fall and winter battles around the mountain towns they pushed into and Nazi defenses began to crack.
The Battle Of The Bulge
Hitler had become delusional. His fantasy included a pipe-dream that the allied coalition would dissolve when his Nazis elite forces including crack SS armored and armored infantry divisions applied pressure with their superior “Tiger” tanks and ruthless “SS storm-troopers.” Their surprise offensive was dubbed the “Battle of the Bulge.” Walter R. Bushey was there to see it and would have to fight for his life along with his brothers in arms.
“The Bulge was unexpected. There was snow and it was cold. The weather was bad and we couldn't get supplies in from the air. It was socked-in. The Germans used their Tiger tanks and artillery and the battle continued until we were able to use air power for supplies and to counter the attack.
We had summer weight gear and men were loosing fingers and toes to the cold.” The 14th Armored Division held and stopped the breakthrough that Hitler demanded. Mr. Bushey and hundreds of others were able to restored their depleted defensive lines, regroup, find some nutrition and attack.
“We knew that there were many P.O.W. Camps in Germany but nothing would prepare us for what we saw in the Nazi Death Camp at Dachau,” Mr. Bushey began. “32,000 prisoners were liberated and many others had been reduced to piles of rotting corpses.
We saw the ovens, some still containing the partially burned corpses of those who were unable to be cremated before our arrival. Once some of the healthier inmates realized what was going on they set upon some of their SS captors and killed them throwing their corpses on some of the piles of rotting corpses in the compound,” he remembers.
Even General Patton as hard a man as he was, wretched and needed some time to regain his composure after witnessing Dachau,” Mr. Bushey remembers.
Mr. Bushey survived the war, although wounded twice. He was awarded the Purple Heart and numerous campaign ribbons.
For a man who thought he was going to join the Army Air Corps and then was sent to the regular Army, his European war experience was extraordinary and as a civilian he continued his considerable work ethic, working 50-years in the areo-space industry with many of its top companies including Lockeed/ Martin, General Dynamics and Simmonds now Goodrich in Vergennes as an engineer.
Walter R. Bushey personifies what motivated American Veterans have done for all of us and what they are capable of.
He and his wife Shirley have been married 62-years. The Bushey's have seven children, 15 grandchildren, and 9 great great grandchildren.
Mr. Bushey is an avid reader and a wonderful conversationalist.
For his service to our country and his community, Mr. Bushey represents the gold standard of what we Americans are capable of.
BRISTOL, VT. - Walter Roger Bushey, age 92, of 480 Burpee Road in Bristol, passed away on Saturday, June 30th 2018 at his home.
He was born on October 17th 1925 in Vergennes, Vt., he was the son of Frank Henry and Beatrice (Langeway) Bushey.
He went to Vergennes Union High School and studied at the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
He served in World War II in the European Theatre. He was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
He married Shirley May Turpin on July 12th 1948 in Shoreham, Vermont. She predeceased him on September 12th 2011.
He retired from Simmonds Precision in Vergennes, Vt. after working there for 42 years.
He was a member of St. Ambrose Church in Bristol, Vt., a past member of Vergennes American Legion Post #14, Bristol American Legion #19, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and he was a Scout Master in the Boy Scouts in Burlington, Vt.
He was predeceased by his parents, two sisters, and three brothers.
Arrangements by the Brown-McClay Funeral Home on 4 South Street in Bristol, Vt.
Interment will be at the Mount St. Joseph Cemetery in Bristol, Vt.
During this Veteran's Day week it's important to remember what those who have served and those who are serving in uniform have done to allow us all to enjoy this remarkable freedom Americans hold so close .
Bristol resident and World War II Combat Veteran, Walter R. Bushey knows first hand the raw and unadorned truth about this precious gift.
Sgt. Bushey was part of the U.S. Army 14th Armored Division and landed with his unit on the shores of Marseilles in Southern France 29 October 1944.
As a 19 year old non commissioned officer, Mr. Bushey would soon be directing men during some of the most vicious and violent combat of the war.
“The Germans who had just recently occupied the area where we were, had run away and were regrouping further north,” he remembers.
Mr. Bushey's unit, the 19th Armored Infantry Battalion first moved to an area around Nice in southern France. The “Liberators” were on the march north and their mission was to restore freedom.
“We were headed for Alsace-Lorraine and the going was very rough with steep mountain roads and cliffs especially for our tanks and equipment,” he remembers. By early December Mr Bushey along with thousands of other GI's were completing fall and winter battles around the mountain towns they pushed into and Nazi defenses began to crack.
The Battle Of The Bulge
Hitler had become delusional. His fantasy included a pipe-dream that the allied coalition would dissolve when his Nazis elite forces including crack SS armored and armored infantry divisions applied pressure with their superior “Tiger” tanks and ruthless “SS storm-troopers.” Their surprise offensive was dubbed the “Battle of the Bulge.” Walter R. Bushey was there to see it and would have to fight for his life along with his brothers in arms.
“The Bulge was unexpected. There was snow and it was cold. The weather was bad and we couldn't get supplies in from the air. It was socked-in. The Germans used their Tiger tanks and artillery and the battle continued until we were able to use air power for supplies and to counter the attack.
We had summer weight gear and men were loosing fingers and toes to the cold.” The 14th Armored Division held and stopped the breakthrough that Hitler demanded. Mr. Bushey and hundreds of others were able to restored their depleted defensive lines, regroup, find some nutrition and attack.
“We knew that there were many P.O.W. Camps in Germany but nothing would prepare us for what we saw in the Nazi Death Camp at Dachau,” Mr. Bushey began. “32,000 prisoners were liberated and many others had been reduced to piles of rotting corpses.
We saw the ovens, some still containing the partially burned corpses of those who were unable to be cremated before our arrival. Once some of the healthier inmates realized what was going on they set upon some of their SS captors and killed them throwing their corpses on some of the piles of rotting corpses in the compound,” he remembers.
Even General Patton as hard a man as he was, wretched and needed some time to regain his composure after witnessing Dachau,” Mr. Bushey remembers.
Mr. Bushey survived the war, although wounded twice. He was awarded the Purple Heart and numerous campaign ribbons.
For a man who thought he was going to join the Army Air Corps and then was sent to the regular Army, his European war experience was extraordinary and as a civilian he continued his considerable work ethic, working 50-years in the areo-space industry with many of its top companies including Lockeed/ Martin, General Dynamics and Simmonds now Goodrich in Vergennes as an engineer.
Walter R. Bushey personifies what motivated American Veterans have done for all of us and what they are capable of.
He and his wife Shirley have been married 62-years. The Bushey's have seven children, 15 grandchildren, and 9 great great grandchildren.
Mr. Bushey is an avid reader and a wonderful conversationalist.
For his service to our country and his community, Mr. Bushey represents the gold standard of what we Americans are capable of.
He was born on October 17th 1925 in Vergennes, Vt., he was the son of Frank Henry and Beatrice (Langeway) Bushey.
He went to Vergennes Union High School and studied at the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
He served in World War II in the European Theatre. He was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
He married Shirley May Turpin on July 12th 1948 in Shoreham, Vermont. She predeceased him on September 12th 2011.
He retired from Simmonds Precision in Vergennes, Vt. after working there for 42 years.
He was a member of St. Ambrose Church in Bristol, Vt., a past member of Vergennes American Legion Post #14, Bristol American Legion #19, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and he was a Scout Master in the Boy Scouts in Burlington, Vt.
He was predeceased by his parents, two sisters, and three brothers.
Arrangements by the Brown-McClay Funeral Home on 4 South Street in Bristol, Vt.
Interment will be at the Mount St. Joseph Cemetery in Bristol, Vt.
During this Veteran's Day week it's important to remember what those who have served and those who are serving in uniform have done to allow us all to enjoy this remarkable freedom Americans hold so close .
Bristol resident and World War II Combat Veteran, Walter R. Bushey knows first hand the raw and unadorned truth about this precious gift.
Sgt. Bushey was part of the U.S. Army 14th Armored Division and landed with his unit on the shores of Marseilles in Southern France 29 October 1944.
As a 19 year old non commissioned officer, Mr. Bushey would soon be directing men during some of the most vicious and violent combat of the war.
“The Germans who had just recently occupied the area where we were, had run away and were regrouping further north,” he remembers.
Mr. Bushey's unit, the 19th Armored Infantry Battalion first moved to an area around Nice in southern France. The “Liberators” were on the march north and their mission was to restore freedom.
“We were headed for Alsace-Lorraine and the going was very rough with steep mountain roads and cliffs especially for our tanks and equipment,” he remembers. By early December Mr Bushey along with thousands of other GI's were completing fall and winter battles around the mountain towns they pushed into and Nazi defenses began to crack.
The Battle Of The Bulge
Hitler had become delusional. His fantasy included a pipe-dream that the allied coalition would dissolve when his Nazis elite forces including crack SS armored and armored infantry divisions applied pressure with their superior “Tiger” tanks and ruthless “SS storm-troopers.” Their surprise offensive was dubbed the “Battle of the Bulge.” Walter R. Bushey was there to see it and would have to fight for his life along with his brothers in arms.
“The Bulge was unexpected. There was snow and it was cold. The weather was bad and we couldn't get supplies in from the air. It was socked-in. The Germans used their Tiger tanks and artillery and the battle continued until we were able to use air power for supplies and to counter the attack.
We had summer weight gear and men were loosing fingers and toes to the cold.” The 14th Armored Division held and stopped the breakthrough that Hitler demanded. Mr. Bushey and hundreds of others were able to restored their depleted defensive lines, regroup, find some nutrition and attack.
“We knew that there were many P.O.W. Camps in Germany but nothing would prepare us for what we saw in the Nazi Death Camp at Dachau,” Mr. Bushey began. “32,000 prisoners were liberated and many others had been reduced to piles of rotting corpses.
We saw the ovens, some still containing the partially burned corpses of those who were unable to be cremated before our arrival. Once some of the healthier inmates realized what was going on they set upon some of their SS captors and killed them throwing their corpses on some of the piles of rotting corpses in the compound,” he remembers.
Even General Patton as hard a man as he was, wretched and needed some time to regain his composure after witnessing Dachau,” Mr. Bushey remembers.
Mr. Bushey survived the war, although wounded twice. He was awarded the Purple Heart and numerous campaign ribbons.
For a man who thought he was going to join the Army Air Corps and then was sent to the regular Army, his European war experience was extraordinary and as a civilian he continued his considerable work ethic, working 50-years in the areo-space industry with many of its top companies including Lockeed/ Martin, General Dynamics and Simmonds now Goodrich in Vergennes as an engineer.
Walter R. Bushey personifies what motivated American Veterans have done for all of us and what they are capable of.
He and his wife Shirley have been married 62-years. The Bushey's have seven children, 15 grandchildren, and 9 great great grandchildren.
Mr. Bushey is an avid reader and a wonderful conversationalist.
For his service to our country and his community, Mr. Bushey represents the gold standard of what we Americans are capable of.
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