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137th Infantry Regiment

2nd Lt Eugene A Kay

2nd Lt Eugene A Kay

137th Infantry Regiment - Company C

Eugene Arnold Kay, son of Eugene Virgil and Gail Gladys Kay, was born in Jamestown, Missouri on November 25, 1918. He attended high school in Glasgow, Missouri and then attended Central Business College in Kansas City. He registered for the draft on October 16, 1940. Prior to joining the Army he was employed by Midwest Fox Theatres. He married Helen Ruth Rudd on January 4, 1941 and the couple had one child, a son, Eugene Roger Kay.

He was inducted into the Army on December 30, 1942, received basic training at Camp Wolters, Texas, and attended Officer's Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was commissioned Lieutenant on August 16, 1943. 2nd Lt Eugene A Kay served in Company C, 137th Infantry Regiment. He was Killed in Action July 18, 1944 during the battle for St Lo, France. He was posthumously awarded a Silver Star Medal for gallantry in action during that battle. He is buried at California Masonic Cemetery in California, Missouri.

Silver Star Medal
Silver Star Medal (Posthumous) Citation
Second Lieutenant Eugene A Kay, O1323934, Infantry, United States Army, for gallantry in action in the St Lo sector, Normandy, France, on 17 July 1944. When his battalion was pinned down by heavy enemy machine gun fire, Lieutenant Kay, a platoon leader, crawled well forward, located the enemy positions and directed artillery fire on them, enabling the battalion to resume its advance a distance of some 3500 yards to the division objective. Lieutenant Kay's platoon was one of the first to reach the objective. While reconnoitering ahead of the new positions, he was killed by an enemy sniper. Lieutenant Kay's courage, leadership and zealous devotion to duty reflect the highest credit upon his character as an officer and upon the military service. Entered military service from Missouri.
General Orders No. 37, Headquarters 35th Infantry Division, 27 September 1944

 

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