W.C. Shields

W.C. Shields

Born June 25th, 1922 – Died October 13th, 2011

Known as “Bud” to his brothers and sisters, Dad and Daddy to his children and Papa to his Grandchildren. He was born June 25, 1922, in Hunt County Texas, to the parents of Walter Raleigh and Cora Mae Shields. He is preceded in death by his wife of 51 years, Ina Grace and by sisters, Faye Singleton, Ruth Swallow, Florence Dees and brothers Dugan, Jimmy, and Walter Raleigh Jr.

Like most of the men and women from my fathers’ generation, dad would not mention or speak of these things with out first being asked. What follows is just the little bit of what we know about the experiences he went through during his first years of service to our country, and would like to share it with you now, at this time of his passing.

Dad, a veteran of both WWII and Korea, like the hundreds of thousands of other young men from that generation, enlisted in the Army shortly before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7th, 1941.

Upon enlistment, he was sent to Fort Knox Kentucky for his basic training. Upon completion of his basic training, he was deployed to Britain where he was destined to become part of history by way of our nation’s entry into the war to defeat Nazi Germany.

He survived the D-Day invasion of France after landing on Omaha beach those fateful days in June, 1944. Unlike so many others who didn't make it on to the beaches and through the hedge groves during that battle, he along with all of the other survivors of that hellish beach landing, bravely fought their way onto the beaches, and to then push the German Army out of France and on into Belgium.

He, along with all the men of his unit, met and heroically pushed the German army back to the Ardennes Forrest region of Belgium, specifically, the Hürtgen Forest, in the fight that came to be known as "The battle of the Bulge".

He survived the fighting there, but was wounded after being blown out of a fox hole by a German artillery round where he took shrapnel to his legs. He was patched up and continued to fight until Germanys surrender May 8th, 1945.

Dad also fought and survived the Korean War, of which he even more rarely spoke. The only thing that I can recall him saying about Korea was that it was just as horrific as anything he experienced in Europe.

Dad retired from the Army in November of 1963 after hearing that our nation was about to enter another war. With his baby daughter Susie on the way, and after surviving two wars he decided it was time to retire.

He is survived by his daughters Linda & Donald Watson of Cumming Ga., Susan & Kenneth Morgenroth of San Antonio Tx., son Joe & Cindy Shields also of San Antonio Tx. His Grandchildren, Sandra Michelle Bellochio, Michael Kevin Watson of Cumming Ga., Amanda Michelle and Nicholas Karl Morgenroth of San Antonio Tx., Justin Wayne Shields of Dilley Tx., John Travis Shields of San Antonio Tx., Great Grand Daughter Roslyn Kate Shields of Dilley Tx., and brother Walter “Boyd” Shields of Cash Tx.

I would also like to extend a special “Thank You” to my life long friend, Mr. James Hazlewood, for without his inquisitive nature and admiration of Dad, I’m not so sure that we would have known even this much about his service to our country.

Arrangements under the direction of Sunset North Funeral Home, San Antonio, TX.