Planet War II vet is named grand marshal | News, Sports, Jobs

Leslie Sullivan Morrison, also identified as “Bud,” was drafted in January 1943 at the age of 19 to serve his nation. He became a member of the provide unit attached to the 29th Infantry. He chuckles when he tells the story, “I produced the error of shooting a Bazooka inside three feet of the target” and subsequent issue he knew he was assigned as a Bazooka Machine Operator as his military occupational specialty in the U.S. Army. He also certified as a sharpshooter, Rank M1 MM 154. He reported to Fort Dix, N.J. and was shipped out to Europe.

Morrison landed in Liverpool, England, about June and July of 1943 and proceeded to travel to Ireland and Scotland exactly where his unit met up with other Allied Forces. Quickly they had been convoying down the coast of Good Britain on the White Cliffs of Dover, on their way to the beaches of Normandy.

He landed on Omaha Beach. Following the soldiers broke by means of following D-Day, his military profession took him subsequent to Belgium then ultimately to the Rhineland, Germany. He was in Leipzig, Germany, when V-E Day came, and the Germans surrendered.

He was discharged in November 1945, earning the European-African-Middle Eastern Service Medal, the Excellent Conduct Medal and the Planet War II Victory Medal.

Pictured is Leslie Morrison with his wife, Ruthanne Dikeman, on their wedding day in 1946.

Morrison, presently a Fredonia resident, returned to the States and went to function at Damon Motors, Dunkirk, for ten years and then went on to function for the U.S. Postal Service for 30 years. He married his higher college sweetheart, Ruthanne Dikeman, in August 1946 and had two youngsters. Nowadays, he has has 4 grandchildren and 3 excellent-grandchildren.

His household noted that “Bud will be celebrating his 100th birthday this year in June. He is an avid hockey fan, loves to watch his deer in the back yard and a excellent Manhattan!”

Memorial Day solutions take location at ten a.m. in Memorial Park in Dunkirk. The parade, which travels on Lake Shore Drive from the park to Central Avenue, starts at 11 a.m.

Leslie Morrison in the course of Planet War II.

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