Henry S. Junker
Biography: Henry S. Junker was born on May 10, 1919, in Detroit, Michigan. He was the son of Edward C. Junker and Ruth Renick and attended local schools. He was living in Ostego, before going into the service.
Service Time: Henry entered the Army and was assigned to C Company of the 644th Tank Destroyer Battalion, sometime after the unit was already committed to action in Europe. He received credit for participating in their campaigns of the Rhineland and Central Europe. It was during this time that the unit joined the Roer River offensive and reached the Rhine in March, crossing at Remagen to support the reduction of the Ruhr pocket. They finally moved east to the Elbe River, moving toward the Baltic coast, stopping at Schwerin, Germany, in support of the 82nd Airborne Division. Henry received the American Theater Medal, EAME Medal, the Good Conduct Ribbon and the WWII Victory Medal. He left the service at the rank of Pfc.
Henry returned to the U.S. and worked as a truck driver. He had five children, Henry Jr., Darlene, Jeff, Jayne and Jay. Henry passed away on September 21, 2000, and was buried in Kalamazoo, MI. I want to thank Henry’s son, Jeff, for providing the photos and information for this tribute.
The photo shows Henry, on the left, with an unidentified friend, probably taken just prior to shipping out.