George K. Micheals
Biography: George Kenneth Micheals “Mike” was born on September 24, 1920, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the son of George Micheals and Marie Kussmaul and attended local schools through the 9th Grade. After leaving school he found work at the Gibbs Underwear Company.
Service Time: Mike entered the service on December 15, 1942, at Philadelphia, PA. After his basic training, he was assigned to 1st Platoon of C Company of the 691st Tank Destroyer Battalion. We are not sure when he joined the unit but in May of 1943, the unit was stationed at Camp Claiborne, LA, and took part in the Louisiana maneuvers.
They shipped to England on July 26, 1944, and then onto France, arriving on August 1st. Seeing action in Lorraine in September, they were then transferred to the Ardennes in December. Moving south, they joined operations in the Saar Region in February and March of 1945. Originally a towed battalion, the 691st converted to M36 tank destroyers later that month and moved across Germany, reaching Limbach in April. The unit received credit for campaigns in Northern France, Rhineland, the Ardennes and Central Europe. Mike left the service at the rank of Private First Class.
Mike returned to the U.S. and found work as a finisher in a textile dye-works. In 1953, Mike married the former Jean M. Walsh, who was born in Centralia, PA and was the daughter of Martin Walsh and Ellen Foley. The new couple would make their home in Philadelphia and have three children, Noreen, Sabina and Kenneth.
Mike passed away on December 23, 1995. I want to thank Mike’s great-niece Tricia, for providing the information and photo used in this tribute.