2LT Jack S. Terry
Today we honor and remember 2LT Jack S. Terry of the 101st Airborne Division
Second Lieutenant (2LT) Jack Sterling Terry of Headquarters Battery, 463rd Parachute Field Artillery Battalion (PFAB), 101st Airborne Division, was born in Bessemer, Jefferson County, Alabama, to Ellis G. and Lula A. (Craig) Terry on November 8, 1918.
Jack had a twin brother, Joe Luther Terry, and one younger sister, Gloria Ann Terry. Two other sisters died before Jack was born. His sister Ellis had died at age 6 in 1918, while his other sister Audrey died at age 1 in 1915.
His parents apparently divorced or separated, as Jack was living with his mother and siblings in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, according to the 1940 Census. He was working as a furniture repairman at the time. After graduating from Bessemer High School, Jack attended the University of Alabama for one year.
He enlisted in the U.S. Army at Fort McClellan, Alabama on July 17, 1941, and then was trained at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where the Field Artillery School trained its own fixed-wing pilots as well as the field artillery spotters. He graduated from Field Artillery Officer Candidate School, Class 24-42.
Lieutenant Jack Terry would be assigned to the 463rd PFAB. He would see action in Africa, the Italian island Sicily, at Casino, Anzio, and Rome on the mainland of Italy, and Southern France, before being transferred to the Western Front.
On December 17, 1944, while being housed at Mourmelon, and after word had arrived of the German breakthrough in the Ardennes, Belgium, the 463rd PFAB was “attached” to the 101st Airborne Division when its commander, LTC John Cooper, had offered the services of his battalion to General Anthony McAuliffe. General McAuliffe directed LTC Cooper to Colonel Harper of the 327th Glider Infantry Regiment, as he lacked direct artillery support. The next day, on Monday, December 18, the battalion moved toward Bastogne.
On January 16, 1945, LT Terry was observing the battles for Bourcy and Rachamps in support of the 327th GIR. He was looking for enemy tanks and hidden artillery positions in a Piper L-4 Observation and Liaison Aircraft piloted by LT George Schoeneck. Purely by chance, their plane ran into the path of a 105mm artillery shell, fired by one of the American units moving down from the north, while trying to close the gap on the enemy.
Another Screaming Eagle had soared to the ultimate height. 🦅
At the end of January 1945, Jack’s father had become critically ill. On Saturday, February 3, 1945, LT Terry’s family received a telegram from the War Department informing them of his death.
The medical condition of Ellis Terry precluded him of being informed about the terrible news, and with Jack’s twin brother Joe at his father’s bedside, Ellis called constantly for Jack, not knowing he was killed in action in Belgium. Their father would pass away the next day, on February 4, 1945.
Lieutenant Jack Terry died during the Battle of the Bulge at age 26, on January 16, 1945.
He was first buried at the Temporary American Military Cemetery Grand Failly, France, at Section K, Row 3, Grave 93. 2LT Terry was later reinterred, and since January 1949, rests eternally at the Cedar Hill Cemetery, Bessemer, Alabama. May he rest in peace.
Happy Birthday in Heaven, Jack.
Lest we forget. 🇺🇸
The sources used for this article are known to the author and available on request.