Robert J. "Bob" Orner, US Army, 35th Infantry Division, 134th Inf Reg.

"Bob was born in 1927 on a Pennsylvania farm. He had one sibling, an older sister Myrtle. Together with his mother, the three of them worked the farm during the difficult Great Depression years. Bob would often tell stories of these difficult times such as acquiring food, helping family and even finding clothing. However, Bob’s tenacity, hard work, and perseverance gave him the ability to survive the Great Depression, live through World War II, and beat cancer several times. One example of his stubborn perseverance was after 60 years of smoking Camel cigarettes, in 1985 he decided he would no longer smoke and placed the cigarettes on the table never to touch them again.



He attributed his early education to the "School of Hard Knocks" often telling his children and grandchildren that he walked in the snow uphill both ways to a one room school house and never missed a day of school.



Bob had an overwhelming sense of duty and country. He enlisted in the U.S. Army at 16 years old. He served with the 35th Infantry Division in France, Belgium and Germany, he directly participated in the liberation of concentration camps, and was notably at the Battle of Bulge, and the where at age 17 he was frostbitten, wounded and awarded the Bronze Star. Bob wore Corporal stipes for an entire week and took great pride to tell the story about being “busted” back to buck private twice for boyhood shenanigans. Bob was known as the “Kid” in his platoon and always the jokester, kept people laughing. Apparently, the U.S. Army did not appreciate his sense of humor."

 

Obituary | Robert J. "Bob" Orner of Mooresboro, North Carolina | Blakely Funeral Home & Crematory

 

16 years old --young ---like I just posted in another thread---missed childhoods/teen years --wow

 

Be at peace, Mr. Orner. Your service and sacrifice will not be forgotten.