George Carroll Curdy (1920-1945)

George Carroll Curdy (1920-1945)  was the son of Elihu  (Bud) Ackford Curdy  and Annabelle Kraus (1892-1954).  George lived in Delmar and graduated high school here in 1940.   Bud Curdy was a railroad man and his sons followed him by working for the railroad.

 

George worked at a gas station and for a repro service. When George turned 21 his brother took him to Baltimore to find a job with the Railroad.  They went to see Eddie Flounders station master in Baltimore and with whom their father had worked when Eddie was a brakeman on the railroad in 1917.  The Railroad at that time did not hire anyone under 21.  George hired into the Freight side of the railroad but after a few weeks moved over to the Passenger side.  George was made a conductor on the railroad and  was the youngest conductor on the line. He married in June 1941 to Marian Ruth Wright (1919-1989) She was the daughter of Fred M. and Ruth T. Wright of Delmar.   George was 25 when he was drafted into the army in 1944.  If he had missed the draft for a few more months he would have been ineligible for draft as they were not drafting 26 year olds.  

He  served 9 months in the Army before being wounded at Greimerath, Germany with General Patton’s 3^rd army, 80th inf division 317 inf Regt Co E.  He would die of the wounds in a hospital in France in 1945.  He was buried in the Duchy of Luxembourg in an American cemetery. If he had survived another six weeks the war in Europe would have been over with.   In 1947 his body was re-interred in the First Methodist cemetery in Delmar Delaware.  

above Morning report of March 15th 1945 for 317th Inf regt Co "E"

above morning report of 17 March 1945 317th Inf Regt Co E recording George Curdy death

above General Order awarding Geo Curdy the Purple Heart, notice most are for March 15th and that the morning report for the 15th said "causing some casualties." 

He had one son George Michael Curdy (1943-1997) .  His wife would remarry in 1947 to G. Murrell Dashiell.  Michael's name was changed to  Michael Frederick Dashiell.  Marian Wright Curdy Dashiell would be very active in the PTA over a number of years. Murrell Dashiell would join the railroad and also was very active in a number of organizations in Delmar. Michael Dashiell would graduate Delmar High School and attend Pennsylvania Military College in Chester (now Widener University)  he would end up in Texas, marry, have two daughters, divorce and return East to live in Pennsylvania.  He died in1997. 

George Curdy name is on the monument at the 30th street station in Phila for Pennsylvania railroad people killed in WW2.