DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about Truman Kimbro — and this one deserves every word. Truman Kimbro was born in 1918, out in Cottonwood, six miles west of here in Madison County. He went to school nearby in Center — just a local boy, by all accounts, rooted in this quiet patch of East Texas.
Then December 1941 comes along, and the army comes calling. He was drafted. By October 1943, he was in Europe, serving with the 2nd Engineer Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division.
Now — you hold that in your mind for a moment. Engineers. The men who build the bridges, clear the roads, lay the wire.
The men who go first so others can follow. June 6, 1944. Omaha Beach.
The Normandy Invasion. Truman Kimbro from Cottonwood, Texas was among the allied forces that waded ashore on that day. If you know anything about Omaha Beach, you know that just arriving — just surviving the landing — asked everything a man had.
But the story doesn't stop there. December 1944. Advancing German troops pressing forward.
And Truman Kimbro was out in front, placing anti-tank mines — putting himself between those troops and the men behind him. He was killed doing it. The army doesn't forget that kind of thing.
Truman Kimbro was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. He rests now in the U.S. Military Cemetery near Henri-Chapelle, Belgium — a long way from Cottonwood.
But Madison County remembers where he came from.
What the marker says
(1918-1944) Madison County native Truman Kimbro was born in Cottonwood (6 mi. W), and attended school in nearby Center. Drafted into the army in December 1941, he arrived in Europe in October 1943 with the 2nd Engineer Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division. He was among the allied forces that landed on Omaha Beach during the Normandy Invasion on June 6, 1944. Killed in December 1944 while placing anti-tank mines before advancing German troops, Kimbro was post-humously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. He is buried in the U. S. Military Cemetery near Henri-Chapelle, Belgium.