This Deceased Army Profile is not currently maintained by any Member.
If you would like to take responsibility for researching and maintaining this Deceased profile please click
HERE
Contact Info
Home Town Palestine
Last Address El Paso, TX
Date of Passing Feb 05, 2005
Location of Interment Fort Bliss National Cemetery (VA) - Fort Bliss, Texas
From Private to Brigadier General - George Macon Shuffer, Jr.
Against his father's wishes, Shuffer ran off in June 1940 to join his brothers in the 25th Infantry Regiment at Fort Huachuca, AZ. Recruiting quotas were filled at the time, so Shuffer was "attached" to L company without pay. In August 1940, he was allowed to enlist and promoted to PFC because of the duties he had performed for months without a paycheck.
He was then transferred to Camp Wolters, TX into a training Bn as a CPL. BG Benjamin O. Davis visited his unit, and suggested that then SGT Shuffer apply for OCS.
2LT Shuffer was commissioned on 2 February 1943 after completing OCS at Fort Benning, GA.
He was then assigned as a platoon leader for the 2nd Airbase Security Regiment at Fort Swift, TX.
Shuffer moved to the Antitank Co. of the 368th Infantry Regiment in 1943. This regiment deployed to the Solomon Islands with the 93rd Infantry Division in January 1944.
The 93rd saw action at Benika, Morotai Island, and Zamboanga on Mindanao.
During the Korean War, Shuffer received two Silver Stars, a second Bronze Star, and was seriously wounded in April 1951. He was evacuated to Walter Reed Army Hospital.
Following duty in Europe, Shuffer was assigned to 2/2 Infantry as the Bn Commander.
This unit was detached from the 5th Infantry Division and deployed to Vietnam in October 1965 with the 1st Infantry Division. Shuffer's 2/2 IN received two Valorous Unit Awards while he was the commander.
Following a tour with II Field Force and military assistant to the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Shuffer took command of the 193rd Infantry Brigade, Panama Canal Zone in 1970.
A return to Europe saw Shuffer assigned as Deputy CofS for Personnel, USAEUR. After this assignment, Shuffer was the ADC for the 3rd ID in Wurzburg. He fractured his hip while running PT on the ice, and was medically retired after 35 years of service.
BG Shuffer was a fighter. He was in combat with his men - on the ground - through three wars. Following his retirement, he acted as a chaplain and regularly visited troops at William Beaumont Army Medical Center at Fort Bliss, TX.
Shuffer died at age 81 in 2005.
Other Comments:
Brigadier General George M. Shuffer, Jr., 81, (US Army Ret,) was called home to the Lord February 5, 2005; he was born in Palestine, Texas on September 27, 1923.
Commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in February 1943, he went on to fight for our country in World War II as an intelligence and reconnaissance platoon leader, Korea as an Infantry Company Commander, and Vietnam as a Infantry Battalion Commander, rising in rank to Brigadier General over a thirty-five year career.
His list of citations and decorations included the Distinguished Service Medal, three Silver Stars, four Bronze Stars, five Air medals and the Purple Heart. In 1984 he was inducted into the Infantry Hall of fame.
He graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor Degree and later with a Masters degree. He graduated from the Command and General Staff College and the Army War College.
At age 48, while commanding the 193rd Infantry Brigade in the Panama Canal Zone, he earned the parachute badge after completing the 8th Special Forces group Airborne School.
Following World War II he married Cecilia M. Mann, and from this union came eleven children and sixteen grandchildren.
After retiring from the Army in 1975 he entered St. Charles Seminary and was ordained a Permanent Deacon for The El Paso Diocese in 1977. He was a true shepherd who served as a Chaplain at William Beaumont Army Medical Center for almost 30 years.
General Shuffer is survived by his wife, Cecilia, four sons: David of Colleyville, Tex; George III of San Clemente, CA; Joseph of Carlsbad, Cal and Peter of Oceanside, Cal; and seven daughters: Sister Gloria Shuffer, OSF of Denver, CO; Marlene Kuhn of Muskegon, MI; Rita Lloyd of Boca Raton, FL; Monica Thomas of Pearland, Tex; Rosemary McQuillan of Las Vegas; Maria Wallace of San Antonio, TX; Anita Shuffer of Marietta GA; his two brothers Jacob and Alfrez; and his sister Eunice Stamper.
He was preceded in death by his parents and his sisters Fannie Mae Shuffer and Willetta Saunders.
Description The Battle of Mindoro was a battle in World War II between forces of the United States and Japan, in Mindoro Island in the central Philippines, from 13–16 December 1944, during the Philippines campaign.
Troops of the United States Army, supported by the United States Navy and U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF), made an amphibious landing on Mindoro and defeated Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) forces there. There was no significant opposition from the Imperial Japanese Navy, nor from the Japanese Army and Navy Air Forces, except for kamikaze (suicide) attacks on American ships.
The Japanese force in Mindoro was not large, and was eliminated in three days. The Army was assisted in the campaign by guerrillas from the local Filipino population.
The U.S. captured Mindoro to establish airfields there, which would be in fighter range of Lingayen Gulf in northern Luzon Island, where the next major amphibious invasion of the Philippines was planned. Ground-based fighter cover was necessary for this operation. Mindoro could also serve as the advanced base for U.S. troops going to fight in Luzon.
Battle
On 15 December, the invasion of Mindoro began. The clear weather allowed the full use of American air and naval power, including six escort carriers, three battleships, six cruisers and many other support warships against light Japanese resistance. Because of inadequate airstrip facilities in Leyte, the 503rd Parachute Regimental Combat Team came ashore in Mangarin Bay with the landing force instead of jumping. Destroyers provided fire support for the troop landings and anti-aircraft protection for the ships in the transport area. Two LSTs struck by kamikazes were abandoned and sank.
In one heroic action, the destroyer USS Moale (DD-693), under the command of Commander Walter M. Foster, went alongside the burning LST-738 (which was loaded with aviation fuel and ordnance) to rescue crewmembers. Several explosions aboard LST-738 caused damage to Moale as she pulled away. Some pieces of shrapnel were two feet square and they put four holes in Moale's hull. Gunner's Mate Ed Marsh reported that a one-gallon jar of vaseline from the LST's cargo splattered on one barrel of his twin 40 mm Bofors AA gun, providing unwelcome lubrication. Moale suffered one casualty and thirteen wounded. In addition, Moale also rescued 88 survivors.
There were 1,000 defending Japanese soldiers stationed on Mindoro. Another 200 survivors from ships sunk off Mindoro en route to Leyte were also present. The defenders were outnumbered and outgunned. Some 300 Japanese manning an air raid warning station at the island's northern end put up a stiff fight against a company of the 503rd, but except for mopping up, the island was secure within 48 hours.
Aftermath
The defending Japanese forces on Mindoro suffered some 200 killed and 375 wounded. The survivors fled into the jungles, where they lurked till the end of the war. The 24th Infantry Division lost 18 men and had 81 wounded.
By the end of the first day, Army engineers were at work preparing airfields. Two were completed in thirteen days. These airfields allowed U.S. aircraft to provide direct support for the Luzon invasion. The Mindoro airfields were also used by long-range bombers, especially USAAF B-24 Liberators, to attack Japanese shipping from Formosa to Luzon. These bombers also operated over the South China Sea, and combined with the Navy to blockade shipping between Japan and south-east Asia.