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Contact Info
Home Town Wilson
Last Address Colorado Springs, CO
Date of Passing Nov 28, 2015
Location of Interment Shrine of Remembrance Mausoleum - Colorado Springs, Colorado
Wall/Plot Coordinates Gate of Heaven
Official Badges
Unofficial Badges
Additional Information
Last Known Activity:
United States Army (Retired) Major, Henry “Duke” Boswell, 92, passed away in Colorado Springs on November 29, 2015. Duke was born on October 8, 1923 in Wilson, North Carolina to the late James and Della (McKeel) Boswell. Duke attended Coon High School and at the age of sixteen, joined the North Carolina National Guard and was assigned to Company M, 120th Infantry Regiment, 30th Infantry Division. On September 16, 1940, he was called to active duty while still sixteen years of age and was assigned to Fort Jackson, South Carolina.
In June 1942, Corporal Boswell volunteered for parachute training and communications school and was transferred to Fort Benning, Georgia. He finished his training and was assigned to Company G, 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. In November 1942, the Regiment was transferred to Fort Bragg and assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division.
On July 10, 1943, Sergeant Boswell saw his first combat action when he jumped into Sicily. He again made a jump into Salerno, Italy in September 1943 and helped liberate Naples, Italy on October 1, 1943. On June 6, 1944, Sergeant Boswell jumped behind enemy lines into St. Mere Eglise, France just prior to the Normandy invasion. This was the first town in France to be liberated from the Germans. Sergeant Boswell made one more combat jump into Holland in September 1944. They returned to France and fought in the Battle of the Bulge until January 1945. His unit made the river assault crossing into Germany and fought until meeting the Russians in May 1945. At the start of the war, Staff Sergeant Boswell’s unit started with 146 men and by the end, there were 13 left who hadn’t been killed or wounded.
After World War II, he entered Officer Training School in January 1948 and was reassigned to Airborne Training Battalion at Fort Benning as a Second Lieutenant. He married Maxine Martin of Junction City, Kansas on December 22, 1948. In September 1950, 1st Lieutenant Boswell was assigned to the First Cavalry Division, Korea. During the Korean War, Lt. Boswell was seriously wounded by mortar fire and sustained injuries in both hands and legs. After being released from the hospital, Major Boswell had assignments in Georgia, Hawaii and finished his career at Fort Carson, Colorado.
Major Boswell earned a Bachelors Degree in Education from the University of Omaha and a Masters Degree in Education from Northern Colorado. He served as a teacher for sixth graders for the next 20 years and received the Crystal Apple Award recognizing him as the Outstanding Teacher of the Year by School District 11. Major Boswell has been speaking with middle school and high school students, civic groups and ROTC Detachments for the last ten years sharing his amazing story.
In May 2009, Major Boswell was invited by the French Government to attend a D-Day 65th anniversary ceremony at Normandy Beach. Before the ceremony, the French President recognized him with a medal for the service and sacrifices he made during D-Day and the liberation of France. The medal he received is the “National Order of the Legion of Honour,” the highest decoration in France.
Major Boswell’s decorations and badges include: the Bronze Star with one oak leaf cluster, Purple Heart, WW II Victory Medal, Master Parachute Badge with four Combat Jump Stars, Combat Infantry Badge with Star, European Campaign Ribbon with six Campaign Stars and One Invasion Arrowhead, Korean Service Ribbon with two Campaign Stars along with several other badges.
Major Boswell is survived by his sons: Ralph (Rosalee) and Jamie; grandchildren: Bethelyn Stanley and Mark Boswell; six great grandchildren: Joshua, Sam and Lalla-Rose Stanley and Webb, Behr and Ruby Boswell. He is also survived by his brother, James; one nephew, one niece and numerous friends. He is preceded in death by his beloved wife, Maxine.
WWII - European Theater of Operations/Normandy Campaign (1944)/Capture of Sainte-Mère-Eglise
From Month/Year
June / 1944
To Month/Year
June / 1944
Description The early landings, at about 0140 directly on the town, resulted in heavy casualties for the paratroopers. Some buildings in town were on fire that night, and they illuminated the sky, making easy targets of the descending men. Some were sucked into the fire. Many hanging from trees and utility poles were shot before they could cut loose.
A well known incident involved paratrooper John Steele of the 505th PIR, whose parachute caught on the spire of the town church, and could only observe the fighting going on below. He hung there limply for two hours, pretending to be dead, before the Germans took him prisoner. Steele later escaped from the Germans and rejoined his division when US troops of the 3rd Battalion, 505 Parachute Infantry Regiment attacked the village, capturing thirty Germans and killing another eleven. The incident was portrayed in the movie The Longest Day by actor Red Buttons.
Later that morning, about 0500, a force led by Lt. Colonel Edward C. Krause of the 505th PIR took the town with little resistance. Apparently the German garrison was confused and had retired for the rest of the night. However, heavy German counterattacks began later in the day and into the next. The lightly armed troops held the town until reinforced by tanks from nearby Utah Beach in the afternoon of 7 June.
Krause and Lt. Colonel Benjamin H. Vandervoort both received the Distinguished Service Cross for their actions in the capture of the town. Sgt. George Bowler Tullidge III received the Bronze Star, while a collection of Bible verses and of his letters home, A Paratrooper's Faith was distributed throughout the 82nd Airborne by his parents from after his death until the 1990s.
Henry Langrehr was also involved in the capture of Sainte-Mère-Église. He crashed through a greenhouse roof, as retold in the movie The Longest Day. On 6 November 2007 he received, along with five other men, the Legion of Honor medal from the President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy.
