Two War Heros

Page 1 of The Daily Record, published in Lawrenceville, Illinois on Monday, November 24th, 1947

Bodies of two Lawrence County War Heroes returned to US from Cemeteries in Europe

The first of Lawrence County’s World War II dead Clifford H McKee, son of Mrs. Mary F McKee 1603 S 12th street Lawrenceville and Robert P Piper, son of Cecil R Piper Sumner R#1 are being returned to the United States for reburial, have arrived in New York and will be shipped to the Chicago quartermaster depot to await the return trip to Lawrence County.

Funeral services and arrangements are to be announced later.  Full military honors are at present being planned by Lawrence Post 28 of the American Legion.  Both bodies were shipped from European cemeteries on the U S.A T.

Robert Burns, Pvt McKee from the Henri Chappell cemetery in Eupen, Belgium and Pfc Piper from the Henri Chappell cemetery ten miles west of Bayeux France.  Also being brought home for reburial was Pvt James H Lawrence, son of Mrs. Margaret Crowe 1317 Scott St, Vincennes.

Pvt McKee was killed in action in Belgium on January 8, 1945. He was born in Flora, Illinois, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Roy McKee, and was a graduate of Lawrenceville High School. A former employee of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Pvt McKee entered the service in January of 1944 and received training as a radio operator at Fort Sill Oklahoma.  He was assigned to the 330th Infantry and was shipped overseas on November 16, 1944. 

Upon arrival in Lawrenceville Pvt McKee’s body will be taken to the Emmons Funeral Home He is not expected to arrive for at least 10 days of two weeks.  

(No other information was given as to Robert Piper and James Lawrence.)