My Dad’s older brother John Bennett Stanford was killed in action at Saint Lo France on the 14th of July of 1944 as US troops were fighting to wrest the area back from German control. My grandmother never talked to me about his loss, and my Dad’s mention of it only told me where he was. The graphic above lists the WWII war dead for Lubbock County Texas, for the Army only. The list contains 171 names, with my uncle listed in the second set of the last column. My uncle was far from alone in his sacrifice. There are similar lists for the other branches of the military in the national archives, but I can’t comment on those since I haven’t investigated them. In 1940, the census count for Lubbock County Texas was just over fifty-one thousand.
The Germans were heavily fortified at St. Lo and the fighting was grueling in the period in July known as the Battle of the Hedgerows. There was a subsequent period called Operation Cobra in which many perished from friendly fire, discussed in the linked article.
Well-researched article on the battle for Hill 192 which includes my uncle’s regiment. They had failed to take the hill in mid-June with heavy casualties but succeeded July 10th-12th. The date on the John Bennett Stanford’s tombstone is July 14th. If accurate, that would indicate he may have been killed in the fighting to take Saint Lo itself.
It is fitting that we should remember these fallen and that we should resist the current efforts to destroy the liberty they died defending.
Missionary Sojourn 
I agree, Jon, especially with your last statement. Blessings.
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“We should resist the current efforts to destroy the liberty they died defending.” Yes, friend, I have been saying for years that I’ve never seen a generation so apathetic about giving away their own liberty. I’m trying to figure out a way to make time for getting involved with the Convention of States (which has of course been completely misrepresented by many internet sources).
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I would like to set down with you over a cup of coffee for me, and tea for you and ‘splain the reasons I am on the other side of the COS. Nonetheless, I totally agree the apathy is a serious problem.
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I want to hear about it! You can also say anything without offending me on here, so please don’t worry about that. I will also say I haven’t actually attended their meetings, but I like the fact that they want to limit government spending and overreach. Are they not actually doing what they say at meetings?
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