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Captain William Lloyd Burnell
Where does a man in Belgium look to find information on a WWII
soldier from Bay City, Texas? The answer this day and time is, of
course, the internet. Who does the man contact next if everything he
needs isn’t on the internet? The Bay City Public Library is the
logical place to begin. In January 2018, Samantha Denbow, director
of the Bay City Public Library, received such a request from Arthur
Coppée.
Arthur is the grandson of Evence Coppée who was once the owner of
the Château de Roumont near the Belgian town of Libin. Arthur was
researching the role the château played in World War II as it was
occupied by several US hospitals during 1944-1945.
On July 10, 2016, Arthur and a friend, Olivier Gillard, who owns a
museum in the Belgium town of Saint-Hubert, were excavating a pit on
the château property. They found a damaged dog tag which had been in
a fire. It was the fourth of five dog tags found. The soldiers were
all from
different units who occupied the château in a large spectrum of time
ranging from September 1944 to December 1945.
Arthur set out to find out about the soldier who wore the dog tag.
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Due to the damage, the following information was
legible.
L. Burnell
414568 T42-43
2300 Ave L
ay City Tex
O (blood type)
Photo courtesy of Arthur
Coppée
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Arthur used a microscope to determine the information above and
looked through all of the Texas town names until he decided it had
to be Bay City.
Surprisingly, the Burnell surname was in Arthur’s family tree which
made him even more curious about the soldier who wore the dog tag.
Samantha was able to verify that William L. Burnell had lived in Bay
City and was buried at Cedarvale Cemetery. She was also able to tell
him that Mr. Burnell survived the war and died in 1963.
Samantha then turned the query over to members of the Matagorda
County Genealogical Society who contacted Jim Wright.
Jim Wright, the cousin of Mr. Burnell’s wife, Mary Frank Carr
Burnell, was able to supply the entire serial number, 0414568 from
documents he obtained.
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William Lloyd Burnell was born April 12, 1920 in Lone
Oak, Kentucky. He married Mary Frank Carr on January 24,
1942 at the First United Methodist Church in Bay City.
He was a reserve lieutenant in the Texas National Guard
who was called to active duty. On February 6, 1942, Mr.
Burnell entered service at Ellington Air Force Base in
Houston as a 2nd Lieutenant and was assigned
to the 330th Infantry, 83rd
Division. His physical description was blue eyes, brown
hair, six feet tall, and 180 pounds. He had two
dependents. His civilian occupation was noted as foreman
or superintendent.
He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant on December
15, 1942 and Captain on August 7, 1943. He departed the
United States on April 6, 1944 and arrived in England on
April 18, 1944.
Overseas service included Omaha Beach, England and the
Invasion of Normandy. He was awarded Infantry School
Special Service (orientation), Combat Infantry Badge,
European African Middle Eastern Theater and 2 purple
hearts.
In the fighting on the outskirts of Brest, France on
August 27, 1944, a German tank destroyer killed all his
team. Capt. Burnell lost a leg and lost consciousness,
too. A friend grabbed one of his dog tags believing he
had been killed. (US soldiers all carried at least two
dog tags. When one was killed, a soldier took one away
for the US administration and then to communicate
everything to his family, while the second one was left
on the dead soldier to be able to identify him when we
would be buried.) Capt. Burnell, however, woke up three
hours later, shouted for help and was immediately
repatriated. His unit continued its advance through
Europe and occupied the château with other infantry
divisions of Patton's Third Army from December 26th,
1944 to January 12th, 1945. There, they made up their
enlistments. Since Capt. Burnell was not killed, his dog
tag was of no use to them and they simply threw it away.
When villagers cleaned the château and its surroundings
after the war, they dropped everything in the same hole.
Arthur interviewed an old villager from Ochamps, the
closest village to the château. He remembered the dump
pit and showed him where it was. This is how the
research started, and how Capt. Burnell’s dog tag was
found.
Capt. Burnell was shipped home on November 4, 1944,
arriving in the United States on November 17, 1944.
He was separated from his unit November 23rd, 1944 and
arrived at McCloskey General Hospital in Temple, TX by
November 25th, 1944.
McCloskey General Hospital specialized in military
casualties who lost limbs.
Marriage article, Bay City Herald, January 29, 1942 |
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McCloskey General Hospital, Temple,
Texas
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The "Tank Destroyers Lauded by Captain" interview
appeared in newspapers just after his arrival at the
hospital.
Capt. Burnell was released from service on November 23,
1945. Total service was February 6, 1942 to November 23,
1945. Three years, two months and six days of
continental service and seven months and eleven days of
foreign service. His honorable discharge was October 31,
1953.
After his release from the hospital, Capt. Burnell
returned to his family in Bay City. Awaiting him were
his wife, Mary Frank, and son, William II.
After the loss of his leg, Mr. Burnell used a prosthetic
leg that was very heavy, but he never let it slow him
down. He was a golfer and an outdoorsman.
The Burnells had four more children, Thornton Drew,
Thomas Francis, and twins, Barbara Jeanne and Robert
Dean.
Sadly, he wouldn’t have a lifetime to share with his
family. He died in Houston on March 3, 1963 of cancer
and was buried at Cedarvale Cemetery in Bay City. His
wife, Mary Frank, died on August 31, 1996 and was buried
beside him. Their sons, Thomas Francis and Robert Dean
are buried with them. Thornton Drew is also deceased.
How Capt. Burnell’s dog tag made its way to Château de
Roumont in Belgium began as a mystery since the château
was in Belgium, 500 miles east of the location where
Capt. Burnell’s injury occurred. Arthur researched the
movements and the units involved in the action in which
Capt. Burnell lost his leg, but could find nothing that
placed him at the château. Capt. Burnell never arrived
at the château, but his dog tag did due to the concern
of a fellow soldier who wanted to make sure he would not
be lost in action.
Had it not been for Arthur, his heritage, research and
curiosity, this 74-year story would have been lost to
the ages.
William Lloyd Burnell II,
Kenneth L. Thames and Dana Stubbs (Corsicana Public
Library Genealogy Department) also contributed to this
article.
Tank article,
Abilene Reporter, Abilene, Texas, November 26, 1944 |
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Cedarvale Cemetery, Bay City, Texas
Photo courtesy of Jim Wright
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Photo courtesy of Jim Wright
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Photo courtesy of Tresmond Scott
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Mary Frank Carr Burnell
Mary
Frank Burnell, 74, of Bay City, passed away Saturday,
August 31, 1996 at Fort Bend Memorial Hospital, Missouri
City, TX.
She was
born Nov. 12, 1921 in Bay City to Thornton Francis Carr
and Mildred Walker Carr. She was a lifelong resident of
Bay City, a Bank Teller for twelve years with the First
National Bank, and a member of the First United
Methodist Church, Bay City.
She is
survived by a daughter, Barbara Jean Quirk of Angleton,
by three sons, William Lloyd Burnell of Bay City,
Thornton Drew Burnell of Sugar Land, and Thomas Francis
Burnell of Bay City; by a sister, Lucille Roberts of Bay
City; by a brother, Tony Carr of Palacios; by 14
grandchildren, and by one great grandchild. She was
preceded in death by her husband, William Lloyd Burnell
and by a son, Robert Dean Burnell. Funeral services will
be held at 4 p. m. Tuesday, Sept. 3, 1996 at the First
United Methodist Church, Bay City, with Rev. Mike Toland,
officiating. Interment will be at Cedarvale Cemetery,
Bay City.
Pallbearers will be Wayne Head, Bill Roberts, Cecil
Roberts, Ronnie Coker, Greg Coker Don Cole, Doug Murray,
and Dennis Burt.
Arrangements are with Taylor Bros. Funeral Home in Bay
City.
Daily
Tribune, September 3, 1996
Carr Family History |
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TOMMY F. BURNELL
BAY CITY - Tommy F. Burnell, 57, of
Bay City, passed away Tuesday, June 2, 2009. He was born Sept. 5,
1951, in Bay City, to the late Mary Frank and William Burnell. Tommy
was a lifelong resident of Bay City, a graduate of Bay City High
School and Texas A&M University, and a teacher and coach with Boling
ISD.
He is survived by son: Brandt Burnell of College Station; sister:
Barbara Burnell Quirk of Angleton; two brothers: Bill Burnell of
Richmond and Drew Burnell of Austin; aunt: Joyce Carr of Bay City;
and cousin: Vicki Head and husband Wayne of Bay City.
Tommy was preceded in death by his parents, and brother, Bob
Burnell.
A funeral service will be held 4 p.m. Thursday, June 4, 2009 at
Taylor Bros. Funeral Home with Dr. Joe Cannon officiating. Interment
will follow at Cedarvale Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be: Victor Cannon, Dennis Burt, Al Leissner, Neal
and Kevin Majewski, and John Black.
Honorary pallbearers will be: Wayne, Ken, Vim, and Kirk Head, Phil
McKay, and E. J. Ashcraft.
Donations may be made to St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 3102
5th St., Bay City, TX 77414.
Condolences may be shared with the family by visiting
www.taylorbros.net.
Arrangements are with Taylor Bros. Funeral Home, Bay City,
979-245-4613.
Published in the Victoria Advocate on 6/3/2009
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Photo courtesy of Jim Wright
Robert Dean Burnell
Funeral services for Robert Dean Burnell, 29, of Sugar Land will be
held at 4 p. m. Saturday at First United Methodist Church of Bay
City with the Rev. Bill Dugger of Bay City and the Rev. Dick Summers
of Kerrville officiating.
Mr. Burnell was born Aug. 16, 1957, in Houston to William Lloyd and
Mary Frank Burnell and died Aug. 6, 1987, at Diagnostic Hospital,
Houston.
He graduated from Bay City High School and attended Rice University
for two years where he won the Dale Morgan Award as most valuable
baseball player at Rice University.
He was a member of the Methodist church.
Survivors include his mother, Mary Frank Carr Burnell of Bay City;
three brothers and sisters-in-law, William Lloyd and Phyllis Burnell
of Val Dosta, Ga., Thornton Drew and Ginny Burnell of Sugar Land and
Thomas Frances and Paula Burnell of Bay City; twin sister and
brother-in-law, Barbara Jean and John Merrilles of Bay City; his
fiancé, Meredith Anne Wargo of Houston; an aunt, Lucille Roberts of
Bay City; an uncle, Tony Carr of Bay City; 12 nieces and nephews;
and a friend of the family, Mike Morrow of Bay City.
Pallbearers include Bill Roberts, Jay Payton, John Samuels, Richard
Meyers, Chris Carr, Chris Hennessey and Greg Coker.
Memorials can be made to the Bob Burnell Memorial Baseball Fund of
Rice University, in care of First National Bank of Bay City.
Arrangements are with Taylor Brothers Funeral Home, Bay City.
Daily Tribune,
August 7, 1987 |
