Post by connie on Sept 20, 2021 11:44:36 GMT -5
Balch, George, Pfc 423 A, POW IX-B
Cub Note: Vol 3, No 1:
PFC George F. Balch, Second Plat Co A 423, 28 McKinley St., Keene, N. H. is a student at the U. of New Hampshire. He was with the rest of the boys at IX B Bad Orb from 19 December to 2 April 1945.
Discussion Board Note Accidental meeting of two Bad Orb POW's from the 423rd A: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/153/thre
Stalag IX-B Notes: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/5012/thread
Info on ASTP Program: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/2237/thread
Obituary: www.capecodtimes.com/article/20080226/OBITS02/802260338
George E. Balch, 85, of Cotuit, died on Feb. 23, 2008, at Falmouth Hospital.
He was the husband of Mary Irene (Sullivan) Balch for 61 years, father of Sheila Mary (Balch) Butts, grandfather of Brendan Michael, Sean Michael, and Kathleen Mary Butts, and father-in-law to Michael Butts, all of Newton Centre. He also leaves a niece, Martha Partridge Gaudes of Bedford, N.H., and Nokomis, Fla., and a nephew, Andrew Balch Partridge of Deerfield, N.H., and Nokomis.
Born in Hardwick, Vt., he was the son of the late Elsie (Wheeler) and Clayton Balch. He moved to Keene, N.H., where his father and uncle operated a quality grocery business known locally as Balch Bros. Market.
Upon graduation from Keene High School in 1939, he was employed in the merchandising department of the Public Service Co. of New Hampshire. At the onset of World War II, he became employed in defense work in a plant in Springfield.
Entering the Army in 1942, basic training in Salt Lake City, he was selected in the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) for basic engineering at Kansas State College in Manhattan, Kan., and completed three semesters before the program was cancelled and he was reassigned to the infantry.
He served overseas as a rifleman with the 423rd Infantry Regiment of the 106th Division on the front lines at the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. Following his release from a German prisoner of war camp in April 1945, he was stationed at Fort Jackson, S.C., until his discharge in December 1945.
He enrolled at the University of New Hampshire in Durham and married Mary Irene Sullivan of Keene in 1946. The couple lived in former wartime barracks on campus while he completed his studies. Irene was employed as a secretary at the college. In 1948, he earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the College of Technology. He accepted employment with the New Hampshire Water Pollution Control commission in Concord as a senior chemist.
In 1955, he changed jobs to Allied Chemical and Dye Corp., at their pollution control laboratory in Philadelphia. The family moved to Levittown, Pa. In 1958, he was transferred to Allied Chemical-Barrett Division plant in Sunbury, Pa. Subsequently, he was promoted to division headquarters in New York City and later to Allied’s corporate offices in Morristown, N.J., and later in Mendham, N.J.
Mr. Balch retired from Allied Corp., in 1984, as corporate manager, Pollution Control in 1984 and moved to Cotuit. He was active in the Sunbury Rotary Club and the Sunbury Young Democrats Club, and campaigned for the Kennedy/Johnson ticket. He and his family attended the inauguration in 1961. He was also chairman of the New Providence Planning Board and later as chairman of the zoning of adjustment board.
In Cotuit, he continued to be active in many local organizations, serving as president, Kings Grant Homeowners Association; president, Osterville Men’s Club; treasurer, Historical Society of Santuit and Cotuit; and trustee/treasurer, Cahoon Museum of American Art.
A founding member of Christ the King Parish in Mashpee, he served as a eucharistic minister, usher, and as treasurer, St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Knights of Columbus.
He loved his family and grandchildren, civic affairs, traveling the U.S. and abroad, cooking, music, reading, computers, and Saturday morning yard sales.
He was very proud of his New England heritage and kept records of the Balch family genealogy. He was a direct descendant of John Balch, the original settler of Beverly in 1626, where the Balch family house still stands today.
Cub Note: Vol 3, No 1:
PFC George F. Balch, Second Plat Co A 423, 28 McKinley St., Keene, N. H. is a student at the U. of New Hampshire. He was with the rest of the boys at IX B Bad Orb from 19 December to 2 April 1945.
Discussion Board Note Accidental meeting of two Bad Orb POW's from the 423rd A: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/153/thre
Stalag IX-B Notes: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/5012/thread
Info on ASTP Program: 106thdivision.proboards.com/post/2237/thread
Obituary: www.capecodtimes.com/article/20080226/OBITS02/802260338
George E. Balch, 85, of Cotuit, died on Feb. 23, 2008, at Falmouth Hospital.
He was the husband of Mary Irene (Sullivan) Balch for 61 years, father of Sheila Mary (Balch) Butts, grandfather of Brendan Michael, Sean Michael, and Kathleen Mary Butts, and father-in-law to Michael Butts, all of Newton Centre. He also leaves a niece, Martha Partridge Gaudes of Bedford, N.H., and Nokomis, Fla., and a nephew, Andrew Balch Partridge of Deerfield, N.H., and Nokomis.
Born in Hardwick, Vt., he was the son of the late Elsie (Wheeler) and Clayton Balch. He moved to Keene, N.H., where his father and uncle operated a quality grocery business known locally as Balch Bros. Market.
Upon graduation from Keene High School in 1939, he was employed in the merchandising department of the Public Service Co. of New Hampshire. At the onset of World War II, he became employed in defense work in a plant in Springfield.
Entering the Army in 1942, basic training in Salt Lake City, he was selected in the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) for basic engineering at Kansas State College in Manhattan, Kan., and completed three semesters before the program was cancelled and he was reassigned to the infantry.
He served overseas as a rifleman with the 423rd Infantry Regiment of the 106th Division on the front lines at the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. Following his release from a German prisoner of war camp in April 1945, he was stationed at Fort Jackson, S.C., until his discharge in December 1945.
He enrolled at the University of New Hampshire in Durham and married Mary Irene Sullivan of Keene in 1946. The couple lived in former wartime barracks on campus while he completed his studies. Irene was employed as a secretary at the college. In 1948, he earned a Bachelor of Science in chemistry from the College of Technology. He accepted employment with the New Hampshire Water Pollution Control commission in Concord as a senior chemist.
In 1955, he changed jobs to Allied Chemical and Dye Corp., at their pollution control laboratory in Philadelphia. The family moved to Levittown, Pa. In 1958, he was transferred to Allied Chemical-Barrett Division plant in Sunbury, Pa. Subsequently, he was promoted to division headquarters in New York City and later to Allied’s corporate offices in Morristown, N.J., and later in Mendham, N.J.
Mr. Balch retired from Allied Corp., in 1984, as corporate manager, Pollution Control in 1984 and moved to Cotuit. He was active in the Sunbury Rotary Club and the Sunbury Young Democrats Club, and campaigned for the Kennedy/Johnson ticket. He and his family attended the inauguration in 1961. He was also chairman of the New Providence Planning Board and later as chairman of the zoning of adjustment board.
In Cotuit, he continued to be active in many local organizations, serving as president, Kings Grant Homeowners Association; president, Osterville Men’s Club; treasurer, Historical Society of Santuit and Cotuit; and trustee/treasurer, Cahoon Museum of American Art.
A founding member of Christ the King Parish in Mashpee, he served as a eucharistic minister, usher, and as treasurer, St. Vincent de Paul Society and the Knights of Columbus.
He loved his family and grandchildren, civic affairs, traveling the U.S. and abroad, cooking, music, reading, computers, and Saturday morning yard sales.
He was very proud of his New England heritage and kept records of the Balch family genealogy. He was a direct descendant of John Balch, the original settler of Beverly in 1626, where the Balch family house still stands today.