Memorial

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T/Sgt George W. Bonner worked on the family farm before joined the Regular Army at Fort McClellan, Alabama on 5 August 1940.

At the start of the Battle of the Bulge, his unit defended the village of Flamierge, where he was taken prisoner on 23 December 1944, together with several other members of his unit. During their walk to the German border, they were forced to move wrecked vehicles and dead German bodies, victims of air attacks, of the road into ditches. During one of the air attacks, T/Sgt Bonner was moratally wounded.

Per Robert Bowen: Suddenly the sound of plane motors came over nearby trees. "Yarboes," the guards screamed. We dove for the ditches as the P-47s skimmed the tree tops on the right and came barreling toward us with guns blazing. The ditches were shallow, not deep enough to hide our bodies. Even though I buried myself in the snow, I could follow the paths of the .50 caliber shells as they raced across the field and hit the road, showering us with debris and sparks. T/Sgt Bonner, one of the medics who came up to help the wounded at our road block was down, a bullet through his hip. It was serious. We started off again, more wary than ever. Soon a small village came into sight. Our medics immediately tended the wounded, but T/Sgt Bonner was beyond their limited facilities. They begged the guards to have him removed to a local hospital. The guards refused at first, but later recanted. We sat quietly on the hardwood flooring watching Bonner in his agony. Catholic sisters acted as nurses, helping the doctors and serving meals. Somewhere down the hall, I could hear feminine voices singing Christmas carols. Even though they were in German, the music was familiar. While they sang the beautiful songs, T/Sgt Bonner died.

He was first buried at the Temporary American Military Cemetery of Foy, Belgium.