World War II Honoree

Allan Delbert Bastian

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

Hinckley, Illinois

Honored By

Pearl Thomas

He served in the U.S. Army with 101st Airborne Division, The Screaming Eagles. He landed in France, and was moved to Belgium providing reinforcements in the Battle of the Bulge. He fought along the Rhine River and then their unit traveled to the Bavarian section of Germany, Berchtesgarten. The 101st Airborne liberated Hitler’s special mountain retreat The Eagle’s Nest and during this time he was detailed to help collect valuable treasures stolen by Hermann Goering. At the end of the war in Europe, he traveled home on the Queen Mary with thousand of troops and a highlight was the ticker tape Victory parades for them in New York City and Washington D.C.