Elk Rapids High School

Veterans Day, November 12, 2018

Featured Veteran - Sergeant George Duke, US Army

 Sgt. George Duke was born August 27, 1923 (Age 95)
 Sgt. Duke drove a half-track (pictured below) in the 11th Armored Division; 3rd Army was commanded
by Old Blood & Guts, General George S. Patton.
 On D-Day in 1944, when the allies invaded Normandy, France President Roosevelt granted Patton
command of the 3rd U.S. Army. Under Patton’s leadership, the 3rd Army swept across France,
capturing town after town.
 In 1945, Patton and his army managed to cross the Rhine and charge straight into the heart of
Germany, capturing 10,000 square miles of enemy territory along the course of the 10-day march,
and liberating Germany from the Nazi’s in the process.
 Sgt. Duke participated in the liberation of the Mauthausen–Gusen concentration camp. The camp
housed up to 85,000 prisoners and it is reported that as many as 320,000 prisoners died there. Sgt.
Duke reported that the horror was indescribable. He stated that when they opened the main gate
they found bodies piled up as big as a house. He said they made the German SS Troopers remove all
of the bodies and carry them outside the camp.
 Late that same year, Patton’s forces played a key role in defeating the German counterattack
in the Battle of the Bulge. For the Americans, out of a peak of 610,000 troops, 89,000 became
casualties out of which some 19,000 were killed. The "Bulge" was the largest and bloodiest single
battle fought by the United States in World War II and the second bloodiest battle in American
history.
 Sgt. Duke drove an M16 half-track (pictured below). The vehicle had four 50-caliber machine
guns operated by two gunners. His half-track dismantled several German pill boxes.
 After the war, George met his wife (Helen Tichacek, deceased 6.14.18) at college in St. Louis,
Missouri and married her on June 10, 1950.
 After earning a pilot’s license and a degree in aeronautical engineering from Brayton College
of Aeronautics in St. Louis, Missouri, George and Helen made their home in the Flint area.
They had no children. George was employed by General Motors for 30 years as a director of
maintenance and was honored several times as “Boss of the Year”.
 They retired in the Elk Rapids area. They loved Northern Michigan and George loved to hunt
and fish. He said his best catch on East Bay was 14 salmon in one day and he is very proud of
his 8-point buck that he shot in the Upper Peninsula.

M16 Half Track

Engine: White 160 AX, 6 cyl.

Class: Light Armored Anti-Aircraft
Gears: 8 Forward & 2 Reverse
Guns: Four 50 Cal. Machine Guns
Production: Over 30,000 made
Length: 21 ft. 4 in.
Width: 7 ft. 3 in.
Height: 7 ft. 8.5 in.
Weight: 19,800 lb. (10 Tons)
Top Speed: 35 MPH