Fireman 1st Class Albert Bradley Curtis - Westfield, MA
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neoc1
N 42° 07.345 W 072° 47.127
18T E 683056 N 4665741
A monument in memory of Fireman 1st Class Albert Bradley Curtis is located near the carillon in Stanley Park at 400 Western Ave. in Westfield, MA.
Waymark Code: WM14CTB
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 06/13/2021
Views: 1
A bronze plaque dedicated to the memory Fireman 1st Class Albert Bradley Curtis is affixed to a 3' high granite boulder set underneath a beech tree south of the carillon. The plaque is inscribed:
IN MEMORY OF
ALBERT BRADLEY
CURTIS
FIREMAN FIRST CLASS
U.S. COAST GUARD
SON OF
MR. & MRS. W.C. CURTIS
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA
MAY 11, 1924 JAN. 29, 1945
GAVE HIS LIFE AT
GUADALCANAL
According to is biography at the Find a Grave Website for Arlington National Cemetery:
"Albert was born in Kansas City, Missouri but grew up in a middle-class neighborhood in Oklahoma City with his brother and his parents where his dad was a manager and salesman of Stanley Home Products. He was musically talented and was a band member while attending Classen High School in Oklahoma City.
Albert was a Fireman First Class, United States Coast Guard and was stationed on the USS Serpens, a navy cargo ship when an explosion occurred as the ship was being loaded with depth charges while docked just West of Lunga Point on the island of Guadalcanal. The explosion disintegrated all but the bow of the ship and took the lives of 196 sailors, including Albert, and 57 soldiers who were assigned to a US Army stevedore (i.e. dockworker).
The remains of the sailors/soldiers were returned to the States under the WW2 dead program and were buried in a common grave on June 15, 1949; 250 remains in 52 caskets.
His parents placed a large stone memorial at Stanley Park in Westfield, Massachusetts at the time the park opened and it remains there today."
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