"Green as Grass" Platoon Leader Earns Purple Heart
John Curry • Elk Point, South Dakota
1st Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Don Doll, S.J. photo • Story by Tim Gallagher
John William Curry hesitates before describing his time in active combat in France in World War II.
"It didn’t last long," says John, now 86 years old. Three days to be exact.
John was 21 when he graduated from officers’ training school and was sent to Texas, and then Louisiana to train as an infantry platoon leader. Months later he boarded a ship for England. There, he prepared to enter combat as a replacement officer.
"I got my chance on June 12, 1944, six days after D-Day," he says. "We landed at Normandy and I don’t remember too much about the beach. I recall seeing the remains of gliders in the hedgerows and being thankful I was never on a glider."
John joined the 359th Regiment, which was part of the Army’s 90th Division. It was composed largely of soldiers from Texas and Oklahoma. John was told they suffered heavy casualties landing at Normandy on D-Day.
"I went in to replace an officer and joined them 15 miles inland. But I barely got to know them."
On June 15, John was engaged in what he calls "hedgerow fighting" with German troops when a sniper shot him. "I got hit in the right shoulder," he says. "It was early afternoon. The bullet came in the right shoulder and left in the middle of my back. It got some nerves, but no bones."
John went down, but says the pain wasn’t excruciating. He was evacuated to a field hospital and then boarded an LST (landing ship, tank) for a return to England. He was awarded a Purple Heart during his recuperation in England. Months later, he stepped aboard the Queen II luxury liner and headed home.
"I got hit right away and that was it, nothing personal," he says, reflecting on his brief time in battle. "I was green as grass. I didn’t know anything. That’s a tough position to be in; to come in like that and lead a platoon. I didn’t know a soul in France."
Despite his injury, John has always considered himself fortunate. "I wasn’t there very long. I was lucky. I always figured the chance of getting wounded was pretty good, but the chances of living were also pretty good in the infantry. A lot of my friends in ROTC ended up in tanks and that was bad news."
John traveled from New York to Washington, D.C., where he dated his future wife Mary. He then purchased a 1937 Chevrolet for $300 and drove to Springfield, Missouri, where he reported to a military hospital.
By 1946, John had fulfilled his military commitment and was back home in Elk Point, South Dakota, hoping to put his degrees from South Dakota State University to work. The Elk Point native majored in animal husbandry and economics while attending college on a Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) scholarship. "My two brothers and I bought a farm in 1946 and I farmed the rest of my life," John says. "I bought a four-row lister and a John Deere tractor. It was the first four-row lister on a Curry farm."
That year, he did all the listing on his father’s 400 acres and his own 240 acres. His use of technology proved to be a force against weeds that would invade the corn fields of Union County. He also worked with his father in the seed corn business.
A decade later, John planted the seeds for his own fertilizer enterprise. He retired from the business 24 years ago.
He and Mary raised five children and have spent their golden years watching grandchildren grow and participate in various activities in the area. When not in Elk Point, the two can be found in Mesa, Arizona, where they spend each winter.
"I had a friend tell me this winter I was the richest man he knew," John says with a smile. "You know why? Because of the family I have around me. That’s what he said."
John nods and says he couldn’t agree more.