Iris.L.Bradshaw
was a soldier who served in the 23rd Infantry Regiment. 2nd Infantry Div.
He was the reason I started to take an interest in the Allies in the Caledon area, this soldier came to my grandmothers house soon after the U.S.Army arrived in Caledon,these were young men 3.000 miles from home and the C.O. of the regiment asked if the locals would take in a soldier to give him a feeling of the family home as they were homesick so Iris came to my grandmothers. My uncle Jim remembered him well he said he was half a Red Indian and that he came from Hondo Texas he smoked the pipe and he played the fiddle. After he left for France he was KIA Killed In Action, so i picked it up and found his grave and he is interned at The Normandy American Cemetery on a cliff top overlooking Omaha Beach, My uncle was delighted i found the grave and he went to France to see the grave. Going by the date he was KIA 14th july 1944 i believe he was killed at hill 192 overlooking St Lo, the big push to break out into France.
The Normandy American Cemetery is were i found the Grave of 6957969 PFC Iris.L.Bradshaw. My Uncle Jim took this photograph about ten years ago in the U.S.Cemetary just behind Omaha Beach. The white crosses are made from white marbel and my uncle told me that the caretaker had a cup of wet sand and he rubbed the sand over the name on the cross and as you can see the name was highlighted, amazing really. There is 9400 soldiers interned in this graveyard.