Earl Eldrige “Bus” Bailey was born on July 29, 1916, in Framingham, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. He was the son of Earle Burton Bailey and Lauretta M. Smith Bailey. He was married to Pauline "Paula" Kocyk Bailey. He was a member of the Framingham High School (FHS) Class of 1934. He worked as a technician at the Fidelity Dental Lab on Hollis Street before enlisting in the US Army on January 10, 1942, and was selected to serve as a Medical Technician, or combat medic. His initial posting was with Company A, First Medical Training Battalion at Fort Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts. The First Medical Battalion would soon become the organic medical support unit of the renowned 1st Infantry Division. Within the division, medical detachments were assigned to each infantry regiment, Earl’s being the 16th Infantry Regiment. These medics were responsible for delivering frontline medical care, performing emergency treatment under fire, evacuating the wounded, and establishing aid stations to triage casualties during combat.

In August 1942, Earl and the 1st Infantry Division (the “Big Red One”) sailed for England aboard the RMS Queen Mary. After training there, the division took part in a series of major World War II campaigns, beginning with Operation Torch (North Africa, 1942), followed by Tunisia, Sicily, Normandy (D-Day), the Battle of the Bulge, and the Central Europe Campaign. Earl was twice cited for heroism: first for risking his life to aid and evacuate wounded soldiers in North Africa and Sicily, and again for his gallantry on D-Day, where he crossed open terrain under heavy enemy fire to rescue the wounded.

Earl was discharged from the Army on June 24, 1945. He returned to his dental technician job with Fidelity Dental Lab. Earl passed away on December 18, 1990, and was cremated.

Source of information and photo: https://storiesyet2btold.blogspot.com/