Lyle Bouck
Lyle Bouck | |||||||||||||||||||||
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First Lt. Lyle Joseph Bouck, Jr. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | December 17, 1923 Fenton, Missouri, US | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Died | December 2, 2016 (aged 92) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Lyle Joseph Bouck, Jr. (December 17, 1923 – December 2, 2016) enlisted in the Missouri National Guard at age 14. During World War II, he was a 20-year-old lieutenant in charge of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance Platoon, 394th Infantry Regiment, 99th Infantry Division. On the first morning of the Germans' advance during the Battle of the Bulge, his 18-man unit along with four forward artillery observers held off an entire German battalion of more than 500 men for nearly an entire day, killing or wounding 92, and significantly delayed the German advance in a vital sector of the northern front. Every single member of the platoon was later decorated, making it one of the most decorated platoons in all of World War II. Bouck was one of the youngest commissioned officers in the U.S. Army.: 6