Arthur Joseph Trudo PFC 597th AAA AW BN

579th ANTI-AIRCRAFT ARTILLERY AUTO WEAPONS BATTALION

Arthur Joseph Trudo was born 3 Mar 1919 of Arthur J. Trudo/Trudeau & Myrtle Pecue at 3 George Street, Burlington, VT. His father was a traveling salesman. In the 1920 census Arthur Jr was the 4th child, and his mother was a widow. In the 1930 census his mother was wed to William James Simpson, a retail clothing clerk on 5 Feb 1921; who also had a son. They were living at 41 Main street at that time. In the 1940 census the Simpson – Trudo family was living at 17 Johnson Street and William was a retail clothing salesman. Arthur graduated from Burlington High School in 1936.

On 6 Apr 1942 Arthur Trudo Jr married Dorothy Laura Gauvin at St Monica church, Barre, VT, Dorothy was a teacher from Barre, VT. He was a salesman living at 73 N. Champlain street.

DRAFT CARD: 16 Oct 1940 Arthur worked at Mazels department Store on North St. He was 5ft 10 ½ tall, a ruddy complexion, weighed 145 lb, and had brown eyes and hair.

Arthur’s step-father William died on 12 Jan 1944.

Enlistment: On 6 Feb 1944 Arthur Trudo traveled to Rutland, VT with 19 other Burlington boys to enlist. On 29 Feb 1944 his classification changed from 1-A to 2-B (war industry) and on 14 April his classification was changed back to 1-A. Arthur then enlisted on 18 May 1944 at Fort Devens, MA. His service number was 31467573 and he was a PFC in AGF B Company.

Arthur died on the 1st of April in 1945 in Germany when his wife Dorothy Gauvin Trudo and daughter Theresa, age 3, were living in New Bedford, Bristol County, MA. (Burl. Free Press) Arthur died in the "Line of Duty" of a non-battle related incident during the war (DNB = Died Non-Battle) while in the 579th ANTI-AIRCRAFT ARTILLERY AUTO WEAPONS BATTALION, in 1945.

His body was returned from Holland in April of 1949 and on the 28th of April his funeral was celebrated at St Joseph church in Burlington and he was interred at Lakeview Cemetery in Burlington. (Burl. Free Press)

His Headstone Application was created 4 years later on 28 May 1953: His Regiment was the 597th AAA AW BN Coast Artillery Corps. When he died 1 Apr 1945 his mother, Mrs Myrtle Simpson, a widow, was living at 364 S. Winooski Ave in Burlington.

REFERENCES: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/69314713

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.

Arthur J Trudo