Irvin "Turk" Seelye
Irvin W. "Turk" Seelye, age 93, of Ozark died after a short illness on July 22, 2013. He was born March 21, 1920 in Pekin, Illinois.
He was a retired college instructor who parachuted into Nazi occupied France as part of the June 6, 1944 (D-Day) invasion in World War II. He was a member of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division. Minutes after leaving the aircraft he landed in a farmyard about 1:20 a.m. On June 11 he was wounded. He spent the following twelve months in a variety of Army hospitals, one of which was O'Rielly General Hospital in Springfield, Missouri.
France was the third airborne invasion in which Mr. Seelye took part. His regiment spearheaded the invasion of the Island of Sicily and also the invasion of Italy at Salerno. He was the recipient of the Purple Heart medal, the Combat Infantry Badge, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Bronze Star Medal, the American Defense Metal, and the ETO Metal. He proudly wore the Parachute Wings. A few years ago he was awarded the Legion of Honor Medal by the French Republic.
Mr. Seelye married Isabelle Helene Miles on March 7, 1942.
Following his discharge from the Army in 1945 he was for several years an employee of the Corn Products Refining Company in Pekin, Illinois. In 1952 he re-enrolled at Illinois State University. He earned a B.S. and M.S. degree in education. He taught at Delavan (Illinois) Junior High School, Charleston (Illinois) High School, and at Crete-Monee High School, Crete, Illinois.
He was a sociology instructor at Thornton Community College, South Holland, Illinois, and at North Arkansas College, Harrison, Arkansas.
Mr. Seelye and his family traveled extensively in the United States, Europe, North Africa and in the Caribbean. In 1963 he was awarded Fullbright Scholarship to study in Greece. He retired in 1994 and moved to Valparaiso, Indiana. In 2006 he moved to Ozark, Missouri. He was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Ozark post number 7628 and the Disabled American Veterans.
Survivors include his wife Isabelle of the; two daughters, Terry S. Gillespie of Flossmoor, Illinois, and Vicky C. Eustace of Frankfort, Illinois; three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
The cremated remains will be inurned at a later date at the Missouri Veterans Cemetery, Springfield, Missouri. Arrangements under the direction of Adams Funeral Home, Ozark, Missouri.
Published in the News-Leader on July 28, 2013
|
