Ionia County MI Archives Obituaries.....Catlin, Floyd LaVern March 28, 1943
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Patricia Currigan currigan1932@comcast.net June 22, 2023, 9:01 am

Belding Banner-News Thursday June 3, 1048

                  FUNERAL RITES SUNDAY FOR HERO OF AFRICAN BATTLE

The color guard colors and pallbearers from the Veterans of Foreign Wars will 
meet the body of Pvt.Floyd LaVern Catlin, son of Mrs.Alice Smith now of Saranac, 
when it arrives at Ionia today at 5:07, according to a bulletin issued by 
Commander Bernard Gruschinsky, who will be in charge of the funeral services.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars Commander called upon every member to take part in 
honoring the return of this former Belding youth who so gallantly gave his life 
on the sands of North Africa to preserve our American way of life, to meet at 
the Veterans Memorial Home, 417 W.Main street, Sunday afternoon at 2:15, where 
al veterans will form for the march to the Fales-Huffman Funeral Chapel where 
the services will be held.

Gruschinsky said that the body of the young man-the second to be returned to 
Belding and one of the first to give his life from this community in World War 
II- would be brought to the Fales-Huffman Funeral Chapel by the honor guard 
following the arrival of the train in Ionia. An escort from the regular army of 
the United state will accompany the former Belding young man's body and will 
remain here until his interment in River Ridge Cemetery, Sunday afternoon at 3 
o'clock, the VFW commander stated.

Pvt. Catlin was born October 22, 1917, in Grand Rapids where he received his 
primary schooling. The family moved to Hastings where he attended Central 
school. In 1939 the young man entered the community life of Belding when he came 
to live with his grandmother,Mrs Mary Reed, of Belding RFD 3. During the two 
years that Catin made his home here he made many friends and entered the armed 
service October 21, 1941, at Fort Custer.

From the Michigan induction center the young man received his basic training at 
Mineral Well, Texas, and embarked for overseas at Fort Dix. N.J. with his 
destination being Northern Ireland, where he received further training for the 
assault on the forces of Nazism in northern Africa where he was killed March 28, 
1943, after 48 hours of the toughest fighting of the north Africa campaign. 
American forces buried the Belding youth's remains temporarily in the National 
Cemetery at Had-Jeb-el-Aiowa, near where young Catlin fell.

In addition to a host of friends in both the rural and urban sections of this 
community young Catlin leaves to mourn their loss, his mother, Mrs.Alice Smith 
of Saranac; is grandmother,Mrs.Mary Reed of Belding; a grandfather, Emery 
Eldridge, of Lake Odessa, two aunts,Mrs.Shirley Warner and Mrs.Catherine Ray and 
an uncle, George Eldridge, of this city.

The VFW commander requests every veteran attend the funeral service whether a 
member of the VFW or not. He started that the group would meet at the Veterans 
Memorial Home at 2:15 and that the march to the Fales-Huffman Funeral Chapel 
would take place from here.


Additional Comments:
River Ridge Cem.#137-Sec.3
World War II

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