AMERICANWAY

PATRICIA BOECK HISTORY Shimer and his buddies rescued American sold iers held captive by Ger ma n troops. Three days later, he sust a ined a combat wou nd a nd qua li f ied for a P u r ple Hea r t before continuing eastward into Germany. Back home in Chambersburg, his w ife worked long hours managing a beauty sa- lon, leaning on family and close friends for mora l suppor t . C or respondence a nd i n- formation were slow to arrive, so she had no idea that her husband had been dubbed "The Millionth Ya n k " until she read it in Public Opinion, the Chambersburg paper, about an hour before receiving the fateful telegram. Sgt. Shimer was leading his men in a fight against a protected German hill between Bamberg and Nuremberg on April 14, 1945, when the blast of a shell took his life. He had ser ved for 51 weeks, just enough time to rise among the ranks and prove himself as a "capable, ag g ressive leader," accord- ing to Albert Brown, a staff sergeant in the 30th Regiment, who later wrote the book My Comrades and Me about his experiences in the war. The battle for Nuremberg was the last significant conflict Paul Shimer Jr.'s company encountered. The war in Europe ended 24 days after his death. Shimer was fallen but not forgotten, and his family was visited in 1947 by Stranger, the former Southampton mayor, to memo- rialize the man whose hand he shook on the AMERICAN HERO: Sgt. Paul Shimer Jr. left a legacy that will never be forgotten. 5 4 N Ov E m B E R 2 01 4 A A .CO M/A M E R I C A NWAY W W W.GRAPEVINETEXASUSA.COM/CHRISTMAS • TOLL-FREE 1-800-457-6338 SPEND THIS CHRISTMAS IN GRAPEVINE — THE CHRISTMAS CAPITAL OF TEXAS. ® ICE! ™ at the Gaylord Texan Resort North Pole Express ® Shopping for everyone on your list Nightly Light Show Spectacular Christmas concerts at the Palace Theatre Texas' best Christmas lights — by the millions Animated characters and Christmas displays And a whole lot more! UNWRAP THE MAGIC of Grapevine, Texas

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