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The Goldendale Sentinel, Goldendale, WA., February 1, 1945, page 1

COUNTY MEN ARE KILLED IN EUROPE
George Shurtz, Formerly Of Goldendale; Bill Becker, White Salmon And Jim Dickey, Bingen Officially Declared Dead

Three men from Klickitat county were reported during the past week as having been killed while serving in the Army in Europe.
Pvt. George W. Shurtz, 21, son of Mr. and Mrs. Guy Shurtz of Klickitat, was killed in Belgium January 6, according to a telegram sent to his parents. He is the grandson of Mrs. Dora Shurtz and a nephew of Mrs. Ellen Woods, both of Goldendale.
Pvt. Shurtz attended grade school in Goldendale and Firwood, and took his high school training in Bickleton. He did ranch work in Oregon, and was inducted from there.
He first went to Camp Roberts and later to Fort Benning, Georgia, where he received his wings as a paratrooper. He left the states in September, and has never said where he was at any time. The last letters received here were dated the latter part of November.
Carl Witt, president of the Retail Merchants, announced that the flags would be flown at half-mast Thursday in honor of George Shurtz. At a recent meeting of the merchants, they decided to fly the flags when any boy east of the Klickitat river is killed.
Pfc. Jim Dickey, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Dickey of Bingen, who own the Dickey Gardens, and grandson of Wallace Dickey of White Salmon, was declared missing in action last week. However, the parents received a telegram Monday that he had been declared killed. They received word on the day that would have been his 21st birthday.
He was with the 75th division, and, according to his grandfather who had followed locations and moves of the army, Jim's division went into action after regiments of the 106th infantry had been smashed on the first day of the German drive. He was declared missing on December 29 and it was later confirmed that he had been killed at that time.
W.E. (Bill) Becker, former Columbia Union high school coach, died of wounds on Christmas Day, presumably in Belgium. That Beckers lived in White Salmon for two years before he entered the service. The telegram from the war department was received by his wife, who with her little daughter, Cheryl, are making their home in Deer Park.

The Goldendale Sentinel, Goldendale, WA., May 24, 1945, page 1

MEMORIAL SERVICES TO BE HELD HERE
Thomas D. Potwin, Editor Of Yakima Herald, Will Speak At Morning Program At 10:30 In High School Auditorium

Memorial services will be held in Goldendale Memorial Day, Wednesday, May 30 at 10:30 a.m. in the high school auditorium. As in the past, the program and services are in charge of Louis Leidl Post No. 116, American Legion. Thomas D. Potwin, editor of the Yakima Herald will deliver the message at the high school. Potwin is said to be an able speaker, and the largest crowd ever to attend Memorial services is expected to turn out to hear the Yakima editor.
Following the program at the high school, members of the Legion will hold a brief ceremony at the graves of veterans of both World War I and II. A firing squad will fire a salute in recognition of their departed comrades.
E.C. Kaiser, commander of the American Legion, invites and urges all residents to join in the services, which will pay tribute to the men who have lost their lives in both wars.
Following is a list of men from this county who paid the supreme sacrifice in World War II: E.C. Allison, Wm. Becker, Fred Berrong, Marion Bolio, Homer Bilyeu, Jim Brashear, Robert Brown, Chas. Byrkett, David Cochran, Paul Cochran, John Dickey, Francis Ford, Alvin Ganguin, Don Heuton, John Hunsaker, Robert Hutchins, Harry Jones, Harold Lehman, Philip Lynch, Chas. Lowers, Dan Roe, Oren Sanders, George Shurtz, Harry Smith, Marion Scheel, Eugene White, Thomas Tradewell, Jim Trowbridge, Edward Thege and David Woodruff.

The Goldendale Sentinel, Goldendale, WA., April 28, 1949, page 1
Includes portrait

MILITARY RITES FOR GEORGE SHURTZ ON SATURDAY

In solemn recognition of his services to his country, the body of Pvt. George W. Shurtz, will be interred in the American Legion's plot at the I.O.O.F. cemetery on Saturday afternoon, April 30th, with full military honors rendered by the American Legion, it was stated today by Legion officials and members of the Shurtz family. Prior to the interment, services will be held at the Phillips Funeral Home at 2 p.m., with the Rev. Walter Smith, Chaplain of the Legion, officiating.
The body of Pvt. Shurtz will arrive in Goldendale on Friday, April 29th, having been shipped here from Belgium, where he was killed on January 6th, 1945, in the Battle of the Bulge. The body was shipped by way of Oakland, California.
Pvt. Shurtz was born in Goldendale on September 2nd, 1923, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Guy A. Shurtz. He attended grade school at Firwood, having Mrs. Ruth Kaiser as his teacher. He joined the U.S. Army in 1943, and was first sent to Camp Roberts, California, and later to Ft. Benning, Georgia, where he was transferred to the 82nd Paratrooper Division. In September, 1944, he was ordered overseas with his organization, landing in England. On Christmas Eve, his organization was hurled across the British Channel and into Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge which was then underway. He was killed in the vicinity of Bastogne on January 6th.
His body was buried in the U.S. Army cemetery at Foy. Arrangements were made to have his body returned to Goldendale by Guy A. Shurtz, his father, who had received word just before his death at his son's body had been received in this country. Mr. Shurtz passed away April 10, 1949.
Pvt. Shurtz is survived by his mother, Mrs. Guy Shurtz; brother, Harold Shurtz of Rawlins, Wyo.; Guy Mitchell Shurtz a brother, of Klickitat; Sherry Lynn Shurtz, niece, of Rawlins, Wyoming; Mrs. Ellen McIlroy, aunt, of Goldendale and Alfred Woods, cousin, of Klickitat.

The Goldendale Sentinel, Goldendale, WA., April 28, 1949, page 4

WE OWE HIM REMEMBRANCE

THE BODY OF A DEFENDER of his country, Pvt. George W. Shurtz, will be interred with full military honors by the American Legion in the cemetery at Goldendale this Saturday.
This is a solemn moment for the community in which Pvt. Shurtz lived, and it should help us all to remember the sacrifices of those who never returned, to whom the gratitude of their country is forever due. Unfortunately, human memory is short, and already the war seems far, far away, even to those who participated in it. To those who never saw service, or whose sons and daughters were not involved, it must seem distant indeed, and to the young to whom all war is unknown, and to whom we hope it will never be known, it must be utterly unrealistic.
This solemn rites for Pvt. George W. Shurtz should cause the community where he lived to pause a moment from the bustle of its daily life, as it remembers that here was one who gave all he had - his life itself - in defense of his country. It should cause us to remember, too, the efforts of all those who participated in any way in the second World War.