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Early Life and Family

Leon Bush was born on March 26, 1917 in Miller County, Georgia, the son of Burrell B. (a farmer, 1892–1980) and Beulah C. Bush (née Hodges, 1895–1933). On January 10, 1920, he was recorded under the name Lossie L. Bush, living with his parents and younger brother in Miller County. By the time he was recorded again on the census on April 12, 1930, the family had expanded; Leon now had two younger brothers and a younger sister.

Bush dropped out of school after he completed two years of high school. By April 22, 1940, he was living with his brother at the home of his aunt and uncle, Alex and Vera Tucker in Miami, Florida. Bush and his brother were working as plasterers.

When Bush registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, he was described as standing six feet tall and weighing 185 lbs., with black hair and blue eyes. His employer was listed as “Larson Builder (Nothrup Lumber Co)”. At some point, he became engaged to Ruth Elizabeth Englund (1923–2015), a bookkeeper living in Miami.

Military Career

Bush was drafted before the U.S. entered World War II and joined the U.S. Army at Camp Blanding, Florida on April 11, 1941. By July 3, 1942, he had been promoted to technician 5th grade and was a member of Company “C” of the 894th Tank Destroyer Battalion at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He went overseas to England with the unit in August 1942 and arrived in North Africa in January 1943. The battalion, equipped with the M3 Gun Motor Carriage (a halftrack with a 75 mm gun), first saw combat at Kasserine Pass during the Tunisian campaign.

On April 3, 1943, during the Battle of El Guettar in Tunisia, Technician 5th Grade Bush was one of four men selected for what his company commander, 1st Lieutenant Baker D. Newton, later referred to as “a particularly hazardous job”. According to an account quoted in The Miami Herald on November 20, 1943, Bush

“was sent with a portable radio and three men to establish a post from which to observe [an] enemy artillery battery which was subjecting his company to heavy fire. Despite intense artillery, mortar and small arms fire, Bush maintained his post on a bare ridge without cover and relayed the sendings of the observer by radio to his company commander who in turn passed them on to a friendly artillery unit which fired on the enemy battery and silenced it.”

According to the article, Bush “was ordered to come down but asked his company commander to be allowed to stay at his post and direct the firing, knowing it was almost certain death.” He was struck in the head by fragments from a mortar shell and killed.

Technician 5th Grade Bush was posthumously awarded the Silver Star Medal, which was presented to his father by Major General William Bryden at Bainbridge Army Airfield, Georgia on October 9, 1943. Bush was initially buried overseas. However, in May 1948, Bush’s body was returned to the United States. He was buried at Union Missionary Baptist Church Cemetery in Colquitt, Georgia. Bush’s fiancée, Ruth E. Englund, married Johan V. Anderson in 1952, with whom she raised three children.

Notes

The 1920 census is the only known record that Bush’s name was Lossie L. Bush.

Hazel Fowler Nelson’s article stated that while setting up the observation post, “Two of the men assigned to the mission were killed starting up the hill, but Bush and one other got to the top and carried out their work.” However, that account is contradicted by Company “C,” 894th Tank Destroyer Battalion morning reports, which indicated that the only casualties that day were Bush and a Sergeant Murphy who was slightly wounded. Indeed, a May 17, 1943 letter by Bush’s company commander, Baker D. Newton, stated that “four of them did a particularly hazardous job, for which I recommended a citation. (one post-humously)”.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks to the family of Technician 5th Grade Bush’s company commander, Baker D. Newton, whose photo and letter were important in telling this story.

Bibliography

“58 Georgia War Dead En Route From Africa.” The Atlanta Constitution, May 14, 1948. Pg. 6. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67163759/leon-bush-58-georgia-war-dead/

Applications for Headstones, compiled 01/01/1925 - 06/30/1970, documenting the period ca. 1776 – 1970. Records Group 92, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, 1774 –1985. National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, D.C. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2375/images/40050_2421401755_0399-01417

Company morning reports for Company “C,” 894th Tank Destroyer Battalion, 1943. National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Missouri.

“Gen. Bryden Will Make 2 Posthumous Awards.” The Atlanta Constitution, October 9, 1943. Pg. 11. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67163553/bush-silver-star/

“Leon Bush.” Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/46662449/leon-bush

Nelson, Hazel Fowler. “Silver Star Awarded Miamian Posthumously.” The Miami Herald, November 20, 1943. Page 9-A. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44213164/leon-bush-894th-tank-destroyer/

Newton, Baker D. May 17, 1943 letter to his family. Courtesy of the Newton family.

“Ruth Elizabeth Anderson.” U.S., Cemetery and Funeral Home Collection, 1847-Current. Ancestry.com. https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/431175735:2190?indiv=try&o_vc=Record%3aOtherRecord&rhSource=8784

“Swedish Tradition Revived At Nuptials.” Miami Daily News, June 8, 1952. Pg. 3-B. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67164865/leon-bushs-fiancee/

“Two Georgians Get Silver Star.” The Atlanta Constitution, October 15, 1943. Pg. 21. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44081760/t5-leon-bush-co-c-894th-tank/

United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1920. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6061/images/4300126_00561

United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6224/images/4531992_00189

United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2442/images/m-t0627-00581-00647

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World War II Army Enlistment Records. Record Group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration, 1789–2007. National Archives at College Park, Maryland. https://www.fold3.com/record/87688083/world-war-ii-army-enlistment-records-leon-bush

WWII Draft Registration Cards for Florida, 10/16/1940 - 03/31/1947. The National Archives at St. Louis, Missouri. Record Group 147, Records of the Selective Service System. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2238/images/44005_07_00003-01308

Article last updated on January 8, 2021

Visit Delaware’s World War II Fallen for the most up-to-date version of this article.