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LYLE KAY KUMLER
 


(courtesy of Bob & Nancy Cannon)

Graver marker for Lyle K. Kumler in the Bellflower Township Cemetery, Bellflower (McLean County), Illinois

 

Lyle K. Kumler

GIBSON CITY - Lyle K. Kumler, 77, of Gibson City died Friday (July 3, 1998) at Gibson Community Hospital, Gibson City.

Memorial services will be 2 p.m. Tuesday at Lamb Funeral Home, Gibson City, the Rev. Randall Robinson officiating. Inurnment will be in Bellflower Township Cemetery. There will be no visitation.

Memorials may be made to United Methodist Church, Gibson City.

Mr. Kumler was born Oct. 16, 1920, at Bellflower, a son of Elmer and Besse Richards Kumler. He married Mary Elizabeth Perkins on June 11, 1943, at Greenvile, N.C. She survives.

Also surviving are one son, Mark Kumler, El Paso; three daughters, Jeanna Skinner, Tuscon, Ariz.; Joyce Dewey, Gibson City; and Jane Meyer, Cooksville; one brother, Richard Kumler, Bellflower; two sisters, Evadna Mooney, Gibson City; and Hope Sering, Higdon, Ark.; 10 grandchildren; and one great-granddaughter.

He was preceded in death by his parents, two sons and two brothers.

Mr. Kumler was a life insurance representative for Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. He also worked for the Illinois Department of Transportation and was Drummer Township Supervisor.

He was an Army veteran of World War II. He served with the 82nd Airborne Division, receiving the Distinguished Service Cross for his service in Holland. He is enshrined in the 82nd Airborne Hall of Fame at Fort Bragg, N.C.

Lyle survived Holland and went on to fight in the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes, Belgium. His decorations include the Purple Heart; the French, Holland and Belgium Citations, those countries' highest honors; two Presidential Unit Citations; the Combat Infantryman's Badge; two Combat Jump Stars; the Bronze Star Medal; the Bronze Arrowhead; four Champion Battle Stars; the ETO Badge; and the Good Conduct Medal.
He was a member of the Lee Lowery American Legion Post 568 and the VFW, both in Gibson City.

(The Pantagraph, Bloomington, IL, 4 Jul 1998, Page A7)

Lyle Kumler enlisted in the Army on November 24, 1942 as a Private in Peoria, IL. He volunteered for parachutist duty and was assigned to Company H in the 508th PIR (Parachute Infantry Regiment). The 508th was later attached to the 82nd Airborne Division prior to the Normandy Invasion.

Pfc Kumler was one of some 2200 men in the regiment when it jumped into Normandy on D-Day, June 6, 1944. He was one of approximately 950 who emerged after 33 days of combat when the regiment was relieved. The others were wounded, killed or captured.

After resupply of men and materials the regiment jumped into Holland as part of Operation Market-Garden on September 17, 1944.

Sgt Kumler was wounded on September 20th and received the Purple Heart for his wound and the Distinguished Service Cross "For Extraordinary Heroism during the period 17 - 22 September 1944, on the Dutch-German frontier."  He was later promoted to a Staff Sergeant.

Technical Sergeant Kumler was transferred to the 513th PIR on August 18, 1945. The transfer may have been to accommodate his return to the U.S. for discharge.

Lyle's other decorations include the Presidential Unit Citation, French Fourragére, the Dutch Order of William Orange Lanyard and the Europe-Africa-Middle-East Campaign Medal with two Bronze Campaign star devices (Normandy and Holland) and one Bronze Service Arrowhead device awarded for participation in Normandy assault. He also earned the Good Conduct Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Parachutist Badge with two combat jump stars, WW-II Victory Medal, and the American Campaign Medal.

 

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