The memories and pictures of World War II are beginning to fade, but for one local veteran, WWII will never be forgotten.

Zane Judkins, a 95-year old World War II veteran and Bronze Star Recipient, was drafted into the United States Army in Mineral Wells in 1943. “From there we were… they shipped us to Grenada, Mississippi,” said Judkins, “That is where I took my basic training — we stayed there and then went on maneuvers in Tennessee, and then after that, they transferred us to Fort Jackson, South Carolina.” 

Judkins was placed in the 87th Infantry Division, working in communications. Judkins said that after South Carolina they broke the division up. “I found out later that they knew about D-Day and knew when it was going to be and everything. They knew that a whole bunch of the people there would be killed and they broke that division up to where they could replace the ones that got killed with the new recruits.”

For the full story please see the Nov. 6 edition of the Breckenridge American.