Private John Arnold Strouse of St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A. died as a result of a tragic accident at a camp in Derry~Londonderry while serving in the U.S. Army.
Private
37026082
Private First Class John Arnold Strouse (37026082) served in 133rd Infantry Regiment, 34th (Red Bull) Infantry Division, United States Army during the Second World War. His last place of residence was St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A.
In civilian life, John worked in the advertising arm of the ‘St. Paul Dispatch’. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on 13th April 1941, exactly one year before his tragic fatal accident in Northern Ireland. During his time in Ulster, he was a correspondent for the U.S. Forces magazine ‘Stars and Stripes’.
Strouse died on 13th April 1942 aged 25 years old at 21 Clooney Park West, Derry/Londonderry. He was accidentally shot by a colleague who was cleaning his rifle.
Burial first took place on 16th April 1942 from Wilton’s Funeral Home, Crumlin Road, Belfast to Glenalina Extension, ES, 73 of Belfast City Cemetery. Over a hundred members of the U.S. Forces attended in what was the second funeral of a serving U.S. soldier in Northern Ireland.
A touching service preceded the funeral. This was conducted by two U.S. Army chaplains, Lieutenant Dewey A. Stubblefield and Lieutenant Walter R. Floyd. A quartet from the dead soldier’s unit sang ‘Rock of Ages’, a soldier playing the organ accompaniment.
Lieutenant Stubblefield said that while mourning their comrade, their hearts went out in sympathy to his friends across the sea, whose faces that day were turned toward Ireland, and they prayed that God would bring comfort to those sad hearts.
The coffin was draped with the Stars and Stripes, and there were eight or nine wreaths of daffodils from the various U.S. units.
A reburial later took place at Lisnabreeny American Military Cemetery, Belfast. After the war, Strouse was repatriated to Plot D, Row 5, Grave 100 of Cambridge American Cemetery, Cambridgeshire, England.