By Deborah Larsen
Chester Burton Stevens
Chester Burton Stevens was born in Reed City, Michigan, on June 10, 1920, the son of Fred and May Mitchell Stevens. The Stevens family moved to Avon Township when Chester was a teenager. He attended Rochester High School and graduated in the class of 1940.
Before the war, Chester worked as a carpenter in Pontiac, Michigan. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in October 1941 and was assigned to the 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. Chester’s regiment landed at Utah Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and was afterward involved in some of the heaviest combat of the Allied advance in Europe. On December 1, 1944, Chester Burton Stevens was killed in action as his regiment was fighting in the Hürtgen Forest, a part of the larger Ardennes campaign.
Chester was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star for heroic action in France, Germany, and Belgium from June 6, 1944, to October 6, 1944. His remains were returned to Michigan and laid to rest at White Chapel Cemetery.