By Deborah Larsen
Rex Gordon May
Rex Gordon May was born in Saginaw, Michigan, on July 26, 1917, the son of Edwin and Erma Daffer May. He was known to his family and friends by his middle name, Gordon. The May family moved to Rochester, Michigan, when Gordon was a small child and lived on Wilcox Street. Gordon attended Rochester schools.
Gordon married in 1940 and started a family with his wife, Pauline. He was employed at Pontiac State Hospital when he entered the U.S. Army in May 1943. Gordon was trained at Fort Bliss, Texas, and was assigned to the 137th Infantry Regiment of the 35th Infantry Division.
One month after his unit was shipped overseas, Gordon’s regiment was involved in heavy fighting against German forces in the Alsace-Lorraine region. He was killed in action on October 3, 1944, and his wife was notified of his death three weeks later. In addition to his wife and son, he left behind a 3-month-old daughter he had never seen.
Cpl. Rex Gordon May was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and was laid to rest in the Lorraine American Cemetery at St. Avold, France.