Private Francis D. Jordan

World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Force Personnel from Palm Beach, Pasco, and Pinellas Counties

       Francis D. Jordan was born in New York on September 15, 1918, and moved to Florida sometime after 1930. He is buried in the Epinal American Cemetery in Lorraine, France.[2] He was the son of John Arthur Henry Jordan and Delihia Elizabeth Cleveland.[3] Two years before Francis’ death, his brother, Private Samuel Janathon enlisted in the military in March of 1943. As a civilain, Francis D. Jordan had a simple education and worked as a police officer in Palm Beach, Florida. Francis’ had one year of high school education.[4]

Francis lived in Florida for a few years and started a life for himself before he joined the military. At the age of twenty-two he married his wife, Elise Barfield, in Polk County, Florida.[5] Five years into their marriage, Francis enlisted in the United States Military in July of 1944, at the age of twenty-five. He enlisted through Camp Blanding, Florida as a Private.[6] According to Francis’ enlistment records, he was to remain in the Military through World War Two and any other state of emergency, as well as an extra six months added to his enlistment time.[7]

During Private Francis D. Jordan’s service in the United States military, he was a part of the 274^th Infantry Regiment of the 70^th Infantry Division. Jordan's Regiment was activated on July 15, 1943 in Camp Adair, Oregon where he and other soldiers trained for 12 months for combat missions. His division was tasked with replacing Allied losses in Europe and the Far East. This required new replacements and retraining. As a result, the division transferred to Fort Leonard Wood, MO and resumed training there. On December 10, Jordan and the rest of the 274th landed at Marseilles in the South of France and began preparation for combat. While Jordan was stationed in Marseilles, German forces attacked the American positions in the Ardennes Forest on the French-Belgium border. Over the next few days, the situation deteriorated and American forces risked losing the progress they had made over the summer and fall. Almost overnight the U.S. Army went from an offensive position to a defensive one. On December 20, Jordan and the 274th packed their equipment and left Marseilles for the front. They took a train through the Rhone River Valley, passing burnt-out tanks, trucks, and other equipment, mostly German. On Christmas Eve, 1944, the last day of the journey, they arrived at Brumath, France. They walked the rest of the way, carrying all their equipment through the cold, to the town of Bischwiller. Over the next few weeks, into the New Year, the 274th moved north toward the town of Wingen, right on the French-German border. In early January, they quickly turned from green men to veteran soldiers as they exchanged fire with the Germans. [8] The 2nd Battalion, 274th Infantry won the Presidential Unit Citation for the capture and liberation of Wingen. [9] This battle was decisive victory for the Americans. During this campaign, they defeated the best in the German Army in what would prove to be a major battle in the winter campaign. In this victory, they destroyed two German battalions, liberated over 250 Americans from another division that were German prisoners, and recaptured a significant number of American weapons and vehicles.[10]

From Wingen, the 274th moved North-East through the Vosges Mountains. The 274th fought against German forces in the Vosges Mountains, and during one of these encounters Francis Jordan died. Enemy forces wounded and killed Francis, at the age of twenty-six, on the Fourteenth of February, 1945. After his death, Francis received the Purple Heart, which was awarded to any fallen soldier who was killed in action by an enemy of the United States.[11] Francis also received the Combat Infantryman Badge, which was awarded to those with the ranking of Colonel or lower in an infantry or Special Forces unit from December 1941 to December 1967.[12] Francis was awarded the American Campaign Medal, given to a soldier who had served in the United States military but performed active duty outside the United States borders.[13] He was also given the World War II Victory Medal, a medal given to a member of the United States Armed forces who served a minimal of one day of active duty.[14]