1925-2015
Address: 67 Lincoln Road
Service: 10th Army Mountain Division
Rank:
Background: Though three bullets passed through him — one puncturing his lung and another shattering a nerve in his arm — Cruickshank managed to continue firing at the enemy and take cover during the ensuing mortar fire. “It was a miracle I wasn’t killed. Pure luck. If I was turned a half degree differently, it would have been fatal. One of the bullets went through my arm, my chest and missed my heart by an inch. I never lost consciousness and didn’t realize at the time how serious it was. I don’t even remember firing back.” The chief of the battalion aid station where Cruickshank was taken was Dr. Rupert von Trapp, the oldest of the von Trapp “children” who were popularized in the Sound of Music. Says Cruickshank, “I owe my life to him. He gave me the necessary encouragement at a crucial moment.” He also stopped the bleeding and killed the pain. For The Sound of Music, Rupert’s name was changed to Freidrich. During his life, Cruickshank remained friends with von Trapp.
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