Date and Place of Birth: July 11, 1923 Concord, NC Date and Place of Death: January 3, 1945 Philippsbourg, France Baseball Experience: Minor League Position: Second Base Rank: Private First-Class Military Unit: Company M, 275th Infantry Regiment, 70th Infantry Division US Army Area Served:European Theater of Operations

Troy L. Furr, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Furr, was born in Concord, North Carolina on July 11, 1923. An infielder, he was playing semi-pro baseball in the Concord City League in 1943 and led the circuit in pitching and fielding.

With ballplayers being called into military service at an alarming rate, Earl Mann, president of the Atlanta Crackers of the Class A1 Southern Association, signed Furr during the winter of 1943 in the hope he would be a useful infielder for the club's 1944 season.

Unfortunately, military service intervened before he could play a game as a professional, and Furr entered service with the Army at Fort Bragg, North Carolina on April 13, 1944. Following basic training he was sent to France where he served with Company M - a heavy weapons company - of the 275th Infantry Regiment, 70th "Trailblazers" Infantry Division. The division had landed at Marseille, France, in December 1944, and reached the front on December 28, near Bischweiler on the west bank of the Rhine River.

On January 3, 1945, while in combat as a machine gunner during the battle for the town of Philippsbourg in north-eastern France, Private First Class Furr was reported missing. It was later confirmed he had been killed in action that day.

Troy Furr is buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Concord, North Carolina

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Troy L Furr