Leonard E. 'Bud' Cyr

Technical Sergeant

United States Army Finance Corps

 

Leonard E. (Bud) Cyr, the eldest son of Edward and Helen Cyr, was born in L’Anse, Michigan on 29 January 1918.

 

While attending L’Anse High School, Bud focused on business related courses.  Realizing that the business courses will only go so far, Bud wanted that hands on experience to improve his knowledge.  While in high school and after graduation, he worked for a lumber company and a construction company.  All of that hard work paid off when he graduated from L’Anse High School with the Class of 1935.

 

On 31 April 1936, Bud joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) (a key program of President Roosevelt’s New Deal, operating from 1933 through 1942, providing jobs to young, unemployed men).  For the next 14 months, Bud worked as Forestry Assistant Clerk, Assistant Army Clerk, Army Clerk, and Storekeeper.  He received his Honorable Discharge from the CCC on 20 June 1937.

 

Still getting that sense of adventure and service to his Country, Bud enlisted in the U.S. Army on or about 23 November 1937.  In 1940 Bud left the United States for an assignment in paradise, the Philippines with the Finance Department.  While in the Philippines, he received numerous promotions which lead to his final promotion on 9 May 1941, as a Technical Sergeant.  Life in paradise would come to an end for Bud when the Japanese attacked the Philippines.  Prior to his capture by the Japanese, Bud was able to send a letter to his sister Madelyne dated 15 February, 1942.  Along with 15,000 plus American Prisoners of War (POW), Bud was in the infamous Bataan Death March on 9 April 1942.  For the next six months until his death from dysentery on 6 September 1942, Bud was held in the Cabanatuan Prison Camp.  On 16 March 1943, Madelyne was notified that Bud was a POW.  But it would not be until 15 June 1944, that Madelyne was informed her beloved brother died 21 months ago in a Japanese POW Camp.  Bud’s memory lives on to this day when Madelyne name her first son after Leonard, who attended his heroes funeral.

 

Leonard was survived by his sisters Madelyne H. Lawry, Haze Dishnow, and Rosabelle A. Snyder.  He was proceeded in death by his parents and brother Edward.

 

Technical Sergeant Leonard E. (Bud) Cyr, was buried with full military honors on 9 May 1949, in the Fort Snelling National Cemetery, Fort Snelling, Minnesota.

 

 

Source of Information:

 

1.  Information and picture provided by Sherry Jones on 4 December 2010.  Sherry is Bud's niece.

2.  1920;Census Place: L'Anse, Baraga, Michigan; Roll: T625_756; Page: 5A; Enumeration District: 16; Image: 149.

3.  Ancestry.com. World War II Prisoners of the Japanese, 1941-1945 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com operations, Inc., 2010.

4.  National Archives and Records Administration. World War II Prisoners of War, 1941-1946 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2005.