“My dad loved the attention [love] he got fromSalem and anyone that wanted to hear any of his war experiences. He loved to print pictures off his computer and hand them out to everybody,” saidDebbie Lindenberg, daughter of the late William “Bill” Joseph Strauss. “This last year he was actually starting to autograph some of them. People would ask him to autograph them, and he did.”
On July 21, the world lost a piece of living history with the passing of Strauss, who had enjoyed 103 years of life, and was one of the oldest WWII Battle of the Bulge veterans living in Arkansas.
As daughters Lindenberg and Jeannine Balmer remembered their father, stories of his time in Chicago following his service and more were shared.
“He was actually drafted but first he had gone to California with his cousins to enlist in the Navy but couldn’t get in because he was colorblind. So, he came back home to Illinois and was drafted after he came back. He was drafted in 1942 and was assigned to the Calvary first at Fort Riley in Kansas. That’s where he did a lot of his ROTC training,” Balmer said. “He was born and raised inChicago in 1919 and from there he went to school and worked there. He had a few jobs, but he worked as he got older after the war at the Chicago City Streets and Sanitation until he retired.”
Strauss enjoyed a life of service, both to the country he loved, but to those around him.
“In the winter because we lived in Illinois, he was helpful and would plow people’s driveways out on his tractor. He went fishing with his buddies once or twice a year fishing with his friends,” Lindenberg said. “He enjoyed life, liked being with his friends and he had a very good friend who lived across the street here in Lake in the Hills and almost every evening they’d get together and have coffee and coffee cake. They’d even cut each other’s hair when it needed it.”
Strauss will be remembered for many things, from his time in the Army, to his quick-witted sense of humor which was always at the ready.
“He was an outgoing guy and loved his jokes. To make other people laugh. He LOVED to dress up for Halloween at the VFW and he’d come in in this silly hat and mask and literally run around the VFW. He was really a jokester and a good guy. He’s always been like that,” Lindenberg said.
Through the course of his 103 years, the majority of which were spent as a father and grandfather, when asked what life advice Strauss had passed along to his children, Balmer said it was more a way of life than a motto.
“He wanted us all to be happy and enjoy our life because he enjoyed his. He was glad he lived most of the time until over 100 but he was getting tired. He could still do for himself, he was fine, happy and content with his life. He wanted us to be happy and he did whatever he needed to do for us to make sure that happened,” Balmer said.
Strauss understood seasons and times, whether it was a time to have fun or to be serious, paying respect or playing around and sometimes, combining the two.
“Something that happened recently. We were on our way to bingo one time with my dad and my sister and I were playing with Snapchat and putting on silly face. So we put on a silly face and came home the next morning and were printing the picture on the computer,” Lindenberg said. “My dad has all of his pictures on the wall and a couple of family pictures. We took this picture and blew it up and pinned it on the wall and he noticed it and said uh uh.. No way! This is my museum not yours take it down. So we put it up in a back room where he couldn’t see it. He was joking but we were all laughing about it.”
The community is invited and encouraged to attend one final visit with Strauss. Visitation will be 12 Noon until time-of-service Saturday, July 29, 2023, at the Salem VFW Post #9777 in Salem, Arkansas. Funeral services will be 2:00 P.M., Saturday, July 29, 2023, at the Salem VFW Post #9777 in Salem, Arkansas, with Bro. John Hodges officiating. Memorials may be made to the Salem VFW Post #9777. Arrangements are under the direction of Barker Funeral Home in Salem, Arkansas.
Obituary
William “Bill” Joseph Strauss, 103, of Salem, Arkansas, passed away from this life on Friday, July 21, 2023, at his home in Salem, Arkansas. Bill was born to William E. Strauss and Lillian (Werner) Strauss on October 27, 1919, in Chicago, Illinois.
Bill was one of the oldest WW II Battle of the Bulge veterans living in Arkansas. Bill was a participant of ROTC in high school in Chicago, Illinois and when WW II kicked off Bill went to California to join the Navy in 1941. Bill wanted to serve on the USS Kennison with others from Chicago, but when they found out he was color blind they wouldn’t take him. Bill returned to Chicago to work and was drafted on January 30, 1942, and he chose to join the Army. Bill was stationed at Fort Riley, Kansas and was assigned to the 73rd Field Artillery Battalion, 9th Armored Division, where he was able to serve in the mounted cavalry. He always remarked how much he enjoyed Fort Riley because he had fond memories of stables which were close to his home in Illinois. After receiving training in California in 1944, his unit was sent to New York and then shipped to Europe aboard the Queen Mary, where his bunk window was right at the water line. They eventually landed on Omaha Beach and made their way to Bastogne. Bill fought in the Battle of the Bulge, the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States in WW II, which helped to hasten the end of the war. His unit was known as the “Phantom Division” and was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for extraordinary heroism against a surprise attack by a German division which outnumbered allied troops five to one. Awards during his service include European African Middle Eastern Theater Ribbon with 3 OLC’s, WW II Victory Medal, Army of Occupation Medal w/Germany Clasp, Presidential Unit Emblem, Meritorious Unit Emblem, American Campaign Medal, Driver and Mechanics Badge w/Driver Bar, and Good Conduct Medal. Bill was honored by the Arkansas House of Representatives on January 27, 2015, where Representative Joseph Scott Baltz presented House Resolution 1003 to honor Bill Strauss for his military service during WW II. On August 15, 2017, Bill was honored by the French Consul and awarded the French Legion of Honor which is the highest award given by the French government and recognizes exemplary service to France. Bill received the award for assisting in the liberation of France during WW II and became a Knight of the Legion d’Honneur. Bill was passionate in his desire to educate and share his experiences and often visited local schools in Viola and Salem talking to the faculty and youth. In 2019, he was interviewed and recorded for the Library of Congress Veterans History Project to ensure generations present and future, will know of the sacrifices he and others made in service to the United States.
Bill was united in marriage to Betty D. Saulsman on October 12, 1946, in Guthrie, Oklahoma. In 1954 they bought their home in Lake in the Hills, Illinois and raised their family. Bill worked with streets and sanitation for the City of Chicago and after retirement they moved to Arkansas in 1995. Bill enjoyed gambling, hunting, fishing, playing cards, and bingo, but most of all he enjoyed his family and friends. Bill was a member of VFW Post #9777 in Salem, Arkansas, American Legion Post #1231 in Lake in the Hills, Illinois, and was of the Methodist faith. He was a loving son, husband, father, grandfather, and friend.
Bill leaves to mourn his passing, son, Richard Strauss (Robin) of Harvard, Illinois; two daughters, Deborah Lindenberg (Rus) of Harvard, Illinois and Jeannine Balmer (Guy) of Lake in the Hills,
Illinois; three grandchildren, Brenton Lindenberg of Harvard, Illinois, Ryan Lindenberg of Capron, Illinois, and Lindsey Strauss of Harvard, Illinois; many other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his wife (Betty Strauss), son (David Strauss), and parents (Bill and Lillian Strauss).
Visitation will be 12 Noon until time-of-service Saturday, July 29, 2023, at the Salem VFW Post #9777 in Salem, Arkansas. Funeral services will be 2:00 P.M., Saturday, July 29, 2023, at the Salem VFW Post #9777 in Salem, Arkansas, with Bro. John Hodges officiating. Memorials may be made to the Salem VFW Post #9777. Arrangements are under the direction of Barker Funeral Home in Salem, Arkansas.
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