Longtime Morgan City resident was decorated WWII vet

George Beaugh flew 31 missions over Germany during World War II while serving in the U.S. Army Air Force and later called Morgan City home for six decades.

Beaugh, 96, a longtime Morgan City resident and decorated World War II veteran, died Monday surrounded by family, according to his obituary. Beaugh and his wife, Norma, were married over 73 years, marrying Christmas Eve 1944.

Beaugh served in the Army Air Force as a flight engineer on a B-17 bomber and was based in England, his obituary said.

He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross twice, the Air Medal five times and several presidential commendations for his service in World War II, according to a 2013 article written by Harlan Kirgan, former editor of The Daily Review.

Beaugh served on a B-17 Flying Fortress, part of the 384th Bomb Group that attacked the Nazis during World War II.

The Daily Review last published an article on Beaugh in December 2014 when he signed a 384th Bombardment Group (Heavy) Commemorative wing panel that was set to be displayed at Hill Aerospace Museum at Hill Air Force Base in Utah with the signatures of those who served in the group.

The “heavy” notation indicated the bombs used were considered big bombs for the time period, Beaugh said in 2014.

As a flight engineer, Beaugh manned the plane’s top turret gun and was the only one of 10 crew members in his bomber unit who was never hospitalized or grounded during combat.

“My guardian angels were with me,” Beaugh said during that 2014 interview.

Beaugh enlisted for the duration of the war in May 1942, just months after the Dec. 7, 1941, Japanese attack on the U.S. fleet in Pearl Harbor that plunged the nation into a war that wouldn't end until August 1945, according to Kirgan’s 2013 article.

Beaugh, a Lewisburg native, also lived in Opelousas during his lifetime.

"They had a big drive in Opelousas one day recruiting for the Army Air Corps. I went and signed up. I wasn't going to get drafted,” Beaugh said in that article.

Beaugh and his wife had lived at an assisted living facility in New Iberia for the past year. They had previously lived in Morgan City since 1956 when Beaugh opened The Shoe House, which he operated for 37 years.

He and Norma had five children, four still living, along with eight grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. He also assisted in the founding of the Holy Cross Church Parish, his obituary stated.

Visitation will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Friday at Holy Cross Catholic Church in Morgan City. A rosary will be prayed at 10 a.m. with a Mass of Christian burial beginning at noon. Following Mass, Beaugh will be laid to rest in Morgan City Cemetery.