Longtime Sloatsburg resident George Heller went through Hell and back during his days fighting for the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) of the 101st Airborne Division during WWII.

Sloatsburg resident, decorated WWII veteran and ex-chief of the Sloatsburg Fire Department, George Heller died on June 8 and was buried Monday, June 13 at the FW Loescher Veteran’s Cemetery in New Hempstead, NY. Click the photo to view George Heller’s WWII recollections as told to the West Point Center for Oral History.

Heller’s WWII adventure sounds like something out of Captain America — he participated in a few combat infantry air jumps but they all counted — one at Normandy before D-Day and one near Veghel for Operation Market Garden. And then, during the battle of the Bulge, Heller was hit by German counter-attack shrapnel and seriously wounded at Bastogne, France.

George Heller died quietly at his house in Sloatsburg, NY, on June 8. He was 92 years old and was recently celebrated at the Sloatsburg Village Hall and Seniors Center, and other veterans gathers, for his outstanding contributions to community and country. Heller was buried Monday morning, June 13, at the FW Loescher Veteran’s Cemetery in New Hempstead, NY, and celebrated during a luncheon gathering at the Sloatsburg Firehouse.

A 56-year member of the Sloatsburg Fire Department, Heller also served as a department Chief and was active in the Sloatsburg community.

George Heller stands to the right with the blue jacket with other Sloatsburg veterans, who traveled with family and/or friend guardians enjoy a sunny Saturday in Washington, D.C.in May of 2015 via the Hudson Valley Honor Flight program. / Photo courtesy of Mike & Daphne Downes

Heller was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, Army Good Conduct Award, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Ribbon with 3 battle stars and the Purple Heart, according the Sloatsburg Fire Department.

In 2015, he vividly told his WWII stories to the West Point Center for Oral History, describing his injuries due to German shrapnel taken at the Battle of the Bulge, especially his hand.

Joined by other Sloatsburg WWII veterans, Heller travelled to Washington, DC on the Hudson Valley Honor Flight program in May of 2015, Heller was able to get a first-hand look at the major monuments he and his generation helped build through their service to country.

Heller could often be seen walking his neighborhood in the last years, and took his place as an honored member of that “Greatest Generation” that fought WWII — attended various local ceremonies and celebrations for WWII veterans, many of them now in their 90s, with their number dwindling.