George Carruthers

1923 - 2025

Lieutenant Colonel George Clarence Carruthers passed away on March 14, 2025 at the age of 101. He was born October 19, 1923 in Dallas, Texas. He grew up in Tyler with his parents Jack & Pearl Carruthers along with three sisters - Allie, Dorothy, and Doris. His father was an entrepreneur, having started a mattress manufacturing business in the early 1920s. That business collapsed during the Great Depression, and he switched to hog farming where he employed George from an early age, both after school and on weekends. George also had a morning paper route that had him delivering papers starting around 5:00 am daily. He went on to graduate from John Tyler High School in May of 1941, and enrolled in Tyler Junior College that fall.

After the United States entered World War II, he enlisted in the US Army Air Corps in 1942 at 18, completing training and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant on January 7, 1943. He was assigned to the 8th Air Force, 305th Bomb Group, 422nd Bomb Squadron in Chelveston, England as a Bombardier on a Boeing B-17F Flying Fortress. There, he flew missions over occupied Europe. On July 14th, 1943, at age 19, he completed a successful mission to the Nazi occupied Villacoublay Air Base near Paris they were attacked by two Focke-Wolf FW 190 fighters at 12 o'clock high, fatally injuring the pilots and setting an engine on fire. The plane entered a spin, then exploded mid-air, violently ejecting some of the crew. Four crewmen regained consciousness in the free fall and opened their damaged parachutes. The other seven members of the crew perished that day. The four survivors were captured and sent to the POW camp Stalag Luft III in eastern Germany. On the evening of March 24, 1944, 76 other prisoners escaped from the camp through a 330' long, 30' deep tunnel in what became known as The Great Escape.

In late January 1945, with the Soviet Army approaching, the Germans ordered the evacuation of all 11,000 prisoners and guards. They were given 30 minutes' notice and were force marched west starting around 11:00 pm. The weather was below freezing and snowing. Neither the prisoners nor the guards had proper clothing or food. After several days marching, they were loaded and locked in cattle cars and sent to Stalag 7A near Munich. The journey took 3 days, and there was no food, water or sanitation on the train. Stalag 7A had grown to over 70,000 prisoners of war, and conditions were deplorable. George slept outside on the dirt. As General Patton's 3rd Army was approaching in late April the guards and staff abandoned the camp. George "liberated" a bicycle and traveled northwest, eventually meeting up with an Army unit who provided food and shelter. Two weeks later, he was on his way back home.

After the war he married Marylou Faye Bailes at the First Baptist Church in San Marcos on May 16, 1947. They were stationed at numerous Air Force bases around the country and in 1959 welcomed their son Rob. While stationed in Vietnam, George flew 101 combat missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He retired in 1972 and moved his family to San Marcos where he built their retirement home. In 1984, his wife of 37 years passed away. On November 22, 1986, he married Marilyn Tyler Gaddis, a professor of education at Texas State University. After her retirement, they spent many years traveling the US and the world. In 2021 George served as Grand Marshal of the San Marcos Veterans Day Parade and in 2023, he was awarded the Knight of the French Legion of Honor, France's highest honor.

George is survived by his wife Marilyn, son Rob, wife Sandra and their two children, Adrian and Jordan. Graveside services will be held Saturday, April 12 at the San Marcos City Cemetery with full military honors starting at 11:00am. See tx.ag/GeorgeC for additional details.