GORHAM — Local communities are mourning the death of Horace “Bud” Fogg Sr. of Gorham, a highly decorated veteran who survived fierce European battles during World War II.

Fogg, 92, died Dec. 29 at the Gosnell Memorial Hospice House in Scarborough. Widely known in Gorham, Westbrook and Windham, Fogg  stayed active in recent years visiting friends at Thayer’s Store in Windham, along with the American Legion Post 197 in Westbrook and Westbrook Eagles.

As a soldier, he landed on Normandy Beach and later fought in the frozen battle of Hurtgen Forest in Belgium. A squad leader, Fogg patrolled through the snow near the Belgium border with Germany in a prelude to the Battle of the Bulge. Frostbite claimed half of Fogg’s right foot and gangrene attacked toes on his left foot, according to an American Journal article published in December 2014.

“Even my gun was frozen,” he told the American Journal. “I was lucky to get out of there alive.”

On the frozen battlefield, Fogg slept outside in below-zero weather.

Earlier that year, he hit the beach at Normandy a month after D-Day in 1944, and his unit was assigned at one time to the army of Gen. George Patton. Shrapnel struck his neck during fighting in France.

Fogg was a father of five children, 13 grandchildren and 29 great-grandchildren. His daugher, Mary Fogg of Gorham, recalled her dad as loyal to family, friends and places. She said he was kind, worked hard and had a way that made people felt special and validated. “He did quiet, good deeds,” she said.

“We all knew Bud,” Joe Webster of Gorham, commander of Post 197, said Tuesday. “Very likeable, he was friendly with everybody.”

Webster said he last saw Fogg when he visited the post about two weeks ago.

Lane Hiltunen of Windham often lunched with Fogg at Thayer’s. “Everyone was friendly to him,” Hiltunen, a fellow veteran, said. “And he to them as well.”

Fogg was drafted into the U.S. Army at age 18, obtained the rank of sergeant and served with the 83rd Infantry Division in Europe.

He was awarded three Bronze Stars, the Purple Heart, a Good Conduct medal and multiple campaign awards, according to his obituary. He was also awarded the State of Maine Silver Star honorable service medal.

Hiltunen said he never heard Fogg speak much about World War II. “I always kidded him that the French women named a village after him,” Hiltunen said.

Fogg was a member of several veteran’s organizations, and once served as commander of the American Legion’s Smith-Wagner Post 60 in Gorham.

Windham Police Department once replaced a gift cane that was stolen from Fogg with one handcrafted specifically for him. The cane bears his name and rank.

Fogg was born in Windham in 1924 and grew up in Gorham. He attended the Frederick Robie School in Little Falls. He retired from S.D. Warren Co. in Westbrook, where he worked for 38 years.

A Closer Look

A memorial and celebration of the life of Horace “Bud” Fogg Sr. will be held 1-4 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 8, at the American Legion Post 197, 300 Conant St., Westbrook.

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