Burnett (Burnie) Louis Sutter was born on April 7, 1921 to Louis and Oszetta Sutter, near Muscatine, Iowa and has a brother, Keith Sutter (age 96) still living there. His father passed away when he was 11, so he quit school to help run the family farm. On March 19, 1943, he married Rozetta Royster, and three days later was inducted into the US Army.
He landed on Utah Beach in Normandy with the 90th Infantry Division, known as the Tough Ombres, under General George S. Patton. He was a machine gunner in the 358th M Company. He fought in many of the major battles across France and Germany, including the Battle of Seves Island, the Battle of the Falaise Pocket, Operation Cobra and the Moselle River Crossing. At the battle to close the Falaise Gap, the route the German Army was trying to maintain to allow its escape, his machine gun was stationed in the middle of the road, cutting off troops and Panzer units. The victory opened the route to liberate Paris and enter Germany. He continued across Germany and was one of the first 50 men to enter Czechoslovakia in the middle of the night April 18, 1945, effectively cutting Nazi occupied territory in half, with war reporters and photographers. He says he considered being included in that offensive a great honor. Days later on April 23, he was part of the unit that liberated the Flossenburg Concentration Camp in Southern Germany. He was discharged on Oct. 30, 1945 and returned to the States. Among many other awards, he was awarded the French Legion Medal of Honor.
Burnie came home to Moline, Illinois to join his wife and daughter, Sandra, eleven months old, who he was meeting for the first time. He went to work for his brother-in-law in the family tire sales and recap company. After retirement, he enjoyed traveling with Rozetta, was an integral part of building their new church and never missed the yearly reunion of the 90 Army Infantry Division to reminisce with his buddies about what they had accomplished in WWII. Sadly, Burnie passed away January 30, 2022, just two months before his 101st birthday.
His memory lives on in his daughter, her husband Bill, his three accomplished grandchildren, his eight beautiful great grandchildren and the entire community he touched.
This narrative on Mr. Sutter's heroic life was contributed by his daughter, Sandi Sutter Richards.
Click the button below to donate to the Burnett "Burnie" Sutter Scholarship. We thank you for your kind donations and appreciate your generous support.
Read the feature article about Mr. Sutter’s 100th birthday parade and celebration in Frisco last year.