Horace Erwin "Mickey" Green Sr., 93, WWII vet

Horace Erwin "Mickey" Green Sr., 93, formerly of Philadelphia, a World War II veteran of the Battle of the Bulge, died Wednesday, Nov. 27, of congestive heart failure at his home in Bryn Mawr.

Mr. Green lived in Elmwood Park and the Meadows in Southwest Philadelphia before moving in 1998 to Bryn Mawr.

He served in the Army from January 1943 until November 1945, when he was honorably discharged with the rank of sergeant.

Mr. Green trained at Camp Swift, Texas; Camp Jaffe, Ark.; and Fort Sill, Okla., and was deployed from Camp Shanks, N.Y., to Liverpool, England, to begin serving in the European Theater.

He fought in the Battle of the Bulge, and recorded a poem about his experience. In part, it reads:

When I die,

I'm going to Heaven.

Because I served

My hitch in Hell.

His combat assignments took him to 15 countries, including France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Holland, and Germany.

Before and after his military service, he worked for the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Eddystone. In 1953, he went to work for Philadelphia International Airport; he rose to maintenance supervisor, a job he held until retiring in 1985.

For many years, he worked as a butcher at Jerry's Corner, a flea market with food stands at 61st Street and Passyunk Avenue.

An avid traveler, Mr. Green visited 38 states and provinces in America and Canada. He followed the Flyers and Phillies.

As a young man, Mr. Green played semiprofessional baseball and was instrumental in founding the Elmwood Park Little League. He also boxed, winning numerous matches in the Army.

A lifelong animal lover, Mr. Green doted on the feathered and furry creatures outside his home.

"The night before he passed, he fed his foxes that visited nightly, and fed the birds, squirrels, and deer in the backyard," his family said in a statement.

Surviving are his companion, Gladys M. Warwick; three grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and nieces and nephews. His wife, the former Lena H. Jackson, and a son, Horace E. Green, died earlier, as did two brothers and two sisters.

Services were Saturday, Dec. 7.

610-313-8102