Decorated war veteran Cecil Hunnicutt dies

Retired Army Col. Cecil Floyd Hunnicutt, a Silver Star recipient and three-time Purple Heart recipient, died Thursday. He was a 96-year-old resident of Mount Pleasant.

Hunnicutt, a Seneca native, joined the 702nd Tank Destroyer Battalion as a 2nd lieutenant during World War II. He was wounded while fighting across France, Belgium and Holland after D-Day. He was among the 10,000 troops that attacked a Panzer division during the Battle of Bulge.

Hunnicutt was awarded the Silver Star — the military’s third-highest medal — for his actions and two Purple Hearts.

After World War II, he was selected as the Honor Guard Commander at the Potsdam Conference. He studied at the Infantry School, Command and General Staff College and Army War College.

He became a colonel and was assigned to serve as senior adviser to the National Training Center in Vietnam. He received his third Purple Heart in the Vietnam War.

Hunnicutt is survived by his wife, Ruth Craig Hunnicutt, and two sons, Lee and Edward Hunnicutt. A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. Sunday in Stuhr’s Mount Pleasant Chapel.