DOB/DOD: April 23, 1917 (Norwalk, CT) – April 11, 1964 (Norwalk, CT); 46 years old
MARITAL STATUS: Married to Sophia Premru (1916-2010) on May 31, 1947, in Norwalk, CT. Later remarried to Helmut Lohmann.
CHILDREN: Two sons, Gary (1953-) and Peter (1954-).
LOCAL ADDRESS: 333 Flax Hill Road, South Norwalk
ENLISTMENT: January 19, 1942
SERVICE NUMBER: 31040632
UNIT: 707th Headquarters Company, 707th Tank Battalion, 5th Armored Division
FAMILY: Born to Andrew (1892-1958) and Bertha Levay Bellus (1895-1970). Two brothers, Theodore W. (1919-1989) and Robert S. (1932-1986).
CIRCUMSTANCES: Held in German camp Stalag 4B Muhlberg Sachsen 51-13.
OTHER: He was an outstanding athlete at Norwalk High School from 1932-35, playing football quarterback, basketball forward, and baseball infielder. Later, he was a letter carrier with the Norwalk Post Office.
From The Norwalk Hour January 18, 1945
Corporal Alexander “Andy” Bellus, 25, son of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Bellus of 338 Flax Hill Road, has been missing in action since December 20 in the heavy fighting in Luxembourg, according to a War Department telegram received yesterday by his parents. Corporal Bellus, who went into the service three years ago on January 19, was with a tank unit. In civilian life he was a mail carrier with the South Norwalk Post Office. He was well-known in local athletics and played baseball, football, and basketball during his course at Norwalk High School. He was also captain of the YPHA basketball team of the Hungarian Reformed Church. He has a brother in the service: Private Theodore Bellus, who is with the Air Cops at Colorado Springs.
From The Norwalk Hour March 28, 1945
Corporal Bellus, reported as missing during the Belgian Bulge campaign, has notified his parents he is a prisoner of war in Germany and not to worry and asks that his friends be notified of the fact. Mr. and Mrs. Bellus received the notice in this morning’s mail. They both declared that it could not have come at a more appropriate time and that it makes a grand Easter present. Corporal Bellus completed three years of service in January of this year. He was with the Headquarters Company, 707th Tank Battalion. Corporal Bellus was a carrier out of the South Norwalk Post Office and is a well-known athlete here. Corporal Bellus has a brother, Corporal Theodore Bellus, with the U.S. Army Air Force and is stationed at Dalhart, Texas. He has been notified by his parents that “Andy” is a prisoner of war.
From The Norwalk Hour May 12, 1945
Corporal Alex “Andy” Bellus, son of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Bellus, 333 Flax Hill Road, who has been a prisoner of war in Germany since December 20, 1944, has been liberated by the Allied Armies according to a letter received yesterday by his parents. Corporal Bellus was with the Headquarters Company, 707th Tank Battalion, which took part in the Belgian bulge campaign, where he was captured. In the letter to his parents, he asks his mother to get the cook stove ready for the holiday meals he has missed during the last three months. He states he is in good health and asks that his parents not worry about him. Corporal Bellus, when he entered the service, was a mail carrier attached to the South Norwalk Post Office. He is a graduate of Norwalk High School, was active in all major sports of the school, and took a very active part in semi-pro sports locally. He has a brother, Corporal Ted Bellus, who is at Dalhart, Texas, where he is a crew chief at the Dalhert airfield.
From The Norwalk Hour June 16, 1945
Corporal Alexander (Andy) Bellus, son of Mr. and Mrs. Andy Bellus of 333 Flax Hill Road, arrived home this morning from Fort Devens, Massachusetts, for a 60-day furlough. Corporal Bellus was a prisoner of war in Germany since December 21, 1944, and was liberated by British troops on May 12, the day before Mother’s Day, and arrived home for his furlough on the day before Father’s Day, making two happy occasions for his parents. Corporal Bellus told his parents it was impossible to describe the feeling that came over him when the British arrived and liberated the Allied soldiers who were prisoners.
From The Norwalk Hour September 21, 1945
Army Ground and Service Redistribution Station, Fort Oglethorpe, GA – Corporal Alexander A. Bellus, son of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Bellus, 333 Flax Hill Road, South Norwalk, Connecticut, currently is stationed at the Redistribution Station, where he will spend two weeks before reporting to his new assignment in the United States. Corporal Bellus, who was a German prisoner of war, was returned recently to the United States after having served 16 months in the European Theatre of Operations as a company clerk.
From the Bridgeport Telegram April 14, 1964
NORWALK, April 13 — Services for Alexander A. Bellus, 46, of 12 Banks Street, who died Saturday in Norwalk Hospital, will take place Wednesday at 9:30 a.m. in the Collins Funeral Home, 92 East Avenue and at 10 o’clock in the Hungarian Evangelical and Reformed Church with the Reverend Doctor John Putosi, pastor, officiating. Burial will be in Riverside Cemetery. Mr. Bellus, a lifelong resident of Norwalk, was employed at the South Norwalk Post Office. He was a member of the National Association of Letter Carriers, a veteran of the U.S. Army, World War II, and a member of the Frank C. Godfrey Post American Legion and Norwalk Old Timers Club. Survivors are his wife, Sophia Premru Bellus; two sons, Peter A. and Gary A. Bellus; two brothers, Theodore and Robert Bellus; and his mother, Mrs. Betha Levay Bellus, all of Norwalk.
Alexander Bellus is buried in Riverside Cemetery, 81 Riverside Avenue, Norwalk, Connecticut; Section 18
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