Hubert Elliott Crabtree
Hubert Elliott Crabtree, 88, of Chapel Hill, died Saturday, June 21, 2008, after a brief illness. A native Tar Heel, Hubert was born in Orange County, in Hillsborough. He left school to work on the family farm and later worked as a truck driver until he was called to serve his country. He served in the U.S. Army Infantry during World War II until June 1945. In addition to numerous service medals, he received the Asiatic Pacific Theater Campaign Medal and the Bronze Star Medal. His major Pacific battle sites included Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, and Fiji. All combat sites were landings from the sea. He got to all of his battle zones "without ever boarding an airplane (and he never did)." Hubert is buried at the Chapel Hill Memorial Gardens cemetery on NC Highway 86 North, just north of I-40.