American Legion post in NE Indiana named for fallen Marine

ANGOLA, Ind. (AP) - An American Legion hall in northeastern Indiana has been renamed in honor of a Marine who died in a 2010 bomb attack in Afghanistan.

Angola's Legion hall was known as Post No. 31, but it was renamed the Billy Crouse American Legion hall Wednesday during the post's 100th birthday celebration.

Twenty-two-year-old Cpl. William H. Crouse IV and his bomb-sniffing dog, Cane, died on Dec. 21, 2010, in Afghanistan's Helmand province. Crouse was killed six weeks into his first tour of duty.

He spent his childhood in Angola, about 30 miles (48.2 kilometers) north of Fort Wayne.

Crouse's mother, Nancy Siders of Fort Wayne, tells The (Angola) Herald-Republican the post is a place where veterans can gather for "hope, healing, laughter, a beer now and then, and refuge in the storm.'Å¥

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Information from: Herald Republican, http://www.heraldrepublicanonline.com/