WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL - PFC Charles W. Zachrich

 

PFC Charles William Zachrich

Charles "Red" Zachrich was born on February 16, 1921, and grew up in Highland Township, Defiance County with his parents, Charles C. and Lalah A. (Bordner) Zachrich. After attending Ayersville High School for one year, he decided to leave schooling behind for the working life.

In the 1940 census, he was living with his parents and was a farm laborer, working on the family farm.  On September 28, 1940, he married Frances Traxler of Defiance, daughter of Frank and Ina (Crist) Traxler. They were both 18.

The couple moved to Lenawee County, Michigan, where Charles took a job at M & S Manufacturing.

On his draft card, he named his only brother, LaVern Zachrich, as next of kin. With brown hair and eyes, Charles was 6'1" and 142 pounds.

In the meantime, Charles became a father with daughter, Dianna, born March 25, 1943, in Lenawee County, Michigan. A little more than a year later, Frances filed for divorce on May 10, 1944, claiming extreme and repeated cruelty. Charles enlisted in the Army in Adrian, Michigan, on June 20, 1944.

The divorce was not final until July 17, 1944, and in that time, Charles was busy in training at Camp Blanding, Florida. By November 23, 1944, he was traveling overseas as a part of Company E, 223rd Infantry Training Brigade (ITB), 68th regiment (sharpshooter), Seventh Army. At some point overseas, Charles was attached as a medic to Co. C, 6th Battalion, a replacement regiment that was a medical corps, attached to an infantry division in the Third Army.

359th Medical Corps Detachment

He was in Belgium for a while where he was reported missing on January 15, 1945, for less than a week, but then he rejoined his unit on January 21, 1945.  He was listed as killed in action on February 20, 1945, near Oder, Uttfeld, Germany. The Oder was a river in Germany at which the Germans launched an offensive. No detailed information could be located on PFC Zachrich's death.

Crescent-News, 07 March 1945, p. 1

Charles was originally buried in the U.S. Military Cemetery in Hamm, Luxenbourg, Plot K, Row 5, Grave 102.

His body was returned from overseas and reinterred in St. Stephen's Cemetery, Highland Township. The Crescent-News reported on July 10, 1948, on page 1:

"Chas. Zachrich Body Returned From Overseas

Body of Pfc Charles W. Zachrich of Defiance who lost his life while in Germany, Feb. 20, 1945, while with the 359th Infantry of the Third Army has been returned to the United States on its way to its final resting place at Defiance, the Department of the Army announced today.

Pfc Zachrich was the son of Mr. and Mrs Charles W. Zachrich, 500 Tiedeman St. He was inducted June 20, 1944, trained at Camp Blanding, Fla., and was overseas six weeks before he was killed. He was 24 years old...

The body was returned on the Army transport, Oglethorpe Victory, carrying remains of 4,383 Americans who lost their lives during World War II.  All had been interred originally in temporary military cemeteries in France and Belgium. Besides Pfc Zachrich, the 244 Ohioans on this transport included Pvt. Howard R. Day, Army, returned on request of Lucille B. Day of Edgerton as next of kin."

Note: By this time, his sister, Fae, had married Roger Lang.

In an interesting sidenote, an article appeared posted from Defiance in the Marysville Tribune on July 17, 1948 on page 1:

"Defiance,O. July 17 - To Open Casket.

Mrs. Layla Zachrich, Defiance yesterday, obtained Common Pleas Court permission to open the casket of her son, Pfc Charles W. Zachrich, who was reported killed in Germany in 1945. She told the court she doubts her son is dead because she saw a newspaper picture of him among a group of soldiers, disembarking in New York. The casket is to arrive here soon."

However, when the time for the funeral came on August 2, 1948, the Crescent News posted in two separate articles:

"Private funeral, 10:30 a.m., Mansfield Funeral Home. Burial at St. Stephen's Church.

Members of the family indicated they might not use a recent court order permitting opening the coffin for identification.

Pallbearers were Max Sayre, Alton McGehee, David Steinberger, Cletus Baker and Robert and James Ort."

 

"In Memoriam

In loving memory of our dear son and brother, Pfc Charles Zachrich, who was reported killed in Germany, February 20th, 1945

The silent night is lonely and

There is no golden dawn

Because I must remember, son

That you are really done.

I must remember in my heart

The happiness we knew,

And that my only world was one

In which I lived with you

There is no breath of fragrance in

The flowers that I press

And if I call your name I hear

The sounds of emptiness

I roam the house from room to room,

I gaze beyond the sea

But there is nothing I can do

To bring you back to me

I have to tell myself again

That you are really gone.

And I can only ask the Lord

For strength to carry on.

But you're not alone in that grave o'er the sea,

For with you, there is a part of me.

Sadly missed by father and mother, brothers and sisters, Mr and Mrs. Charles Zachrich, LaVern Zachrich, Velma Bunke, Lillian Colwell, and Fae Lang

Crescent - News 10 Feb 1948

Rhonda Casler, Researcher

Salvaging and Recycling for the War Effort

 

It was 1942 before the United States really and suddenly felt the need to salvage waste materials for recycling into war materials. Drives were held to collect rubber, paper, waste fats from the kitchen, shellac, aluminum, steel and iron, among other things. Americans were told it took 15 tons of scrap metal to create a medium sized table and 3 tons to make a small anti-aircraft gun. Tons of scrap metal was needed, so in addition to collecting it, refrigerators, cars and cutlery were not available during the rest of the war years. Housewives donated old pots and pans, metal toys, broken tools and equipment. 

Some towns sent in their historic cannons or the metal in monuments, as well as old car parts, wrought iron fences and whatever else could be used. School children had their own drives and competitions.

Rubber became a real need, and in June 1942, the Rubber Roundups began. The U.S. knew how to make synthetic rubber, but there were few facilities that produced it, and it was very expensive.

Citizens were asked to donate rubber boots, old tires, life rafts, hot water bottles, garden hoses, and anything else appropriate. 

This recycled rubber was mostly used to retread tires, and the better quality was used for military needs. If a family had more than five tires at their residence, they were required to sell back the extras. Speed limits were lowered to reduce stress on the retreads.  By 1944, Firestone, B.F. Goodrich and a few others could produce enough synthetic rubber, so that rubber was no longer collected.

A shortage of fabric was also known, beginning in 1942, as more uniforms were required, as well as bedding and anything else using fabric. To help in saving, the government banned the making of suit vests and 2 piece bathing suits, for example.

Women of the day often had a tin ready under the sink to pour in extra fats, or they had a place in the basement to keep it cool. These would then be turned into the local butcher for a few pennies.  It was used for soap production and for explosives.

The business of the military used a great deal of paper, so paper recycling was already a thing during the war. Not only was it used for writing, but for packaging ammunition and for insulation. Paper recycling was a popular school project.

The people of the United States were eager to help win the war, and they did their part to skimp for themselves and donate what was needed.

Dianne Kline, Researcher

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL - Tech Sgt Charles E. Smith

 

Tech. Sergeant Charles Edward Smith

Born on September 10, 1923, in Lake City, Illinois, to parents, John Thomas "Jack" and Margaret Mary (Vollmer) Smith, Charles made connections with Defiance later in life. 

After finishing three years of high school, Charles joined the work force in Defiance with a job at the Defiance Automatic Screw Company. He lived, possibly as a boarder or with a relative, at 720 Holgate Street in Defiance. 

It was in Defiance that he registered for the draft.

On October 31, 1942, he traveled to Chicago, Illinois, to enlist in the Army Air Corps, and on November 13, he was inducted in as a private.  He would serve in the 8th Air Force, 700th Army Air Force Bomb Squad and the 445th AAF Bomb Operations.

He graduated from the radio school of the Air Force Technical Training Operations at Scott Field in Belleville, IL, qualifying for duty in a fighting bomber crew as a radio man.

In June, 1943, he also trained as a gunner. (Lovington Reporter, June 25, 1943)

"SGT CHAS E SMITH GRADUATES AS GUNNER

Sgt. Charles E. Smith, son of Mr. and Mrs. John T. Smith of near Lake City and graduate from Lovington township high school, was graduated Monday from the Army Air Forces Flexible Gunnery School at Ft. Myers Fla.

Now qualified as an aerial gunner, he will become a member of one of the thousands of bomber crews which will be sent overseas in a few weeks to battle the Nazis or the enemy somewhere 'over there.'  He will receive his crew training at an operational training field in the United States.

Hundreds of gunners are graduated each week from the school located near Fort Myers. The course lasts only six weeks and covers everything from BB and skeet shooting to firing from the power-operated turret of a large twin-engined bomber on special missions over the Gulf of Mexico.

Sgt. Smith has been in the Army seven months, having formerly been engaged in farming. He is a graduate of the radio specialist school at Scott Field, near Belleville, Ill."

His group went overseas first to the east coast of England to practice bombing procedures, radio procedures during missions, blind flying in case navigation systems went out and formation flying. On December 13, they began operations by attacking some boat installations, and from there moved on German airfields, ammunition plants, chemical works and other strategic targets.

Bomber crew on the B-24H Liberator, "Snow Goose" aka "Rambling Wreck." Charles is in the front row with the yellow X. He was listed as the Radio Operator.

On December 22, 1943, three bombing missions were sent out over Germany. In Mission One, the Snow Goose was sent to bomb the railway yards at Osnabruck, Germany. The Snow Goose came under heavy attack from German fighters, receiving a direct hit that set their aircraft on fire.  

However, they still had their heavy bomb load and, rather than drop them on civilians, they chose to crash with their bombs. On their way down, they shot down the German plane that had attacked them. They crashed about one kilometer southwest of Bolsward, Holland, of the province of Friesland. There were no survivors.

The mayor of Bolsward received the bodies from the Germans, and immediately the town donated the money to buy the plot and pay the funeral expenses and care for the graves of the deceased American soldiers. The funeral was attended by the whole town, and the graves were completely covered with many flowers. (www.honorstates.org)

Monument at the graves in Bolsward

Sgt. Charles E. Smith's body was sent home in August 1949.

The Decatur Daily Review, August 27, 1949 -

"SGT SMITH BODY ARRIVES IN DECATUR

Funeral services for Tech. Sgt. Charles E. Smith, 19, Lake City, will be at 9:30 A.M. Monday in St. Isadore's Catholic Church, Bethany. Burial will be in the church cemetery.

The body of Sergeant Smith, killed in action over Holland in 1943, arrived in Decatur yesterday afternoon. The body was taken to the residence in Lake City today. J. J. Moran & Sons funeral home is in charge."

St. Isadore Cemetery, Bethany, Illinois

Lovington Reporter, August 26, 1949, p. 1 -

"LAST RITES FOR SGT CHAS. E. SMITH AT ST. ISADORE'S CHURCH

Funeral services for Technical Sergeant Charles E. Smith, 19, of Lake City, will be held Monday at 9:30 a.m. in St. Isadore's Catholic Church west of Lovington.         

The body will arrive in Decatur on Friday afternoon and on Saturday evening, will be taken to the family home northwest of Lake City.

Sgt. Smith, a radio operator of the Eighth Air Force was killed in action over Holland, December 22, 1943. He entered service November 13, 1942.

He was the son of Mr and Mrs. John T. Smith of near Lake City. He was born September 10, 1923, and is survived by his parents and brothers, Thomas of Decatur, and John, Leonard, Daniel and Donald, at home.

He was a graduate of Lovington township high school with the class of 1941 and was a member of St. Isadore Catholic Church.  Community Post No. 429, American Legion of Lovington will participate in military rites. The pall bearers will be Bill Smith, __ Frantz, John Foley, Bill _croft, Homer Rich, and Vincent Griffin. Burial will be in St. Isadore's Cemetery...

Robert Carpenter, Researcher

WORLD WAR II - PFC Richard A. Siler

 

Private First Class
Richard Adam Siler 

A young Richard Siler

Born in Defiance, Ohio on July 12, 1918, Richard was the son of Joseph D. and Adelia (Haslem) Siler. Adelia was born in England, and she died sometime before 1940, leaving sons John, Edwin and Richard.

 

Richard finished 8th grade and went to work after his schooling.  He filled out his draft card at the age of 22, and soon after, he traveled to Fort Hayes in Columbus, Ohio, to enlist in the U.S. Army on December 6, 1940.  He was 5'6" and 134 pounds when he entered the service, listing his occupation as electrician.

Insignia patch "Old Ironsides

Richard joined Company G, 6th Army Infantry of the 1st Armored Division or 

"Old Ironsides," as they were known. He was in one of the first groups to go overseas, landing in Ireland on May 16, 1942.

In November 1942, the First Armored Division saw its first combat as part of the Allied invasion of North Africa, called Operation Torch. The 6th Infantry Regiment, a part of this division, landed at Oran, Algeria on November 8th.

They were to capture the La Senia airport, but they were delayed by French anti-tank guns. It was during this first day of the operation that Private First Class Richard A. Siler was killed.  As was usual, he was first reported Missing in Action.

The Crescent-News, December 31, 1942, p 1

Later he was confirmed as deceased, and his family was notified.

From the Crescent-News, May 1, 1943, page 1:

"RICHARD A. SILER KILLED IN AFRICA

Defiance Youth, Previously Listed Missing,

Victim of Action November 8

Notification that Pfc Richard A. Siler, 24, was killed in action Nov. 8 in the Northwest African area was received here by his father, Joseph Siler, 349 Gray street. Word came by telegram from the adjutant general's office. Pfc. Siler volunteered for induction and entered the service on December 6, 1940.

Besides the father here, Pfc Siler has a brother, Edwin D. Siler, who the father said was last heard from June 5, 1942, when he was in the armed services stationed in China, and another brother, John, Lima.

PFC Siler was buried in the North Africa American Cemetery among the ruins of ancient Carthage, just outside of Tunis. It is the final resting place for more than 2,800 Americans, most of whom lost their lives in the North African campaigns of World War II. 

North Africa American Cemetery

Mary Williams, Researcher

WORLD WAR II - Evlyn Marie Hamilton Baum, Nurse

 

Evlyn Marie (Hamilton) Baum, WW II Nurse

We must pause to give credit and thanks to all of the nurses who served so bravely behind the front in aid to the WW II soldiers.

Evlyn M. Hamilton was born in Defiance on February 15, 1913, the oldest child of Edward Earl and Louisa Ann (Schmitt) Hamilton. She attended and graduated from Defiance High School where she was known for her outstanding voice. 

Her family is so blessed to have an autobiographical account of her life which revealed her one big dream -  to be an opera singer. 

Evlyn attended Johns Hopkins School of Nursing from 1934 - 1937. She began work at Toledo Hospital, Toledo, Ohio, in 1939, and then, because she wanted to travel, she took a new job in Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Hollywood.

While in California, her mother became ill and requested that Evlyn come home. She came back to Toledo Hospital from 1941 - May 1942. The war was on, and Evlyn had that desire to travel and serve, so she joined the 18th General Hospital (a Johns Hopkins Hospital unit) that was to be sent on foreign duty from San Francisco on May 17, 1942.

She was in New Zealand only seven weeks as they were still building the hospital at that time, and there really wasn't much for the nurses to do without space and equipment. Then, she was put on a train with others for a ride to Fiji where she stayed 28 months.

Fiji Hopkins 18th Unit

She wrote that in August 1942, they had ward tents in Fiji as the engineers were still building the hospital building, to be known as Fiji Hopkins. It was a 500-bed hospital that usually held 700 patients; those who were ambulatory were sent to the tents.

One online source stated, "The great skill of the Johns Hopkins doctors and nurses was readily apparent as only eleven patients died during the unit's first year. Battle lines began moving away from Fiji, reducing battle casualties."

During her time in Fiji, Evlyn became quite ill herself with influenza and a kidney infection. She was over a month in the hospital and sick in her quarters for another 12 days at different times.

In June 1944, the Army command felt that the Fiji Hospital was being underutilized, so they redeployed Evlyn's unit to the India - Bombay theater. They left Sept. 16, 1944, to Bombay, India, going by train on a one week journey. They were surprised to learn upon arriving that two other hospitals were already there, the 69th and 20th General Hospitals. Here they were stationed for six months, and the nurses had several weeks of no work. They were ordered to set up in a dilapidated structure and make it ready for patients. In this area, many were treated for disease as well as wounds.

Hospital units in India

Good news came for them on March 22, 1945, when they were assigned to their next rotation - Home!  They embarked out of Calcutta on the General Charles C. Ballou with stops in Singapore, Malaya, Manila and finally San Francisco.

It wasn't long until the Army called Evlyn back into service as RKO Studios wanted six nurses to join various tours around the country to boost the 8th War Loan Drive. She had all her expenses paid as she did radio interviews and 3 stage shows a day, traveling from Ohio to D.C. and on up into the New England states, ending in Maine.

Perhaps her wanderlust was now satisfied, as she separated from the service.

At 32, she was not done learning and teaching. She was head nurse of Obstetrics at Harper Hospital in Detroit and taught several related classes there. She had received a B.S. in nursing in 1951 and then continued her graduate work part-time at Wayne State University. As the nursing program was not yet set up, she signed up for a Master's degree in Sociology.

She had several other hospital assignments before marrying in 1955. Their daughter was born in March 1956, after which Evlyn was critically ill and was hospitalized for five months and had surgeries. Her obstetrician suggested that she not finish her thesis which would have finished her graduate degree. She grew bored on their farm, acting as a business manager as they subdivided the property, playing bridge four times a week, and acting as chairperson for different fund drives, so she decided to become a teacher. She had a strong background in child growth and development and sociology.

In September 1961, she began teaching fifth grade in a low socio-economic school, just the challenge she wanted. She went on to earn a Master's degree in Education from Wayne State University. 

Evlyn Hamilton Baum succumbed to cancer on July 3, 1973, having served her community and her country to her utmost.

Submitted by Jim Hamilton, Nephew of Evlyn

Researched by Wendy Baum, daughter of Evlyn

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL - Seaman 2 Robert J. Harkey

 

Seaman 2nd Class  

Robert Jay Harkey

Robert Jay Harkey

Robert graduated from Hicksville High School in 1942 and enlisted in the Naval Reserves very soon after. By July 31, 1942, he was starting his training at the Great Lakes Training Center in Chicago.

Born on April 23, he was the son of Harry Jennings and Freda (Dull) Harkey, who lived at 115 West Smith Street in Hicksville. Robert was soon cast into the war.  In September 1942, he reported to Norfolk, Virginia, for his final training before heading overseas.

Draft registration

His first assignment was on the battleship, U.S.S. New York, and then he was transferred to the U.S.S. Rowan, a destroyer. On September 9th, the Rowan was helping with the invasion of Italy.

The Rowan

  

It was serving as a fleet escort into the Gulf of Sicily, screening the freighters and transports that followed. Late on September 10th, they headed back to Oran with empty ships.

Sometime after midnight, the Rowan was approached by 4 German boats which the Rowan fired at and chased away. Within five miles, another enemy boat approached which they tried to allay, getting their torpedo guns ready.

One enemy boat got too close and hit the Rowan with a torpedo.

The Rowan exploded and sank in less than a minute, according to reports, taking 202 of 273 men with it. Some were rescued by one of our nearby ships, but Seaman Robert Harkey was not one of the lucky ones.

October 3, 1944

His body was not recovered, and as was customary, he was declared dead a year and a day after he went missing. His date of death on the Navy rolls was September 12, lost at sea, but other sources use the date of the sinking, September 11, 1943.

At the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery and Memorial, Nettuno, Rome, Italy, Seaman Robert J. Harkey is listed on the Tablets of the Missing.  A memorial stone listing him and his parents is also present in Six Corners Cemetery, Hicksville Township.

Six Corners Cemetery

Dianne Kline, Researcher

World War II Memorial - PFC William G. Peterson

 

Private First Class

William Guthrie Peterson

A young William Peterson

William was a graduate of Tiffin Twp. High School in 1943. The son of John Manford and Ethel Estella Peterson, he was born on October 28, 1924. When he filled out his draft card, he listed himself as a student with three years of high school.

A few months after graduating, he enlisted in the Army on July 24, 1943. After training at Camp Haan, California; Camp Carson, Colorado and Fort Bragg, North Carolina, he was deployed overseas on October 20, 1944, as a member of Company G, 398th Infantry in the 100th Division of the Seventh Army.

A farewell dinner was held for him at the home of his parents on July 20, 1943, before he entered the service and left for camp.  The Crescent-News reported that the following attended: 

"Present were Mr. and Mrs. Carl Britton daughters Marilyn and Shirley; Mrs. Jay Kelsey and son, Roland, Toledo; Mr. and Mrs. George Shepard, Montpelier; Mr. and Mrs. Wayne Luke and son, Richard, and Miss Mildred Sechler, Edon; Mr. and Mrs. Donald Luke, daughters Josephine, Shirley and Donelda, Bryan; Mrs. Robert White; Miss Delores Hammon, Evansport; Mr. and Mrs. Charles Crites, sons Marvin, Maynard and Lowell Dean; Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Crites and son Bernard; Miss Wayva Crites, Mr. and Mrs. Ray Koch, Mr. and Mrs. Carl Theil, Bryan, John W. Peterson and Donna Belle Peterson."

His unit landed in France where infantryman Peterson began his life as a soldier. According to their unit history, their Atlantic crossing was rather rough and the weather in France rainy, cold, muddy, and just miserable that November 1944.  They marched and battled through the Vosqe Mountains, ready to attack the German winter lines. With rough terrain and steep mountains, it was difficult to move forward and to get supplies in.  In December 1944, William Peterson lost his life here.

He was first reported missing and finally as killed in action. The Crescent-News reported on December 7, 1945:

"PFC PETERSON'S DEATH CAUSED BY SHELL BLAST.

Pfc William G. Peterson, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. M Peterson, Rt. 1 Defiance, was killed in action near Alt Schmeitz, France on December 11, 1944, when a mortar shell fell close to the position occupied by his unit.

This information has just been received by his parents through a letter from his commanding officer, forwarded by a buddy who had made in inquiry concerning the manner of the soldier's death.

Pfc Peterson was listed as missing in action for about ten months before official notice of his death by the War Department. The parents recently received the Purple Heart awarded posthumously. The commanding officer's letter stated the Defiance soldier was not seen after the shell blast which cost his life...."

Later, in February 1946, the parents of William learned that he was also receiving the Bronze Star Medal posthumously "for heroic achievement in action, Dec. 11, 1944, in the vicinity of Alt Schmeitz, France."

"When, during the height of a determined counterattack, enemy fire severed the single wire line between the company command post and the rear," the citation relates, "Pvt. Peterson voluntarily left his dugout and began tracing the ruptured line.

Despite the continued hostile artillery fire, he located the break, repaired it, and started back. As a result of Pvt. Peterson's magnificent courage, initiative, and aggressiveness, communications were reinstated, enabling our forces to successfully resist the attackers."

The Crescent-News reported that on September 13, 1948, his body was brought home for burial. On September 16, 1948, his funeral was held, and he was buried in Evansport Cemetery.

Rhonda Casler, Researcher

WORLD WAR II MEMORIAL - PFC Olen R. Vincent

 

Private First Class

Olen Ray Vincent

Born on June 28, 1920, in Hillsdale, Michigan, to Rev. Carl Austin and Amanda (Stover) Vincent, Olen moved frequently during his lifetime. His father, a pastor of the United Brethren Church, had many different parishes during his career, including at Sherwood and Hicksville, Ohio in the 1940s.

Olen graduated from Monclova High School and then went on to Huntington College, graduating in 1942, with majors in music and mathematics. He earned his teaching license and began to prepare for a career in education.

Before he could step into a classroom, though, duty called.

His parents had a Sherwood address when he registered for the draft in July 1941, but Olen was residing in Huntington, going to school and working at Crites Bakery. After graduation, he enlisted in Toledo on July 25, 1942, joining the Army. After training around the United States, he left for overseas in late July or August 1944.

Insignia for the 379th Infantry
Regiment. Ad Finem - To the End

Private Vincent was part of the 379th Infantry Regiment, 95th Division of General Patton's 3rd Army. In France, he arrived in time to take part in the Battle of Metz, a heavily fortified city in France, in December 1944. It was here that he earned a Silver Star which was awarded posthumously.

The Republican, a newspaper from Wauseon, Ohio, reported the award on July 12, 1945:

"Rev and Mrs. Carl A. Vincent, Delta, received the Silver Star, July 6th, posthumously awarded their son, PFC Olen R. Vincent.  The citation reads in part:

'For gallantry in action against the enemy on 10 December 1944, when his comrades were pinned to the ground by fierce machine gun from an enemy bunker, Private First Class Vincent leaped into a shell hole and opened fire with his automatic rifle, forcing the enemy to shut the apertures.

Before the Germans could close the door, PFC Vincent rushed the fortification, hurling grenades which wounded four of the frantic garrison. By the time his comrades reached the bunker, PFC Vincent had elicited the surrender of ten Germans. His bold and gallant actions reflect lasting honor on him and on the military service."

The infantry who fought in Metz were given the nickname, "The Ironmen of Metz."

On March 4, 1945, the day of PFC Olen Vincent's death, the 379th were at the Rhine River near the south on the flank of the 29th Corps. Their mission was to reduce enemy resistance near the Adolph Hitler Bridge. They were only partially successful because the German rear guards put up such a determined defense. Olen was hurt here and was taken to the hospital, but it was too late, and he was declared a battle casualty.

In an unknown newspaper, this obituary and memorial appeared:

"Olen Ray Vincent only son of Rev. and Mrs. Carl Vincent, Delta, was born in Hillsdale, Michigan, Hillsdale County, June 28, 1920, and was reported by the War Department killed in action in Germany, March 4, 1945. age 24 years, 8 months, and 4 days.

When nine months old, he moved with his parents to the James I. Post farm near Hillsdale, Michigan. It was while living there, Mr. and Mrs. Post learned to love Olen and cared for him as they would a child of their own.

When he was four years old, he moved with his parents to a farm near Frontier, Michigan and lived there ten years, where he also attended a country school known as the East Maple Grove and there completed his grade school work.

The conference stationed Rev. Vincent at Hicksville, Ohio and they remained there one year and then were sent to Monclova, Ohio, where Olen graduated from high school. He then decided he wanted to enter college, willing to work his way through as much as possible. It was through the kindness and financial help of Mr. and Mrs. Post that he was able to graduate from Huntington College, Huntington, Indiana, in June 1942.  He had his teachers' license and was ready for teaching school, but was inducted into the army and left for camp on his father's birthday August 8, 1942.

He trained at Camp Swift, Texas, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Camp Polk, Louisiana, and Los Angeles, California and left for overseas the last of July or forepart of August 1944, from Indiantown Gap, Pa."

Another newspaper article, source unknown, wrote this about PFC Vincent:

"He was a very quiet disposition, never complaining of his lot. He was converted at the age of 13 at the West Woodbridge U.B. Church ...and at the time of his death was a member of the Traill Chapel U.B. Church in Delta, Ohio.

He was known to have received medals, among them the expert rifleman's badge, rating second in his company, the Good Conduct ribbon, combat infantryman's badge. and his name had been turned in for the silver star a short time before his death.

He leaves to mourn, his parents..., sister Leona, fiancée Miss Marjorie Brokaw of Muncie, Indiana; grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Homer Stover, Montpelier, O.; friends, Mr. and Mrs. James I Post, Hillsdale; uncles, aunts and a host of other relatives and friends..."

The same day he died, another local man from Defiance, Arthur E. Ury, also made the ultimate sacrifice, marking a solemn moment for their shared community.

PFC Olen Ray Vincent was laid to rest at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, Margraten, Holland.  PFC Vincent also received the Purple Heart posthumously.

Vi

Kim Bercaw, Researcher