1945

World War II Claims Lives of 174 From Muscatine Territory

World War II passed into history during 1945, but the final peace terms had not been dictated until many more fighting men from Muscatine and surrounding area had paid with their lives to stamp out the last existing threat to their country’s security. Nearly complete figures reveal that 174 service men from Muscatine county and the nearby territory in Louisa and Cedar counties and in Illinois were killed in action or died while in the service during World War II.

69 Fatalities in 1945

This number includes all casualty reports received since the opening of hostilities on Dec.7, 1941. Sixty nine of these reports were received during 1945, some of the men having been killed in action this year, while the other reports were official government follow-ups on veterans who had previously been listed as missing in action.

The casualty reports came from all theaters of war where Muscatine men were engaged in the fighting… in the savage battle for Okinawa and in the conquest of the Philippines…on the battle –scarred fields of Europe where Allied troops moved during 1945 to completely smash the German military might… and in the air and on the sea throughout the world. One hundred and forty of the reports concerning men from this area who had made the supreme sacrifice were received by local relatives prior to VE Day, while the 34 others came in since that time.

Word is still being awaited on the fate of six men who are still being listed on war and navy department records as missing in action, no further official confirmation concerning then having been received by the end of 1945.

The men who died hero’s deaths in the war against aggression during 1945 are recoded below:
PVT CHARLES W. ADKINS, 32, 1049 Stone street, was killed in action in Italy on April 15,1945, his wife who was resigning a in Milan, Ill., was informed. Adkins, a resident of Muscatine for 17 years, was employed at Carver Pump Co., before entering service on Feb 22,1944. He went overseas in November of 1944.
PVT ROY E. BOND, 21, with a paratrooper division, was killed in action in Belgium on Jan 3, 1945, according to word received by his mother, Mrs. Laura Predmore, 514 West Sixth street. Pvt. Bond went overseas in June of 1944. His father is Alva Bond of Bremerton, Wash.
MAJ. JAMES RUSSELL BELL, of Tipton, missing in action on Dec.10, 1944, over Scotland, was later reported dead. Major Bell was a group surgeon with an Eighth Air Force bomber group based in England.
PVT. CLAYTUS HAROLD BURK, 39, husband of Mrs. Effie Burk, 606 East Fourth street died July 30,1945, in the Philippine Islands after several months hospitalization there and in New Guinea. Pvt. Burk entered service Jan.6, 1942, and went overseas with the quartermaster corps in 1943. His parents are Mr. and Mrs. John Burk, 615 East Sixth street.
PVT. LAWRENCE F. BRAYTON, 29, brother of John L. Brayton, Illinois City, and stepson of C.E. Beardsley of Muscatine, was killed in action on Corregidor on Feb. 26, 1945, while serving with the 11th airborne division. Pvt. Brayton entered the Army in March of 1941 and went overseas about a year before he was killed.
LT. RUSSELL BELL, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Bell of Lone Tree, missing in action in Italy on May 20,1944, was reported killed in action on that date. A pilot in the AAF, Lt Bell had been overseas since March of 1944.
FIRST LT. PHILLIP W. BAILEY, husband of Mrs. Katherine B. Bailey of Letts, met his death as the result of the destruction of an Italian submarine on which he was a prisoner on Jan.14, 1943. Lt. Bailey was an Air Corps pilot and had been listed as missing in action on Dec. 21,1942, and later reported a prisoner of war of Italy. He was the son of Mrs. Mabel Bailey of Letts.
STAFF SGT. JAMES C. COOKSEY, 23, missing in action in Holland on Oct.1, 1944, was presumed dead by the war department, his mother, Mrs. Hazel Cooksey, 1118 East Second street, was informed. His wife, the former Genevieve Naber, died on May 10 of this year. Sgt. Cooksey entered service on Feb. 17, 1943 and went overseas on Aug 22, 1944.
KENNETH LE ROY COCHRAN, aviation mechanic third class, USN, was killed in a motorcycle and truck accident at Norwalk, Calif. on April 14, 1945, his father, Roy C. Cochran, 154 Sherman street, was informed. Cochran entered the Navy in August of 1944.
JOHN W. CASSABAUM, 21, son of Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Cassabaum, Columbus Junction, was killed while on duty as an instructor at the naval air field at Kingsfield Tex. He entered service in September of 1942, receiving his wings at Corpus Christi, Tex., in August of 1943.
JOHN TEDFORD DUNCAN, 18, S2/c, son of Mr. and Mrs. W.T. Duncan of Columbus Junction, lost his life aboard the carrier USS Franklin at the time it was hit by a kamikaze plane in the Pacific early this spring. Seaman Duncan entered naval training in June of 1944 and left for duty in the Pacific in March of 1945.
TECH. SGT. MEARL E. DAUFELDT, 28, son of Mr. and Mrs. John H. Daufeldt, 1005 East Seventh street, missing in action in a flight over Germany on July 18, 1944, was officially list by the wads department as dead. T/Sgt. Daufeldt was a radioman-gunner on a Flying Fortress and had been in service since1943.
PVT. MARVIN G. DAUFELDT, 23, also a son of Mr. and Mrs. John H. Daufeldt, 1005 East Seventh street was killed in action in France on Jan.25, 1945. Pvt. Daufedlt had been in service since March 15,1944, and was attached to an armored division going overseas in October of 1944.
JOSEPH ASHCRAFT DAVIDSON, 37, chief radio man in the U.S. Navy aboard an attack Cargo ship, died suddenly of a heart attack in the South Pacific on Feb. 19, 1945,his wife, Mrs. Janet Davidson, 113 East Fourth street, was informed. Having served in the navy previously from 1923 to 1927, Davidson was recalled to action in the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Caribbean Theaters. He was the son of J. Andrew Davidson of Muscatine.
CAPT. EDWARD EPPERSON, 30, HUSBAND OF THE FORMER Lucille Eaton of near Muscatine, was killed in China on June 9,1945. Capt. Epperson had been in the Army for about three years and had served in South America before being assigned to duty in China in January of 1945.
PVT. THOMAS W. ELAND, son of the late Dr. T. L. Eland and Mrs. Eland of Letts, died in a hospital in Belgium on Jan. 1, 1945, of wounds received in action on Dec. 31. His wife resides in Columbus Junction. Pvt. Eland served with medical section of the Third army until Dec. 18, 1944, when he was transferred to the 134th infantry division. He entered service on March 15, 1944, and went overseas in September of 1944.
PVT. BEN FINLEY, 24, son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Finley of West Liberty, was killed in action on Luzon on March 17, 1945. PFC. Finley entered the army on Aug.3, 1942, and went overseas in September of 1943, serving in Hawaii and New Guinea before going to the Philippines.
PFC. ELDON K. GORHAM, 20, of the U.S. Marine Corps, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ollie Gorham, rural route 1, died on Midway Island in July of this year and was buried at sea. Pfc. Gorham began training in the Marine Corps on December 15,1943, and after serving with the military police in this country went overseas in April of 1944.
PVT. FRANCIS JOSEPH GERLITS, U.S. M C. R. son of Mr. and Mrs. George J. Gerlits of West Branch, was reported dead in the Pacific area in a Navy causality list of June 25, 1943.
PFC. ROY GLIDER, 27, whose wife lives in Lone Tree, was killed in action on Okinawa on April 30. 1945. Pfc. Glider was with the Army infantry and had been overseas since December of 1944.
RAYMOND GUNNELLS, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Gunnells of Columbus Junction, died on Jan. 1, 1945, of injuries suffered in action in Luxembourg on that day.
PFC. HARODL F. HARTER, 35, son of Mrs. Fred Aringdale of Columbus Junction, died in action on Okinawa on May 7,1945. Serving with the 77th division of the Army, Pfc. Harter was inducted in August of 1943, and went overseas on May 4, 1944. He saw action on Guam and Leyte prior to the Okinawa campaign.
PVT. HARVEY PAUL HANSON, 21,son of Mr., and Mrs. Harold H. Hanson, 1006 Reed street, was killed in action in France on Jan.7, 1945,while serving with the 44th infantry division of the Seventh Army. Pvt. Hanson enlisted in the Army in December of 1942, and was called to active service on March 27, 1943. He was selected for ASTP training and was stationed at Denver university and the University of Iowa until that program discontinued in March of 1944. He was transferred to the 44th cavalry reconnaissance troop at Camp Polk, La., later to Camp Phillips, Kas., and overseas to France in August of 1944.
PFC. JAMES W. HART, JR., 21, with the infantry of the sixth Marine Division, was killed in action on Okinawa on May 20, 1945, according to word received by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Hart, Sr., 422 Fletcher avenue. Pfc. Hart enlisted in the Marine Corps on Dec. 10,1941, going overseas in the spring of 1942. He was on leave in the United States in September of 1943, returning to the South Pacific in 1944.
PFC.VIRGIL R. HOELSCHER, 27, husband of Mrs. Kathryn Hoelscher Peters of Muscatine, was killed in action in Germany on March 18, 1945. He was with the Army infantry and had been overseas since February of this year. He entered service on April 25,1942. His mother is Mrs. Mary Hoelscher of Centralia, Ill.
PVT. FRED HINTERMEISTER, 23, missing in action in Luxembourg of Dec.23, 1944, was reported to have been killed in action on that date. The son of Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Hintermeister, who reside on highway No.61, near the municipal airport. Pvt. Hintermeister entered service on Feb.7, 1944, and went overseas in August of last year.
SGT. SAM HERR, of Columbus Junction was killed in action in the European theater of action on Feb.26,1945, while in combat with a tank battalion of an armored division. His mother is Mrs. Zoe Herr of Ainsworth.
PFC. WESLEY SAMUEL HAGENS, husband of Mrs. Mildred B. Hagens, 1202 ½ Oak street, missing in action on Dec.23, 1944,in France was reported killed in action on that date. Pfc. Hagens was with an infantry division of the Seventh Army. He entered service on Dec.14,1943, and went overseas in August of 1944.
PFC. CHARLES W. JEHLE, 19,was killed in action on Okinawa on June 19, 1945,his mother Mrs. Winifred Jehle of West Liberty, was told by the war department. He entered service on October 2,1944, and went overseas with the 17th infantry of the 7th division.
CARROLL C. KINGMAN, 18, seaman first class, missing in action on Oct. 25,1944, while serving on the destroyer Hoel at Leyte in the battle of the Philippine Islands, was declared dead by the Navy department in a letter received by his father, Ray Kingman, 1314 Mulberry avenue. Seaman Kingman entered service in January of 1943.
ELBERN L. KNOTT, 35, seaman, first class, (FCO), husband of Mrs. Ethel Knott, 1210 Hershey avenue, lost his life as a result of enemy action on July 30,1945, while serving on the cruiser USS Indianapolis in the Pacific. Seaman Knott entered the Navy in March of 1944. He participated in a raid on Tokyo in February of this year and also the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
TECH. SGT. KARLE E. KOLMERER, 29, son of Mr. and Mrs. Karle Kolmerer, 913 East Sixth street, missing in action over Germany Sept. 10,1944, was reported killed in action on that date. Sgt. Kolmerer was a radioman and gunner on a Flying Fortress shot down over Germany. He entered service in April of 1942, and had been overseas since May of 1944.
PFC. PETER G. KOSLOW, 20, former Muscatine basketball and football star, was killed in action on Okinawa on April 15,1945, according to word received by his mother, Mrs. Pauline McKean, 502 Park avenue. A star in high school football and basketball in 1942 and 1943, Pfc Koslow enlisted in service after graduation in June of 1943. He was sent overseas during the summer of 1944.
PFC. CHARLES LE ROY KETCHUM, 19, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Ketchum of West Branch, was killed in action in Belgium on Jan.18, 1945. He was inducted into Army service on Dec. 3,1943, and went overseas in November of 1944.
STAFF SGT. DONALD G. KOPF, 22,missing in action over Germany on May 27,1944,died in action on that date, the war department informed his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Kopf, 424 Pond street. Sgt. Kopf was waist gunner on a Flying Fortress and had completed more then 20 missions. He enlisted in the Army on Dec. 30, 1942.
STAFF SGT. ROBERT L. LAUCAMP, son of Mr. and Mrs. John Laucamp of Tipton, missing in action on Jan.24,1944,was killed in action when the bomber on which he was serving was shot down over Germany. Sgt. Laucamp assisted a wounded member of the crew into a parachute after the plane was hit, but was unable to leave the plane himself.
LAWRENCE EDWARD LEPPER, 25, S 2/c, was drowned on Jan. 28,1945, presumably somewhere near the Philippine Islands, his wife, Mrs. Virginia M. Lepper, 1305 East Second street was informed. Previously listed as missing in action, Seaman Lepper was serving with an amphibious force aboard and LCT when he met his death. He entered service on May 31,1944, and went overseas in November of that year.
PFC. RICHARD E. LANE, 23, with the Sixth Marine Division on Okinawa, was killed in action on that island on May 11, 1945, according to information received his wife, the former Phyllis Whitlow, 118 West Third street. Pfc. Lane joined the Marine corps in December of 1943, going overseas in May of 1944.
FIRST LT. RICHARD LANE, son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Lane of West Liberty, was killed in action in France on Dec.16, 1945. Lt Lane was with an combat engineer unit and had been overseas since March of 1943. He entered service in August of 1942.
PFC. VINCENT C. LYNCH, 25, son of Mr. and Mrs., Timothy F. Lynch of West Branch, was killed in action on Okinawa on April 10,1945. Entering the service on Oct.13, 1942. Pfc. Lynch served with the Army medical corps and went overseas in July of 1944.
PVT. HOMER I. MITCHELL, 28, son of Mr. and Mrs. Eldon Mitchell of Tipton, died of wounds received in action in Belgium on Jan.26,1945. Pvt. Mitchell entered Army service on June 14,1944, and left for overseas duty in December of that year.
PFC. JAMES W. MITCHELL, 25, was killed in action in Luxembourg on Jan.18, 1945, the War department informed his wife, Mrs. Emma Mitchell, 1018 East Second street. PFC. Mitchell entered service on May 23, 1944, going overseas with an Army unit in November of 1944.
ENSIGN DUANE MOFFITT, son of T.C. Moffett of Tipton, lost his life while aboard the destroyer Bush which was sunk by Japanese action off Okinawa on April 6,1945.
FIRST LT. CHARLES W. (Bill) NARVIS, 22, of Muscatine, son of Major C.S. Narvis, stationed in Des Moines, missing in action over Germany on Nov. 2,1944, was presumably killed in action on that date, according to information from the war department. Lt. Narvis was serving as flight leader of a P-51 Mustang squadron with the Eighth Fighter Command in the European theater.
TECH. SGT. ORIAN G. OWENS, of West Liberty missing in action over Germany on Jan.11, 1944 was one of four or five U.S. flyers shot by the Germans about three days after they had been taken prisoners. An engineer on a bomber, Sgt. Owens had been overseas since September of 1943. He entered service in August of 1942 from Muscatine county. His father is George Owens of Lisbon, Iowa.
PFC. HARRY OGREN, 20 of Nichols, met his death in action in Germany on March 15, 1945, according to word received by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Anton Ogren. Pfc. Ogren was first gunner of a machine gun crew with the First Army infantry. He entered the Army on July 10,1944, and went overseas in January of 1945.
PVT. GEORGE OTHMER, 31, son of Mr. and Mrs., Ed Othmer, 1218 Iowa avenue, missing in action in Belgium since Jan. 10,1945, was killed in action in Belgium on Jan 15, his parents and wife, Mrs. Edith Othmer of Cedar Rapids, were informed. With a paratrooper division, Pvt. Othmer was inducted into the Army Jan. 3,1944, going overseas in October of 1944.
REX RICHARD ORRIS, Ph. M. 3/c, son of Mr. and Mrs. Holly Orris of near Cotter, was killed in action during landing operations at Iwo Jima on Feb. 22,1945. Information received from the war department later stated that he was killed by an enemy sniper while giving first aid to a wounded marine. He had been in service for about two years.
SECOND LT. CARL F. POOLE, 27, with the Third Combat Cargo squadron, met his death on May 30,1945, in Burma as a result of an airplane crash, his wife and parents, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Poole of Nichols, were told by the war department. Lt. Poole was inducted into service on Aug. 5,1942, going overseas to India on Feb. 22,1945.
STAFF SGT. FRANCIS R. PEYERL, 23, radioman and waist gunner on a B-24 Liberator bomber with the 15th Army air corps in Italy, was killed in action on May 24,1944, according to information received by his wife, the former Katherine Krider, and his parents Mr. and Mrs. Frank Peyerl, 1403 Logan street. Sgt. Peyerl was formerly listed as missing in action on that date. He entered the Air Forces in October of 1942, going overseas on April 15,1944.
LESTER E. PING, seaman first class, USNR, of West Liberty, missing in action in the South Pacific, was believed to have died on May 11,1945, while serving on a mine sweeper neat Ie Shima, his wife, Mrs. Alberta Ping, was informed. Seaman Ping had been in service since April 7, 1944, and on overseas duty since June of 1944.
PFC. CHARLES W. PARRY, 18, son of Mr. and Mrs. J.L. Parry of West Branch, previously listed as missing, was killed in action on Dec. 25,1944, while aboard a troop transport sunk enroute from England to France. Pfc. Parry was inducted into the Army on May 4, 1944 and left for overseas in November of that year.
PVT. CHARLES W. REILIFORD, 24, whose wife, the former Dorothy Keltner, resides in Grandview, died on Oct.10, 1945, in a hospital in France after an illness with meningitis. Pvt. Reiliford entered service in October of 1943 and had served in the European theater for 16 months.
PFC. CHARLES ROBERT RECTOR, 23, son of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Rector, Illinois City, was killed in action on Okinawa on April 22, 1945, while serving with the 27th Army infantry. Pfc. Rector had been in service since November of 1942, and had been overseas for about six months at the time of his death.
STAFF SGT. JOHN H. SPRINGER, 21, son of Arthur Springer of Wapello, missing in action over Germany, was killed in action over Salzgitter, Germany, on Feb. 3,1945, his father was informed. Staff Sgt. Springer was nose gunner on a B-24 Liberator bomber and had flown 17 missions prior to Jan. 4 of this year. He had been in the Army air corps for about two years and overseas since October of 1944.
PFC. CLARENCE C. SCHLICTING, 21, son of Mrs. Edwin Allbee, 1178 Hershey avenue, was killed in action in France on Feb. 22, 1945. Pfc. Schlicting entered service on June 24, 1943, and went overseas in March of 1944.
CPL. CHARLES A. SUTTEN, 22, son of Joseph Sutten, 224 Iowa avenue, was killed in action on Dec. 23, 1944, over Yugoslavia, according to information received by his father. A gunner on a Liberator bomber Cpl. Sutten served overseas since October of 1944. He entered service in 1942.
PVT. HAROLD R. SCHREIBER, 25, husband of Mrs. Betty Schreiber, 975 Newell avenue, was listed as killed in action on Feb. 9, 1945, in France. Pvt. Schreiber was previously listed as seriously wounded in action on that date and the war department later informed his wife that he had died of his wounds on that day. In combat since going overseas in November of 1944, Pvt. Schreiber was also wounded in action in France in December. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Schreiber of Muscatine.
SGT. LE ROY STRAWHACKER, 27, whose father, Peter Strawhacker, and sister Mrs. Lela Hicks, reside at 309 Benham avenue, died on Feb. 16,1945, in a hospital in England of wounds received in action in Germany on Nov. 16, 1944. With the infantry of the Third Army, Sgt. Strawhacker enlisted on June 25, 1945.
PFC. KENNETH SHELLABARGER, 19,of Wapello, reported missing in action in Germany on March 24,1945, was reported killed in action by the war department in a message to his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ralph Shellabarger. Pfc. Shellabarger was with a paratroop infantry outfit flown for combat from France to Germany on March 24. He enlisted in the Army on Nov.20, 1943, and went overseas in January of 1945.
<="" b="">, 23, of Atalissa, a member of the Marine detachment aboard the USS Indianapolis, died when the cruiser was sunk by the enemy in the Pacific on July 30, 1945, his parents Mr. and Mrs. A.A. Thomsen were informed. Pfc. Thomsen, who enlisted in the Marine Corps in June of 1944, had been on duty in the Pacific since January of this year.

PFC. GLEN EUGENE TEEL, 28, son of Mrs. Laura Teel of Columbus Junction, a prisoner of war of the Japanese since the fall of Corregidor was killed when Japanese guards attacked and massacred about 140 war prisoners at Puerto Princesa, Palawan, in the Philippine Islands on Dec. 14,1944. Pfc. Teel was captured by the Japanese at Camp Mills on Corregidor. He entered service on Sept.6, 1940 and went overseas for training at Camp Mills about three weeks later.
PVT. LAWRENCE VARGUS, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Vargus of Muscatine reported missing in action on Jan. 10,1945, while serving with an infantry outfit in the Belgian Bulge, was later reported to have died of wounds in a hospital in Belgium. Pvt. Vargus entered service from Louisa county in the summer of 1942,and went overseas in September of 1944.
PVT. FRANCIS VAN DOLAH, 26, of Illinois City, missing in action in Germany on Feb. 21, 1945, was killed in action on that date,according to word sent his wife, Mrs. Arlene Van Dolah. Pvt. Van Dolah met his death with an infantry division in action neat Oldsdorf, Germany. Having entered service on June 2,1944 he served overseas since November of 1944.
PFC. JOHN H.WALKER, son of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel N. Walker of Wapello, missing in action in Germany on Nov.24, 1944,was listed as dead by the war department. Pfc. Walker was believed to have met his death while participating in and attack on a hill near Schonthal, Germany, when his company suffered heavy casualties. Pfc. Walker was inducted into service on March 17,1944, and was sent to Europe on Sept. 10,1944.
CPL. LYLE E. WAGAMAN, 24, son of Mr. and Mrs. Otis E. Wagaman of Moscow, was killed in action on Feb. 22, 1945, on Iwo Jima while serving with the U.S. Marines landing on the island. Cpl. Wagaman enlisted in the Marine Corps in December of 1941, and had served in the South Pacific until a leave in the States in the spring of 1944. He returned to overseas duty in August of 1944.
GLEN L. WINDER, 18, of Wapello, a radioman on patrol bomber missing from a flight from Banana River Fla., on July 10,1945 was presumed as dead by the Navy department, his father P.R. Winder, was informed. Last word of the plane was when it was seen entering a rainstorm off New Providence Island near the Bahamas. Radioman Winder enlisted in the Navy in Jan. 20, 1944.
FRANK RICHARD WILLIAMS, 17, OF Columbus Junction, died at a naval hospital at Corona, Calf., following a serious illness, his mother, Mrs. Edith Williams was advised by the Navy department. He entered service in December of 1944.
PFC. SILAS CHESTER WRIGHT, husband of Mrs. Dorothy Wright, 1081 New Hampshire street, died in action on May 1,1945, on Luzon in the Philippines. Pfc. Wright entered service on March 1, 1944, going overseas late last year.

Source: Muscatine Journal, Muscatine, Iowa, December 28, 1945

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