FIGHTING MEN WHITESELL
AND MERCER KILLED
One on Iwo; Another on the West Front;
Six Men Are Wounded.
As Waterloo and the rest of the nation mourned its late commander-in-chief, Franklin D. Roosevelt, the impact of war was felt again in a number of homes through casualty reports of loved ones from the battlefronts.
Two were reported dead, one on Iwo Jima and one in Germany, and six wounded, all the later on the German front.
The dead:
Marine Pfc. George B. Mercer, 20, killed in action March 26, on Iwo Jima.
Pvt. Virgil Whitesell, 18, killed in action with the Ninth army in Germany, March 24.
The wounded:
Staff Sgt. Deloy L. Gabbard, on March 28.
Staff Sgt. Clarence W. Dawson, on March 29.
Sgt. Michael Zegarac, in late March.
Pfc. William S. Hayes, on March 31.
Pfc. Edward A. Schultz, on March 27.
Pfc. William J. Halterman, on April 2.
[Page 11]
Gets Purple Heart.
Sergeant Zegarac was wounded in action during the latter part of March in Germany, for which he has been awarded the Purple Heart, according to word received by his wife and daughter, Sandra, 8, who resided at 206 Irving street. He also wrote of his promotion from corporal to sergeant in the 12th armored division of the Seventh army, with which he has been serving overseas since last October. He is the son of Mrs. Mary Zegarac of 215 Sumner street.
Source: Waterloo Daily Courier, Waterloo, Iowa, Sunday, April 15, 1945, Section Two, Pages 9 & 11
Michael “Mike” Zegarac was born May 17, 1913 to Joseph and Mary Miscevich Zegarac. He died Sept. 10. 2000 and is buried in Garden of Memories, Waterloo, IA.
Sgt. Zegarac served in World War II with the U.S. Army. 12th Armored Division. 4473rd Quartermaster Truck Company.
Source: ancestry.com
