IOWA BOY DIES IN NEW GUINEA
CPL. GRANT ROHLWING, 23, WAS IN ANTI-AIRCRAFT
Nora Springs – Mr. and Mrs. Albert J. Nagel of Nora Springs received word this week that their nephew, Cpl. Grant Rohlwing, 23, whom they had raised from childhood died February 16th, in New Guinea, where he had been located for the past month. Further particulars would be forthcoming soon, the message promised.
Corporal Rohlwing entered the service December 23, 1942, and his only visit at home since then was 2 days on a weekend pass over Memorial Day last spring. He was sent overseas in July and had been stationed in Australia until about a month ago. He was attached to an anti-aircraft division.
He is survived by his father, Ernest Rohlwing of Tacoma, Washington, his uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Nagel, and his fiancée, Miss Betty Tumilson of Rockford.
His mother died when he was 3 years of age and since that time he had made his home with the Nagels. He was reared in Rockford and attended the Rockford high school.
Source: Mason City Globe Gazette, Thursday February 24, 1944
NOTE*** His Mother was Amanda (maiden name unknown) who was born abt 1895 in Minnesota and died January 4, 1932. He would have been almost 11 at the time of her death. She is buried in the Riverside Cemetery, Rockford, Floyd, Iowa. ~Transcriber
CORPORAL DIES IN PACIFIC AREA
ONLY MEAGER DETAILS RECEIVED BY PARENTS
Nora Springs – Mr. and Mrs. Albert J Nagel of Nora Springs, foster parents of Cpl. Grant H Rohlwing, who died at Port Moresby, New Guinea, on February 16th, have still not received complete details of the circumstances surround his death. They have received several of their own letters, addressed to Corporal Rohlwing, which were returned from New Guinea, apparently having been sent back from the hospital since they bore the hospital stamp and listed the addressee as on the "Casualty List."
The soldier's father, Ernest Rohlwing of Tacoma, Washington received the following letter from General Douglas MacArthur and forwarded it to the Nagels:
"Dear Mr. Rohlwing
In the death of your son, technician 5th grade, Grant H. Rohlwing, while in the service of his country, you have my profound sympathy. Your consolation may be that he died in the uniform of our beloved country, serving in a crusade from which a better world for all will come,
Very faithfully, Douglas MacArthur"
The survivors are Grant's foster parents, Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Nagel of Nora Springs; his father; Ernest Rohlwing of Tacoma, Washington; a brother and sister; Burton and Alice Rohlwing, who make their home with an aunt and uncle Mr. and Mrs. O. H. Sebaugh of Nora Springs; his grandmother; Mrs. Minnie Rohlwing, who lives with the Nagels; his fiancé; Miss Betty Tumilson, of Rockford; and a half- brother; Ralph Rohlwing of Coffeyville, Kansas.
Born at Wimbledon, North Dakota on February 4, 1921, he lived at Rockford since he was 3 years old, and had made his home with Mr. and Mrs. Nagel since the death of his mother when he was a small boy. He entered the service in December 1942, and was sent overseas last July. He had reached the age of 23, at the time of his death.
In one of the last letters that he wrote his relatives here while he was in Australia, he mentioned that his unit expected to be leaving Australia soon on a new drive. That was shortly before the opening of the recent New Guinea offensive and it is believed that Corporal Rohlwing was one of the casualties there.
His relatives received some consolation in the assurance that the body was properly interred, with full military rites.
Source: Mason City Globe Gazette, April 3, 1944
Grant H. Rohlwing was born Feb. 4, 1921 to Ernest and Amanda Rohlwing. He died Feb. 16, 1944 and is buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Pvt. Rohlwing served in World War II with the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps and died while in the service of his country in New Guinea.
Source: ancestry.com
