PROMOTED
Mr. and Mrs. Leo Rolland have been informed by their son Lt. Paul Rolland that he has received a promotion to First Lieutenant. Recently he had received an air medal and just a week previous to his 20th birthday he received one Oak Leaf Cluster, which was placed on his air medal. He flys a fighter (one man plane) and is somewhere in France.
Source: The Humboldt Republican, October 6, 1944
MUSTANG PILOT DIES IN ACTION
Bode -- Mr. and Mrs. Leo Rolland received a wire Saturday morning stating that their son Lt. Paul Rolland, was killed in action in the European area.
Lt. Rolland was last heard from directly Dec. 15 when he was operating a P-51 Mustang one-man plane in the Belgian area. At that time he had just returned from a leave and stated he was glad to get back into action against the enemy.
Source: Mason City Globe-Gazette, January 13, 1945
Paul O. Rolland was born Sept. 20, 1924 to Leo and Gladys Rolland. He died Dec. 23, 1944 and is buried in Saint Olaf Lutheran Cemetery, Bode, IA.
Lt. Rolland served with the 22nd Army Air Force Fighter Squadron and was KIA in Germany during World War II.
Sources: ancestry.com and World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing Army and Army Air Forces Personnel from Iowa
