3 MEMBERS OF GUARD UNIT (Sgts. Christenson, Shelton and Wilson) ON CASUALTY LIST
Staff Sgt. Christenson Is Missing; 2 Sergeants Injured.
Further evidence that the Iowa National Guard company from this city has been engaged in the fierce fighting in northern Italy was reported over the weekend in Webster City by relatives receiving war department messages saying that one Guardsman was missing and two others had been wounded.
Staff Sgt. Raymond Christenson, 30, son of M. T. Christenson of this city, was reported missing in action July 1. He was last heard from in a letter written a month ago and received July 3 at which time he wrote he was feeling fine.
Shelton Injured
Relatives of Sgt. Don Shelton, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ray Shelton of Oceanside, Cal., former residents of this city, have received word that the former Webster City high school athletic star had been wounded and was now in a hospital in Italy. His condition was described as not serious. A letter written by Sergeant Shelton on July 4 was carried last week in the Freeman-Journal. He stated at that time he had completed a visit to Rome, and that the personnel of the company had changed so much that he felt he scarcely knew any of the members.
Third casualty reported last weekend was First Sgt. Eugene D. Wilson, son of Mr. and Mrs. George Wilson of Blairsburg who was wounded July 8.
This was the second time in two months Sergeant Wilson had been wounded as he had received his first injury in Italy two months to the day before being wounded again.
3 Were Killed
Last week, three members of the company were listed as killed: Captain Kenneth Nichols, First Sgt. Charles Meyers and Sgt. Kenneth Cornett.
In the fighting since late May when the allied troops broke out of the Anzio beachhead and started their victory drive northward, several other Guardsmen have been reported wounded, and one—Staff Sgt. Roger Groves—is among the missing.
Source: Daily Freeman Journal, Webster City, IA – July 24, 1944
Obituary:
Eugene D. Wilson, 69, Nashua, died Wednesday, Dec. 7, at the Allen Memorial Hospital in Waterloo. Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 10, at the United Methodist Church in Nashua. Burial will be in the Oak Hill Cemetery in Nashua. Visitation at the Chenoweth and Sons Funeral Home in Nashua will be after 1 p.m. Friday, and at the church one hour prior to the service on Saturday.
Eugene D. Wilson, son of George and Clorista Willson Wilson, was born June 3, 1919, in Webster City.
He is survived by his wife, Hazel, Nashua, daughters Patricia Zwangiger, Plainfield, and Jeanette Spates, Houston, Texas; one brother, Alvie, Webster City; three sisters, Juanita Janvrin and Lucy Janncke, both of Webster City, and Elizabeth Rice, Battle Creek, four grandchildren and eight great grandchildren.
Mr. Wilson was preceded in death by his parents.
Source: Daily Freeman Journal, Webster City, IA - Dec. 8, 1988
Eugene Denver Wilson was born June 3, 1919 to George E. and Calista ‘Kittie’ Rosella Willson Wilson. He died Dec. 7, 1988 and is buried in the Oak Hill Cemetery, Nashua, IA.
Sgt. Wilson served with the infantry in Italy where he was twice wounded in action. He was awarded the Purple Heart and Combat Infantryman’s Badge.
Sources: Daily Freeman Journal; ancestry.com
