203rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion Deaths in Europe

In Memoriam

203rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion
(7th Armored Division)
Deaths in Europe
Alphabetical List

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Last updated: December 14, 2020 - What's New?

Spare a minute
to think
of the young who didn't grow up,
and how young they looked when they died,
and how no one will ever remember them looking tired and middle-aged
or even be bored by tiresome recitals of the time of their youth.
- - - - Russell Baker "How to Observe Dec. 7" (NY Times, Dec. 1965)

A computer printout copy of the Adjutant General's June 30, 1947 list of 7th Armored Division deaths has a notation that there were 14 combat deaths in the 203rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Automatic Weapons Battalion (Self-Propelled). However, since the 203rd was not an organic unit of the 7th Armored Division, even though it was attached to the 7th Armored Division for almost the entire period in combat, the names of those men are not included in the 1947 Adjutant General's list (because it contains only divisional deaths).

I later obtained from the National Archives what appears to be a partial list (since it has no entries after 23 Feb 45) of the casualties of the 203rd. This list contains only 6 deaths, all of which are shown below (Adams, Cooke, Gonzales, Kable, Manzolillo, Prior).
The family of Louis Vrobel gave me his name, since he was not on the 1947 list, apparently since he was a non-battle death -- but even non-battle deaths were men placed by the War in harm's way, who deserve to be recognized, even though such deaths were omitted from the 1947 Adjutant General's list.
Dr. Barney Wells, whose Uncle Harold Dewar was a member of the 203rd, sent me the list of 17 deaths and 2 MIAs (Bigness and Golden), which were published in a June-July 1945 history of the Battalion. I have found that Bigness was in fact an overseas death.
February 2003: Since the American Battle Monuments Commission web site can now be searched by unit, I found two more men (Haefele, Schlueter), who both died September 13, 1945.

See the white box just below for how you can let me know about any errors you find or who the other men were from the 203rd who died overseas.

I have not checked all these names against the American Battle Monuments Commission's World War II Honor Roll. If you want to check a name on the Honor Roll, click here. You can also check names on the World War II Registry of the National World War II Memorial.

Contents

Deaths in Continental Europe

Pre-combat Deaths

Please Help to Tell These Men's Stories and Preserve Their Memory!

PLEASE contact Wesley Johnston at the address below if you have any information on any man of the unit who died overseas, such as:

photos
information on any of these men's deaths
information on what platoon and squad they were in
know of any men who died but are not on the list

Wesley Johnston
Send e-mail to wwjohnston@aol.com.
For ALL other e-mail matters, please click here for information about contacting me.

So they will not be “Forgot”

There is a word
Which bears a sword
It hurls its barbed syllables,-
At once is mute again.
But where it fell
The saved will tell
On patriotic day,
Some epauletted brother
Gave his breath away.

Wherever runs the breathless sun,
Wherever roams the day,
There is its noiseless onset,
There is its victory!
Behold the keenest marksman!
The most accomplished shot!
Time’s sublimest target
Is a soul “forgot”!
----- Emily Dickinson

A Note for the Children of these Men

The American World War II Orphans Network (AWON) is an organization created by and for those who lost their father in World War II. AWON has an annual conference and a newsletter filled with useful information. Click here to go to the AWON web page and find those who share your experience.

203rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion Overseas Deaths in World War II

Adams, Cpl. Charles Frances, Jr. (35747239) - Battery: D
- Died: December 23, 1944 - Baraque de Fraiture, Belgium
- Last Duty Location: Baraque de Fraiture, Belgium on December 23, 1944
- MOS: unknown
- Home State: WV
- Buried at: Woodlawn Cemetery; Fairmont, WV
  Click here for his photo.
Berube, Pfc. Leo G. (31246642) - Battery: not D
- Died: April 7, 1945 - ???, Germany
- Last Duty Location: ???, Germany on unknown date
- MOS: unknown
- Home State: RI
- Buried at: Netherlands USMC (Margraten, Holland) B-17-25
Bigness, Pvt. Vernon L. (12081523) - Battery: D
- Died: December 23, 1944 - died as POW at unknown location -- attempted to escape from Gerolstein with Asa Golden whose body found without dogtags along Moselle River near Ehrang, Germany (shot as POW)
- Last Duty Location: ?vicinity of crossroads at Baraque de Fraiture, Belgium (Parker's Crossroads)? on unknown date
- MOS: unknown
- Home State: NY
- Buried at: Luxembourg USMC (Hamm, Luxembourg) E-4-31
Brown, Tec 5 Walter F., Jr. (35619949) - Battery: not D
- Died: March 17, 1945 - ?vic. Remagen Bridge, Germany?
- Last Duty Location: ?vic. Remagen Bridge, Germany? on unknown date
- MOS: unknown
- Home State: OH
- Buried at: Henri-Chapelle, Belgium USMC C-3-41
Cooke, Tec 5 Ira G. (35645712) - Battery: D
- Died: December 24, 1944 - ???, Belgium
- Last Duty Location: ???, Belgium on December 22, 1944
- MOS: unknown
- Home State: WV
- Buried at: Buried in US - WHERE?
Fizet, Pfc. Nick (35526863) - Battery: D
- Died: March 24, 1945 - Burgsolm, Germany [There is no Burgsolm. It was probably Solms (referred to as Burg Solms) east of Limburg (Limburg was Stalag XII-A), since he is listed as one of those US personnel who died at XII-A in the period Jan-Mar 1945.]
- Last Duty Location: Baraque de Fraiture, Belgium on December 23, 1944
- MOS: unknown
- Home State: OH
- Buried at: Netherlands USMC (Margraten, Holland) H-20-26
Golden, Pvt. Asa B. (31215557) - Battery: D
- Died: 45-Feb? (buried Mar 1944 by Germans) - body found without dogtags along Moselle River near Ehrang, Germany (shot as POW)
- Last Duty Location: ?vicinity of crossroads at Baraque de Fraiture, Belgium (Parker's Crossroads)? on December 23, 1944
- MOS: unknown
- Home State: MA
- Buried at: Pittsfield Cemetery; Pittsfield, MA
Gonzales, Pfc. Gabriel C. (38216157) - Battery: B? - definitely not D
- Died: December 19, 1944 - ?Ortho?, Belgium
- Last Duty Location: ?Ortho?, Belgium on December 19, 1944
- MOS: unknown
- Home State: TX
- Buried at: Henri-Chapelle, Belgium USMC E-1-47
Haefele, Tec 5 Frank E. (33420715) - Battery: not D
- Died: September 13, 1945 - location unknown
- Last Duty Location: ??? on unknown date
- MOS: unknown
- Home State: PA
- Buried at: Lorraine USMC (St. Avold, France) D-18-28
Kabala, Pfc. Joseph J. (32688109) - Battery: not D
- Died: December 20, 1944 - ???, Belgium
- Last Duty Location: ???, Belgium on December 20, 1944
- MOS: unknown
- Home State: NY
- Buried at: Henri-Chapelle, Belgium USMC C-9-9
La Paille, Pfc. Denis K. (35692138) - Battery: D
- Died: date unknown - location unknown
- Last Duty Location: unknown on unknown date
- MOS: unknown
- Home State: KY
- Buried at: Buried in US - WHERE?
Mahoney, Cpl. Thomas J. (31137234) - Battery: A
- Died: March 12, 1945 - ?vic. Remagen Bridge, Germany?
- Last Duty Location: house by Remagen Bridge, Germany on unknown date
- MOS: unknown
- Home State: MA
- Buried at: Henri-Chapelle, Belgium USMC E-8-52
Manzolillo, Cpl. Michael L. (32646444) - Battery: B?
- Died: August 24, 1944 - Melun, France
- Last Duty Location: Melun, France on August 24, 1944
- MOS: unknown
- Home State: NY
- Buried at: Holy Cross Cemetery; Brooklyn, NY
  Click here for his photo.
McKinney, Charles R. (34771808) - Battery: not D
- Died: date unknown - location unknown
- Last Duty Location: unknown on unknown date
- MOS: unknown
- Home State: NC
- Buried at: Buried in US - WHERE?
Prior, Pfc. Egidio Geda (32688899) - Battery: D
- Died: December 22, 1944 - ?Samree?, Belgium
- Last Duty Location: ?Samree?, Belgium on December 22, 1944
- MOS: Cook
- Home State: NY
- Buried at: St. Raymond's Cemetery; Bronx, NY
Ray, Pfc. Vernon I. (7010207) - Battery: D
- Died: April 17, 1945 - Sundern, Germany
- Last Duty Location: Sundern, Germany on April 17, 1945
- MOS: unknown
- Home State: TX and OK
- Buried at: Westlawn Cemetery, Henryetta, OK
  Click here for his photo.
Reed, Tec 5 Charles A. (32685925) - Battery: A
- Died: on or after SWA 44-Nov-02 - ?48th Field Hospital?
- Last Duty Location: 1/2 Mi SW Maarhezerhutten, Holland on November 2, 1944
- MOS: 734 (half-track driver)
- Home State: NY
- Buried at: Buried in US - WHERE?
Schlueter, Cpl. Tom R. (36677752) - Battery: not D
- Died: September 13, 1945 - location unknown
- Last Duty Location: ??? on unknown date
- MOS: unknown
- Home State: IL
- Buried at: Lorraine USMC (St. Avold, France) D-18-21
Vroble, Pfc. Louis (n.m.i.) (33758303) - Battery: C
- Died: August 5, 1944 - Cherbourg, France
- Last Duty Location: Cherbourg, France on August 5, 1944
- MOS: unknown
- Home State: PA
- Buried at: Normandy USMC (St. Laurent-sur-Mer, France) C-9-18
Weissenberger, Pfc. Robert L. (35539419) - Battery: D
- Died: October 20, 1944 - Someren, Holland
- Last Duty Location: Someren, Holland on unknown date
- MOS: unknown
- Home State: OH
- Buried at: Calvary Cemetery; Toledo, OH

MEN WHO DIED DURING TRAINING IN THE UNITED STATES OR ENGLAND

War is hazardous, and training for war is also hazardous. This is a working list. So if you see an error or omission, please contact me (wwjohnston@aol.com). I cannot fix the errors unless I know about them; so please let me know.

203rd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalion
Pre-Combat Deaths in World War II
Click here to see all 7th Armored Division and later-attached pre-combat deaths.

Kasmarski, Pfc. Edward (32688092) - Battery: D
- Died: before June 1944 - desert at Waco, Texas
- Last Duty Location: desert at Waco, Texas on before June 1944
- MOS: unknown
- Home State: NY
- Buried at: Buried in US - WHERE?

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