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name
PELZER, Henry Louis - Date of
birth
11 November 1922 -
Age
22 - Place of
birth
Iowa City, Johnson County, Iowa -
Hometown
Nicollet County, Minnesota
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O-542566 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
unknown -
Unit
69th Tank Battalion,
6th Armored Division
-
Awards
Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster
Death
-
Status
Missing in Action - Date of
death
4 January 1945 - Place of
death
Bastogne, Belgium
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes - Tablets of the Missing
Immediate family
-
Members
Louis Pelzer (father)
Mildred L. (Wernink) Pelzer (mother)
Loren P. Pelzer (brother)
More information
2n Lt. Henry L. Pelzer graduated in 1940 with a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Iowa in absentia in December 1943. He majored in physics while in college. While in the University of Iowa, he was a member of Pershing Rifles, the cadet officer's club and the university orchestra.Lt Pelzer left the university for active service with the advanced R.O.T.C. in the summer of 1943, and received his lieutenant's commission at Fort Knox in Kentucky in December 1943.
He was killed when his tank took a direct hit. His remains were never found.
His brother, Lt Loren Parker Pelzer, a U.S Navy pilot, was killed on 13 March 1943 while ferrying a bomber from a naval ferry command in Northern California. The wreckage of his plane was never found.
They are remembered at the Oakland Cemetery in Iowa City, Johnson County, Iowa.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Astrid van Erp, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.findagrave.com, www.ancestry.com - 1930 Census / WWII Bonus Case File, www.newspapers.com - Iowa City Press-Citizen
Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Bobby Jett, Iowa City Press Citizen 1 February 1945