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Personal info

Full name
ETZLER, Vernon Leslie "Bud"
Date of birth
26 March 1923
Age
22
Place of birth
Libertytown, Frederick County, Maryland
Hometown
Libertytown, Frederick County, Maryland

Military service

Service number
13137066
Rank
Private First Class
Function
Scout
Unit
F Company,
2nd Battalion,
355th Infantry Regiment,
89th Infantry Division
Awards
Bronze Star,
Purple Heart

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
8 April 1945
Place of death
Grafenhain, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Plot Row Grave
O 6 7

Immediate family

Members
Vernon Etzler (father)
Ethel I. (Warner) Etzler (mother)
Katherine I. Etzler (sister)
Mildred E. Etzler (sister)
Margaret R. Etzler (sister)
Thomas C. Etzler (brother)
Mary L. Etzler (sister)
Kenneth Etzler (brother)
Bernice L. Etzler (sister)
Mabel V. Etzler (sister)
Marian D. Etzler (sister)
Octavia M. Etzler (sister)
Raymond L. Etzler (brother)
Lorraine B. Etzler (sister)
Arthur E. Etzler (brother)
Marlene M. Etzler (half-sister)
John D. Etzler (half-brother)

More information

Pfc Vernon L. Etzler was employed in the shipping department of the Crown Cork and Seal Company.

He enlisted in Baltimore, Maryland on 25 November 1942.
He first was a truck driver in a bombardment squadron in England, but was transferrd to the infantry.

He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal posthumously. The citation cited: Pfc Vernon L. Etzler was a scout of Co. F, 355th Regiment, 89th Infantry Division, when his unit was immobilized by heavy enemy automaticweapons fire near Grafenhain, Germany. Voluntarily exposing himself to enemy fire, Etzler ran across an open field until he reached an advantageous firing position. His fire from this position killed one German and forced others to withdraw, permitting his squad to successfully continue its attack. As he was returning to his comrades, he was killed by enemy fire from the town.

Source of information: André Koch, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - 1920/1930/1940 Census, www.findagrave.com - Cari Aiken, http://etzlerwarner.tribalpages.com/

Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Des Philippet, Dorinda Shepley, www.myheritage.nl - Frederick Post