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Personal info

Full name
SESSMER, Oscar Leo
Date of birth
26 March 1916
Age
29
Place of birth
Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky
Hometown
Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky
Religion
Jewish

Military service

Service number
35701072
Rank
Technician Fifth Grade
Function
unknown
Unit
A Company,
1st Battalion,
318th Infantry Regiment,
80th Infantry Division
Awards
Purple Heart

Death

Status
Killed in Action
Date of death
11 April 1945
Place of death
Dittelstedt-Büssleben, east of Erfurt, Germany

Grave

Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
Plot Row Grave
M 1 14

Immediate family

Members
David Sessmer (father)
Ricca Sessmer (mother)
Teresa Sessmer (sister)
Elizabeth Sessmer (sister)
Beatrice Sessmer (sister)
Frances Sessmer (sister)
Selma Sessmer (wife)

More information

T/5 Oscar L. Sessmer was the eldest of 5 children of Jewish immigrants from Odessa, Ukraine. He acted as a father to his four sisters because their father had abandoned them.

He graduated from Louisville Male High School and attended the University of Louisville after which he worked as a civil service employee at the post office.

T/5 Sessmer had a safe posting on an army post office in England. However he volunteered for combat. He was killed in his first battle.

Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, Nancy Wellins (niece), www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.ancestry.com – 1930/1940 Census, www.80thdivision.com, www.newspapers.com - The Courier-Journal, WWII Draft Card

Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Des Philippet, Nancy Wellins, www.newspapers.com - The Courier-Journal