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name
GELBACH, Lawrence Henry - Date of
birth
27 November 1918 -
Age
26 - Place of
birth
Philadelphia, Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania -
Hometown
Havertown, Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O1313088 -
Rank
First Lieutenant -
Function
Platoon Commander -
Unit
L Company,
3rd Battalion,
134th Infantry Regiment,
35th Infantry Division
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
23 December 1944 - Place of
death
Limburg an der Lahn, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| B | 40 | 28 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Lawrence H. Gelbach (father)
Mary G. (Lafferty) Gelbach (mother)
William B. Gelbach (brother)
More information
Lawrence H. Gelbach graduated from Haverford High School and attended St. Joseph College.He enlisted at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland on 16 September 1941. He was a student at St. Joseph College.
He was taken prisonerr on 14 December 1944 in the vicinity of Frauenberg, Germany.
He died in Stalag XII-A during a British night air raid. The intented target was the railway station in Diez, but some flares, dropped by the pathfinder aircraft, drifted off course in a strong wind and strayed into the POW camp. The bombs of RAF Mosquitos did not miss the highlighted target of a concrete building, housing mostly medical personnel.
The picture was taken in high school in 1937.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - 1920 Census / Veteran Compensation Application File, www.coulthart.com/134
Photo source: www.findagrave.com, Haverford Township Free Library - Haverford High School yearbook 1937