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name
HOLMQUIST, Kurtiss Paul - Date of
birth
25 July 1926 -
Age
18 - Place of
birth
Hennepin County, Minnesota -
Hometown
Hennepin County, Minnesota
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
37773698 -
Rank
Private -
Function
unknown -
Unit
E Company,
2nd Battalion,
406th Infantry Regiment,
102nd Infantry Division
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
26 April 1945 - Place of
death
In the vicinity of Havelberg-Sandau, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Ardennes
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| D | 4 | 25 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Ludvig E. Holmquist (father)
Julia E. (Christensen) Holmquist (mother)
Kenneth Holmquist (brother)
More information
Pvt Kurtiss P. Holmquist attended high school for 3 years. He enlisted at Fort Snelling, Minnesota on 6 September 1944.He was part of a patrol which was to cross the Elbe River at Havelberg to pick up German prisoners. The patrol was enveloped by SS troops in armored cars and of the original total of twenty one men, records reveal that sixteen men were taken prisoner and later released. Field investigations conducted in the area on 30 March, 22 November and 18 December 1948 failed in the recovery of the remains of two men, Sgt Lance and Pvt Nick Botsis who ara remembered at the Walls of the Missing at Margraten. Two other patrol members, Robert Bender and Kurtiss P. Holmquist are interred at Ardennes.
One of the surviving patrol members recalled that he believed pvt Holmquist was killed instantly by a wound from a 20 mm anti-aircraft gun that was lowered and fired point blank at the patrol.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Peter Schouteten, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov – WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil / Minnesota, Birth Index, https://familysearch.org – 1940 Census, IDPF of Nick Botsis
Photo source: Jac Engels