Memorial

More information

Pvt Harold Rothgeb was employed at the I C Railroad before he enlisted.

He was first buried at the Temporary American Military Cemetery in Grand Failly, France.

His twin brother Howard Rothgeb served in the same company and died of wounds one day earlier. He is buried next to him.

Bill Statt, 1st Sgt, recalled what happened: "On 2 January 1945 Company E received 12 replacements. The 1st Sgt's flunky, me, all of 19 year 3 months, met the replacements and was appalled at how young some appeared. I found on the list of the new men a Howard Rothgeb and further down a Harold Rothgeb. I went to my 1st Sgt and asked, "Which do we have, a Howard or a Harold?" The Sgt replied, "We have both. They are twins." Then I screamed at my 1st Sergeant, "You send these kids back to Regiment! It is against the Sullivan Law to have brothers in the same company or on the same ship!" (Five sailors, sons of Walter Sullivan of Waterloo, Missouri were lost when their ship was sunk.) In its wisdom the Army must have taught 1st Sgts how to handle mouthy whippersnappers. The Sgt shouted at me, "Look! I must do what regiment tells me to do. You must do what I tell you to do! Now I am telling you to get out of here!" (The Sgt injected a few more nouns and adjectives, but it is not necessary to include them in this narrative. Wallace Bidney was an excellent 1st Sgt.)
E Company was on the edge of the woods separated from the Germans in Pironpre by the Ourthe River and an open snow covered field. Any advance into the field brought a hail of machine gun bullets and rounds of mortar shells. On the afternoon of January 2nd, the replacements joined the Company in that woods. Howard and Harold would not be split but chose to occupy the same foxhole. A sister of the twins advised me the boys never had been separated. Before induction to the Army, they worked for the railroad. The railroad found that regardless of assignments the boys would end up working together.
Inermittently the Germans would fire artillery at the positions of Companies E, F & G. Perhaps the Germans were saying "We know you Yanks are out there." Deep in a foxhole these shells were frightening but had done little damage, that is till January 4th. On that date a shell hit a tree limb over the hole occupied by Howard and Harold. This tree burst blew shrapnel down on the boys. Both were hit! Harold was evacuated but even in that process and being seriously wounded, he kept inquiring about his brother, and, "was he being attended to?" He was assured Howard was also being taken care of. The truth was kept from Harold.
Some days later an Army officer appeared at the home of Rome Rothgeb in Hazelcrest, Illinois, bearing a telegram advising "The Secretary of War regrets to inform you that on 4 January 1945 your son Howard was killed in action in Belgium." Brother Harold was evacuated to the field hospital in Bertrix, Belgium. A few days later the officer again made his way to the Rothgeb home. He read a telegram, "The Secretary of War regrets to inform you that on 5 January 1945 in a hospital at Bertrix, Belgium, your son Harold died of wounds received in battle."
Howard was 19 years, ten days old at the time of his death. Harold was 19 years, eleven days old at the time of his death. Their sacrifice and the sacrifice of so many others, in action that we, the members of the 87th Division, were involved in, will always be in our memory."