Sgt. James Koch Killed
Sgt. James F. Koch, Waterloo, was killed in action Nov. 30 in Italy, a war department telegram Saturday informed his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ferd Koch, 205 Commercial street.
A radio operator with the 15th army air force, he enlisted June 7, 1941. He received his training at San Antonio, Tex., Sioux Falls, S. D., Yuma, Ariz., Lincoln, Neb., and Sioux City, Ia., and was last stationed at Lincoln, Neb., before leaving for England in September.
Born June 18, 1921, in Waterloo, son of Ferd and Caroline Nora Beener Koch, he was a graduate of Sacred Heart high school and attended Iowa State college at Ames one year and St. Ambrose college, Davenport one year. Before entering service, he was employed by the Waterloo Metal & Manufacturing Co.
Besides his parents, he is survived by a brother, Richard Koch, navy sound operator second class in the Pacific area, and two sisters, Mrs. Raymond Kuttler, 1037 Newton street, and Mrs. L. R. Stockdale, 316 Fremont street.
He was a member of Sacred Heart Catholic church.
Source: Waterloo Daily Courier, Waterloo, Iowa, Sunday, December 17, 1944, Section Two, Page 13 (photo included)
Service News
Mr. and Mrs. Ferd Koch, 205 Commercial street, have received the Purple Heart posthumously for their son, Sgt. James F. Koch, who was killed in action in Italy on Nov. 20, 1944.
Sergeant Koch was killed with the entire crew of the B-17 they were flying in combat. He was on his 20th mission as a radio-gunner. The plane in which the lost their lives crashed on a takeoff.
Source: Waterloo Daily Courier, Waterloo, Iowa, Sunday, April 01, 1945, Page 5
Sacred Heart Pays Tribute to
Former Students in Service
Sacred Heart school honored their former students now in armed service at a program Thursday afternoon at which the Honor Roll, a gift of the class of 1945, was given to the school. Rita Bohan presented the gift to Rt. Rev. Msgr. E. J. Dougherty. . . .
A minute of silence was observed in memory of the alumni killed in action. They include Paul Burroughs, Mervin Kerr, Francis VanVliet, Kenneth Althof and James Koch. Herbert Smith, Dan Lynch and John Sinott served as color bearers at a flag ceremony.
Glee club and verse choir presentations completed the program, after which Monsignor Doughtery bless the picture of the Sacred Heart given to the school by the parents of James Koch in his memory.
Source: Waterloo Daily Courier, Waterloo, Iowa, Friday, May 04, 1945, Section Two, Page 17
Waterloo War Hero Reburied
The body of Sgt. James F. Koch, who was killed in action in Italy Nov. 20, 1944, has been reburied in National Cemetery, Ft. Leavenworth, Kan. He was buried in a mass burial Thursday after full military services.
He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ferd Koch, 205 Commercial street. He was also survived by two sisters, Mrs. Raymond Kuttler, 1037 Newton street, and Mrs. Lewis Stockdale, Creston, Ia., and a brother, Richard, 302 Commercial street.
A radio operator with the 15th army air force, he enlisted June 7, 1941, and was called to active duty Dec. 5, 1941.
He was born June 18, 1921, in Waterloo.
His parents and brother and sisters attended the services and burial at Ft. Leavenworth.
Source: Waterloo Daily Courier, Waterloo, Iowa, Sunday, December 11, 1949, Section Two, Page 13
