26 FROM IOWA LOST IN ACTION
[excerpt]
WASHINGTON, D. C. (AP)—The War Department Saturday listed 26 Iowa soldiers as missing in action in the European and Mediterranean theaters. They were:
EUROPEAN.
Algona—Staff Sergeant Robert W. Thompson.
Audubon—Sergt. Donald C. Munksgaard.
Boone—Second Lieutenant Robert W. Ward.
Cedar Rapids—Pvt. (f.c.) Harvey H. Wehde.
Council Bluffs—Corp. Dale E. Gustafson.
Des Moines—Pvt. (f.c.) Lester W. Pfannkuch.
Dubuque—Lieut. Arthur C. Toepel.
Gladbrook—Second Lieutenant Elmer C. Dudolski.
Iowa City—Lieut. Col. Don L. Weiss.
Keystone—Pvt (f.c.) Orlean E. Koeppen.
Knoxville—Capt. Richard A. Gee.
Marshalltown—Second Lieutenant Marion A. Gard.
Mason City—Capt. William C. Whorley.
Menlo—Pvt. (f.c.) Kenneth L. Powell.
Pella—Pvt. (f.c.) David M. Thomas.
Sewal—Staff Sergeant Dallas G. Couchman.
Shenandoah—Lieut. Ralph E. Deweese.
Sioux Rapids—Flight Officer Joseph Meleky.
Source: The Des Moines Register, August 27, 1944
Ralph Eugene DeWeese was born July 10, 1918 to Homer Allen and Mabel Natalee DeWeese. He died Sept. 23, 1944 and is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery, Shenandoah, IA.
Lt. DeWeese served in World War II with the U.S. Army Air Corps Co. H, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment. He was KIA at Torensche Molen (Mill) Holland and was initially buried in a field grave near the mill. He was later re-buried in the U.S. Temporary Cemetery, Molenhoek, Netherlands and later was repatriated to Shenandoah.
Source: ancestry.com
