FIGHTING MEN WHITESELL
AND MERCER KILLED
One on Iwo; Another on the West Front;
Six Men Are Wounded.
As Waterloo and the rest of the nation mourned its late commander-in-chief, Franklin D. Roosevelt, the impact of war was felt again in a number of homes through casualty reports of loved ones from the battlefronts.
Two were reported dead, one on Iwo Jima and one in Germany, and six wounded, all the later on the German front.
The dead:
Marine Pfc. George B. Mercer, 20, killed in action March 26, on Iwo Jima.
Pvt. Virgil Whitesell, 18, killed in action with the Ninth army in Germany, March 24.
The wounded:
Staff Sgt. Deloy L. Gabbard, on March 28.
Staff Sgt. Clarence W. Dawson, on March 29.
Sgt. Michael Zegarac, in late March.
Pfc. William S. Hayes, on March 31.
Pfc. Edward A. Schultz, on March 27.
Pfc. William J. Halterman, on April 2.
[Page 11]
Paratrooper.
Staff Sereant Gabbard, 25, was seriously wounded in Germany on March 28, according to a war department telegram received Saturday by his wife and two sons, who reside at 719 West Mullan avenue.
At the time of his wounding, Sergeant Gabbard was serving as a paratrooper with the 17th airborne division.
Sergeant Gabbard entered the army in March, 1943, and took glider training at Camp Makall, N. C. Later he volunteered for paratroop training, and received his wings in June, 1944. In August, 1944, he went overseas from Camp Forest, Tenn.
He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Gabbard, 119 Argyle street. A brother, Eugene, metalsmith third class is stationed at San Diego, Cal.
Source: Waterloo Daily Courier, Waterloo, Iowa, Sunday, April 15, 1945, Section Two, Pages 9 & 11 (photo included)
Deloy Lester “Shorty” Gabbard was born Jan. 15, 1919 to John and Lucy Hendrickson Gabbard. He died Sept. 8, 1997 and is buried in Garden of Memories, Waterloo, Iowa.
Source: ancestry.com
