Carl Letney Called Dead at Rapido
Pfc. Carl Calvin Letney, 19, who has been listed as missing in action since Jan. 23, 1944, has been officially declared dead, according to a letter from the war department received by his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Leo Letney, 402 Elm street.
The letter stated that on Jan. 23 he was attached to the 36th infantry division while it was crossing the Rapido river in Italy in the midst of heavy artillery, machine-gun and mortar fire.
A former Rath Packing Co. employe (sic), he went overseas in October, 1943.
Surviving besides his parents are four sisters, Mrs. Paul Prior, Misses Mary Lou and Kathleen Letney, all at home, and Mrs. Ralph Blackmore, El Dorado Springs, Mo.; two brothers, Le Roy, 311 Boston avenue, and Don Gary, at home; and maternal grandmother, Mrs. C. C. Tabor, El Dorado Springs, Mo.
Source: Waterloo Daily Courier, Waterloo, Iowa, Tuesday, March 19, 1946, Page 16 (photo included)
Rebury Letney in Missouri Sunday
Funeral services for Pfc. Carl C. Letney, who was 18 when he was killed at the Rapido river in Italy in April, 1943, will be at Eldorado Springs, Mo., next Sunday.
He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Lee Letney, who lived in Waterloo at the time their son entered military service, but have since moved to Eldorado Springs.
Two sisters and a brother, who reside here, will attend the funeral services. They are Mrs. Paul Prior, 816 Fowler street and Mrs. Charles Norman and LeRoy Letney, both of 1007 West Third street.
Other survivors are a brother, Don Gary Letney, and a sister, Mary Lou Letney, both of Eldorado Springs, Mo.
Pfc. Letney was employed at the Rath Packing Co. prior to entering military service.
While serving with the 34th infantry division as an infantryman, he volunteered to attempt a crossing of the Rapido river. He was reported missing in action in April of 1943 and declared dead a year later.
Source: Waterloo Daily Courier, Waterloo, Iowa, Monday, March 07, 1949, Page 3
Carl Calvin Letney was born Mar. 25, 1924 to Leo and Goldie Kathleen Tabor Letney. He died Jan. 23, 1944 and is buried in Clintonville Cemetery, El Dorado Springs, MO.
Source: ancestry.com
