Bodies of S. W. Iowans Returning
The bodies of three southwest Iowa men are among those of 91 Iowans returned from Italy about the U. S. army transport Carroll Victory, the department of the army announced Tuesday.
Being returned for burial are: Cpl. William F. Thoreen, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Thoreen, 800 North Fifteenth street, killed in action at Anzio, Italy in 1944; Pvt. Leon H. Stoelke, son of Mr. and Mrs. Albert F. Stoelke, of Manning, killed in action in Sicily in September, 1944, and Pfc. William F. Rethmeier, son of Mr. and Mrs. William E. Rethmeier, Dunlap, killed in action in Italy.
NOTE: Further research reveals Pvt. Stoelke was KIA in 1943 and Pfc. William F. Rethmeier was KIA in 1944 and was buried at Dunlap, Iowa.
Source: Council Bluffs Nonpareil, Tuesday, July 6, 1948, p. 11
William F. Rethmeier was born Feb. 28, 1912 to William Ernest Henry and Effie Mae Schlensig Rethmeier. He died May 30, 1944 and is buried in Pleasant Hill Cemetery, Dunlap, IA.
Pvt. Rethmeier served in World War II with the U.S. Army and died of wounds received in action in Italy.
Source: ancestry.com
