Jerry Hoovler

Click here for a PDF version of this obituary.

Gerald (Jerry) L. Hoovler of Delaware, Ohio, died Friday, November 23, 2007, in Columbus, Ohio, following an extended period of ill health.

Born in Youngstown, Ohio on February 15, l925, Jerry was the middle child of the seven sons of Samuel Robert Hoovler of Greenville, Pennsylvania and Carrie Uhrey Hoovler. Jerry has six brothers, four of whom precede him in death: Edward, Cecil, Donald, and Art. His brother Walter resides in Torrance, California and brother Paul lives in Sun City, Arizona. Jerry is survived by his loving wife Dorothy Ann (Herbst). Jerry and Dorothy were married in 1949 and have four children: Nancy and husband Michael McKibben of Columbus, Ohio; daughter Carol of Durham, North Carolina; Patsy and husband Michael Conger of Aurora, Illinois; and Jim and wife Jill of Delaware, Ohio; as well as eleven grandchildren: Carrie and husband Kevin Fletemeyer, Max, Susanna, Holly, Rose, and Justin McKibben; Nancy and Mattie Conger; and Stephanie, Katie, and Abby Hoovler.

Jerry graduated from Pataskala High School in 1942 and immediately entered the military, serving in the United States Army 69th Infantry Division ("The Fighting 69th"), 272nd Infantry Regiment ("The Battle Axe Regiment"), Company K Infantry Weapons Platoon. He saw action across Germany as a part of the United States 1st Army Rhineland Campaign and on April 25, 1945 met the Soviet Army at Torgau on the River Elbe near Leipzig. Almost immediately after VE Day on May 8, 1945 he was transferred to the 530th Ordinance Battalion and served in Belgium, operating a POW Camp at La Louvi�re. After the war he attended The Ohio State University, where he obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in education in 1948. In 1950, he was awarded The Bronze Star Medal "FOR MERITORIOUS ACHIEVEMENTS IN GROUND OPERATIONS AGAINST THE ENEMY" by President Harry S. Truman. From 1949 to 1952 he served as a science and math teacher and high school principal at Ostrander High School in Ostrander, Ohio and Williamsfield High School, in Williamsfield, Ohio, married Dorothy Ann Herbst of Pataskala, Ohio, and received his master�s degree in administrative science, also from Ohio State.

A fifty-year resident of Fredericktown, Ohio at 122 W. Sandusky Street, Jerry was superintendent of schools there from 1953-55. He then left education to become an independent insurance agent for Midland Mutual Life Insurance Company and quickly earned his Certified Life Underwriter qualification. He provided his insurance services from the Hoovler Insurance Agency in his building at 84 N. Main Street. He retired in 1987, and moved to Delaware with Dorothy in 2007.

Jerry placed the highest value on family and community. He was active for fifty years in the Fredericktown Lions Club, and served as its president on three occasions, where he took the Lion's slogan "It can be done in a small town" as his personal motto. He was the first to volunteer for any worthwhile community project, serving as co-chair of the Fredericktown High School football stadium building committee, as head of the tennis-court building committee, and as a proud volunteer in the building of the new Fredericktown Public Library. His lifelong passion for reading led him to become a member of the Friends of the Library for both Knox County and for his alma mater, Ohio State.

An ardent advocate of the values of scouting, Jerry was for years a member of and fund-raiser for the Muskingum Valley Boy Scout Council. He donated more than 100 pints of blood to the American Red Cross. He served as a volunteer in scouts, Little League, the American Heart Association, Big Brothers of America, the American Cancer Society, and the Knox County Hospital auxiliary.

A devoted family man, Jerry was married to his beloved wife Dorothy for 58 years. He was a dearly loved father, guide, and mentor to his four children, and an active and beloved grandfather to his eleven grandchildren. His broad and varied interests included model airplanes, crosswords, investing in real estate, doll house building, woodworking, remodeling, canning, gardening, reading, cooking, bowling, fishing, and birding. He was a loyal Buckeye fan, holding lifetime season football tickets, and also a life member of The Ohio State Alumni Association.

Friends may call on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 from 4 to 7 PM at the Snyder Funeral Home, 33 E. College Street, Fredericktown, Ohio 43019. The family will observe a graveside service at a later date in Forest Cemetery in Fredericktown.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Fredericktown Lions Club or to the Fredericktown Library and can be left at the funeral home.

"IN THE DEFENSE OF FREEDOM"
By Michael T. McKibben (Jerry's son-in-law - Nancy (Hoovler)'s husband)

Gerald (Jerry) L. Hoovler, Co K 272nd Inf Rgt - We say goodbye to Jerry, yet another of "The Greatest Generation" that secured the peace from fascist tyrannies that would have otherwise swept the world in the 1940's. Like so many others of his generation, Jerry talked little about his experiences in World War II until recently. The photos below have just surfaced; indicative of the fact that Jerry felt no compulsion to tell his war stories. So many veterans say that after the war, no one wanted to talk about it anymore. They were ready for peace. War is brutal, nasty business; not something to revel in. Perhaps that is why we are only just now hearing these heroic stories from our loved ones.

I only learned after my late father, James A. McKibben, passed away in 2005 that as a US Army Private he helped disarm the Japanese Imperial Naval Academy and its more than 60 caves full of armaments of every kind. He also visited Ground Zeroes at both Nagasaki and Hiroshima within months after the bombs were dropped, describing the steel as "melted candles". He never talked about this his entire life.) Dad was honorably discharged as a U.S. Army Tec 5 (Corporal pay grade) in 1946. Dad's unit designations were: 1777TH ENG CONS BN (destined for Burma with pack mules), 41ST INF DIV BAT C 218TH FAB ("The Jungleers"; the first Army division deployed in the Pacific after Pearl Harbor; the first Army unit to be trained in jungle warfare; disarmed the Japanese Imperial Naval Academy on Eta Jima Island, Kure, Japan), and 1876TH ENGR AVN BN (Japanese occupation).

God bless our fathers and mothers and their generation for their sacrifices.

Click here for a full size file of Jerry's portrait, 5.7 MB.
Click here for a full size file of the photo on the right, 1.8 MB.

Here are a few things we do know now about Jerry's World War II experiences.

-February 15, 1943 - Jerry's 18th birthday in Pataskala, Ohio.

-February 16 - registers for the draft

-March 19 - receives notice for physical

-March 26 - receives 3-A classification

-April 19 - DRAFTED into the US Air Force as a mechanic at Patterson Field, Dayton, Ohio

-May 15 - 69th Infantry Division activated for combat

-May 22 - Jerry transfered to the US Army 69th Infantry Division, 272nd Infantry Regiment. The Army's structure of an Infantry Division was 14,253 men commanded by a Major General. The 69th had three Infantry Regiments of 3,254 men each. The 272nd Regiment (Jerry's) was one of them and was commanded by a Colonel. In each Regiment there were three Battalions commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel. These Battalions had 871 men in units called a Company. Jerry was in Company K, a Rifle Company, and was commanded by a Captain. Each Rifle Company had a Company Headquarters Section, 3 Rifle Platoons and a Weapons Platoon. The Platoons were divided into Squads. A Squad was about 12 men. (See the names of the men in Jerry's squad at the end.)

Jerry's Platoon Leader was T/Sgt. Lloyd H. Mangus, and his Squad Leaders were Sgt. Robert D. Griffith and Sgt. Wilfred Q. Cole, Jr. (See picture of Sgt. Cole below.)

-[Dates] - According to Jerry's brother Paul, Jerry was sent initially to Florida to officer training school, but was subsequently ordered to Camp Shelby, Hattiesburg, Mississippi and handed a gun.

-October 31 - Jerry's Division left Camp Shelby for an unknown location.

-November 2 - Division arrives by train at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, the overseas staging area. Here their training consisted of censorship training, conduct aboard ship, abandon-ship drill, conduct as a Prisoner of War, gas-mask drills, and final showdown inspections.

-November 15, 1944 - Jerry's Company K Infantry Weapons Platoon, part of 272nd Infantry Regiment, "The Battle Axe Regiment" (Jerry is 11th from the left in the top row of the linked photo), boarded the MS John Ericsson and SS Santa Maria troop ships in New York Harbor and departed for England.

-December 1 - Regiment arrived in Southampton, England and were bivouacked near Salisbury, England where most of the young GI's experienced English pubs and culture for the first time.

-December 16 - On the European Continent, the Germans counterattacked American forces in the Ardennes Forest (Belgium) in what came to be called "The Battle of the Bulge". 19,000 young Americans died. The Battle of the Bulge was the bloodiest U.S. battle in World War II. Despite this, German objectives were not realized and they fell back to the Siegfried Line (that Jerry's Regiment would attack two months later).

- December 25 - 700 men from Jerry's 272nd Regiment were taken for immediate shipment to Belgium '...to help stop the German onslaught' later to be called The Battle of the Bulge (see below). These men were needed by General Dwight D. Eisenhower to help replace the heavy losses of rifleman (foot soldiers comprised 70% of the bulge casualties: 2,000 men a day for almost a month). The replacements were told, 'Most of you men aren't coming back; just get used to it now.' The air war had been halted by bad weather and tanks were ineffective; the only soldiers able to take ground from the Germans were riflemen like Jerry. It was about this time that the Regiment was warned to prepare for shipment to the battlefront. (272nd History)

-January 21, 1945 - Regiment was shipped on the MS Sobieski to Le Harve, France during a blizzard and then was transported to towns in the vicinity of Forges-Les-Eaux, France where they were quartered mostly in ruined houses and abandoned chateaux ("a relatively comfortable site"). Jerry apparently had his tonsils removed in England before coming across, so it would appear that he caught up with his unit sometime before they moved into the Eiffel Forest area to engage the enemy at the Siegfried Line on about February 12, 1945.

- February 1 - Regiment was moved by train box cars to Laon, France ("long, tiresome and cold"). Upon arrival the French town names in the vicinity (Goudelancourt, Ebeuleau and Montigny Le Fanc) were so hard to pronounce that the GI's named the sites Camp Wheatfield, Tent City and Mud Flats.

-February 6 - Regiment was moved again ("two days and two nights", "longer and rougher than any previous") by train to Born, Belgium. At Born Jerry's Regiment was placed in V Corps, a part of the First United States Army which had come ashore on Omaha Beach and Utah Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944.

-February 12 - Jerry's Regiment replaced the 99th Infantry Division in the Eiffel Forest area; near Losheimergraben, Belgium, just 47 miles northeast of Bastogne, Belgium - where General Anthony McAuliffe, acting commander of the 101st Airborne, was told of a German invitation to surrender to which he responded "Nuts!", and until their liberation by General George S. Patton's 1st Army's counterattack on January 28 (The Siege of Bastogne). This area was part of the German bulge, known as The Battle of the Bulge. The weather was "the worst European winter in memory." (Source: David McCullough, "The Battle of the Bulge". 2002: The American Experience).

-February 17 - Regiment suffered its first casualties from German artillery fire. They quartered in tents and log dugouts. The weather was extremely cold and the ground muddy from melted snow. They prepared for another German counterattack.

-They saw the immediate aftermath of the Battle of the Bulge: "... the ground was littered with abandoned, broken equipment and the bodies of German soldiers and draft horses."

-February 27 - Jerry's Regiment was ordered to engage the enemy at the Siegfried Line.

-March 1 - Regiment was ordered to occupy a front line position. They were subject to small arms fire, mortar and artillery fire. They encountered densely mined fields, pillboxes with stoves still warm; a number of which were booby trapped.

-March 6 - Regiment was ordered to take the town of Dahlem, Germany. "This advance was executed with the greatest of difficulty because of the pitch black night, the numerous mines, booby traps, and road obstacles." Jerry's Regiment lost brothers to mines, which were so treacherous that they had to hand-carry weapons and ammunition to prevent their vehicles from being blown up. Dahlem was secured by noon on March 7.

-March 8 - Regiment moved into Waldorf, Germany (see photo of Jerry in Waldorf below). During this operation numerous German prisoners were taken.

- March 26 - Regiment crossed the Rhine River in the afternoon to seize a pocket of German opposition near Coblenz, Germany containing the famous 12th century Fortress Ehrenbreitstein; the mission was completed by 7:30 PM on March 27; 35 towns and 1,200 prisoners were taken.

-March 27 - Regiment moved quarters to the vicinity of Bad Ems, Germany where they languished in billets they had not found since leaving the United States ("thick rugs, soft beds, spacious offices, plenty of wine and food").

-April 1 - Regiment celebrated Easter in Dehrn, Germany.

-April 5 - Regiment experienced "a furious German counter attack" in and around the vicinity of Kassel, Germany (see Jerry's photo below). Kassel was a major industrial center for the enemy war machine, and as such, was a primary Allied target. "The entire area was a huge litter of German dead. The rest were taken prisoner..." "This was the first time since crossing the Rhine that the Germans showed any desire to take from us ground which we had captured."

-April 12 - Elements of Jerry's Regiment were ambushed from well dug in positions on the outskirts of Bad Kossen, Germany, but in a coordinated counterattack, destroyed the enemy by nightfall and took 65 prisoners.

-April 14 - Regiment encountered strongly defended enemy gun positions also using panzerfausts as anti-personnel weapons near Beersdorf, Germany. The attack was successful. 474 prisoners and 36 guns were captured.

-April 15 - Regiment encountered a pounding from 88mm guns, small arms and panzerfuast fire. Following this battle 248 prisoners and 36 guns were taken. Jerry's brother Paul told us at the funeral that Jerry told him the sound and impact of these heavy German guns was extremely fearsome.

-April 16 - Regiment closed in on the town of Brandis, Germany where 2,000 German SS troopers were reported. By dawn the town was surrounded and the white flags of surrender appeared in windows all over the town.

-April 18 - Regiment heard sirens in the city of Leipzig, Germany as the citizens expected an American attack. The night before SS troopers had cruised the city forcing the civilians to take down their white flags of surrender. Regiment skirmished with these SS troopers. Once the attack on Leipzig began at 3:30 PM the Allies met heavy resistance all across its line. Jerry's rifle platoon accompanied our tanks into the city to help take out German sniper fire as the the tanks advanced.

The night of April 18, the 272nd was ordered to move around Leipzig from the East to converge with the 273rd coming in from the West. There was fairly heavy resistance from the Germans, but with the addition of tank forces, Leipzig was secured. About 1,700 prisoners were taken.

-April 19 - Regiment had taken the city, but still encountered pockets of heavy resistance. Jerry's platoon was part of the clean up to secure the greater Leipzig region (See Jerry's brewery photo below).

The commander of Jerry's 272nd Regiment, Col. Walter Buie, along with his S-2 staff intelligence officer, Captain Joseph Lipsius, are pictured formally accepting the surrender of the Kommandant of Liepzig, General Von Zeigesar. Joe explained to me during the development of this website that at the time of the surrender there were determined to be three different German fighting groups in Liepzig. Von Zeigesar commanded one of them. Joe kindly provides this additional photo of the surrender showing him (far right) holding a cigar and paper in his left hand, which he believes was the surrender document. (Photos kindly provided by Joe Lipsius, formerly Major, AUS, Infantry.)

-April 20 - Leipzig mission completed.

-Throughout the Rhineland Campaign, Jerry saw much action and killed the enemy. How many we do not know. One can only imagine. The Germans were fierce fighters, especially in defending their homeland. One can only imagine the fierceness of the fighting that must have preceded the German surrenders described here. Jerry was a rifleman, so he was on the ground, many times in the thick of the fighting. He told us that his platoon helped liberate a German concentration camp. That camp is believed to have been liberated sometime in April near the Town of Wurzen on the river Mulde, 25 km east of Leipzig, "...a prisoner of war camp that held about 4,000 sick and half-starved soldiers from several Allied nations, including the U.S." (Source: Fighting 69th Infantry Division, page 44).

The diary of Lawrence E. Bartling of the 272nd reveals a second concentration camp in the vicinity of Leipzig that could be another possible camp to which Jerry has referred, the Buchenwald Leipzig-Thekla Concentration Camp. Since writing this paragraph, Joe Lipsius checked the 69th archives and found this April 21, 1945 document certifying their discovery of the Leipzig-Thekla camp.

At Jerry's funeral, his brother Paul Hoovler related one story Jerry had told him years ago: "Sometime during the march across Germany, Jerry's platoon got pinned down by German machine gun fire in a hog stockyard; the Germans fired right into the hogs, killing many, to try and take out Jerry and his brothers. He said it was the damnedest thing you've ever seen; hogs falling everywhere around them."

-Jerry suffered trench foot and frostbite during his first weeks of battle at the Siegfried Line; his feet gave him problems the rest of his life.

-Jerry went to see the movie Saving Private Ryan 3 times when it came out in 1998. He told his family that the film was a pretty accurate depiction of what he experienced in combat, "except for the absence of the smell of war." He said that there is no way to describe the stench of splattered human entrails and feces, burning flesh, decaying animal carcases, exploding artillery, burning vehicles, incendiaries and pulverized and burning buildings. Click here to view a Saving Private Ryan film trailer. One can understand why he did not want to talk about such brutality when he came home.

-He lost friends in combat. We do remember him telling us that he saw one of his friend's "head blown off" during combat.

For the historical record (and since Nancy and I were not born yet!), Joe Lipsius kindly assisted me in developing an accurate description of these next few fateful days in which Jerry and his 272nd Regiment were an integral part of history - the East-West Linkup with the Soviet Army. This is for posterity; so that Jerry's family, his brothers-in-arms' families, and the world will always remember what our loved ones accomplished to preserve our freedom.

The Allied Forces attacked Germany from the South and East while the Soviet Forces attacked from the East. The Yalta Conference among Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin held just two months earlier (Feb. 4-11, 1945) had carved up post-war Germany among five occupying armies: American, British, French, Polish and Soviet (see map). However, in taking Liepzig, a vital military objective no matter who dismantled it, the Allied Forces were already in territory to be occupied by the Soviets. Because of this, political tensions were high. President Roosevelt believed he needed Stalin's support against Japan to break the political deadlock against unconditional surrender inside Emperor Hirohito's war council; the Allies believed that only an unconditional surrender could break Japan's war culture going forward. Therefore, tensions were high that the imminent link up with the Soviet and American Armies, both in full battle mode, could spark a conflagration that might harm or destroy the Allied-Soviet alliance needed to defeat Japan.

-April 25, 1945 - First Allied contact with Soviet forces in WWII occurred when three patrols from another regiment in Jerry's 69th Division, the 273nd Infantry Regiment (a total of less than 100 men), met elements of the Soviet Army at Leckwitz, near the Elbe River, and at Torgau and Strehla on the Elbe. For a more detailed account of these days, go to The 69th Infantry Division Next Generation website.

-April 26 - May 3, 1945 - Jerry's 272nd Infantry Regiment was given the new mission of securing the route from Eilenburg, on the Mulde River, to Torgau, on the Elbe River, a distance of about 25 miles. It was to act as a link between the Allies, east of the Mulde and the Soviets, west of the Elbe. An area extending almost three miles on each side of the road was cleared of all enemy to insure the safety of high-ranking American and Soviet commanders who would travel the road in the coming days. The 272nd was tasked with controlling the human traffic of German soldiers, civilians and displaced persons fleeing to escape the Soviets. (Jerry did mention this numerous times in conversation about the war, as did Jerry's brother-in-arms, Robert O. Coy [see his comments below]).

General Eisenhower had great concern that American troops would mistake the advancing Soviet troops for a German counterattack; the advancing Soviet troops started appearing without warning. Quick work to notify all American troops avoided a fire fight. German soldiers east of the Elbe were fleeing to the American lines so as not to get captured by the Soviets.

According to Joe Lipsius, "These activities ended the war for all practical purposes."

-May 4 - Regiment shook hands with Soviet troops at Torgau on the Elbe River.

-May 5 - American General Omar Bradley entered Jerry's Regimental zone to meet Marshall Koniev, Commander of the First Ukrainian Army. General Bradley issued a commendation to Jerry's Regiment.

Click here for US Army Air Force video archives of the East-West link up. According to Joe Lipsius, the S-2 (intelligence officer) for Jerry's 272nd Infantry Regiment, commenting on the link to these videos which he kindly forwarded to me on January 23, 2008: "...Major General Reinhardt, Commander of the 69th Infantry Division, is seen in these videos several times. If you look at his picture in The History Of 272nd or the Fighting 69th Infantry Division, you will easily recognize him. I was nowhere near this. The 272nd [Jerry included] moved up to the area on April 26 and was busy guarding the area and not enjoying any festivity. This was most likely taking place April 27 or later, even up to May 1 or 2."

-May 6 - Jerry's 272nd Infantry Regiment was relieved of its security duties. They were replaced by elements of the First Ukrainian Army. The occupation of Germany and the Cold War had begun. This swift withdrawal was the result of the Yalta Conference agreement on the occupation of Germany mentioned above. (See [Pfc.] Robert O. Coy's recollection of this issue below.)

-May 7/8 - Victory in Europe Day - V-E Day.

-July 10-11 - Regiment moved west to the area of Bad/Hersfeld/Rotenburg, Germany.

- [July] 1945 - Jerry transfered to the 530th Ordinance Battalion and served in La Louviore, Belgium operating a POW Camp. Not much is known about this lengthy period between July 1945 and May 1946, almost 10 months. The few things Jerry has mentioned were that his job was to manage a German prisoner of war camp for some 6,000 German soldiers. We remember Jerry's musing that 6 young Americans, including him, were assigned to keep 6,000 German soldiers from escaping. He said the prisoners were cooperative, disciplined and never once tried to escape. Jerry used to say, "Where were they going to go? Their homes and towns were in utter ruins. Many of them did not know whether their relatives were alive or dead. They were just thankful for a place to sleep and three square meals." He also indicated that one of his jobs was to give the prisoners work to do. He said making up jobs for that many men was tough, and that they even resorted to personal valets and shoe shines several times a day. In another case, Jerry got a former university professor to give him German language lessons." Jerry's brother [Pfc.] Robert O. Coy was assigned a different POW camp to managed (see below).

- May 1946 - Honorably discharged from the US Army with the rank of Private First Class.

-Major General Reinhardt, Commander of the 69th Infantry Division called the 272nd a "splendid regiment" that "smoothly and efficiently carried out every assigned mission from the date this division entered the line to the final and utter collapse of the German army. Your high esprit and fighting spirit have measured up to my highest expectations." (Source: 272nd Infrantry History Book)

While Jerry served in Europe, the Herbst family from Cincinnati moved to Pataskala with their four beautiful daughters. One of those girls, Dorothy Ann, would catch Jerry's eye after his discharge from the Army and return to civilian life in Pataskala. Jerry married Dorothy on May 28, 1949. Four children and 58 wonderful years later. The rest is history.

-Private First Class Gerald L. Hoovler, 35218665, Company K, 272nd Infantry Regiment was awarded THE BRONZE STAR MEDAL "FOR MERITORIOUS ACHIEVEMENT IN GROUND OPERATIONS AGAINST THE ENEMY" on September 22, 1950.

Jerry served as principal of three school systems in all - Ostrander, Ohio; Williamsfield, Ohio and Fredericktown, Ohio. In 1955 Jerry decided to make a career change, studied for and passed the Certified Life Underwriter exam, and became an independent insurance agent and pillar of the community in Fredericktown, Ohio for the next 50 years (see Jerry's Obituary above).

In conclusion, we remember all those faithful servicemen and woman who served.

Epilogue

In the "Notes and Autographs" page of Jerry's copy of History of the 272nd Infantry, twelve men signed Jerry's book. These were Jerry's brothers in his Company K Rifle Squad. Col. Walter D. Buie, Regimental Commander of the 272nd "...had the uncanny wisdom to publish "The History Of The 272 Infantry," a hardback, 176-page book, and give a copy to all his men" in June 1945 in Germany before they were reassigned. The men who signed Jerry's copy of the History were:

1. Platoon Leader [T/Sgt.] Lloyd H. Mangus
2. Squad Leader [Sgt.] Robert D. Griffith
3. Squad Leader [Sgt.] Wilfred Q. Cole, Jr.
4. [Pfc.] Frederick R. Vater
5. [Pfc.] Fred E. Lott, Jr.
6. [Pfc.] Rawford E. MacIntosh
7. [Pfc.] Raymond C. Eckman
8. [Pvt.] Paul R. Cashman
9. [Pvt.] Charles E. Lintz, Jr.
10. [Pvt.] Robert O. Coy
11. [?] Rudolph Z. Nelson
12. [?] Frank Heusser
13. [Pfc.] Gerald L. Hoovler (for the record)

The following addresses were written next to the names:

Lloyd H. Mangus, LaPorte, Indiana
Robert D. Griffith, Manchester, RD#1, Manchester, Penna
Wilfred Q. Cole, Jr., 375 Ridgeway St., Jackson, Mississippi
Frederick R. Vater, 2463 Craftmont St., Crafton, Penna.
Fred E. Lott, Jr., 1290 Vestal Ave., Binghamton, New York
Rawford E. MacIntosh, Greenfield, Mass
Raymond C. Eckman, Bridgeport, Penna.
Paul R. Cashman, 51 Hine Street, West Haven, Conn
Charles E. Lintz, Jr., RFD#1, Phoenix, Maryland
Robert O. Coy, Ardonia, New York
Rudolph Z. Nelson, Paynesville, Minnesota
Frank Heusser, 625 Walnut St. Camden, New Jersey

[Current address of Dorothy Hoovler / Gerald (Jerry) L. Hoovler, 95 Elizabeth Street, Delaware, Ohio]

[Current address just received from the 69th: Fred E. Lott, Jr. 1208 Spring House Cr., Stone Mountain GA 30087]

[Current address confirmed by my mailing and his call: Robert O. Coy, Coy Orchards, 48 Coy Road, Clintondale NY 12515, (845) 883-6678]

In December 2007 I mailed a printout of this site to addresses found from Internet searches for Cole, Coy, Vater, Griffith, and Eckman. In December 8, 2007 I was pleased to receive a telephone call from [Pvt.] Robert O. Coy, now 81. Bob and Jerry have not seen each other since they parted company in July 1945; Jerry to manage German POWs in La Louvi�re, Belgium, and Bob to Stuttgart, Germany where he managed five German mechanics to winterize and store German war vehicles. Bob says he remembers Jerry as a "tall, lanky smart guy." Bob's wife died about ten years ago. His current address is: Coy, Robert O., Coy Orchards, 48 Coy Road, Clintondale, NY 12515, (845) 883-6678. We talked for a long time. He identified a number of people in various of Jerry's photos above. He was very thankful for the archival work and said it brought back many lost memories. Bob will be sending some additional photos and information to add to this site.

Bob said he was shipped to Scotland on the SS Ile de France. From Scotland he was ordered to Le Harve, France, and then to join Company K at Laon, France (see February 1, 1945 above). He said that the "Mud Flats" bivoac was a cold, muddy mess. It would appear that Bob was one of the replacements for the 700 men from Jerry's Regiment that had been shipped to Belgium earlier, on Christmas Day, to support the Battle of the Bulge counteroffensive (see December 25 above).

Bob said that he had kept in touch with [Pvt.] Paul R. Cashman over the years and that Paul died in 2004. Bob said he and Jerry were part of the road security for the formal meeting between of the US and Soviet Armies (see May 5, General Omar Bradley, above). Bob said he remembers the day many US dignitaries made their way from Liepzig to Torgau for the formal handshake (see May 5 above). He remembers as a 19-year old that the Soviet soldiers he met appeared to be a brutal, undisciplined lot with little leadership and a motley mix of civilian and military dress. The days before the historic link up, Jerry's and Bob's unit was warned "don't do anything to the Russians" because as he remembers, the US Army was officially in territory to be controlled by the Soviets as part of the Yalta Agreement on the occupation of Europe (see May 1-2 above). He also recalls the presence of newly released Polish prisoners of war in the area. (See comments on the Wurzen and Buchenwald Leipzig-Thekla Concentration Camps above.) He also remembers consuming his fair share of captured wine, beer, cognac and champagne. Bob made his career as a farmer: Coy Orchards in upstate New York.

Bob had one humorous story. Like Jerry, he too found the German 88mm guns fearsome (see April 15 comments above). Somewhere along their march toward Leipzig, their squad crossed a river over a light pontoon bridge and then set up camp to wait for the heavy equipment to make it across on a different bridge. They were cooking a can of beans over the fire when the Germans in the distance fired an 88mm volley - kaboom. A few moments later their can of beans exploded. At first they thought they had been hit by the 88mm. When they realized it was their beans that had exploded, they broke out in uproarious laughter.

I asked Bob if he had killed the enemy. He said that he was a machine gunner. He said it was inconceivable that he had not, considering that it was his job to spray the enemy with bullets. Another thing Bob remembers are the long marches. "30 miles." "28 miles." "We covered a lot of ground across Germany very quickly." Here he added that they had been well-trained in long marches during his six months of training before coming to Europe.

A special thank you to Joseph Lipsius, formerly Major, AUS, Infantry, and the webmaster of www.69th-infantry-division.com for his assistance in sourcing some of the material used in this tribute.

Primary Sources

Fletcher, E. Cline, 1st Lt. Infantry, Editor & Historian (1945). History of the 272 Infantry. Leipzig, Germany: 272 Infantry Regiment / J.J. Weber. 176 pages.

Clark, Crandon F. (1991), Publishing Coordinator. Fighting 69th Infantry Division. Paducah, Kentucky: Turner Publishing Company. 208 pages.

Lipsius, Joseph, formerly Major, AUS, Infantry, Webmaster The Fighting 69th Infantry Division. Accessed December 1, 2007, http://www.69th-infantry-division.com/.

Hoovler, Gerald (Jerry) L., Co K 272nd Inf Rgt, The Personal Archives Of. Accessed December 1, 2007.

History of the 3rd Battalion (Jerry's Battalion) 272nd Infantry Regiment. http://www.69th-infantry-division.com/histories/3rdbn272.html

Dedication

Dedicated to Jerry's wife, Dorothy, Jerry's brothers in arms, family, friends, and especially his grandchildren, so that they, their children, and their children's children will remember always that...

FREEDOM is never free

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." (Edmund Burke, British Statesman and Philosopher, 1729-1797)

Many good men and women sacrificed unselfishly in World War II and its Cold War aftermath to triumph over evil, and the insidious influence that evil can wreak over societies that might otherwise live peaceably (like the Germans, the Italians, the Japanese, and the Soviets). May their memories be eternal.

Godspeed to the men of The Fighting 69th.
Rest in peace Gerald (Jerry) Hoovler. We love you.

_________

This memorial site to Jerry also remembers Jerry's brothers-in-arms from The Fighting 69th who died in Europe in 1945; men who did not get the chance, as Jerry did, to live full lives and enjoy the fruits of their efforts to secure our freedom. May their memories be eternal.

Source: History of the 272 Infantry.
Click here for a full-size version of this memorial.

IN MEMORIUM

Soldier rest! thy warfare o'er,
Dream of fighting fields no more;
Sleep the sleep that knows not breaking,
Morn of toil, nor night of waking.
- SCOTT

WITH THESE WE KEEP FAITH

2LT. ROBERT O. ENTZMINGER
PFC. ROBERT ASELTINE
PFC. JOHN T. BAKER
PFC. FOCH M. BARNHILL
PFC. JAMES H. BEASLEY, JR.
PFC. JOHN BEATY
PFC. JOHN I. BLESSEN
S/SGT. EARL BRADFORD
TEC.5. EDWARD K. BLOOMFIELD
PVT. ALBERT CAMPURCIANI, JR.
TEC.SGT. MAURICE W. CLARE III
PFC. CECIL F. COKER, JR.
PFC. JAMES H. CONLEY
TEC.5. RICHARD CROSS
S/SGT. RUSSELL D. DINGER
PFC. DEWEY C. EDGIN
SGT. WILLIAM C. FANNING
PFC. AMOS E. FAREWELL
PFC. FERD C. FLAGG
PFC. SILVIO G. FORMOSA, JR.
SGT. RAYMOND L. GIELOW
CPL. NICHOLAS J. GRANESE
1SGT. DEAN H. GROVE
PFC. PAUL E. HAMILTON
S/SGT. JOHN HRNCHAR
PVT. MARSHALL D. HOOLE
PVT. RAYMOND C. IAFRATE
PVT. HOLMES JOHNSON
SGT. LOUIS J. KELLY
PVT. WESLEY B. KNIGHT
PFC. MARTIN J. LOFGREN
PVT. WILLIAM B. MILLER
PFC. DELMER L. PARLIN
CPL. AUGUST F. PETRASEK, JR.
SGT. LOUIE A. PORATH
PVT. WALTER S. PRATT
PFC. ALFRED R. RIVES
TEC.5. EDWARD W. SELL
CPL. BENJAMIN M. SIMON
PVT. EMMETT SHOEMAKER
PFC. JOHN J. SCHULKE
TEC/SGT. JOHN W. SPENCER
SGT. WILLIAM C. SWARTZ
PFC. STRAWDER H. TIPTON
PFC. WILLIAM E. TURNWALD, JR.
PFC. ADAM J. WALENSKZ
PFC. WALTER S. WALLY
PVC. ROGER E. WASHBURN
PFC. HAROLD H. WIENKE
S/SGT. ALFRED WOOD