10Dec1913 – 12Jul1944
Edison Days
It is unknown when Boleslas (William, Bill) attended Edison. His name does appear 3 times (1944, 1945, 1949) in the Edison Record newspaper. He is also featured in the “In Memoriam” section of the 1946 Edison Wizard yearbook.
Boleslas was a very good baseball player for the Polish Eagles senior men’s team in the mid 1930’s. His name appeared frequently in the local sports pages.
Military Service
Rank: Sergeant
Branch: United States Army
Unit: Company F – 2nd Battalion – 137th Infantry Regiment – 35th Infantry Division
Boleslas joined the Army in March 1942. It is unknown where he took basic training. It is likely that he joined the 137th Infantry Regiment right after basic training. In early 1944 he was promoted to Seargeant while stationed at Camp Butner, North Carolina.
Camp Butner was the location of their final training before being sent to Europe.
The journey started on 4May1944 when the unit was sent to Camp Kilmer, New Jersey. On 11May1944 Boleslas and his unit sailed past the Statue of Liberty for the 13 day voyage to England.
The 137th did not participate in the D-Day landing on 6Jun1944, however just over a month later, they landed at Omaha Beach.
On 9Jul1944 the 137th marched towards the front lines near St. Lo, France to relieve the 119th Infantry Regiment which had been in combat since June 13. On the night of July 10-11, Company F was poised to attack St. Lo.
Boleslas was 1 of the 96 wounded that day when he was hit by shell fragments from the heavy mortar and artillery fire.
Boleslas succumbed to his wounds the following day.
Boleslas was buried in a temporary military cemetery in France.
On 14Aug1944 a memorial mass was held in his honor.
In early 1948 Boleslas’ body was returned to Minnesota for reburial.
His funeral was held on 7Feb1948.
Boleslas is buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Edison Heroes 