1Mar1918 – 23Jun1944
Edison Days
A newspaper article announcing his death mentions that Casimir graduated from Edison. No pictures of his time at Edison have been found. Casimir is listed in the “In Memoriam” section of the 1946 Edison Wizard yearbook.
A picture of 15-year-old Casimir was in the Star Tribune Sports Section.
Military Service
Rank: Private First Clasee
Branch: United States Army
Unit: Company E – 2nd Battalion -507th Parachute Infantry Regiment – 82nd Airborne Division
Casimir moved to Seattle, Washington at some point after graduation and was working for Boeing Aircraft Company. He was inducted into the Army in March 1942. It is unknown where he attended basic training. After basic training, Casimir volunteered for the paratroops and was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia for paratrooper training.
Casimir was assigned to the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment. After initial training at Fort Benning, the 507th participated in large scale maneuvers at Barksdale Field near Shreveport, Louisiana. In March 1943 they went to Alliance Air Base near Alliance, Nebraska for final preparations before deployment to Europe.
In late November 1943 Casimir and th3 507th boarded trains bound for Camp Starks, New York. On 5Dec1943 they departed the New York Port of Embarkation on a troop ship bound for Liverpool, England, arriving 11 days later.
The next 6 months were spent training for the D-Day invasion.
Late in the evening on 5Jun1944 Casimir and 17other paratroopers of Company E boarded a C-47 transport plane bound for Normandy, France. They were 1 plane of 36 in Serial 24. Overall, there were 378 planes (carrying 6,420 paratroopers) bound for Drop Zone T near Amfreville, France.
The red plane was shot down before reaching the drop zone.
At approximately 0232 hours (2:32am) on 6Jun1944 Casimir jumped into Normandy as part of the D-Day invasion.
Company E’s mission to Drop Zone T was to help secure the Merderet River crossings (including La Fière and Chef-du-Pont bridges/causeways) and block German reinforcements toward Utah Beach. Like the rest of the regiment, the drop was badly scattered due to clouds, flak, and pathfinder issues. Only a few sticks landed near the intended drop zone. Most troopers were dispersed over a wide area, and Company E did not assemble as a cohesive unit.
Casimir’s actions on D-Day, and for the following 17 days are unknown. In general, the 507th operated at severely reduced strength due to the scattered D-Day drop and early casualties. Company E did not fight as a full cohesive rifle company; its men were integrated into task forces or battalion-level actions. The focus was on securing the Merderet bridgeheads, preventing German reinforcements toward Utah Beach, and then transitioning to offensive operations westward.
On23jun1944 Casimir and Company E were operating in or near Vindefontaine (Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy), during the fighting to help clear the peninsula and support the advance toward Cherbourg. Germany resistance was strong with constant artillery fire, mortar fire, and counterattacks. It was on this day the Casimir was killed in action by German artillery or mortar fire.
Casimir was originally buried in a temporary military cemetery in France. In1848 his remains were returned to Minnesota for reburial.
On 20Nov1948 a reburial service was held for Casimir.
Casimir is buried at St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Postscript
Episodes 1, 2, and 3 of the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers provides a realistic account of Casimir’s initial training as a paratrooper, his parachute jump on D-Day, and his time in combat prior to being killed in action.
Edison Heroes 