14Aug1915 – 14Mar1945
Edison Days
The only connections linking Charles (Bill) to Edison are a mention in a 1945 newspaper article, and his inclusion in the “In Memoriam” section of the 1946 Wizard yearbook. No pictures of Bill have been found from his time at Edison.
Military Service
Branch: United States Army
Rank: Private
Unit: Company E – 309th Infantry Regiment – 78th Infantry Division
Bill enlisted in the Army on 20Apr1944 at Ft. Snelling. It is unknown where he took basic training.
The 78th Infantry Division arrived in France in November 1944 and saw it’s first combat in early December. Bill likely was a replacement soldier not originally assigned to the division as news reports indicated he joined the his unit in January 1945.
On 10Feb1945 the division was involved with capturing the Schwammenauel Dam intact preventing the Germans from flooding the Roer River valley below the dam and hampering the Allied armies push into Germany.
On 7Mar1945, Allied forces captured the Ludendorff Bridge at Remagen, Germany intact. Also known as the Bridge at Remagen, it was one of the few bridges left that crossed the Rhine River. Over the next 18 days the Allies and the Germans would fight a fierce battle for control of the bridge and surrounding area.
On the evening of 9 March, Bill and the 309th Infantry Regiment crossed over the bridge. On 10 March, they advanced northwest, encountering very strong resistance near Bruchhausen, Germany.
Bill was killed in action on 14Mar1945. While details of the nature and location of his death are unknown, it is likely that it occurred during this battle.
Buried in a temporary cemetery at the time of his death, Bill’s remains were returned to the United Stated for reburial in November 1947.
The bodies of so many soldiers were being returned to Minnesota for reburial that the Army recalled reserve personnel for voluntary active duty to help.
Bill is buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetary in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
More than 863 US soldiers died in the Battle of Remagen. The capture and defense of the bridge is credited with hastening the defeat of the Germans the end of the war in Europe.
Edison Heroes 