13May1919 – 24Apr1945
Edison Days
Ivert graduated with the Class of June 1937.
Military Service
Rank: Corporal
Branch: United States Army
Unit: 271st Infantry Regiment – 69th Infantry Division
Ivert joined the Army in August 1942. It is likely that he was assigned to the 69th Infantry Division after basic training. The 69th was formed in May 1943 at Camp Shelby, Mississippi and for the next 15 months they trained for deployment to Europe.
Victor, Ellen (1944)
Ivert boarded a ship for England in November 1944. Landing in early December, after several weeks in England, the unit sailed across the English Channel and landed at Le Havre, France on 23Jan1945.
The unit travelled across France to Belgium and on February 12 they relieved the 99th Infantry Division in defensive positions along the Siegfried Line in the Ardennes/Eifel region near Monschau and Hellenthal along the Belgium/Germany border. The division held the Heldlines through mid-February amid severe winter conditions and light contact with the Germans. On February 27, they launched an offensive resulting in the capture of a key high ridge east of Prether to secure the Hellenthal-Hollerath Highway.
March 7 found the unit making a rapid advance eastward seizing Schmidtheim and Dahlem. For the next 2 weeks they conducted mopping-up operations and training. On March 27 they resumed the offensive to the Rhine River’s west bank, crossing the river and capturing the fortress of Ehrenbreitstein
By April the German army was rapidly collapsing under the Allied advance from the West and the Soviet advance from the East. The 69th Division Relieved the 80th Infantry Division near Kassel on April 7. Advancing eastward, they seized Hannoversch Münden the following day. The division crossed the Saale River and captured Weissenfels on April 13–14 after sharp fighting. Next was the Capture of Leipzig on April 19 following intense urban combat with fanatical resistance from remnants of the German Army.
On April 23 they secured Eilenburg after heavy fighting, enabling the unit to hold positions along the Mulde River.
The following day, 24Apr1945, Ivert was killed in action. The circumstances of his death are unknown. It was the last day of combat operations for his unit during the war.
Ivert was buried in a temporary military cemetery in Germany. In 1949 his remains were returned to the US for reburial.
Ivert is buried at Hillside Cemetery in Minneapolis, MN.
Edison Heroes 