Memorial

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Pfc Oscar C. Drees graduated from Anna High School and was employed by the Cartland Haswell Foundry.

He enlisted in Columbus, Ohio on 15 January 1943.

This is a brief biography, provided by Mrs Michelle Gudorf and Mrs Mildred Drees Gudorf:

"Oscar was the 2nd oldest in a family of 11 children. He grew up on a farm in Sidney, Ohio during the US Great Depression. They were fortunate that they had adequate food to eat, and that his father was employed by the town. Oscar helped his mother run the farm-they grew sugar cane, corn, potatoes and vegetables, and raised cows and chickens. They traded the products of the farm for other items they needed.
Oscar graduated from high school and was enrolled in a college in Indiana studying pre-med when he was drafted. He spent 6 weeks training in boot camp in Texas before shipping out to somewhere in France and Germany. He served as a medic in the Army from January 23, 1943 until his death on April 19, 1945. He was killed in action somewhere in western Germany. On January 31, 1945 he received the Purple Heart Medal for injuries sustained in the war. Apparently, he had just recently returned to the battlefield after his first round of injuries, when he was killed in April. He was 22 years old when he died."