Pfc Edward M. Rusch
   Taken at the "Wishing Well" in Sissonne, France while the 508th was on R&R.  This may have been the last photo taken of Edward before he was KIA in Belgium on December 28, 1944.

Memorial Service Announcement
   This undated article appeared in a local newspaper and states that Edward had been killed on December 27th rather than December 28th which is the date that appears on official records.
   Either date fell in the middle of the week so the earliest possible date of the memorial service was Sunday, December 31st.
   It is more likely, however, that the ceremony was held in January or February of  1945 as the word of his death would have taken some time to reach the family.

1,232 Soldiers Die; 4,969 Hurt War Department Reports Name 38 Badgers Killed, 81 From State Injured
  This chilling title and others like it hit newspapers all around the nation on a frequent basis as the war tolls mounted.
   This undated article appeared in a Green Bay, Wisconsin newspaper.

Pfc. Edward  M. Rusch
is listed near the end of this long list of local casualties.  His mother Laura is shown as next-of-kin with a home town of Oneida.

Edward W. Rusch Grave Site

This grave has been adopted by Belgian citizen Fernand Hiernaux

Close-up View

of the headstone documents that Edward's death occurred on December, 28, 1944

(courtesy of Terry Griffith)
Memorial stone for Pfc Edward M. Rusch in the Fort Howard Memorial Park, Green Bay (Brown county), Wisconsin.  Both of his parents are buried here as well.

(All materials shown above and at left, except memorial stone,  are courtesy of Mrs. Laura Stelmach)