Remains of World War II Soldier buried in Union Grove, Wisconsin

Courtesy Photo | The remains of Army Sgt. Thaddeus S. Matuszak, a Soldier killed during World War II were interred June 12 in Union Grove, Wisconsin. His unit was part of Lt. Gen. George S. Patton’s Third Army that had been fighting across France during the summer of 1944 before being stopped by fierce German opposition at the Moselle River near Dornot. Matuszak was reported missing in action Sept. 11, 1944.  

FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY, UNITED STATES

07.19.2023

Story by Fonda Bock 

U.S. Army Human Resources Command

Remains of World War II Soldier to be buried in Union Grove, Wisconsin

FORT KNOX, Ky. – The remains of Army Sgt. Thaddeus S. Matuszak, a Soldier killed during World War II will be interred June 12, at Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Union Grove, Wisconsin. Prasser-Kleczka Funeral Home, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, will perform graveside services preceding the interment.

A native of Milwaukee, Matuszak was assigned to Company K, 11th Infantry Regiment, 5th Infantry Division. The Soldiers were part of Lt. Gen. George S. Patton’s Third Army who had been fighting across France that summer before being stopped by fierce German opposition at the Moselle River near Dornot. Matuszak’s unit was part of a larger force that had been ordered to cross the river and take up a position in the woods on the east side the morning of Sept. 8, 1944. The troops dug their defensive positions in a curved line at the edge of the forest they called Horseshoe Woods, holding their position against a relentless German attack, taking heavy losses, until Sept. 10, when another crossing of the Moselle was made.

That night and into the morning of Sept. 11, most of the Soldiers were able to retreat across the river, though some officers stayed behind to search the woods for the wounded or missing before recrossing the river. Matuszak was among the Soldiers reported missing that night. He was 31 years old. His body could not be recovered because of the fighting and German presence on the east side of the river. He was declared non-recoverable in 1951 after recovery efforts by the American Graves Registration Command failed to find remains that could be associated with him.

Historians with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, conducting ongoing, comprehensive research on Soldiers missing from combat at Horseshoe Woods, determined one set of unknown remains, X-75 Limey, was a possible match for Matuszak. X-75 was disinterred in September 2018 and sent to the DPAA Laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for analysis.

Matuszak was accounted for by the DPAA Sept. 7, 2022, after his remains were identified using circumstantial evidence as well as dental, anthropological and mitochondrial DNA analysis.

His name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at the Lorraine American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in St. Avold, France, along with others still missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

For additional information about Sgt. Matuszak, go to: https://www.dpaa.mil/News-Stories/News-Releases/PressReleaseArticleView/Article/3166027/soldier-accounted-for-from-world-war-ii-matuszak-t/

To learn more about the Department of Defense’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, www.facebook.com/dodpaa, or call [phone]/1169.

Media interested in covering and/or obtaining more information about the funeral and interment should contact the Army Casualty Office at [phone] and/or Prasser-Kleczka Funeral Home, [phone].


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• Date Taken: 07.19.2023
• Date Posted: 07.19.2023 10:21
• Story ID: 449528
• Location: FORT KNOX, KENTUCKY, US