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On Monday, Nov. 6, 1944, Mr. and Mrs. Art Storm received a telegram from the War Department informing them their son Marvin had been killed in action Oct. 11 in Germany. No other details were provided although the telegram stated a letter would follow.
But nothing more appeared in the newspaper until his body was returned to Laurel more than three years later.
The Laurel Advocate of Dec. 3, 1947 reported Storm had been killed by a sniper bullet while carrying a message from one command to another. He previously had been doing clerical work, but for some reason had been transferred to combat duty.
He had been at the front less than three weeks when he was killed.
Marvin and his younger brother Vern both attended the Golden Prairie school - still standing on the Pehrson farm - and then Laurel high school. Following his graduation in 1940, Marvin worked as the clerk and secretary of the Laurel Sales Company until he entered the army in February 1943.
Although Marvin’s body was buried in Belgium, a memorial service was held in the Coleridge Lutheran Church on Nov. 26, 1944. The date would have been Marvin‘s 22nd birthday. The church was filled to capacity. American Legion posts from Laurel and Coleridge participated.
According to the Coleridge Blade, Marvin was survived by his parents, his brother Vern, and his fiancé Miss Wilma Ebmeier.
Storm’s body was returned to Laurel Nov. 29, 1947. The next day more than 40 veterans of World Wars I and II escorted his coffin to the Laurel cemetery for graveside services.
This writer acknowledges Shirley Grella Haase of Omaha for sending newspaper clippings and Marvin’s graduation picture. Shirley is a cousin of Marvin Storm.
Kenneth Dalton was awarded a Silver Star for gallantry in action in France.
The citation read: “When his tank received a direct hit from an enemy tank, Dalton crawled out of the flaming vehicle dragging a member of the crew with him. With utter disregard for the exploding ammunition and intense heat, he crawled back upon the tank to rescue the remaining members of his crew. His heroic deed in the face of almost certain death served as an inspiration to his comrades.“ Dalton would be killed in action on December 22.
Victor Dahl also was awarded a Silver Star. “Collecting Silver Stars is getting to be a habit with the Dahl brothers,” said the Cedar County News. A member of a tank destroyer unit, Pfc. Dahl was cited for heroic action in France on Aug. 18.
His brother Lester had previously received a Silver Star for gallantry during the fighting on the South Pacific Island of New Georgia. A third Dahl brother, Darrell, had just returned to his outfit in France after being hospitalized in England for shell shock.
Other recipients of decorations included: Lt. Ben Ebmeier who was awarded the Air Medal with an oak leaf cluster for distinguished service in an air transport group.
Second Lt. William F. Curley, a B-17 bomber pilot, received an Air Medal for meritorious achievement while participating in bombing assaults on Germany.
First Lt. Gene Cherry, a navigator on a bomber, was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross and an Air Medal for completing 35 bombing missions over enemy territory.
Sgt. Harold Goodsell of Belden, a tail gunner on a B-24 bomber, also received an Air Medal for meritorious achievement.
Sgt. Francis Broderick of Belden received a Purple Heart for a wound he received in action.
