VERYL W. WEICHT KILLED IN ITALY
- Veryl W. Weicht was the son of Mr. & Mrs. Merle D. Weicht of
Marcus, IA. He graduated from Marcus High School and then found a
job in Cherokee, first at Fixels gas station and later at Swanson's
Grocery Store. In Jan 1940, he enlisted in the Natl. Guard unit
in which was recruited in Cherokee County. When the guard unit
was Federalized, Veryl was sent for training at Camp Claiborne,
LA. Later he was stationed at Ft. Dix, NJ. He was then sent
overseas to a staging base in Northern Ireland. He was among the
first U.S. troops to land in North Africa during operation "torch", the
allied invasion of French North Africa. He served with the
"fighting 334th division" throughout the African campaign and then was
sent to Italy where he fought in the Italian campaign.
In late
December of 1943, his parents received a telegram from the War
department stating that Veryl had been wounded on Dec 1. The Jan
20th, 1944 issue of the Cherokee Daily Times reported "Staff Sargent
Veryl Weicht Dies of Wounds in Italy." His parents had received a
telegram from the war dept. which read, "The Secretary of War desires
that I tender his deep sympathy to you in the loss of your son, Staff
Sargent Veryl W. Weicht." Veryl had succumbed to his wounds on
Dec. 1, the same day he was wounded. His parents, six brothers
and three sisters survived him. Veryl would have been 22 years
old on Jan 30, 1944.
Source: Cherokee County Historical Society Newsletter, Vol 15, Num 1, Jan 1980, Sec V, Pg 9.
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