Dushan Surla
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Army
SURLA, Dushan
Dushan Surla was born on Nomber 9th 1925 to Mike & Helen [Drezich] Surla.
He entered the Army on March 22nd 1944, at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. Home at entry: Hibbing, Minnesota.
He served as an infantryman with Company C of the 395th Infantry Regtiment of the 99th Infantry Division. He later served as a bridge carpenter with Company B of the 10th Engineer Battalion. He rose to the rank of Private First Class. (PFC).
PFC Surla shared the following: "I joined front line duty in Belgium as an infantryman. We fought through the Siegfried Line and drove to the west bank of the Rhine River at Dusseldorf.
"From there we crossed the Rhine on the Ludendorff bridge and participated in the Remagen bridgehead and Ruhr pocket drive, also the final drive south through Bavaria to Munich to the end of the war.
"Participating in the Battle of the Bulge, Rhineland, and Central Europe I received three battle stars. I was one of 17 in our company who was not killed or wounded in combat. After combat duty, I remained on occupation duty in Konigshofen, Germany."
PFC Surla was awarded the following:
- Bronze Star Medal,
- Presidential Unit Citation,
- Good Conduct Medal,
- Combat Infantryman Badge,
- European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 3 bronze stars,
- World War II Victory Medal, -and-
- three overseas service bars.
He was honorably discharged on May 3rd 1946. He died September 9th 1995 in Hibbing, Minnesota at the age of 69 years old. He is buried at Maple Hill Cemetery in Hibbing.
Source: Hometown Heroes: The Saint Louis County World War II Project, 315.
Albert J. Amatuzio Research Center | Veterans Memorial Hall (vets-hall.org)
Dushan Surla in WWII Army Enlistment Records - Fold3
Dushan Surla (1925-1995) - Find A Grave Memorial
U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947 - Ancestry.com
