Edward L. Sterle
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Army
Edward L. Sterle entered the Army on December 12, 1942, at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. Home at entry: Chisholm, Minnesota.
He served as a Private First Class, rifleman, and infantry volunteer with Company E of the 345th Infantry Regiment of the 87th Infantry Division in the Rhineland and Ardennes campaigns in the European Theater.
Mr. Sterle shared the following: "Landed at LeHavre, France, December 1944; we were in action near the forts at Metz. Next, we went to the Saar Valley in Germany until the Battle of the Bulge started. As members of Patton's Third Army, we were trucked north to Belgium."
"On Wednesday, January 30th, I was wounded by enemy machine gun fire which shattered the bones of my left leg. I was hospitalized in France, England, New York, Kansas, and finally in the Percy Jones Hospital Center at Fort Custer in Battle Creek, Michigan, from where I was medically discharged September 13, 1945."
He was awarded the following: Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Good Conduct Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two bronze battle stars, and World War II Victory Medal.
Source: Hometown Heroes: The Saint Louis County World War II Project, 307.
