Emil J. Breemeersch
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Army
Emil J. Breemeersch
Mr. Breemeersch inducted into the Army on March 13, 1943, at Fort Snelling, Minnesota. Home at entry: Proctor, Minnesota.
He served as a Sergeant and gun crewman on a 155 m.m. howitzer with Battery A of the 965th Field Artillery Battalion and Third Army in Normandy (Utah Beach July 17, 1944), Northern France, Ardennes-Alsace, Rhineland, and Central Europe.
"We never got out of combat. Not for the one year, six months and four days we were in Europe."
Awarded: Bronze Star Medal (received 44 years late with his other awards) for helping his unit escape capture after they were surrounded by Germans during the Battle of the Bulge, Presidential Unit Citation, Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with one silver battle star (representing five bronze stars), World War II Victory Medal, Army of Occupation Medal (Germany), three overseas service bars, and Order of the Day Citation (Belgium).
Honorably discharged November 10, 1945, at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin.
Source: Hometown Heroes: The Saint Louis County World War II Project, page 45.
