Victor Louis Veranth
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Army
Victor L. Veranth was born on 7/26/1905 in Ely, MN to Frank & Amelia Veranth.
Victor entered the Army in 1942. Home at entry: Ely, Minnesota.
Mr. Veranth served as a Private First Class and company aid man with the 172nd Infantry in the Pacific Theater.
Mr. Veranth recalls; "I left the U.S. in October of 1942...On October 26th, our troop ship, the USS Coolidge, was sunk in the harbor of Espiritu Santo. We lost everything. After we swam ashore, we were given clothes and food by the Marine unit that was there at the time.
‘We left Santo and on to Guadalcanal, then on to several small islands, under fire most of the time. Landed in Munda in May, under fire and living in very primitive conditions.
‘On August 4, 1943, we were digging in for the night and heard someone yelling ‘Help! Medic'. The (medic) refused to crawl out of the line of fire so I went out to help him. In doing so, I was also wounded and was forced to crawl back out on my back with a badly wounded leg. I was sent to a Naval hospital in Tulagi where I stayed for some time.
‘The doctors there wanted to amputate my leg, but one doctor said, `No, I can save it' and he did. I was sent to the U.S. on October 20, 1943, then to Jackson, Mississippi, all this time in a body cast. I was transferred to Clinton, Iowa, where I remained until my discharge on January 31, 1946."
Mr. Veranth was awarded the following:
- A Purple Heart,
- The Good Conduct Medal,
- The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, -and-
- The World War II Victory Medal.
Mr. Veranth was a member of Knights of Columbus, Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Disabled American Veterans and Order of the Purple Heart.
Mr. Veranth died on 10/13/2000 at the age of 95 years old in Cssselberry, Florida.
Source: Hometown Heroes: The Saint Louis County World War II Project, 331.
