Gayle W. Russell, Jr.
Private First Class, U.S. Army
605th Field Artillery Battalion, 10th Mountain Division
Entered the Service from: Kansas
Died: 30-Apr-45 - Provincia di Brescia
Lombardia, Italy
Missing in Action or Buried at Sea
Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery
Florence, Italy
Awards: Purple Heart
***************
He and 24 others lost their lives on Lake Garda near Gargnano as a result of the sinking of their DUKW amphibian truck. None of the bodies were recovered.
civilian occupation in 1943: musician
Gayle W. Russell, Jr.
Private First Class (PFC), U.S. Army
605th Field Artillery Battalion
10th Mountain Division
Army Air Forces
Entered the Service from: Kansas
Enlisted 28 Apr 1943 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
Serial #37524103
Killed in Action (KIA) on 30 Apr 1945
Lake Garda (Lago di Garda)
Missing in Action (MIA)/Buried at Sea
Tablets of the Missing (Pillar IX, bottom panel)
at Florence American Cemetery,
Florence, Italy
Award: Purple Heart Medal
The unit was laying communication wire as the 10th Mountain Division pursued German forces into northern Italy’s rugged alpine region, home to the 50-mile-long Lake Garda. When the enemy blew up tunnels through the mountains ringing the lake’s northern end, the division’s commanders sent soldiers across the lake in amphibious six-wheeled trucks, known by their military designation DUKW and known to GIs as ducks.
On the night of 30 April 1945, three DUKWs left the lake’s east side carrying members of the division’s 605th Field Artillery. One of the vehicles, jammed with 25 soldiers and a 75 mm cannon, stalled during the journey and soon began taking on water. According to Cpl. Thomas Hough, the lone survivor, the soldiers desperately tossed their equipment and ammunition overboard in an attempt to keep the vessel from sinking. But the DUKW went down anyway, plunging the men into the frigid waters of the glacier-fed lake. 24 soldiers drowned and their bodies were not recovered. Hough, a former lifeguard from Dayton, Ohio, was rescued by two 10th Mountain soldiers on shore who heard the cries for help, and died in 2005.
***********
NARA records list this soldiers Home of Record as Ellis County, Kansas...Killed In Action.
Private First Class, U.S. Army
605th Field Artillery Battalion, 10th Mountain Division
Entered the Service from: Kansas
Died: 30-Apr-45 - Provincia di Brescia
Lombardia, Italy
Missing in Action or Buried at Sea
Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery
Florence, Italy
Awards: Purple Heart
***************
He and 24 others lost their lives on Lake Garda near Gargnano as a result of the sinking of their DUKW amphibian truck. None of the bodies were recovered.
civilian occupation in 1943: musician
Gayle W. Russell, Jr.
Private First Class (PFC), U.S. Army
605th Field Artillery Battalion
10th Mountain Division
Army Air Forces
Entered the Service from: Kansas
Enlisted 28 Apr 1943 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
Serial #37524103
Killed in Action (KIA) on 30 Apr 1945
Lake Garda (Lago di Garda)
Missing in Action (MIA)/Buried at Sea
Tablets of the Missing (Pillar IX, bottom panel)
at Florence American Cemetery,
Florence, Italy
Award: Purple Heart Medal
The unit was laying communication wire as the 10th Mountain Division pursued German forces into northern Italy’s rugged alpine region, home to the 50-mile-long Lake Garda. When the enemy blew up tunnels through the mountains ringing the lake’s northern end, the division’s commanders sent soldiers across the lake in amphibious six-wheeled trucks, known by their military designation DUKW and known to GIs as ducks.
On the night of 30 April 1945, three DUKWs left the lake’s east side carrying members of the division’s 605th Field Artillery. One of the vehicles, jammed with 25 soldiers and a 75 mm cannon, stalled during the journey and soon began taking on water. According to Cpl. Thomas Hough, the lone survivor, the soldiers desperately tossed their equipment and ammunition overboard in an attempt to keep the vessel from sinking. But the DUKW went down anyway, plunging the men into the frigid waters of the glacier-fed lake. 24 soldiers drowned and their bodies were not recovered. Hough, a former lifeguard from Dayton, Ohio, was rescued by two 10th Mountain soldiers on shore who heard the cries for help, and died in 2005.
***********
NARA records list this soldiers Home of Record as Ellis County, Kansas...Killed In Action.
Gayle W. Russell, Jr.
Private First Class, U.S. Army
605th Field Artillery Battalion, 10th Mountain Division
Entered the Service from: Kansas
Died: 30-Apr-45 - Provincia di Brescia
Lombardia, Italy
Missing in Action or Buried at Sea
Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery
Florence, Italy
Awards: Purple Heart
***************
He and 24 others lost their lives on Lake Garda near Gargnano as a result of the sinking of their DUKW amphibian truck. None of the bodies were recovered.
civilian occupation in 1943: musician
Gayle W. Russell, Jr.
Private First Class (PFC), U.S. Army
605th Field Artillery Battalion
10th Mountain Division
Army Air Forces
Entered the Service from: Kansas
Enlisted 28 Apr 1943 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
Serial #37524103
Killed in Action (KIA) on 30 Apr 1945
Lake Garda (Lago di Garda)
Missing in Action (MIA)/Buried at Sea
Tablets of the Missing (Pillar IX, bottom panel)
at Florence American Cemetery,
Florence, Italy
Award: Purple Heart Medal
The unit was laying communication wire as the 10th Mountain Division pursued German forces into northern Italy’s rugged alpine region, home to the 50-mile-long Lake Garda. When the enemy blew up tunnels through the mountains ringing the lake’s northern end, the division’s commanders sent soldiers across the lake in amphibious six-wheeled trucks, known by their military designation DUKW and known to GIs as ducks.
On the night of 30 April 1945, three DUKWs left the lake’s east side carrying members of the division’s 605th Field Artillery. One of the vehicles, jammed with 25 soldiers and a 75 mm cannon, stalled during the journey and soon began taking on water. According to Cpl. Thomas Hough, the lone survivor, the soldiers desperately tossed their equipment and ammunition overboard in an attempt to keep the vessel from sinking. But the DUKW went down anyway, plunging the men into the frigid waters of the glacier-fed lake. 24 soldiers drowned and their bodies were not recovered. Hough, a former lifeguard from Dayton, Ohio, was rescued by two 10th Mountain soldiers on shore who heard the cries for help, and died in 2005.
***********
NARA records list this soldiers Home of Record as Ellis County, Kansas...Killed In Action.
Private First Class, U.S. Army
605th Field Artillery Battalion, 10th Mountain Division
Entered the Service from: Kansas
Died: 30-Apr-45 - Provincia di Brescia
Lombardia, Italy
Missing in Action or Buried at Sea
Tablets of the Missing at Florence American Cemetery
Florence, Italy
Awards: Purple Heart
***************
He and 24 others lost their lives on Lake Garda near Gargnano as a result of the sinking of their DUKW amphibian truck. None of the bodies were recovered.
civilian occupation in 1943: musician
Gayle W. Russell, Jr.
Private First Class (PFC), U.S. Army
605th Field Artillery Battalion
10th Mountain Division
Army Air Forces
Entered the Service from: Kansas
Enlisted 28 Apr 1943 at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
Serial #37524103
Killed in Action (KIA) on 30 Apr 1945
Lake Garda (Lago di Garda)
Missing in Action (MIA)/Buried at Sea
Tablets of the Missing (Pillar IX, bottom panel)
at Florence American Cemetery,
Florence, Italy
Award: Purple Heart Medal
The unit was laying communication wire as the 10th Mountain Division pursued German forces into northern Italy’s rugged alpine region, home to the 50-mile-long Lake Garda. When the enemy blew up tunnels through the mountains ringing the lake’s northern end, the division’s commanders sent soldiers across the lake in amphibious six-wheeled trucks, known by their military designation DUKW and known to GIs as ducks.
On the night of 30 April 1945, three DUKWs left the lake’s east side carrying members of the division’s 605th Field Artillery. One of the vehicles, jammed with 25 soldiers and a 75 mm cannon, stalled during the journey and soon began taking on water. According to Cpl. Thomas Hough, the lone survivor, the soldiers desperately tossed their equipment and ammunition overboard in an attempt to keep the vessel from sinking. But the DUKW went down anyway, plunging the men into the frigid waters of the glacier-fed lake. 24 soldiers drowned and their bodies were not recovered. Hough, a former lifeguard from Dayton, Ohio, was rescued by two 10th Mountain soldiers on shore who heard the cries for help, and died in 2005.
***********
NARA records list this soldiers Home of Record as Ellis County, Kansas...Killed In Action.
Inscription
PFC 605 FA BN 10 MT DIV KANSAS
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