Francis J. Endl
Service # O-370091
Rank: First Lieutenant, U. S. Army
Unit: Company L, 127th Infantry, 32nd 'Red Arrow' Infantry Division
Entered Service From: Wisconsin
Date of Death: 17 December 1942, killed by a Japanese sniper near Buna, New Guinea (now part of Papua New Guinea).
Buried: Manila American Cemetery – Plot F, Row 13, Grave 24.
Awards: Purple Heart
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Born 05 September 1915, Endl attended St. John the Baptist Catholic School and Jefferson High School, graduating in 1933. He was active in student affairs and was a four-year football team member.
While still in high school, Endl enrolled with the local National Guard, Company L, and in 1938 was commissioned a second lieutenant (S/N 0-370091).
1939 Wisconsin National Guard – 2nd Lieutenant Francis J. Endl
National Guard Enlisted Men Commissioned in the National Guard of the United States
When 32nd Division mobilized on 15 October 1940, 2nd Lieutenant Endl of Company L, 127th Infantry, Wisconsin National Guard, from Jefferson, Wisconsin, was called up. Just prior to leaving Jefferson with Company L for training in Louisiana on 16 October 1940, Francis J. Endl married Harriet L. Dollase of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin in St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.
Reserve and National Guard Officer On Active Duty 31 July 1941 – First Lieutenant Francis J. Endl 0-370091 Camp Livingston, Louisiana.
Initially trained for the war in Europe, the 32nd 'Red Arrow' Infantry Division was turned around in late March and redirected to the Pacific. On 22 April 1942, the 32nd sailed from San Francisco, bound for the war in the South Pacific aboard a convoy of seven Matson Line ships. The convoy (SF 43) was escorted by the cruiser USS Indianapolis and two corvettes. Taking a southerly route to avoid the Japanese Navy, they arrived in southern Australia at Port Adelaide on 14 May 1942. In Australia, the Division's initial training was geared toward the fact that its most likely course of action would be to defend Australia against an invasion by the Japanese. But then that changed and they would instead carry the fight to the Japanese in the jungles of New Guinea. For for most of the men involved this would be their first experience in combat. On 26 November 1942, the 127th disembarked at Port Moresby, New Guinea. The 32nd Division had both the honor and the handicap of being one of the first American Divisions to be tested in battle.
Buna, New Guinea was General Douglas MacArthur's first ground offensive campaign against Japanese troops in World War II.
Papuan Campaign - The Battle of Buna
"The Japanese line at Buna was, in its way, a masterpiece. It forced the 32D Division to attack the enemy where he was strongest – in the Triangle, along the trail leading to the bridge between the strips; along the northern edge of the strip; and frontally in the Duropa Plantation. By canalizing the Allied attack into these narrow, well-defended fronts, the Japanese who had short, interior lines of communication, and could shift troops from front to front by truck and landing craft, were in a position to exploit their available strength to the maximum, no matter what its numerical inferiority to that of the Allies."
The 127th Infantry arrived at the front in early December to join the 126th and 128th Infantry who were already involved in the fight for Buna and having a tough time in front of strong defenses. The 32rd Division was split into 3 distinct forces operating simultaneously in 3 separate sectors. The 127th was assigned to the URBANA Force where the 126th had been fighting since late November. On 10-11 December the 3rd Battalion, 127th Infantry relieved the 2nd Battalion, 126th and one more Red Arrow Battalion began to experience its first World War II combat.
First Lieutenant Francis J. Endl, from Jefferson, Wisconsin and assigned to Company L, 127th Infantry, was killed in action on 17 December 1942 near Buna. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his actions 14-17 December near Buna. Source: The 32D Infantry Division in World War II - The 'Red Arrow' – URBANA Force during the Battle of Buna; http://www.32nd-division.org/history/ww2/32ww2-3b.html#Urbana2
Robert J. Doyle, of the Milwaukee Journal, mentioned 1st Lt. Endl in a war-time dispatch from overseas on 14 December 1942, describing the attack and capture of Buna Village. The exploits of 1st Lt. Endl he mentioned may be part of the basis for his Silver Star, "Lieut. Francis Endl of Jefferson led the first wave of Americans from our beach head east of the village. Endl and his men were first in the village, and a moment later they were met by the force from the south. Endl dodged about throwing hand grenades into the many Jap dugouts and then had machine guns set up to hold the village. In the attack Endl found a large Jap pistol and carried it for the rest of the day. [Lt. Gerard] Paradowski said that a few days before the attack Endl shot three Jap snipers and then climbed a tree and saw Japs in the village setting up a machine gun under a hut. He directed mortar fire that set the hut ablaze."
General Orders: Headquarters, U.S. Forces, Pacific, General Orders No. 14 (1943)
Source: Silver Star Recipients from the 32D 'Red Arrow' Division during World War II; http://www.32nd-division.org/history/ww2/ss-ww2/SS-32ww2(a-f).html
Endl was a sharp shooter who made a good record in locating and picking off Japanese snipers.
After leading his men in another attack, Endl went forward December 16 to establish listening posts in an area infested with (Japanese) snipers.
The next morning before he was to lead his men in another attack on the area, Endl went forward alone to try to ensure the safety of his men and was fatally shot by a sniper.
"One officer from Wisconsin said that Endl's great courage and leadership were an inspiration to the men and contributed much to the success of the Buna campaign," the correspondent wrote.
The Banner continued the praise: "The shock and sadness occasioned by the news of Lt. Endl's death cannot be completely assuaged, but to his father and mother and his wife and his brother, Sgt. Norbert Endl in Massachusetts, there can be small solace in the recognition of his merit as a soldier who gave his life so that others might survive."
"Jefferson and its residents share with those who have thus been deprived of a loved one a large portion of their grief and likewise pridefully inscribe his name in memory as one who not only died for his country, but in a manner so distinguished that he was decorated for it. That memory will linger long after many events of this and other years have faded with the years and disappeared into eternity." Source: Daily Jefferson County Union - Jefferson VFW celebrates 70th year by Pam Chickering Wilson, Union staff writer, 01 July 2015.
He was first buried in 6911 USAF Cemetery, Finschaffen #2, British New Guinea – Grave 3974. After the war (between 15th May 1947 & 07 December 1947) his remains (along with 11,000 other American soldiers from the five Finschaffen cemeteries) were disinterred and brought to the American Graves Registration Service Manila Mausoleum. From there, according to the wishes of his next of kin (wife, Mrs. Harriet Endl), First Lieutenant Francis J. Endl was buried in his final resting place in the 7701 Ft. McKinley Cemetery (now known as the Manila American Cemetery) – Plot F, Row 13, Grave 24.
The new Jefferson Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3589 was named the Endl-Gruennert Congress Medal of Honor Post No. 3589 on 10 June 1945. The post was named in honor of First Lieutenant Francis J. Endl, the first Jefferson man to be killed in action, near Buna, New Guinea and Silver Star awardee, and Sgt. Kenneth Gruennert, who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously after being killed early in 1943 while leading his men in battle in New Guinea.
Harriet Lavon Dollase Endl married Daniel Wayne Moss on 03 August 1960. They lived in California.
Service # O-370091
Rank: First Lieutenant, U. S. Army
Unit: Company L, 127th Infantry, 32nd 'Red Arrow' Infantry Division
Entered Service From: Wisconsin
Date of Death: 17 December 1942, killed by a Japanese sniper near Buna, New Guinea (now part of Papua New Guinea).
Buried: Manila American Cemetery – Plot F, Row 13, Grave 24.
Awards: Purple Heart
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Born 05 September 1915, Endl attended St. John the Baptist Catholic School and Jefferson High School, graduating in 1933. He was active in student affairs and was a four-year football team member.
While still in high school, Endl enrolled with the local National Guard, Company L, and in 1938 was commissioned a second lieutenant (S/N 0-370091).
1939 Wisconsin National Guard – 2nd Lieutenant Francis J. Endl
National Guard Enlisted Men Commissioned in the National Guard of the United States
When 32nd Division mobilized on 15 October 1940, 2nd Lieutenant Endl of Company L, 127th Infantry, Wisconsin National Guard, from Jefferson, Wisconsin, was called up. Just prior to leaving Jefferson with Company L for training in Louisiana on 16 October 1940, Francis J. Endl married Harriet L. Dollase of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin in St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.
Reserve and National Guard Officer On Active Duty 31 July 1941 – First Lieutenant Francis J. Endl 0-370091 Camp Livingston, Louisiana.
Initially trained for the war in Europe, the 32nd 'Red Arrow' Infantry Division was turned around in late March and redirected to the Pacific. On 22 April 1942, the 32nd sailed from San Francisco, bound for the war in the South Pacific aboard a convoy of seven Matson Line ships. The convoy (SF 43) was escorted by the cruiser USS Indianapolis and two corvettes. Taking a southerly route to avoid the Japanese Navy, they arrived in southern Australia at Port Adelaide on 14 May 1942. In Australia, the Division's initial training was geared toward the fact that its most likely course of action would be to defend Australia against an invasion by the Japanese. But then that changed and they would instead carry the fight to the Japanese in the jungles of New Guinea. For for most of the men involved this would be their first experience in combat. On 26 November 1942, the 127th disembarked at Port Moresby, New Guinea. The 32nd Division had both the honor and the handicap of being one of the first American Divisions to be tested in battle.
Buna, New Guinea was General Douglas MacArthur's first ground offensive campaign against Japanese troops in World War II.
Papuan Campaign - The Battle of Buna
"The Japanese line at Buna was, in its way, a masterpiece. It forced the 32D Division to attack the enemy where he was strongest – in the Triangle, along the trail leading to the bridge between the strips; along the northern edge of the strip; and frontally in the Duropa Plantation. By canalizing the Allied attack into these narrow, well-defended fronts, the Japanese who had short, interior lines of communication, and could shift troops from front to front by truck and landing craft, were in a position to exploit their available strength to the maximum, no matter what its numerical inferiority to that of the Allies."
The 127th Infantry arrived at the front in early December to join the 126th and 128th Infantry who were already involved in the fight for Buna and having a tough time in front of strong defenses. The 32rd Division was split into 3 distinct forces operating simultaneously in 3 separate sectors. The 127th was assigned to the URBANA Force where the 126th had been fighting since late November. On 10-11 December the 3rd Battalion, 127th Infantry relieved the 2nd Battalion, 126th and one more Red Arrow Battalion began to experience its first World War II combat.
First Lieutenant Francis J. Endl, from Jefferson, Wisconsin and assigned to Company L, 127th Infantry, was killed in action on 17 December 1942 near Buna. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his actions 14-17 December near Buna. Source: The 32D Infantry Division in World War II - The 'Red Arrow' – URBANA Force during the Battle of Buna; http://www.32nd-division.org/history/ww2/32ww2-3b.html#Urbana2
Robert J. Doyle, of the Milwaukee Journal, mentioned 1st Lt. Endl in a war-time dispatch from overseas on 14 December 1942, describing the attack and capture of Buna Village. The exploits of 1st Lt. Endl he mentioned may be part of the basis for his Silver Star, "Lieut. Francis Endl of Jefferson led the first wave of Americans from our beach head east of the village. Endl and his men were first in the village, and a moment later they were met by the force from the south. Endl dodged about throwing hand grenades into the many Jap dugouts and then had machine guns set up to hold the village. In the attack Endl found a large Jap pistol and carried it for the rest of the day. [Lt. Gerard] Paradowski said that a few days before the attack Endl shot three Jap snipers and then climbed a tree and saw Japs in the village setting up a machine gun under a hut. He directed mortar fire that set the hut ablaze."
General Orders: Headquarters, U.S. Forces, Pacific, General Orders No. 14 (1943)
Source: Silver Star Recipients from the 32D 'Red Arrow' Division during World War II; http://www.32nd-division.org/history/ww2/ss-ww2/SS-32ww2(a-f).html
Endl was a sharp shooter who made a good record in locating and picking off Japanese snipers.
After leading his men in another attack, Endl went forward December 16 to establish listening posts in an area infested with (Japanese) snipers.
The next morning before he was to lead his men in another attack on the area, Endl went forward alone to try to ensure the safety of his men and was fatally shot by a sniper.
"One officer from Wisconsin said that Endl's great courage and leadership were an inspiration to the men and contributed much to the success of the Buna campaign," the correspondent wrote.
The Banner continued the praise: "The shock and sadness occasioned by the news of Lt. Endl's death cannot be completely assuaged, but to his father and mother and his wife and his brother, Sgt. Norbert Endl in Massachusetts, there can be small solace in the recognition of his merit as a soldier who gave his life so that others might survive."
"Jefferson and its residents share with those who have thus been deprived of a loved one a large portion of their grief and likewise pridefully inscribe his name in memory as one who not only died for his country, but in a manner so distinguished that he was decorated for it. That memory will linger long after many events of this and other years have faded with the years and disappeared into eternity." Source: Daily Jefferson County Union - Jefferson VFW celebrates 70th year by Pam Chickering Wilson, Union staff writer, 01 July 2015.
He was first buried in 6911 USAF Cemetery, Finschaffen #2, British New Guinea – Grave 3974. After the war (between 15th May 1947 & 07 December 1947) his remains (along with 11,000 other American soldiers from the five Finschaffen cemeteries) were disinterred and brought to the American Graves Registration Service Manila Mausoleum. From there, according to the wishes of his next of kin (wife, Mrs. Harriet Endl), First Lieutenant Francis J. Endl was buried in his final resting place in the 7701 Ft. McKinley Cemetery (now known as the Manila American Cemetery) – Plot F, Row 13, Grave 24.
The new Jefferson Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3589 was named the Endl-Gruennert Congress Medal of Honor Post No. 3589 on 10 June 1945. The post was named in honor of First Lieutenant Francis J. Endl, the first Jefferson man to be killed in action, near Buna, New Guinea and Silver Star awardee, and Sgt. Kenneth Gruennert, who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously after being killed early in 1943 while leading his men in battle in New Guinea.
Harriet Lavon Dollase Endl married Daniel Wayne Moss on 03 August 1960. They lived in California.
Francis J. Endl
Service # O-370091
Rank: First Lieutenant, U. S. Army
Unit: Company L, 127th Infantry, 32nd 'Red Arrow' Infantry Division
Entered Service From: Wisconsin
Date of Death: 17 December 1942, killed by a Japanese sniper near Buna, New Guinea (now part of Papua New Guinea).
Buried: Manila American Cemetery – Plot F, Row 13, Grave 24.
Awards: Purple Heart
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Born 05 September 1915, Endl attended St. John the Baptist Catholic School and Jefferson High School, graduating in 1933. He was active in student affairs and was a four-year football team member.
While still in high school, Endl enrolled with the local National Guard, Company L, and in 1938 was commissioned a second lieutenant (S/N 0-370091).
1939 Wisconsin National Guard – 2nd Lieutenant Francis J. Endl
National Guard Enlisted Men Commissioned in the National Guard of the United States
When 32nd Division mobilized on 15 October 1940, 2nd Lieutenant Endl of Company L, 127th Infantry, Wisconsin National Guard, from Jefferson, Wisconsin, was called up. Just prior to leaving Jefferson with Company L for training in Louisiana on 16 October 1940, Francis J. Endl married Harriet L. Dollase of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin in St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.
Reserve and National Guard Officer On Active Duty 31 July 1941 – First Lieutenant Francis J. Endl 0-370091 Camp Livingston, Louisiana.
Initially trained for the war in Europe, the 32nd 'Red Arrow' Infantry Division was turned around in late March and redirected to the Pacific. On 22 April 1942, the 32nd sailed from San Francisco, bound for the war in the South Pacific aboard a convoy of seven Matson Line ships. The convoy (SF 43) was escorted by the cruiser USS Indianapolis and two corvettes. Taking a southerly route to avoid the Japanese Navy, they arrived in southern Australia at Port Adelaide on 14 May 1942. In Australia, the Division's initial training was geared toward the fact that its most likely course of action would be to defend Australia against an invasion by the Japanese. But then that changed and they would instead carry the fight to the Japanese in the jungles of New Guinea. For for most of the men involved this would be their first experience in combat. On 26 November 1942, the 127th disembarked at Port Moresby, New Guinea. The 32nd Division had both the honor and the handicap of being one of the first American Divisions to be tested in battle.
Buna, New Guinea was General Douglas MacArthur's first ground offensive campaign against Japanese troops in World War II.
Papuan Campaign - The Battle of Buna
"The Japanese line at Buna was, in its way, a masterpiece. It forced the 32D Division to attack the enemy where he was strongest – in the Triangle, along the trail leading to the bridge between the strips; along the northern edge of the strip; and frontally in the Duropa Plantation. By canalizing the Allied attack into these narrow, well-defended fronts, the Japanese who had short, interior lines of communication, and could shift troops from front to front by truck and landing craft, were in a position to exploit their available strength to the maximum, no matter what its numerical inferiority to that of the Allies."
The 127th Infantry arrived at the front in early December to join the 126th and 128th Infantry who were already involved in the fight for Buna and having a tough time in front of strong defenses. The 32rd Division was split into 3 distinct forces operating simultaneously in 3 separate sectors. The 127th was assigned to the URBANA Force where the 126th had been fighting since late November. On 10-11 December the 3rd Battalion, 127th Infantry relieved the 2nd Battalion, 126th and one more Red Arrow Battalion began to experience its first World War II combat.
First Lieutenant Francis J. Endl, from Jefferson, Wisconsin and assigned to Company L, 127th Infantry, was killed in action on 17 December 1942 near Buna. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his actions 14-17 December near Buna. Source: The 32D Infantry Division in World War II - The 'Red Arrow' – URBANA Force during the Battle of Buna; http://www.32nd-division.org/history/ww2/32ww2-3b.html#Urbana2
Robert J. Doyle, of the Milwaukee Journal, mentioned 1st Lt. Endl in a war-time dispatch from overseas on 14 December 1942, describing the attack and capture of Buna Village. The exploits of 1st Lt. Endl he mentioned may be part of the basis for his Silver Star, "Lieut. Francis Endl of Jefferson led the first wave of Americans from our beach head east of the village. Endl and his men were first in the village, and a moment later they were met by the force from the south. Endl dodged about throwing hand grenades into the many Jap dugouts and then had machine guns set up to hold the village. In the attack Endl found a large Jap pistol and carried it for the rest of the day. [Lt. Gerard] Paradowski said that a few days before the attack Endl shot three Jap snipers and then climbed a tree and saw Japs in the village setting up a machine gun under a hut. He directed mortar fire that set the hut ablaze."
General Orders: Headquarters, U.S. Forces, Pacific, General Orders No. 14 (1943)
Source: Silver Star Recipients from the 32D 'Red Arrow' Division during World War II; http://www.32nd-division.org/history/ww2/ss-ww2/SS-32ww2(a-f).html
Endl was a sharp shooter who made a good record in locating and picking off Japanese snipers.
After leading his men in another attack, Endl went forward December 16 to establish listening posts in an area infested with (Japanese) snipers.
The next morning before he was to lead his men in another attack on the area, Endl went forward alone to try to ensure the safety of his men and was fatally shot by a sniper.
"One officer from Wisconsin said that Endl's great courage and leadership were an inspiration to the men and contributed much to the success of the Buna campaign," the correspondent wrote.
The Banner continued the praise: "The shock and sadness occasioned by the news of Lt. Endl's death cannot be completely assuaged, but to his father and mother and his wife and his brother, Sgt. Norbert Endl in Massachusetts, there can be small solace in the recognition of his merit as a soldier who gave his life so that others might survive."
"Jefferson and its residents share with those who have thus been deprived of a loved one a large portion of their grief and likewise pridefully inscribe his name in memory as one who not only died for his country, but in a manner so distinguished that he was decorated for it. That memory will linger long after many events of this and other years have faded with the years and disappeared into eternity." Source: Daily Jefferson County Union - Jefferson VFW celebrates 70th year by Pam Chickering Wilson, Union staff writer, 01 July 2015.
He was first buried in 6911 USAF Cemetery, Finschaffen #2, British New Guinea – Grave 3974. After the war (between 15th May 1947 & 07 December 1947) his remains (along with 11,000 other American soldiers from the five Finschaffen cemeteries) were disinterred and brought to the American Graves Registration Service Manila Mausoleum. From there, according to the wishes of his next of kin (wife, Mrs. Harriet Endl), First Lieutenant Francis J. Endl was buried in his final resting place in the 7701 Ft. McKinley Cemetery (now known as the Manila American Cemetery) – Plot F, Row 13, Grave 24.
The new Jefferson Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3589 was named the Endl-Gruennert Congress Medal of Honor Post No. 3589 on 10 June 1945. The post was named in honor of First Lieutenant Francis J. Endl, the first Jefferson man to be killed in action, near Buna, New Guinea and Silver Star awardee, and Sgt. Kenneth Gruennert, who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously after being killed early in 1943 while leading his men in battle in New Guinea.
Harriet Lavon Dollase Endl married Daniel Wayne Moss on 03 August 1960. They lived in California.
Service # O-370091
Rank: First Lieutenant, U. S. Army
Unit: Company L, 127th Infantry, 32nd 'Red Arrow' Infantry Division
Entered Service From: Wisconsin
Date of Death: 17 December 1942, killed by a Japanese sniper near Buna, New Guinea (now part of Papua New Guinea).
Buried: Manila American Cemetery – Plot F, Row 13, Grave 24.
Awards: Purple Heart
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Born 05 September 1915, Endl attended St. John the Baptist Catholic School and Jefferson High School, graduating in 1933. He was active in student affairs and was a four-year football team member.
While still in high school, Endl enrolled with the local National Guard, Company L, and in 1938 was commissioned a second lieutenant (S/N 0-370091).
1939 Wisconsin National Guard – 2nd Lieutenant Francis J. Endl
National Guard Enlisted Men Commissioned in the National Guard of the United States
When 32nd Division mobilized on 15 October 1940, 2nd Lieutenant Endl of Company L, 127th Infantry, Wisconsin National Guard, from Jefferson, Wisconsin, was called up. Just prior to leaving Jefferson with Company L for training in Louisiana on 16 October 1940, Francis J. Endl married Harriet L. Dollase of Fort Atkinson, Wisconsin in St. John the Baptist Catholic Church.
Reserve and National Guard Officer On Active Duty 31 July 1941 – First Lieutenant Francis J. Endl 0-370091 Camp Livingston, Louisiana.
Initially trained for the war in Europe, the 32nd 'Red Arrow' Infantry Division was turned around in late March and redirected to the Pacific. On 22 April 1942, the 32nd sailed from San Francisco, bound for the war in the South Pacific aboard a convoy of seven Matson Line ships. The convoy (SF 43) was escorted by the cruiser USS Indianapolis and two corvettes. Taking a southerly route to avoid the Japanese Navy, they arrived in southern Australia at Port Adelaide on 14 May 1942. In Australia, the Division's initial training was geared toward the fact that its most likely course of action would be to defend Australia against an invasion by the Japanese. But then that changed and they would instead carry the fight to the Japanese in the jungles of New Guinea. For for most of the men involved this would be their first experience in combat. On 26 November 1942, the 127th disembarked at Port Moresby, New Guinea. The 32nd Division had both the honor and the handicap of being one of the first American Divisions to be tested in battle.
Buna, New Guinea was General Douglas MacArthur's first ground offensive campaign against Japanese troops in World War II.
Papuan Campaign - The Battle of Buna
"The Japanese line at Buna was, in its way, a masterpiece. It forced the 32D Division to attack the enemy where he was strongest – in the Triangle, along the trail leading to the bridge between the strips; along the northern edge of the strip; and frontally in the Duropa Plantation. By canalizing the Allied attack into these narrow, well-defended fronts, the Japanese who had short, interior lines of communication, and could shift troops from front to front by truck and landing craft, were in a position to exploit their available strength to the maximum, no matter what its numerical inferiority to that of the Allies."
The 127th Infantry arrived at the front in early December to join the 126th and 128th Infantry who were already involved in the fight for Buna and having a tough time in front of strong defenses. The 32rd Division was split into 3 distinct forces operating simultaneously in 3 separate sectors. The 127th was assigned to the URBANA Force where the 126th had been fighting since late November. On 10-11 December the 3rd Battalion, 127th Infantry relieved the 2nd Battalion, 126th and one more Red Arrow Battalion began to experience its first World War II combat.
First Lieutenant Francis J. Endl, from Jefferson, Wisconsin and assigned to Company L, 127th Infantry, was killed in action on 17 December 1942 near Buna. He was posthumously awarded the Silver Star for his actions 14-17 December near Buna. Source: The 32D Infantry Division in World War II - The 'Red Arrow' – URBANA Force during the Battle of Buna; http://www.32nd-division.org/history/ww2/32ww2-3b.html#Urbana2
Robert J. Doyle, of the Milwaukee Journal, mentioned 1st Lt. Endl in a war-time dispatch from overseas on 14 December 1942, describing the attack and capture of Buna Village. The exploits of 1st Lt. Endl he mentioned may be part of the basis for his Silver Star, "Lieut. Francis Endl of Jefferson led the first wave of Americans from our beach head east of the village. Endl and his men were first in the village, and a moment later they were met by the force from the south. Endl dodged about throwing hand grenades into the many Jap dugouts and then had machine guns set up to hold the village. In the attack Endl found a large Jap pistol and carried it for the rest of the day. [Lt. Gerard] Paradowski said that a few days before the attack Endl shot three Jap snipers and then climbed a tree and saw Japs in the village setting up a machine gun under a hut. He directed mortar fire that set the hut ablaze."
General Orders: Headquarters, U.S. Forces, Pacific, General Orders No. 14 (1943)
Source: Silver Star Recipients from the 32D 'Red Arrow' Division during World War II; http://www.32nd-division.org/history/ww2/ss-ww2/SS-32ww2(a-f).html
Endl was a sharp shooter who made a good record in locating and picking off Japanese snipers.
After leading his men in another attack, Endl went forward December 16 to establish listening posts in an area infested with (Japanese) snipers.
The next morning before he was to lead his men in another attack on the area, Endl went forward alone to try to ensure the safety of his men and was fatally shot by a sniper.
"One officer from Wisconsin said that Endl's great courage and leadership were an inspiration to the men and contributed much to the success of the Buna campaign," the correspondent wrote.
The Banner continued the praise: "The shock and sadness occasioned by the news of Lt. Endl's death cannot be completely assuaged, but to his father and mother and his wife and his brother, Sgt. Norbert Endl in Massachusetts, there can be small solace in the recognition of his merit as a soldier who gave his life so that others might survive."
"Jefferson and its residents share with those who have thus been deprived of a loved one a large portion of their grief and likewise pridefully inscribe his name in memory as one who not only died for his country, but in a manner so distinguished that he was decorated for it. That memory will linger long after many events of this and other years have faded with the years and disappeared into eternity." Source: Daily Jefferson County Union - Jefferson VFW celebrates 70th year by Pam Chickering Wilson, Union staff writer, 01 July 2015.
He was first buried in 6911 USAF Cemetery, Finschaffen #2, British New Guinea – Grave 3974. After the war (between 15th May 1947 & 07 December 1947) his remains (along with 11,000 other American soldiers from the five Finschaffen cemeteries) were disinterred and brought to the American Graves Registration Service Manila Mausoleum. From there, according to the wishes of his next of kin (wife, Mrs. Harriet Endl), First Lieutenant Francis J. Endl was buried in his final resting place in the 7701 Ft. McKinley Cemetery (now known as the Manila American Cemetery) – Plot F, Row 13, Grave 24.
The new Jefferson Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 3589 was named the Endl-Gruennert Congress Medal of Honor Post No. 3589 on 10 June 1945. The post was named in honor of First Lieutenant Francis J. Endl, the first Jefferson man to be killed in action, near Buna, New Guinea and Silver Star awardee, and Sgt. Kenneth Gruennert, who was awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously after being killed early in 1943 while leading his men in battle in New Guinea.
Harriet Lavon Dollase Endl married Daniel Wayne Moss on 03 August 1960. They lived in California.
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