World War II Honoree

Louis F. Zaletel

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

Cleveland, Ohio

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Corporal. Inducted into the United States Army March 26, 1942 at Chicago, Illinois. Deployed to the Pacific Theater after completing his Basic Infantry Training and experienced combat as a crewman of a Amphibious Landing Vehicle Tank ‘LVT-A’ assigned to the 708th Amphibious Tank Battalion, attached to the 4th Marine ‘the Fighting Fourth’ Division. Participated in the amphibious assault on the Island of Saipan, Mariana Islands Campaign. Thursday, June 15, 1944 he died of wounds sustained in combat on the first day of the invasion and buried at sea by Administrative Decision. He is memorialized in the Tablets of the Missing, Honolulu National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, ‘Punchbowl’ Hawaii. In Remembrance and Honor of the Brave, his name is inscribed in the Court of Honor located at the American Memorial on Saipan. Decoration and Citation: Purple Heart. This Soldier, an American Patriot awarded the Purple Heart posthumously, who so gallantly gave his life for his country.