World War II Honoree

Gene J. Appleby

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

Columbus, Ohio

Honored By

Orville L. Kline

Rank: Private. On November 10, 1943, he entered the United States Army with his induction at Columbus Ohio, receiving his Boot Camp Training at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. Later completed Paratrooper Combat Infantry Training at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Deployed to Great Britain, arriving Camp Scraptoft near Leicester, England in July of 1944. Served in Company-A as a Rifleman, First Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, a subordinate unit of the 82nd ‘All-American’ Airborne Division. His Division participated in the Invasion of the Netherlands against the German armed forces Code Named: Operation, Market Garden, the liberation of Holland. Killed in Action Sunday, September 17, 1944 on the first day of the invasion, and buried in the battlefield. After the cessation of hostilities in Europe, the 407th Quartermaster Graves Registration Company, Quartermaster Corps conducted recovery operations in the Netherlands, and his remains were not recovered. In September of 2011, local residents who resided in the city of Groesbeek discovered a grave on a farm, which contained some remains, American Gear and other artifacts. The Royal Netherlands Army Recovery and Identification Unit were notified of the grave, who investigated the findings. The remains were transferred to the Joint Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Agency at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, were he was identified. The remains of this Soldier were interred with Military Honors June 22, 2017 at the South Lawn Cemetery in Coshocton, Ohio. He received the following awards posthumously: Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. The Bronze Star awarded for Bravery, Act of Merit and Meritorious Service in Combat, and the Purple Heart as he so gallantly gave his life for his country.