World War II Honoree
Killed in World War II
Robert J. Fitzgerrell
Branch of Service
U.S. Army
Hometown
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Honored By
Orville L. Kline
Rank: Technical Sergeant. He was inducted into the United States Army September 15, 1942 at Tulsa, Oklahoma, with recruit training at Camp Walters in Mineral Wells, Texas. Upon his graduation from boot camp, he was transferred to Camp Pickett, Virginia for Combat Infantry training. Served as a Squad Leader with the Seventh-Eighth Infantry ‘Lightning’ Division in the European Theater of Operations, assigned to India Company, Third Battalion and 311th Infantry Regiment. His division participated in the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest against the German Armed forces, Rhineland Campaign. Reported missing in Action Tuesday, January 30, 1945 during a combat engagement against the German armed forces in the vicinity of Huppenbroich, Germany. In remembrance of the brave, his name is permanently inscribed in the tablets of the missing, memorialized at the American Cemetery in Henri-Chapelle, Belgium. After the cessation of hostilities in Europe, a Quartermaster Graves Registration Company, Quartermaster Corps conducted recovery operations, and recovered some remains near Huppenbroich. The remains could not be identified, and were interred as an unknown at the Margraten Netherlands American Cemetery, Netherlands. Personnel from the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Agency in June of 2016 disinterred an unknown from the Netherlands cemetery. The remains were transferred to the Agency’s laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska were he was identified. The family of this Soldier received his remains for burial. He was laid to rest with Military Honors, September 10, 2019 at the Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. This American Patriot received the following decorations posthumously: Bronze Star and the Purple Heart. The Bronze Star awarded for Bravery, Act of Merit and Meritorious Service in Combat. The Purple Heart awarded, for his ultimate sacrifice in defense of his country.