MERGENTHALER, GEORGE O.

George O. Mergenthaler

George O. Mergenthaler was born in 1921 and lived on Purchase Street in Rye with his parents Alice and Herman Mergenthaler and his maternal grandfather George Sweeney. He was the only son of the family. His paternal grandfather Ottmar Mergenthaler was the inventor of the Linotype machine in 1886. He graduated from Princeton University and was a classmate of Archibald Graham McIlwaine II. His family were members of the Church of the Resurrection and George enlisted in U.S. Army during World War II.

George Mergenthaler was a member of a Mechanized Reconnaissance Unit of the 28th Infantry Division.

The division left the United States and went overseas on 8 October 1943, arriving in South Wales soon afterwards, where it began training for the invasion of Northern France. On 22 July 1944, the division landed in Normandy, seven weeks after the initial D-Day landings and was almost immediately involved in Operation Cobra.

The 28th Infantry Division pushed east towards the French capital of Paris through the Bocage, its roads littered with abandoned tanks and bloated, stinking corpses of men and animals. In little more than a month after landing at the Normandy beachhead, as part of the Allied invasion of Normandy, George and the men of the 28th entered Paris and were given the honor of marching down the Champs-Elysées on 29 August 1944 in the hastily arranged Liberation of Paris.

After enjoying a brief respite, absorbing replacements of men and equipment, the division headed to the German defensive Siegfried Line.

The 28th suffered excessive casualties that autumn in the costly and ill-conceived Battle of Hürtgen Forest (19 September to 16 December 1944). The divisional history conceded "the division accomplished little" in the campaign. The campaign was the longest continuous battle of World War II.

Finally, a tenuous line along the Our and Sauer Rivers was held at the end of November and George moved into the town of Eschweiler, Luxembourg . Because George spoke German, he was able to speak to everyone and was immediately embraced. A daily church attendee, the local priest allowed George and another soldier to live at the presbytery.

He even dressed up as a helper with a local dressed as St Nicolas, distributing sweets to local children. Everybody loved George. But after a month in the town, the Battle of the Bulge broke out and Eschweiler was surrounded by the German army.

The Battle of the Bulge Offensive was launched along the entire 28th Division front by the 5th Panzer Army led by General von Manteuffel. The 28th, which had sustained heavy casualties in the Hürtgen Forest, fought doggedly in place using all available personnel and threw off the enemy timetable before withdrawing to Neufchâteau on 22 December for reorganization, as its units had been badly mauled



On December 18, 1944 George Mergenthaler's unit was ambushed by the enemy in Luxemburg. George was in the middle of the convoy in a jeep. He jumped to the rear seat of the vehicle and took control of the 50 caliber machine-gun and urged his fellow soldiers to run to a ditch. His machine gun jammed twice; the second jamming afforded a wounded German soldier to crawl behind George and kill him at close range with a short burst from his submachine gun. George Mergenthaler died near the town he came to adopt, Eschweiler, Luxembourg

The people of Eschweiler were heartbroken. They carried his body in a coffin through the town, reburied him in the cemetery next to the remains of the church, and notified his family.

The Mergenthalers were so moved, they offered to assist in the rebuilding of St Maurice Church. The church still stands today and has a mural behind the altar, depicting Jesus feeding the masses with the help of an apostle dressed in an army uniform.

The windows are also dedicated to George Mergenthaler, his family and the United States Army.



COMMENDATIONS

★ World War II Victory Medal
★ Purple Heart
★ Combat Infantryman Badge
★ Marksmanship Badge
★ American Campaign Medal
★ Army Presidential Unit Citation
★ Army Good Conduct Medal
★ European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign









President Ronald Reagan remembers George Mergenthaler in a Toast to the Grand Duke of Luxembourg at the State Dinner November 13, 1984




"Forty years ago, Your Highness, Americans and Luxembourgers fought side by side to liberate your nation. Throughout America today, there are thousands of men who can still recall the tear-streaked faces of your people when they realized that at long last they were free. To me, the most memorable story is about a strapping young American named George Mergenthaler.

For several weeks, George was stationed in the village of Eschweiler, in World War II. He had a winning personality, and before long, the good people of Eschweiler took him into their homes and hearts. They told him what life in the village had been like before the war and then during the Nazi occupation. And George, in turn, opened his heart. He told the people that he was an only son, told them all his hopes for when the war was over. And in those few weeks, a deep bond formed between the people of that ancient village and the amiable young Yankee.

Some time afterward, the people of Eschweiler learned that George had taken part in a fierce battle on the plains between Luxembourg and Belgium. It was called the Battle of the Bulge. And it cost George his life.

Today, 40 years later, there is still a plaque honoring George Mergenthaler in the Eschweiler village church. It reads simply: ``This only son died that others sons might live in love and peace".

Well, Your Highness, today our sons and daughters know that peace. And the bond between our nations is truly a bond of love."

President Ronald Reagan

See Video of Toast Below

Comment by Susan B. Miles on May 05, 2013; 11:47am PDT My mother, Audrey Cullen Ball, worked in the Rye Post Office as a clerk during World War II. My grandmother, Teresa V. Ball was the Postmaster and my father, Cornelius S. Ball was in the Army in the European Theatre from 1943-1945 . My mother often waited on Mr. And Mrs. Mergenthaler. They would often ask my mother if she had hear from my Dad and vice-versa. One day the Mergenthaler came and tasked my mother if she had heard from my father. Yes,, Mom said. Mom replied, Have you heard from George?. Mr. Mergenthaler replied, No, but I am sure we will hear something soon. A few weeks later, a letter came from the government for Mr. and Mrs. Mergenthaler. Mom immediately called them to tell them that a letter had come in for them. The Mergenthalers arrived at the post office on a particulary rainy day and opened the letter. My mother was there as they were reading it. We regret to inform you, the letter read, that your son was killed while in the service of the U. S. Army. Mom said she went out the post office lobby and put her arms around the elderly couple. George was the only child of the Merganthalers. The Mergenthalers left the post office with their umbrella up and arms around each other, descending the steps of the post office. No words were exchanged between my mother and the Megenthalers. No words could possibly explain their grief. The tears of heaven and the rain were enough.br/>
Geo. Mergenthaler Killed In Action Private George Ottmar Mergenthaler, son of Mr. and Mrs. Herman C. Mergenthaler of Purchase Street, has been killed in action at Eschweiler, Luxembourg, his parents learned from the War Department. He was twenty-four years old and their only child. Private Mergenthaler, the grand-son of Ottmar Mergenthaler, inventor of the linotype, had been reported missing by the War Department on December 20. His last letter to his family was dated December 3. His father said that he had been informed that his son had met his death under dramatic circumstances sometime after December20 and that he had received a Catholic burial in the parish cemetery at Eschweiler. A graduate of Princeton University, Private Mergenthaler entered the armed forces immediately after receiving His degree in January 1943. He won his varsity letter at Princeton as a member of a championship squash team. Before attending college, he received his preparatory education at Canterbury School at New Milford, Conn. , and Rye Country Day School. Private Mergenthaler was attached to a cavalry troop with the First Army when he entered the service and went overseas in October, 1943. He was stationed in Wales until last July when he was sent into action in France. His maternal grandparents were the late Mr. and Mrs. George Sweeney of Rochester and New York.
PAGE FOUR THE RYE CHRONICLE Friday, April 27, 1945