Soldier:	Sgt T4 Merle Lauer
Date:	1942 - 1945
Location:	Normandy, Holland, Bastogne
Unit:	Rgt HQ, 506th, 101st Airborne, Medical Detachment

Born in march of 1921 in Hooverville, Pennsylvania. I joined the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Toccoa Georgia in 1942. Back then Toccoa was still known as Camp Toombs.

As an original member of the 506th, i got to serve in a number of different companies such as the Rgt HQ and Service Company. My last assignment with the regiment was that of combat medic.

As i took part in every campaign of the 506th, the invasion in Normandy and the liberation of The Netherlands were among them.

In Holland, i remember we landed in Son on September the 17th 1944 on a sunday afternoon. Went the whole way through Holland. Spent some time in little place called Uden where i met a lot of really nice people. In Nijmegen (Holland) we assisted the British troops in getting their men across to our side.

During the Battle of the Bulge campaign (Belgium) i was awarded the Purple Heart twice for being wounded on two seperate occassions.

When the war was over and i was back home again, I joined the US Army Reserves where i was commissioned as an officer.

Merle Lauer

Personal Photographs

Shoulderpatch of the 101st Airborne.

Merle here with his wife Pearl,
after the war ended in the fall of 1945