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bigpigeon.us webpage WWII Dead > Ancillary Hub > Other WWII Era Dead, © 2025 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 15 Oct 2025
Other WWII Era Pottawattamie Area Dead, 12 records
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The WWII-era Pottawattamie area dead listed below fall into several categories:
  • Died in-service shortly before or shortly after the official US WWII period of 7 Dec 1941– 31 Dec 1946.
  • Merchant Marine members who died during the WWII era in non-work related situations.​
  • ​Other civilians interred in military cemeteries. 
They are not included in the Roster Records or the military service portions of Big Pigeon's WWII Dead module but are included in the Residences portion.
† (postwar) Broman, Allen Arthur, SN 321-90-04, US Navy, Crawford Co.
  • b. 3 Dec 1925 Manilla, Crawford Co.; s/o Arthur Broman (b. Sweden) & Mary Christina Christensen (b. rural Manilla, Crawford Co.).
  • entered service at Des Moines 2 Dec 1943 from Manilla, Crawford Co.; buried Nishnabotna Cemetery, Manilla.
  • remained in service after WWII; d. 25 Sep 1946 near Irwin, Shelby Co.; auto accident while home on leave.

† (civilian) Burgstrum, Clifford Montreville, civilian, Pott. Co.
  • b. 3 Jun 1892 Chariton, Lucas Co.; s/o Adolph Burgstrum & Rose Hunt; moved to Co. Bluffs before 1915; m. Mildred Smith of Co. Bluffs 1915; bur. Nat’l Cem. of the Pacific, Honolulu, Oahu, HI.
  • worker at US Navy Yard, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory; d. 19 Sep 1944, illness; WWII-Japan > The Pacific Bases.
  • Notes: Did not die as the result of combat-related operations, thus not included in the Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead roster. 

† (postwar) Buter, Glenn Paul, SN 321-91-43, US Naval Aviation, Harrison & Crawford Cos.
  • b. 26 Dec 1926 Percival, Benton Twp., Fremont Co.; s/o Henry J. Buter Jr. & Elsie M. Weber; family lived in rural Dunlap, Boyer Twp., Crawford Co. moving to Dunlap, Harrison Co. in 1946; entered service 16 Feb 1944 from rural Dunlap; m. Helen A. Sybeldon 1946 in Dunlap, one child; bur. Pleasant Hill Cem., Dunlap.
  • Served with Helicopter Development Squadron VX-3 on USS Midway (CVB/CVA/CV-41); d. 29 Dec 1947 near Naples, Italy; helicopter lost rotor and crashed, crew of three all died.
  • Notes: Died in service after the official end of WWII, thus not included in the Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead roster.

​† (postwar, vet.) Christensen, Chester Lloyd, SN 37-808-362, US Army, Pottawattamie Co.
  • b. 3 Sep 1927 Co. Bluffs s/o Harry E. Christensen & Irene C. Petersen; entered service 19 Oct 1945 from Co. Bluffs; sep. 2 Dec 1946; d. 12 Sep 1948 Co. Bluffs; skull fracture in auto accident; bur. Fairview Cem., Co. Bluffs.
  • no foreign service, served w/ 2nd Signal Service Bn.
  • Notes: served after the conclusion of WWII hostilities, thus not included in the Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead roster.

† (prewar) ​Goltry, Clayton Arthur (served as Galtry Clayton A), SN 6-863-125, US Army, Mills Co.
  • b. 25 Jan 1915 Glenwood, Mills Co.; s/o Charles A. Goltry & Cora Marie Tillman of Glenwood; entered service 18 Feb 1937 from Glenwood; reenlisted 18 Feb 1940; bur. Glenwood Cem.
  • Anti-Tank Troop, 2nd Cavalry Regt., Ft. Riley, KS; DNB 2 Jul 1941 at Fitzsimmons Army Hospital, Aurora, CO. 
  • Notes: appears on 1946 War Dept. list of WWII deaths for Mills Co., IA. Died in service before the US entered WWII, thus not included in the Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead roster.

† (prewar) Hazard, Harry Edward, SN 2-380-471, US Army, Cass Co.
  • b. 2 Jun 1899 Bassett, Rock Co., NE; s/o Frank E. Hazard (d. 1904) & Nettie H. Link; bur. Atlantic Cem., Cass Co.
  • Transportation Co., Quartermaster Corps, Ft. Sam Houston; d. 3 Mar 1941 Ft. Sam Houston, San Antonio, TX.
  • Notes: WWI veteran of 90th Inf. Regt., 20th Inf. Div.
  • Notes: appears on 1946 War Dept. list of WWII deaths for Mills Co., IA. Died in service before the US entered WWII, thus not included in the Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead roster.

† (prewar) Nelson, Herman L., SN 047-625, US Army, Audubon Co.
  • b. 5 Jul 1915 Audubon Co.; s/o Lars Nelson (b. Exira, Audubon Co.) & Anna Marie Madsen (b. Denmark).
  • service credited to Audubon Co.; buried St. Johns Cemetery, Exira, Audubon Co.
  • stationed at Fort Bragg, NC; d. 29 Nov 1941 in hospital, Elgin, IL; back broken in auto accident a week earlier.

† (postwar) Olesen, Margaret Frances, SN L-703453, US Army WAC, Pott. Co.
  • b. 26 Oct 1913 Avoca, Pott. Co.; d/o Jens C. Olesen & Lillie Maassen of Avoca; entered service 10 Oct 1943 from Avoca; bur. Graceland Cem., Avoca.
  • Asst. Adjutant, Ground General School, Ft. Riley, KS; d. 19 Jul 1947, Brooke Army Hospital, San Antonio, Bexar Co., TX, nephritis.
  • Notes: sister of Herbert Olesen, life-long resident of Avoca; secretary of Pottawattamie County #2 Draft Board in Avoca before enlisting; appears in the Gold Star section of Service Record for World War II, Avoca and Community. Died in service after the official end of WWII, thus not included in the Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead roster.

† (postwar) Prichard, Vernon Edwin, SN O-3882, US Army, Monona Co.
  • b. 25 Jan 1892 Smithland, Woodbury Co.; s/o Jacob A. Prichard (b. Harlan, Shelby Co.) & Emma Grace Jones; family moved to Onawa, Monona Co. 1900-1905.
  • US Military Academy 1915; married Charlotte Gibbs Blesse Sep 1916 in Maverick Co., TX, one child; buried or cenotaph West Point Post Cemetery, Orange Co., NY.
  • Commanding Officer, 1st Armored Division 17 Jul 1944–Sep 1945.
  • remained in service after WWII; d. 10 Jul 1949 Washington, DC; explosion of cabin cruiser Halycon.

† (Merchant Marine) Pryor, William Dale, US Merchant Marine, Pott. Co.
  • b. 24 Sep 1925 Altoona, Polk Co.; s/o Harry C. Pryor & Jennie M. Williams; family moved to Avoca, Pott. Co. ~1939; bur. Old Altoona Cem.
  • Notes: One of several teenaged men from Avoca who joined the Maritime Service in 1943; trainee at US Maritime Service Training Station, Brooklyn, NY in 1943; d. 12 Oct 1944 Avoca from sepsis. Did not die as the result of operations against the enemy, thus not included in the Pottawattamie Area WWII Dead roster.​(prewar)

† (prewar) Strathman Harry F., SN 37-045-465, US Army, Crawford & Washington Cos.
  • b. 17 Apr 1909 Denison, Crawford Co.; s/o Emil Strathman (b. Scott Co.) & Anna Marie Reinwaldt (b. Crawford Co.).
  • entered service 2 Jun 1941 at Fort Des Moines from Vail, Crawford Co.; service credited to Washington Co.; buried Vail Cemetery, Crawford Co.
  • stationed at Fort Robinson, near Little Rock, Pulaski Co., AR; Co. D, 1st Inf. Regt., 6th Inf. Div.; d. Sep 1941 El Dorado, Union Co., AR.

† ​(postwar) Townsend, Melvin Oscar, SN RA20-701-278, US Army, Mills & Jefferson Cos.
  • b. 21 Dec 1911 Pacific Jct., Mills Co.; s/o George E. Townsend & Maggie F. Baker; m. Verda M. Young 1932, five children; Melvin & Verda moved from Mills Co. to Fairfield, Jefferson Co. abt. 1933; entered service 10 Feb 1941 from Fairfield; reenlisted 1945; bur. Memorial Park Cem., Co. Bluffs.
  • WWII service in ETO Feb 1942-Jun 1945 w/ Service Co., 133rd Inf. Regt., 34th Inf. Div.; postwar served in Yuma, AZ with Test Branch, Quartermaster Corps, Yuma, AZ; d. 25 Jun 1949 near Yuma at Winterhaven, Imperial Co., CA; drowned in All American Canal. ​