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                              bigpigeon.us webpage WWII Dead > Roster > Roster Wa-We, © 2025 by Robert A. Christiansen, updated by RAC 23 Nov 2025
                       Part 44/47 of the Pottawattamie Area World War II Dead Roster, 22 "Wa-We" records
​                         ═══════════════════════════════════════
† Waage, Paul Allen, SN 20-704-306, US Army, Pott. Co. & Douglas Co., NE
  • b. 17 Apr 1924 Omaha; s/o August Waage (b. St. Paul, MN) & Jean V. Eamer (b. Manitoba, Canada); family moved from Canada to Omaha in early 1920s and remained in Omaha.
  • entered service 10 Feb 1941 with National Guard at Co. Bluffs; service credited to Pott. Co.; buried North Africa American Cem., Carthage, Tunisia.
  • Note: Paul Waage went on active duty at age 16, died at 18.
  • Regimental Band (Co. Bluffs), 168th Inf. Regt., 34th Inf. Div., II Corps; KIA/FOD 17 Feb 1943 Djebel Ksaira, SE of Sidi Bou Zid, Tunisia, North Africa.
  • WWII Germany > The MTO > North Africa > Tunisia @ Battle of Sidi Bou Zid

​† Wagaman, James Mitchel, SN 37-692-118, US Army, Montgomery Co.
  • b. 5 Jan 1907 near Luther, Oklahoma Co., OK; s/o Harvey L. Wagaman (b. Adams Co., PA) & Sarah A. Cullum (b. Lee Co., IA); family moved to rural Villisca, Montgomery Co. 1917.
  • married Frances M. Hutchinson of Villisca Oct 1930 in Villisca, five children.
  • entered service 15 Mar 1944 from Villisca, Montgomery Co.; service credited to Montgomery Co.; buried Villisca Cem.
  • attending anti-aircraft Artillery School, Fort Bliss, TX; d. 3 Aug 1944 near Villisca while home on leave; lost control of vehicle, which then overturned.

​† Wagner, Egbert Vernon, SN O-9476, US Marine Corps Aviation, Pott. Co.
  • b. 27 Sep 1918 Cowles, Webster Co., NE.
  • entered service 28 May 1941 from Treynor, Pott. Co.; next of kin parents, Rev. and Mrs. R. Wagner, Treynor, IA; body not recovered; memorialized Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cem., Luzon, Philippines.
  • Marine Air Fighter Sqdn. VMF-112, Marine Air Group 11, based at Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, Solomon Is.; Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat BuNo 05087 pilot; KIA 26 Jan 1943 near Henderson Field, air collision on patrol over Ironbottom Sound.
  • WWII Japan > Solomon Islands > Guadalcanal
++++++++++
​† Wagner, Richard Paul, SN O-30916, US Marine Corps Aviation, Pott. Co.
  • b. 29 Nov 1919 Bryon, Thayer Co., NE.
  • married Marion I. Roennau of Hardin Twp., Pott. Co. Oct 1943 in Corpus Christi, TX.
  • entered service 2 Jun 1942 from Treynor, Pott. Co.; buried St. Pauls Lutheran Cem., Treynor.
  • Headquarters Sqdn., Marine Base Defense Air Group 41, El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, Santa Ana, Orange Co., CA; d. 3 Mar 1944, east of San Juan Capistrano, Orange Co.; air accident while training.
++++++++++
about Egbert and Richard Wagner:
  • sons of Rev. Robert Wagner (b. Romania, immigrated 1894) & Florence A Schoop (b. Jackson Co.); father was pastor of St. Pauls Lutheran Church in Treynor during WWII.

† Wahlert, Robert Jacob, SN 37-425-956, US Army, Audubon Co.
  • b. 27 Jan 1913 Exira, Audubon Co. s/o Jacob F. Wahlert Jr. (b. Henry Co., IL; d. 1934) & Augusta E. Bartelt (b. Exira, Audubon Co.).
  • farmhand in Greeley Twp., Audubon Co. in 1940; married Jane Olsen of Audubon Co. Mar 1942 at Maryville, Nodaway Co., MO.
  • unknown military service entry; service credited to Audubon Co.; buried Exira Cem., Audubon Co.
  • nothing known of military service; died 23 Aug 1942 in hospital Co. Bluffs; he & wife injured in motorcycle accident 22 Aug., 6 miles east of Co. Bluffs; she died 25 Aug.

​† Walker, Hayden Leonard, SN 37-262-366, US Army Air Force, Mills Co. & Douglas Co., NE
  • b. 7 Mar 1921 Glenwood, Mills Co.; s/o William Walker (b. Morgan Co., MO; d. 1940) & Irene Shipley (b. Missouri).
  • entered service 5 Sep 1942 from Glenwood, Mills Co.; service credited to Douglas Co., NE; body not recovered; memorialized Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cem., Luzon, Philippines.
  • Bn. Headquarters, 445th Signal Construction Bn., Aviation (colored); DNB 19 Oct 1944 in Burma or India; passenger on Douglas C-47 Skytrain/Dakota flight from Myitkyina, Burma to Ledo, Assam, India; aircraft disappeared after requesting a heading to Ledo.
  • WWII Japan > China-Burma-India Theater > The Hump

† Wall, Vernon Palmer, SN 648-07-99, US Navy, Pott. Co.
  • b. 11 Sep 1922 Co. Bluffs; s/o Henry Wall (b. rural Folsom, Mills Co; d. 1938) & Edna Niemoller (b. Co. Bluffs); family moved to Taney Co., MO in late 1930s and returned to Co. Bluffs after father's death.
  • entered service 2 Jan 1942 from Co. Bluffs; next of kin mother, Mrs. Edna Niemoller Wall, 3709 2d Ave., Council Bluffs, IA; body not recovered; memorialized Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cem., Luzon, Philippines.
  • submarine USS Seawolf (SS-197); KIA 3 Oct 1944 off Morotai, Dutch Indies, south of the Philippines; Seawolf sunk by friendly fire, all 83 crew and 17 US Army passengers died.
  • WWII Japan > Naval War with Japan > US Submarine Force

​† Walling, Garrett Alma, SN 20-743-538, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • b. 14 Jun 1922 Co. Bluffs; s/o David S. Walling (b. Glenwood, Mills Co.) & Effie Sandage (b. Harrison Co., MO).
  • entered service with National Guard 13 Jan 1941 at Co. Bluffs; service credited to Pott. Co.; buried Henri-Chapelle American Cem., Hombourg, 25 miles east of Liege, Belgium.
  • 506th Parachute Inf. Regt., 101st Airborne Div., VIII Corps, Third Army; KIA 14 Jan 1945 NE of Bastogne, Belgium.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > Ardennes/The Bulge > The Bulge Eliminated

​† Warren, Alfred Leroy, SN 37-470-626, US Army Air Force, Mills Co.
  • b. 29 Mar 1923 California Jct., Harrison Co., s/o Frank A. Warren (b. Sullivan Co., MO) & Florence E. Hedlund (b. Malvern, Mills Co.); family lived in several locations, but primarily in Mills Co.
  • entered service 19 Jan 1943 from Silver City, Mills Co.; service credited to Mills Co.; buried Glenwood Cem., Mills Co.
  • 79th Transport S-F-A-Base, Hamilton Field, Suisan City, Solano Co., CA; d. 23 Jun 1943 Fairfield, Solano Co., CA; vehicle hit by a train.

​† Waters, James Martin, SN 37-445-422, US Army, Pott. & Harrison Cos.
  • b. 22 Feb 1922 Woodbine, Harrison Co.; s/o William H. Waters Jr. & Fannie Haner, both b. Harrison Co.; family lived in different locations in Harrison Co.
  • entered service 20 Nov 1942 from rural Neola, Harrison Co., service credited to Pott. Co.; buried Woodbine Cem., Harrison Co.
  • 66th & 396th Armored FA Bns.; DNB 5 Oct 1945 Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany; head injury from jeep accident.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Comm. Zone

† Watts, Gordon Lewis, SN 20-705-547, US Army, Adams Co.
  • b. 20 Jul 1905 near Watson, Atchison Co., MO; s/o Archibald F. "Arch" Watts (b. Crawford Co., IL; d. 1938) & Mary Ellen "Ella" Loveland (b. Hamburg, Fremont Co.; d. 1931); family moved to Platte Twp., Taylor Co. before 1920 and to Nodaway Twp., Adams Co. in the early 1920s.
  • lived with his brother, Russell Dean Watts, after their parents died. 
  • entered service 10 Feb 1941 at Villisca, Montgomery Co. from Adams Co.; service credited to Adams Co.; buried North Africa American Cem., Carthage, Tunisia.  
  • Co. F (Villisca), 168th Inf. Regt., 34th Inf. Div., II Corps; KIA 27 Apr 1943 at Hill 609, Tunisia.
  • WWII Germany > The MTO > North Africa > Tunisia @ Battle of Hill 609

​† Weihs, Alfred Peter, SN 620-39-83, US Navy, Shelby Co.
  • ​b. 28 Sep 1917 Shelby Co.; s/o Anton J. Weihs (b. Westphalia, Shelby Co.) & Catherine M. Stinn (b. Co. Bluffs); family lived in Shelby Co. in Lincoln & Grove Twps. before moving to Jackson Twp. in late 1930s.
  • enlisted May 1942 at Des Moines; body not recovered; next of kin father, Mr. Anton Weihs, Harlan, IA; memorialized Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cem., Luzon, Philippines.
  • destroyer USS Aaron Ward (DD 483); KIA 7 Apr 1943 in Ironbottom Sound near Tulagi, Solomon Is.; Aaron Ward sunk by Japanese bombs while escorting tank landing ship LST-449; 27 died.
  • Notes: LST-449 was also attacked but survived unscathed. Among its passengers that day was young John F. Kennedy, reporting for duty in the South Pacific.
  • WWII Japan > ​Solomon Islands > Guadalcanal Naval War @ Operation I-Go

​† Welbourn, Eldred Orville, SN 37-484-888, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • b. 5 Jan 1923 rural Neola, Neola Twp., Pott. Co.; s/o Harvey L. Welbourn (b. Neola Twp.) & Sadie M. Vallier (b. Hazel Dell Twp., Pott. Co.); family moved  to SE Boomer Twp, Pott. Co. in late 1920s and to rural Underwood, eastern Hazel Dell Twp. in early 1930s.
  • Local and RAC Family History Note: Eldred Welbourn's Boomer Twp. home was on a farm owned by my step-grandfather, Ralph Spencer. Eldred Welbourn graduated from Underwood High School in 1938 at the age of 15.
  • entered service Sep 1943 from Rt. 1, Underwood, Pott. Co.; service credited to Pott. Co.; body not recovered; memorialized Tablets of the Missing, Normandy American Cem., Colleville-sur-Mer, Calvados, Normandy, France; cenotaph Hazel Dell Cem., Pott. Co.
  • 262nd Inf. Regt. 66th Inf. Div.; KIA 24 Dec 1944 on SS Leopoldville crossing English Channel from Southampton, England to Cherbourg, France; Leopoldville was torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-486 five miles off Cherbourg; 763 US Army deaths.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Naval War @ Sinking of the Leopoldville

​† Welch, Harold Arthur, SN 37-673-375, US Army, Audubon Co.
  • b. 30 Sep 1924 Des Moines, Polk Co.; parents lived in AudubonCo.; s/o William D. Welch & Clara E. Shelley, both b. Audubon Co.
  • entered service 18 Jun 1943 from Audubon, Audubon Co.; service credited to Audubon Co.; buried Maple Grove Cem., Audubon.
  • Co. C, 359th Inf. Regt., 90th Inf. Div., XX Corps, Third Army; KIA 28 Sep 1944 near Metz, Moselle Dept., Lorraine, France.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > Lorraine-Alsace, Fall 1944 > Lorraine/Third Army
​
​† Wells, Lester Earl, SN 37-465-227, US Army, Pott. Co.
  • b. 15 Jun 1921 Hardin Twp., Pott. Co.; s/o Earl S. Wells & Helen E. Grote, both b. Hardin Twp.
  • entered service 27 Nov 1942 from Rt. 3, Co. Bluffs; service credited to Pott. Co.; buried Cedar Lawn Cem., Co. Bluffs.
  • 39th Inf. Regt., 9th Inf. Div., VII Corps, First Army; KIA 13 Jul 1944 NW of St. Lo, Manche, Normandy, France.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > Normandy Campaign > Normandy, July 1944

† Wells, Robert Henry, SN 37-659-382, US Army, Audubon Co.
  • b. 10 Jul 1923 Kimballton, Audubon Co.; s/o Robert H. Wells & Anna Larsen, both b. Audubon Co.
  • entered service 10 Feb 1943 from Exira, Audubon Co.; service credited to Audubon Co.; buried Exira Cem.
  • 105th Inf. Regt., 27th Inf. Div., XXIV Corps, Tenth Army; KIA 26 Apr 1945 Shuri Line, Okinawa, Ryukyu Is., Japan.
  • WWII Japan > Iwo Jima & Okinawa > Land Battle of Okinawa @ Battles of the Shuri Line

​† Welty, Robert Lyman, SN O-407132, US Naval Aviation, Douglas Co., NE
  • b. 21 Jul 1923 Sioux Falls, Minnehaha Co., SD; s/o Harry L. Welty (b. Linn Co., MO) & Jane E. Jones (b. Edmunds Co., SD); family moved to Omaha before 1930. 
  • married Nancy E. Langdon of Omaha Jul 1944 in Omaha; one child.
  • entered service 18 Nov 1942 from Kansas City, Jackson Co., MO; next of kin wife, Mrs. Nancy Langdon Welty, 4960 Military Ave., Omaha, NE; buried Cedar Lawn Cem., Co. Bluffs.
  • Naval Air Fighter Sqdn. VF-12, Carrier Air Group 12; carrier USS Randolph (CV-15); Grumman F6F-5 Hellcat BuNo 77880 pilot; KIA 14 May 1945 over Kyushu, Japan.
  • WWII Japan > Naval War with Japan > Third & Fifth Fleets

​† Wenstrand, Byron Kenneth, SN 632-55-87, US Navy, Montgomery Co.
  • b. 25 Sep 1914 Shelley, Bingham Co., ID; s/o Oscar O. Wenstrand (b. Essex, Page Co.) & Phoebe Liljedahl (b. Red Oak, Montgomery Co.); family moved to Omaha in 1920s & to rural Red Oak, Montgomery Co. in early 1930s.
  • entered service 16 Feb 1942 from Rt. 3, Red Oak, Montgomery Co.; buried Evergreen Cem., Red Oak.
  • Naval Air Station Sand Point, Seattle, WA; d. 24 Sep 1942 US Naval Hospital, Bremerton, Kitsap Co., WA; tuberculosis & meningitis.
​++++++++++
​† Wenstrand, Robert Darwin, SN 0-701-356, US Army Air Force, Page Co.
  • b. 23 May 1918 Essex, Page Co.; s/o Bennett B. "Ben" Wenstrand (b. Page Co.( & Myrtle L. Larson (b. Stanton, Montgomery Co.).
  • married Glendora B. Ashby of Grant, Montgomery Co. Mar 1943 in Monroe, Ouachita Parish, LA, one child.
  • entered service 12 Jan 1942 from Rt. 1, Essex, Page Co.; service credited to Page Co.; body not recovered; memorialized Tablets of the Missing, Cambridge American Cem., Coton, Cambridgeshire, England; cenotaph Mt. Carmel Cem., Nyman, Page Co.
  • 53rd Troop Carrier Sqdn., 61st Troop Carrier Gp., Ninth Air Force; based at Barkston Heath, Lincolnshire, England, east of Nottingham; Douglas C-47 Dakota/Skytrain navigator; DNB 3 Dec 1944 over North Sea.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Air War > Ninth Air Force
​++++++++++
​about the Wenstrand family deaths:
  • Byron and Robert Wenstrand were cousins, their fathers being brothers.
​
† Wenzel, Donald Ray, SN 37-680-471, US Army, Crawford Co.
  • b. 27 Aug 1925 Manilla, Crawford Co.; s/o Emil Robert Heinrich Wenzel (b. rural Manilla, Crawford Co.; d. 1930) & Laura Lucinda Rave (b. Martin Co., MN).
  • entered service 17 Nov 1943 from Manilla, Crawford Co.; service credited to Crawford Co.; buried Manila American Cem., Luzon, Philippines; cenotaph Nishnabotna Cem., Manilla, Crawford Co.
  • Co. F, 20th Inf. Regt., 6th Inf. Div., I Corps, Sixth Army; KIA 16 Jun 1945 ​Barat, Nueva Vizcaya Province, Cagayan Valley, northern Luzon, Philippines.
  • WWII Japan > Philippines Liberated > Luzon

† Wentz, William Findley, SN 17-069-660, US Army Air Force, Black Hawk Co.
  • b. 7 Apr 1916 Walnut, Pott. Co.; s/o Newton W. Wentz (b. Montgomery Co.; d. 1931) & Genevieve Findley (b. Missouri); family moved to Eldora, Hardin Co. in 1920s and to Waterloo, Black Hawk Co. about 1933.
  • married Lucile A. Conter of Waterloo, Black Hawk Co., one child, divorced; married Lalieth Protheroe of Marshalltown, Marshall Co. Jan 1944.
  • entered service 19 Oct 1942 from Waterloo, Black Hawk Co.; service credited to Black Hawk Co.; body not recovered; memorialized Tablets of the Missing, Cambridge American Cem., Coton, Cambridgeshire, England.
  • 785th Bomb. Sqdn., 466th Bomb. Gp., Eighth Air Force, based at Attlebridge, Norfolk, England; Consolidated B-24H Liberator #42-52555 Ol' Tom Cat flight engineer; KIA 9 May 1944 on mission to Tutow, east of Rostock, Germany, ditched in North Sea, no survivors.
  • WWII Germany > The ETO > ETO Air War > Eighth Air Force
 
† ​Westenburg, Glen Victor, SN 37-074-605, US Army, Montgomery & Page Cos. (St. Paul's)
  • b. 25 Sep 1913 Hepburn, Page Co.; s/o Victor Gustafsson Westenburg (b. Sweden; d. 1917) & Hannah E. Johnson (b. Sweden; d. 1913).
  • entered service 3 Oct 1941 from Red Oak, Montgomery Co.; service credited to Page Co.; buried Mt. Hope Cem., Nyman, Page Co.
  • Service Battery, 171st Field Artillery Bn., 45th Inf. Div., temporarily based at Ft. Pickett, VA; d. 14 Mar 1943 Natural Bridge, Rockbridge Co., VA 12 miles south of Lexington; vehicle went through guardrail & dropped 215 feet to the bottom of the gorge; all five died. 
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