Two Youths at Rock Falls for Furloughs
ROCK FALLS—Two local boys are home on furlough visiting their parents.
Gus Bernhardt is home for a 14-day furlough from his seaman duties at Northhope, Va.
Source: Mason City Globe-Gazette, September 1, 1941
35 Cerro Gordo Men Killed in Action in 2 ½ Years of War
Listed Killed in Action are as follows:
Gus Bernhardt, seaman 2/c, at Guadalcanal, Nov. 13, 1942.
Source: Mason City Globe-Gazette, May 30, 1944
Gus(t) Bernhardt was born June 14, 1922 to Fred and Mary Schmerier Bernhardt. He died Nov. 13, 1942 (at sea) and has a cenotaph in Memorial Park Cemetery, Mason City, IA and is memorialized at the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines.
Petty Officer Bernhardt served in World War II with the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Juneau (CL-52) and was MIA/KIA when that ship was sunk at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. He was awarded the Purple Heart.
Source: ancestry.com; abmc.gov
