Hear Son Killed in Italy Battle
Mr. and Mrs. William Thoreen, 800 North Fifteenth street, have received word that their son, Cpl. William F. Thoreen, has been killed in action with the American forces in Italy.
A member of the 45th division, he was serving on the Anzio beachhead at the time he was reported killed in action.
Cpl. Thoreen had served in the army two and one-half years, had been stationed in the Mediterranean theater of war since June, 1943, and had previously served in Africa and Sicily, having landed with the initial forces at Anzio.
Survivors besides his parents include one sister, Margaret; two brothers, Elmer and Harry; and his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. O. M. Gilroy, all of Council Bluffs.
Source: Council Bluffs Nonpareil, May 5, 1944, p. 5
Reported Killed
Cpl. William F. Thoreen, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Thoreen, 800 North Fifteenth street, was reported killed in action [March 28] on the Anzio, Italy beachhead. He had been in the army two and one-half years.
Source: The Council Bluffs Nonpareil, Council Bluffs, Iowa, Monday, May 08, 1944, Page 6 (photo included)
“At 1410 ‘C’ Battery received one round of 105mm which hit a tree near the edge of No. 3 gun-pit. Four men were killed and two injured. Those killed were Cpl. William F. Thoreen, Pvt. William C. Campbell, Pvt. Charles L. Holmes, and Pvt. Jose M. Aragon.”
Source: The History of the 171st Field Artillery Battalion.
POSTHUMOUS AWARD of PURPLE HEART.
The Purple Heart has been posthumously awarded to Cpl. William Thoreen, son of Mr. and Mrs. William G. Thoreen, 800 North Fifteen street, according to a letter from Secretary of War, Henry Stimson, to his parents.
The Thoreens have also received a letter from President Roosevelt, expressing sympathy and appreciation “in grateful memory of Cpl. William Thoreen.”
Cpl. Thoreen was killed March 28, on the Anzio beachhead. Drafted in October, 1941, he had been overseas since June, 1943.
Source: Council Bluffs Iowa Nonpareil, May 28, 1944, p. 20
Bodies of S. W. Iowans Returning
The bodies of three southwest Iowa men are among those of 91 Iowans returned from Italy about the U. S. army transport Carroll Victory, the department of the army announced Tuesday.
Being returned for burial are: Cpl. William F. Thoreen, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Thoreen, 800 North Fifteenth street, killed in action at Anzio, Italy in 1944; Pvt. Leon H. Stoelke, son of Mr. and Mrs. Albert F. Stoelke, of Manning, killed in action in Sicily in September, 1944, and Pfc. William F. Rethmeier, son of Mr. and Mrs. William E. Rethmeier, Dunlap, killed in action in Italy.
Source: Council Bluffs Nonpareil, Tuesday, July 6, 1948, p. 11 (photo included)
Obituaries.
Cpl. William F. Thoreen
The body of Cpl. William F. Thoreen, 24, son of Mr. and Mrs. William G. Thoreen, 800 North Fifteenth street, will arrive Saturday afternoon for burial.
He was killed in action at Anzio in 1944.
Other survivors include two brothers, Elmer Thoreen and Harry Thoreen, both of Omaha; a sister, Mrs. Beryl Boyer, of Kalamazoo, Mich., and a grandfather, O. M. Gilroy, of Council Bluffs. The body will lie in state at the Cutler funeral home.
Burial will be in Graceland Park Cemetery, Omaha.
Source: Council Bluffs Nonpareil, Thursday, July 22, 1948, pg. 15
DEATH NOTICES.
THOREEN, Cpl. William F., age 24, 800 North 15th street, Council Bluffs, Iowa. Died March 28, 1944, Italy.
Funeral services Monday, 2 p.m. Cutler chapel, Homer Caskey officiating. Burial Graceland Park, cemetery, Omaha, Nebraska. Military services to be held at the grave.
Cutler funeral home in charge.
Source: Council Bluffs, Iowa Nonpareil, July 25, 1948, p. 27
William F. Thoreen
Iowa
CPL 171 FLD ARTY BN
45 INF DIV
WORLD WAR II
Nov. 30, 1919 - March 28, 1944
***
1944 Photo below taken in Italy
Identification (left to right)
Back Row (standing):
Vernon C. Ewin
Billy Thoreen (KIA 3/28/1944 on Anzio)
Front Row (squatting down):
Harry R. Araiza (KIA 10/26/1944 Italy)
Al Gregatano
**The 1944 photo shared by the family of V.C. Ewin--soldier standing back left.**
William Frederick Thoreen was born Nov. 30, 1919 to William G. and Mary E. Collier Thoreen. He died Mar. 28, 1944 and is buried in Graceland Park Cemetery, Omaha, NE.
Source: ancestry.com
