Wapello County

T/Sgt. Lawrence J. Gettings

 

93 Iowans on Army-Navy Casualty List

The names of 93 more Iowans were included in an army and navy casualty report made public Monday by the Office of War Information.  Twenty are listed as dead, 62 wounded and 11 missing.  The list follows:
[excerpt]
Army Dead (European)
ANDERSON, Donald J., Corp., Corwith.
DRYER, Arthur L., T4, Clarinda.
ENGLIN, Theodore M., Pfc., Davenport.
GETTINGS, Lawrence J. Tech. Sergt., Ottumwa.
HODSON, Lee A., T4, Salem.
LONGLEY, Eugene L., Pvt., Centerville.
McCARTER, Edward C., Staff Sergt., Creston.
MECK, John W., Pfc., Burlington.
MOORE, Walter D., Pfc., Council Bluffs.
TAYLOR, James I., First Lieut., Reinbeck.

Source: Quad City Times, (Davenport, Iowa), Monday, May 14, 1945

Historic Photo Restored in Color

T/Sgt. Lawrence J. Gettings from Ottumwa, Iowa (E Co., 2nd Bn., 320th Inf. Reg. 35th Division) holds a can of rations and takes time out for a rest during the fighting southeast of Bastogne, Belgium, Jan. 7, 1945.

On April 17, 1945, Lawrence’s company set outpost positions in the vicinity of Trabitz, Germany.  The enemy attacked the positions which his squad was occupying and he was hit and instantly killed as a result of devastating small arms and mortar fire.

He was buried in the U.S. Military Cemetery at Margraten in Holland.  (Plot I, Row 10, Grave 17)
Awards: Bronze Star, Purple Heart with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters.

Lawrence James Gettings was born Oct. 11, 1912 to Thomas Patrick and Sabina D. Ruffing Gettings. He died Apr. 17, 1945 and is buried in Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands and has a cenotaph in Calvary Cemetery, Ottumwa, IA.

Sgt. Gettings served in World War II with the U.S. Army 320th Infantry Regiment, 35th Infantry Division and was KIA in Germany and awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters.

Source: ancestry.com