WWII - KIA-BYERLY, Daniel
Source: 1940s obituaries collected by Rose Marie Sutherlin provided to kbz via Betty Dotson (thanks sweetie)
Tangier - A former Tangier youth, Daniel BYERLY, was Killed In Action while crossing the Rhine River in Germany on March 26 (1945) according to word received by his mother, Mrs. Mary Byerly of Hammond. He became the third member of the Tangier HS Class of 1940 to give his life in the nation's service. Previously Mervin Jackson and Glen Pugh, both classmates of the Byerly youth, have been reported killed in battles
overseas.
Lt. William P. Burnett, Jr. assistant adjutant of the 347th Infantry, of which Byerly was a member wrote to Mrs. Byerly that Daniel was killed in the vicinity of Ober-Lanstein, Germany. "The unit of which your son was
a member made an assault crossing of the Rine River in Germany and was moving from the beach to the high ground above Ober-Lahnstein," the lt. wrote. "Daniel was acting in his capacity as leader of a mortar squad and was on a mission bringing his squad closer to the forward elements of his unit. It was while he was on this mission that he was struck by the enemy mortar and machine gun fire and fatally wounded. Death was instantaneous."
He was buried in a US Military cemetery at Ittenbach, Germany. The Byerly family lived in Tangier for several years before moving to Hammond. - kbz
Attached: photo of a tombstone for him (either requested returned by parents or a memorial stone in Georgetown Illinois - dates: 2-5-1920 to 3-26-1945)