PVT Manuel Curtis Shefler Jr.
Today we honor and remember PVT Manuel Curtis Shefler Jr. of the 101st Airborne Division.
Private (PVT) Manuel Curtis Shefler Jr. of Baker Battery, 321st Glider Field Artillery Battalion (GFAB), 101st Airborne Division, was born in Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, on March 1, 1921.
He enlisted for the Army at Los Angeles, California, on September 18, 1939, and would be assigned to the 321st GFAB.
The 321st Field Artillery Regiment was established in 1917 as one of the founding units of the 82nd Infantry Division and fought with the division in WWI. In 1942 when the 82nd Division was designated as the United States first Airborne Division, the 321st was also directed to establish the 101st Airborne Division by releasing half of its assigned units. At Fort Bragg, North Carolina, they would learn how to work with the 75mm Pack Howitzers and the CG4A Waco Glider, initially with mock-ups. The actual glider training took place at Pope Field, the airfield at Fort Bragg.Â
On August 30, 1943, PVT Shefler left Fort Bragg when the 321st GFAB was deployed and departed North Carolina. Two weeks later, on September 15, he arrived in Liverpool, England.Â
He would spent the next seven months training intensively in England for the upcoming combat with the Germans on the other side of the Channel. But the men of the 321 GFAB would not land via gliders in Normandy. On May 14, 1944, the battalion was alerted for the upcoming invasion and the glidermen soon learned that they would load onto ships and conduct an amphibious assault.
With their second main WWII battle, Operation Market Garden, the 321st GFAB would be inserted by gliders int the Netherlands. On that day, 19 September, 1944, PVT Shefler would be seriously wounded in action. He died the next day of his sustained wounds.
Another Screaming Eagle had soared to the ultimate height. 🦅
The body of PVT Manuel Shefler Jr. was returned to the United States in 1949 where he rests eternally at Oak Hill cemetery, Blue Island, Cook County, Illinois. PVT Shefler left behind his parents and an older sister, Anne Marie.
Happy Birthday in Heaven, Manuel.
Lest we forget. 🇺🇸
Resources
Family Search
1-321st History Book