SSGT Edward J. Grapentine Jr.

Staff Sergeant (SSGT) Edward John “Buddy” Grapentine Jr. of George Company, 327th Glider Infantry Regiment (GIR), 101st Airborne Division, was born in Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, to Edward and Katherine (McDermott) Grapentine on April 19, 1920. He had two brothers, George and Richard, and two sisters, Valerie and Ruth. 

Edward attended John Adams High School, a public high school on the east side of Cleveland, that opened its doors in 1923. After graduation he enlisted in the U.S. Army at Camp Perry, located near Port Clinton on the shore of Lake Erie, on March 25, 1942. At the time, he was married to Dorothy Unger for about six months. Their wedding day was Thursday, October 2, 1941.

Edward was assigned as a combat medic to George Company of the 327th GIR and would participate in the invasion of Normandy.

On the nights of June 12th-13th, George Company would move from Carentan toward Meautis, to set up a defensive position against the enemy. During this time SSGT Edward Grapentine was lightly wounded in action, receiving his first Purple Heart Medal. On July 16, 1944, he was granted a seven day furlough - a well deserved break before his next mission.

SSGT Grapentine’s next combat mission would take place in The Netherlands for Operation Market Garden.

On September 18, 1944, the gliders of George Company took off around noon in England and crossed the English Channel. They landed south of the town Sint-Oedenrode at 15.30 hrs.

Then on September 22nd, George Company received orders to move from positions on the Wilhelmina Canal near Son towards Veghel. The company was the advance guard for 2nd Battalion. 

What happened that day is described in the book, “Glider Infantryman: Behind Enemy Lines in World War II”, by Don Rich and Kevin Brooks.

“When we reach Sint-Oedenrode, word is given that the enemy attack on Veghel has already started. […] We begin to double-time it on foot toward Veghel. Enemy artillery falls around us on the march past Sint-Oedenrode, prompting us to take a different route across open country, which is pretty hard to do when fully loaded with seventy-five pounds of supply and weapons. […] Second Battalion reaches Veghel an hour or so before dark, with [George Company] leading the column. […] The battalion is ordered into a reserve position in a large open area, about the size of three football fields, next to the big church. […] Seemingly out of nowhere, shells woosh in, and the ground rocks with three successive explosions. The heavy barrage continues like clockwork, with shells literally walking up and down the field three at a time, one salvo after another. The shells pound our position. Men scream with fear and pain between the explosions. [..] The German’s 105 mm shells, incoming from the southeast, are chewing us to pieces. […] Medics are bravely running from one wounded man to the next.”

Two of those medics are PFC Henry P. Scherrer and SSGT Grapentine. They were doing what they could to help but both men would not survive the day. 

“Medic Henry Scherrer, jumping up, runs by me toward someone screaming in pain. Blam, blam, blam! The shells hit nearby, and Henry falls head first and doesn’t move, not more than twenty feet from me. His head is to the side, I can see blood trickling from his forehead.”

The next day at daybreak, Don Rich is ordered to gather the weapons from the dead.

“I walk over to Scherrer’s body. On his forehead he has only a little blood coming from a small hole caused by shrapnel. His eyes are open. I wonder why he had to die and others of us made it out alive. He had to be the nicest guy in the company. […] Nearby is Sergeant Grapentine, whose body is riddled with holes throughout. He looks like a sieve; I can’t begin to count the holes.”

Another Screaming Eagle had soared to the ultimate height. 🦅

After initially being buried in the Netherlands, SSGT Edward J. Grapentine Jr. was reburied at Section 60 of Calvary Cemetery, Cleveland, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, in April 1949. May he rest in peace.

Happy 104th Birthday in Heaven, Edward.

Lest we forget! 🇺🇸

Sources

• Family Search
• Find a Grave, Edward John Grapentine
• Glider Infantryman: Behind Enemy Lines in World War II by Don Rich and Kevin Brooks.
• George Koskimaki files (Company Reports of CPT Hugh Evans)