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From the website https://army.togetherweserved.com
Article written by: Jack Oberholtzer.
Walter Groeschel was born on 9 April 1913 to his parents, Alvin and Emma Groeschel, in Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky.
His father, Albin Max Groeschel (1880-1953), was born in Goppersdorf, Saxony, Germany, and immigrated to the U.S. at the age of 21 through New York, arriving on 30 January 1902 aboard the ship Pretoria sailing from Hamburg. He settled in Louisville, Kentucky, eventually owning a wholesale meat company for many years on Frankfort Avenue. On 29 November 1906, he married Emma Sauer (1890-1968) in Louisville. She was born and raised in the city, the daughter of a pottery maker. She was a homemaker and the couple had six children: Alvina, Robert, Selma, Carrie, Walter and Emma.
Walter had a grammar school education.
In the 1940 Census, Walter was a truck driver for his father’s wholesale and retail meat market.
When Walter filled out his draft card on 16 October 1940, he described himself as 5’9”, 140 pounds, brown eyes, brown hair with a ruddy complexion. He lived at 2117 Frankfort Avenue, Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, with his parents, and was employed at Johnson’s Meat Market on 1911 Frankfort Avenue.
Walter was inducted into the U.S. Army through the Selective Service on 27 March 1942 in Louisville, Ky. After basic training, he was sent to Camp Polk, Louisiana, in June 1942, and was eventually assigned to Company A, 40th Tank Battalion, 7th Armored Division. It was unknown what his military specialty was, but it was as part of a tank crew.
The 7th Armored Division was activated on 1 March 1942 at Camp Polk, Louisianna, and between March and August 1943, trained at Camp Coxcomb, California. It was then sent to Fort Benning, Ga., and reorganized in September 1943, consisting of the 17th, 31stand 40th Tank Battalions and 23rd, 38th and 48th Armored Infantry Battalions (AIB). In late April 1944, the 7th traveled north, first to Camp Miles Standish, Massachusetts, then on 2 May to Camp Shanks, New York. On 6 June 1944, it boarded the Queen Mary in New York harbor, sailing for England the next day. It arrived in Scotland on 13 June and trained at Tidworth Barracks in Wiltshire, England, until 7 August.
The 7th Armored Division landed on Omaha and Utah Beaches on 10-12 August 1944, assigned to the U.S. Third Army. The division drove through Nogent-le-Rotrou in an attack on Chartres, which fell on 18 August. From there, it advanced to liberate Dreux and then Melun, where they crossed the Seine River on 24 August. It then pushed on, bypassing Reims and liberated Chateau-Thierry and then Verdun on 31 August. The division continued moving forward to the Moselle and became involved in attacking Metz but was repulsed several times over the next few weeks.
On 25 September, the 7th Armored was transferred to the U.S. First Army, to support Operation Market Garden, and began its march to the Netherlands. The American plan was to have the 7th Armored advance south in eastern Netherlands between the Peel marshes and the Maas River bordering Germany to clear out German resistance. It was to start at the Oploo-St. Anthonis-Boxmeer line, attack south through Overloon and eventually link up with the 1st Belgium Brigade and 113th Cavalry Group advancing north from the Belgium border.
On 30 September, the 7th launched a three-pronged attack from their starting positions against the significant German defenses north of Overloon. Over the next week, these attacks met heavy German resistance and eventually bogged down, not even reaching Overloon or the nearby villages closer to the Maas River. On October 8th, the 7th was relieved from the attack by the British 11thArmoured Division and was moved to the Deurne-Weert area.
During this effort, Company A, 40th Tank Battalion was part of Task Force Chappuis, which was the main attack from Oploo approaching Overloon via the Oploo Road on the far-right flank.
On 30 September, TF Chappuis started its attack towards Overloon, but encountered heavy German resistance.
According to Jack Didden and Maarten Swarts in their book, Kampfgruppe Walther and Panzerbrigade 107, the initial start of the attack was delayed due to traffic jams around Oploo. “At 1245 hours, German artillery was placed on the positions of CCA, resulting in three men killed and fifteen wounded…. At 1630 hours, after a brief introductory artillery barrage, the advance finally began…. The minute the American troops began to move forward, they were met with withering artillery and mortar fire from the enemy.”
Unfortunately, Pfc. Groeschel was probably killed in action by German artillery fire on 30 September in one of the above actions, although one report noted that he was killed in action by artillery fire about a1/2-mile South-East of Oploo.
Private First-Class Walter Groeschel would have been entitled to the following awards: the Purple Heart, the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with two stars for the Northern France and Rhineland Campaigns and the World War II Victory Medal.
Private First-Class Walter Groeschel gave his life in service to his country and should be remembered for his sacrifice and dedication to duty. His remains were initially buried at a temporary American Cemetery #1240 near Henri-Chapelle, Belgium. His parents decided to have his remains permanently buried with his fellow soldiers, and today he rests in the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial in Henri-Chapelle, Liege, Belgium, in Plot B, Row 11, Grave 18.
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