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Date of Birth
Elmer Meister was born in Cleveland, Ohio, he was the seventh of nine children. He had three brothers and five sisters. One of his sisters died during birth. Pictured is Elmer with his three brothers (he is second from the right) -
Drafted into the Army
At the age of 18, Elmer Meister enlisted in the army. He was then sent to Fort Dix in New Jersey for seven days. Pictured is the document that made it official that Elmer was a soldier. -
Regiment
Elmer was assigned to the thirtieth infantry regiment, which was part of the third infantry devision. Shown is an image of an insignia patch signifying what infantry Elmer was in. -
Dog Tag
Shown is Elmer Meister's dog tag. The little divot in the tag is so that if the soldier dies, they can put the tag in the soldiers teeth when they send their bodies back to their families. -
Fort Jackson
Elmer was then sent to Fort Jackson in South Carolina for multiple months of training. This picture is the only picture there is of Elmer in the war. -
Fort George
He was sent to Fort George in Maryland for five days. -
Camp Patrick Henry
Sent to Camp Patrick Henry in Virginia for three days. -
Oran, North Africa
Elmer was then sent on a 23 day trip by boat to Oran, North Africa. Shown in the image is a very similar route as the one Elmer took. -
Bizerte
"Went to Bisserte (sic) arrived Nov 11 stopped over at Mature, Constintine, and Bone" - From the journal of Elmer Meister -
Bronchitis
"Caught Bronchitis sent to Oran for reclassification to limited service"- From the journal of Elmer Meister -
Sent to New Department
After recovering from Bronchitis, Elmer was sent to a new department, 6671st Gen Dep. The highlight for him while working there was running the motion picture camera. When asked about the war, he would almost always mention that he got to run the cameras. -
Asthma
Elmer had to return to the hospital yet again for asthma and returned May 6th. -
Naples
Elmer was then sent to Naples, Italy with Civil Affairs, gradually getting closer to Nazi territory so that they could surround the Nazis. -
Invasion
Elmer travelled back to Oran to wait for the invasion. -
France
Elmer was then sent to France with Civil Affairs where Elmer served as a sharpshooter. Shown in the image is the pin that showed that he was a sharpshooter. He also, at one point, served as a shooter on the firing squad. -
Reclassified
Throughout the months of November and December, Elmer was reclassified twice -
Shot
While running away from the enemy, Elmer was shot in the leg and explained that it didn't hurt until he stopped running, once he stopped he explained the pain as being like a really bad bee sting. After being wounded, he was being taken to a medic when the Jeep was fired upon. The drivers got out and hid behind the Jeep while Elmer was still on top of the Jeep in the stretcher. He luckily sustained no further injuries from this event. "Wounded near Colmar" -The journal of Elmer Meister. -
Germany
After traveling through France, Elmer and the infantry entered Nazi territory. One of the many war stories told from Elmer was about how after they entered Nazi territory, they were ambushed and Elmer had a good friend and when he looked at his friend he saw that his friend had been shot in the head and was laying in the snow, dead. Elmer had said that that incident had bothered him ever since. After losing his friend, there was a German prisoner and Elmer was allowed to keep the prisoners gun. -
Shot in the Leg
While walking through a church-way, Elmer and the infantry were ambushed yet again and this time it was a bloodbath. Elmer was shot in the leg and said that all he could hear were men crying for their mothers. At another point after this Elmer was shot one more time in the head, but luckily the bullet only grazed him. -
Cornered
While walking through a town, Elmer and a few other men were corned at a dead end street. Elmer thought that he was going to be captured so he got rid of all of his personal belongings and things that he had found on his journey. He was not captured but his belongings were not recovered. -
Discharged From the Army
Each time he got shot, someone would tell him, "That is a million dollar wound", meaning that he would be sent home due to his bullet wounds, but each time he returned back to his infantry. After two years of service and getting shot three times, Elmer Meister was finally discharged. Pictured is the note that officially discharged Elmer. After being discharged, Elmer got rid of most of his belongings and records from the war. -
Purple Heart
Elmer Meister was awarded the Purple Heart with three oak leaf clusters, meaning that he was awarded the Purple Heart for three separate occasions. In the image it is noticeable that there are only two oak leaf clusters, one has gone missing. -
Marriage
He married Angelina Moschella in Nanuet, New York -
First Child
Elmer's first child was born on July 21, 1956. The child was a girl that they named Ellen. Ellen later grew up to marry James Svitanek and have two children: Michael and Lauren. Elmer got to meet both Michael and Lauren. -
Second Child Born
On May 28, 1962, Elmer's second child was born. The child was a boy that they named Glenn. Glenn would later grow up to marry Elizabeth Wade and have two grandchildren: Katie Meister and Paul Meister; Elmer never got to meet Katie and Paul, but his war stories were passed on to them. Pictured below is a family photo of (from left to right) Elmer Meister, wife Angie Meister, son Glenn Meister, and daughter Ellen Svitanek -
Aneurysm
On Valentines Day, he had a brain aneurysm and multiple days later he went to the hospital and went through surgery to try and stop the bleeding -
Death
Died at Nyack Hospital at the age of 74 after developing an infection and having a stroke. Buried at St. Anthony's Cemetery, in Nanuet New York
