Milwaukee WWII soldier laid to rest almost 80 years later

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A Milwaukee-native soldier who died in World War II almost 80 years ago is finally home.

Army Sgt. Thaddeus Matuszak was laid to rest at Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery Monday afternoon.

“His body was recovered in 1946, and now we finally are bringing him home, now that we positively identified him,” said U.S. Army Master Sergeant Timothy Morrison.

Matuszak was an infantry soldier who fought in France and was killed in September of 1944 fighting the German opposition.

According to a press release, Matuszak’s unit was part of a force that had been ordered to cross the river and take up a position in the woods on the east side the morning of Sept. 8, 1944. The troops dug their defensive positions in a curved line at the edge of the forest they called Horseshoe Woods, holding their position against a relentless German attack, taking heavy losses, until Sept. 10, when another crossing of the Moselle was made.

The release adds that on that night, and into the morning of Sept. 11, most of the soldiers were able to retreat across the river, though some officers stayed behind to search the woods for the wounded or missing before recrossing the river. He was ultimately, declared non-recoverable in 1951 after recovery efforts by the American Graves Registration Command failed to find remains that could be associated with him.

Master Sgt. Morrison told CBS 58 News Matuszak died at the age of 31 and was among the soldiers reported missing until DNA analysis in September 2022 confirmed the remains belonged to him.

“Including his dental records from when he deployed, anthropological to identify what type of body it was,” Sgt. Morrison went on to say.

On Monday afternoon, Matuszak received proper honors and a 21 gun salute.

After his death, he was promoted from ‘Private First Class’ to ‘Sergeant.’

“He was awarded the bronze star and purple star, which are very high honors,” added Sgt. Morrison. “It is a great honor to bring him home.”

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To learn more about the Department of Defense’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, www.facebook.com/dodpaa, or call (703) 699-1420/1169.