Soft launch: Soldier biographies and research notes vary in completeness. Prefer class-roster, NARA, newspapers, and other cited sources for contested facts — treat Research notes as leads, not settled history. Anyone can correct a page; contact us with questions.

Elmer C. Haertel

From Ritchie Boys Wiki
Revision as of 02:08, 27 August 2026 by Admin (talk | contribs) (Scrub Ritchie Boy/RB openers and Facebook meta from biography)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Elmer C. Haertel
Elmer C. Haertel
Personal details
Born19 January 1908
Fairmont, Minnesota
Died18 December 1994
NativityUnited States
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Army
ASN37043686
RankCorporal
Camp RitchieClass 4 (6 January – 6 March 1943)
Section5
TeamMII 499-G
Research notes on this page are compiled from the source file and later edits. They may be unverified, incomplete, or incorrect, and should not be treated as established fact. Please correct the article or add sources on the talk page. For class-roster terms, see About the data.
Sources & confidence: Treat Research notes as leads, not settled fact. Prefer NARA, the class roster, newspapers, Find a Grave, or published histories for contested claims. Mark unsourced claims with {{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.


Elmer C. Haertel (19 January 1908 – 18 December 1994) was a Ritchie Boy (from United States) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 4.

Biography

Elmer Carl Edward Haertel. Elmer was sent overseas on June 8, 1943 to the European Theater of Operations. Elmer died December 18, 1994 at the age of 86. An interesting little tidbit about Elmer and his family. Including Elmer, there were 36 cousins within his family who served in WWII. This was the case with Elmer's cousin Paul Nolte. He was stationed in Naples, Italy, and while walking down the street one day he encountered Elmer Haertel who was on leave after landing on Anzio Beach. He was born January 19, 1908, Fairmont, Minnesota. He entered military service on April 26, 1941. He trained at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana; Camp Hood, Texas; Camp Bullis, Texas; Camp Ritchie, Maryland; Camp Pickett, Virginia. His engagements included, Sicily, Naples-Foggia, Rome-Arno, Central Europe, Southern France, Rhineland. He earned a Bronze Star and a Good Conduct Medal. He returned to the USA on October 9, 1945, and was later discharged on October 18, 1945 at Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, serving a total of 53 months. One one think with that many relatives serving in the military at the same time, that their paths would eventually cross at some point.

Research notes

  • 499-G

Technical record

Field Imported value
Approx Age at Death 86
Class_ASN 37043686
Class_Name Haertel, Elmer C.
match_method asn_exact_name_exact
row_source both

Sources

  • Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
  • NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
  • 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
  • Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-12-17 (1 post)