Henry Raymond Janzen

Henry Raymond Janzen
Personal details
Born	11 August 1919 Cloud Chief, Oklahoma
Died	25 March 1964 Yuba City, California
Nativity	United States
Religion	Catholic
Awards	Bronze Star; Army Commendation
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
Arm / service	Infantry
ASN	01016309
Rank	Major
Rank at Ritchie	Second Lieutenant
Camp Ritchie	Class 14 (2 December 1943 – 31 January 1944)
Section	5B

Awards and honors

Bronze Star	Army Commendation

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Henry Raymond Janzen (11 August 1919 – 25 March 1964) was an Oklahoma-born Ritchie Boy (Class 14) who served as an interpreter with Fifth Army in Italy.

Biography

Henry Raymond Janzen was born on 11 August 1919 in Cloud Chief, Oklahoma. He married Viola Walters of Dinuba, California. Janzen received his commission at Fort Knox, Kentucky, in February 1943, then served with an armored unit at Camp Polk, Louisiana, and trained at Camp Barkeley, Texas, before military-intelligence instruction in Washington, D.C.

Assigned to Camp Ritchie (Class 14), he graduated on 31 January 1944. After a brief New York furlough he shipped overseas in March 1944 and served with Fifth Army in Italy, where he was promoted to first lieutenant in August 1944. With Sergeant Eric A. Hurst of Jersey City he captured a German soldier who had been masquerading as an Italian hitchhiker about thirty miles behind American lines.

His headstone records later promotion to major and the Bronze Star and Army Commendation Medal. Janzen died on 25 March 1964 in Yuba City, California, and is buried at Smith Mountain Cemetery in Dinuba.

Gallery

• 
  Henry Raymond Janzen portrait (RB Archive)
• 
  Wartime newspaper clipping on Lt. Henry Raymond Janzen (RB Archive)

Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	45
Class_ASN	16309
Class_Name	JANZEN, Henry R.
match_method	asn_partial_name_exact
row_source	both

Timeline

• 11 August 1919 — Born in Cloud Chief, Oklahoma.
• February 1943 — Commissioned at Fort Knox; armored training at Camp Polk and Camp Barkeley.
• 31 January 1944 — Graduated Camp Ritchie (Class 14).
• March 1944 — Shipped overseas; Fifth Army, Italy.
• August 1944 — Promoted first lieutenant; with Sgt. Eric A. Hurst captured a German behind the lines.
• 25 March 1964 — Died in Yuba City, California; buried Dinuba.

Sources

• Wartime newspaper clipping on Lt. Henry Raymond Janzen (RB Archive)
• Henry Raymond Janzen portrait (RB Archive)
• RB Archive wartime clipping / OCR (Dinuba area press; Camp Ritchie graduation and Italy capture story)
• Find a Grave — Henry Raymond Janzen
• Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
• Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
• 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 2022-12-22 (1 post)