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Karl H. Schafer

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Karl H. Schafer
Personal details
Born1922
Died25 February 1945
NativityGermany
ReligionProtestant
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Army
Arm / serviceCorps of Engineers
ASN0556062
RankSecond Lieutenant
Camp RitchieClass 22 (23 August – 21 October 1944)
Section5D
TeamIPW 164
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.


Karl H. Schafer (1922 – 25 February 1945) was a Ritchie Boy (from Germany; Protestant) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 22 and served with IPW Team 164.

Biography[edit | edit source]

Hellman]] (1912-1991) graduated Class 20 (German) and was officer in charge of IPW 164 attached to XXI Corps. Mark Hellman writes that his Father "had grown up in a German-speaking Lutheran farm family in Nebraska, gone to the Univ of Nebraska, graduating at age 19 and then getting an MA there in the mid-1930's in Latin and German.

At end of October 1944, fifteen IPW teams (30 officers and 60 enlisted men) were transported to Camp Shanks and then embarked on the SS Aquitania to ETO (Scotland).

One sad thing about the momento: 2nd Lt. Shafer was a replacement....2nd Lt. According to RB historian Dan Gross, "Captain [[Hellman, Fred W.

Research notes[edit | edit source]

  • Replacement for Kupferschmidt

Gallery[edit | edit source]

Technical record[edit | edit source]

Field Imported value
Approx Age at Death 91
Class_ASN 556062
Class_Name SCHAFER, Karl H.
match_method asn_exact_name_exact
row_source both

Sources[edit | edit source]

  • 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 2018-01-10 (1 post)