William Donald Hoff, son of Lawrence and Mary Rae (Newell) Hoff, was born February 25, 1925 in Des Moines, Iowa. He registered for the draft on his 18th birthday, February 25, 1943, when he was living in Iowa City and attending Iowa City High School. He was inducted into the Army March 30, 1944 at Camp Dodge Herrold, Iowa and trained at Camp Hood, Texas before departing for the ETO September 10, 1944. He joined Company K, 137th Infantry Regiment as a Rifleman from the 38th Replacement Battalion on October 2, 1944 when the unit was at Pettoncourt, France. He was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge November 1 and promoted to Private First Class December 10, 1944. Pfc William D Hoff was initially reported missing on January 1, 1945 in the vicinity of Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, Belgium and was later confirmed killed in action on that date. He is buried at Sunny Hill Cemetery, Grimes, Iowa.

Iowa City Press, Iowa City IA - July 12, 1948