134th Infantry Regiment Website "All Hell Can't Stop Us"

Pfc Robert E Jurss

137th Infantry Regiment - Company G

Robert Edward Jurss was born April 24, 1923 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He registered for the draft June 30, 1942 and was inducted into the Army March 22, 1943. He served as a Rifleman in Company G, 137th Infantry Regiment. The Regiment departed the Port of New York aboard the troop ship SS Thomas H Barry on the morning of May 11, 1944, enroute to the ETO. After docking at Avonmouth, England on May 24th, they traveled to Cornwall, England where they billeted until they sailed across the English Channel to Normandy, France. Company G, 137th Infantry landed on Omaha Beach July 9, 1944.

They entered combat on July 11, 1944 in the hedgerows north of St Lo before entering the city July 18th. From there they pushed south, crossing the Vire River, and participated in the breakout of the Cotentin Peninsula. They fought off a major enemy counterattack at Mortain, then continued across France, crossing the Moselle river and fighting major battles at Nancy, Chambrey, and Sarreguemines. After a brief rest over Christmas at Metz, France, they were sent to the Ardennes to fight in the Battle of the Bulge. After another brief rest they moved north, attacked across the Roer in February and crossed the Siegfried Line. They reached the Rhine in early March, attacked across the Herne Canal and reached the Ruhr River in early April before moving to Hanover for occupation duty. During the course of the war the 35th Infantry Division, which included the 137th Infantry Regiment, experienced 264 days of combat and participated in 5 Campaigns: Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe.

Pfc Robert E Jurss returned home with the 137th Infantry Regiment aboard the SS Cristobal departing Le Havre, France on August 23rd and arriving in Boston Harbor on August 31, 1945. He was discharged from the Army April 19, 1947. He passed away October 26, 1986 and is buried at Washington County Memorial Park, West Bend, Wisconsin.

Gelsenkirchen-Erle, Germany

Robert E Jurss with his aunt & uncle Herb & Isabel Biersach

Recklinghausen, Germany	Pfc Robert E Jurss

		Robert Jurss, far right probably taken post-war in Chicago
Pfc Robert E Jurss - right

Thanks to Neal Jurss for these photos from his uncle Robert's collection

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