World War I
William Gunzenhauser was one of about 13 children born to Joseph and Anna Gunzenhauser. He was born March 19, 1896, in Stella, NE. In 1900, when he was 4 years old, his family is listed in Allen Precinct, Pierce County. In 1910, for some reason, they are living in Arkansas, but then are back in the Osmond area in 1920.
The family must have been living here at least a couple years before that, as William enlisted in the military on April 27, 1918, and was living here at that time. He attained the rank of private and was with the 355th Infantry, 89th Division. The following is the information I found about this unit: The enlisted men of the 355th Infantry, 89th Division, mostly from the state of Nebraska, drilled ceaselessly despite a lack of adequate equipment, dreadful living conditions, and outbreaks of disease in the camps. On June 3, 1918, the regiment boarded the transport RMS Adriatic in Hoboken, NJ. They left for England and arrived June 16, then boarded a small steamer for Le Havre, France on June 24.
The soldiers moved to the front near Beaumont on Aug 4. The 1st bat- talion of the regiment was the first unit from the division to occupy any of the active front and on the night of Aug. 7-8 was subjected to a severe gas shell bombardment.
On the morning of Sept. 12, after a fierce artillery barrage, the regiment advanced 20 kilometers, capturing several villages, along with a large number of prisoners and much war material. The unit stayed on the line until Oct. 8, when it was relieved.
On Nov. 1, a new offensive was begun with the regiment held in reserve.
After two days of intense fighting the unit took up positions on the front lines to continue the advance before the armistice was signed on Nov. 11, ending hostilities.
On Nov. 24, the regiment assumed occupation duties in the German town of Saarburg. It was there on Jan. 3, 1919, that Will wrote home to his mother and brothers: “I suppose Anthony (his brother, who also served in WWI) got to spend Christmas at home last year. If he didn’t it won’t be very long until he does get home.” In his P.S., he wrote” Us boys have got pretty good places to stay since the war is over. We stay with the Germans in the same house. Most of the boys get feather beds to sleep on, some of them on straw ticks.”
The regiment entered into a strenuous training period and at the final pe riod of training received the highest rating for organizations in the division. On April 23, 1919, General John J. Pershing and Secretary of War Newton D. Baker conducted a final review of the regiment near Trier before the unit was ordered back to the United States.
The regiment arrived at Brest and embarked on the SS Leviathan, then the largest ship afloat. The SS Leviathan entered New York Harbor on May 22 and the unit headed for Camp Funston where the regiment was demobilized between June 1 and 3. I found a record of Gunzenhauser arriving on the Leviathan, as well as his discharge date of June 3, 1919.
By the way, William Gunzenhauser was one of the charter members of American Legion Post 326, which was organized in 1922, along with Edward German, Alfred Lundstrom, A. W. Bowling, William Minert, Paul Thomsen, Otto Rathley, Elmer Schlangen, Joe Blunck, Otto Schlangen, Elmer Dredge, B. L. Schmitz, Waldo Rodgers, Tony Aldarella, John Bahr, Max Kiichler and Philip Bowling. All were WWI veterans.
After his discharge from the military, William lived and worked with his parents at their farm northeast of Osmond, along with his brother Charles, who was 2 years younger than him. Will’s father died in 1921, but according to the 1930 census, the two boys continued living with their mother in Osmond, along with a niece, Mabel. Herman Gunzenhauser, William’s brother, has a family history in the centennial book which states that in addition to the 13 children in the family, there was also one adopted girl. I wonder if Mabel was adopted into the family, as her name was listed as Mabel Gunzenhauser in the 1930 census.
In the 1940 census, William is living in Colorado at Fitzsimons General Hospital. It’s not known why he is there or for how long, but that census does say that his inferred residence in 1935 was in rural Pierce County, Nebraska, and then according to his obituary, he started working for Cudahy Packing Company in Omaha in 1942. So he was possibly in the hospital there from around 1936 to 1942.
William was in failing health for about 5 years before his death, and he — and his brother Charles — are shown in the 1950 census living with their niece, Mabel, and her family in Omaha. He was bedfast since October 1951, and was living in the Omaha Veterans Hospital from February until his death in June 1952.
William, along with many other family members, is buried in St. Mary’s Catholic Cemetery. He never married.
