Hello all, I hope you are enjoying my stories and learning about my relatives who served in WWII. This is part of the WWII Hometown Newspaper Collection Project which is intended to provide information about the individuals who served and sacrificed during WWII. Not all of the people who will be highlighted in this series of blog posts died in service but many did give the ultimate sacrifice.
This story is about Pvt. George Ellis Schloss. George is my wife's 10th cousin 2x removed. He was born in Newport, Shelby County, Ohio on 2 December 1918. His parents were Rodney Harold Schloss and Cora Edna Rhodehamel Schloss.
The 1920 US Census states that the family was living in Loramie Township, Shelby County, Ohio. His family consisted of Rodney (age 29), Cora (age 24), Vernon (age 2 years 11 months), and George (age 1). Rodney Schloss worked as a restaurant keeper and they rented their home.
In the 1930 US Census the family is living in Cynthian Township, Shelby County, Ohio. They owned their house which was valued at $200. The family had grown considerably by this time and consisted of Rodney (age 38), Cora (age 34), Vernon (age 15), George (age 13), Olga (age 11), Ruth (age 10), Minnie (age 7), Lawrence (age 6), Rose (age 6), and John (age 3). The census indicates that Rodney was 24 and Cora was 20 when they were married. Rodney was listed as unemployed, working odd jobs.
George (age 21) was living in the home of William Hauschild during the 1940 US Census. His occupation was listed as ice dealer.
George was one of the first three volunteers from Shelby County, Ohio to register under the selective service system. He registered for the draft on 16 October 1940, over a year before the US entered WWII. He entered the Army on 25 November 1940 and was sent to Fort Hayes in Columbus, Ohio. He then went to Fort Knox, Kentucky on 7 December 1941 where he trained with the armored infantry. After he completed his training there, his unit boarded the RMS Queen Mary at the Brooklyn Army Terminal on 11 May 1942 to go to Ireland for additional training. They arrived in Northern Ireland on 16 May 1942 and trained on the moors before he went to North Africa as part of the 6th Infantry, 1st Armored Division, US Army.
His unit took part in Operation Torch as part of the Allied invasion of Northwest Africa on 8 November 1942, becoming the first American armored division to see combat in WWII. Between December 1942 and March 1943 the unit had several encounters with German forces in Algeria and Tunisia, experiencing heavy losses. Between March 17 and 29, they began to make substantial movements against the German forces during battles at Gafsa, Zannouch, Maknassy, Djebel Naemia, and Gabes, sometimes fighting in heavy rains. On 28 March 1943, Pvt. George Schloss was killed in action in North Africa. He was awarded the Purple Heart and is buried in Plot C, Row 12, Grave 4, of the North African American Cemetery in Carthage, Tunisia.
The last letter he wrote to his family said "I have been pretty busy, so if you don't hear from me for two or three months, don't think anything about it."
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