He was a
janitor for the post office where his dad worked.
He was also a janitor at the high school, and also
a Greyhound Bus ticket agent and a
theater projectionist.
In
the summer
months
when
school
was
out,
he
joined the
National
Guard
and
trained at
Fort
Lewis,
Washington.
When
the
war first
broke
out
after
Pearl Harbor, Bill's National Guard outfit
was called up to go fight in the South Pacific.
They wound up fighting the Japanese at Bataan and
Corregidor. Since Bill was much too young for such
an assignment, and still had high school to finish,
everyone drew a sigh of relief when the National
released him and thus avoided that tragedy.
He
was blessed with a great gift of "Gab". He was
comfortable talking to people, and it seemed he
never met a stranger. Be it the clergy, politicians,
bankers, coaches, professors, scout leaders. This
ability served him well in public speaking where he
won a first place award for extemporaneous speaking.
I shall never forget one of his "trade-mark" sayings
that still rings in my ears and sometimes comes
rolling off my own tongue, "Thanks a million!" That
was a phrase that he used to close almost all
conversations. I imagine I can still hear that
jaunty remark many times.
In High
School he participated in all sports. He played
football, basketball, ran the 100 yd. dash, the 240,
and the relays. He was in the band, played the
clarinet, saxophone and tuba. In fact, Bill was
always game to try any instrument the band needed
him for. He and a few band members formed a little
jazz band, practiced whenever they could get
together, and played a few "gigs" at school dances.”
William became a Private
First Class with the 414th Infantry Regiment, 104th Infantry Division.
The division had
landed in Normandy on September 7, 1944 and were
moved by train to Belgium. Their first assigment
and taste of combat would not be under American
command. They were
temporarily assigned to the Canadian First Army.
They replaced the 2nd Royal Scots Fusiliers
(49th British Division), just north of the
Belgian town of Wuustwezel.
Late October 1944,
the division found itself on the Dutch-Belgian
border and preparing for their initiation into
combat.
One source states that
on October 25th, the troops of the 414th Infantry
Regiment had dug in and were preparing for
the night when word came that they were to
attack some woods that had reportedly been
vacated by German forces. The attack would begin
just before midnight. It was a dark night and,
because of their lack of experience, the men
crossing a sugar beet field did so with
considerable noise. The enemy, which was
supposed to have withdrawn, opened up with
machine guns. Flares lit up the whole area.
There was some consternation as the
unexperienced and tired troops waited for orders. Those right in
front of the enemy machine guns, fought back any
way they could, but the ones behind them could
not fire out of fear of hitting their own.
The men remained were they lay, waiting for
instructions. Later the order to withdraw was given.
After retreating about a quarter mile the troops
set up a defense perimeter. The Germans knew
were the Americans had dug in and zeroed in on
them. The troops were hit by machine gun and
rifle fire and grenades. Casualties were heavy.
Pfc William Kolb died while covering the retreat
of his comrades. For his actions he was
posthumously awarded the Silver Star. His
citation reads:
"For
gallantry
in
action
in
***
on 25
October 1944
.
On
the
night
of
25
October 1944 Private Kolb 's
battalion
encountered severe
enemy
machine gun
fire
delivered from
well
concealed position
.
After
lying
for forty
five
minutes
in
open
terrain
swept
by
four bands of enemy machine
gun
fire,
it
became
necessary
for
the
battalion to
withdraw.
Private
Kolb,
realizing that covering
fire
should
be
given
the
battalion
as
it
moved
to
the
rear,
without
regard
for
his
personal
safety
and in the
face
of the
heavy
enemy
machine
gun
fire
,
crawled
forward
from
his
normal position
as
an
ammunition
bearer
in
search
of his
squad'
a
machine
gun.
Finding
that
his squad
had
already
withdrawn,
Private
Kolb
attempted
to
set
up
its
machine gun, disregarding the
enemy
fire
while
retrieving the
tripod
from
a
ditch and the receiver
from
open
fire-swept
ground.
Private
Kolb was
fatally
wounded
just
as
he
was
about to
get
the machine
gun into operation, and although he-failed to
complete
his self-assigned
mission, his personal
valor,
tenacity of purpose,
and unwavering
devotion
to duty
is in
keeping with
the
finest
traditions
of
the Military
Service."
After the war, William's army friends got in
touch with Dorothy. She later wrote the
following about what they said:
"It
was almost 4 months after the American and
allied forces had launched the D-Day battle of
Normandy in World War ll when the 414th Infantry
104th Division became engaged in the battle of
Aachen. July, August and September were filled
with glorious victories, {if any battle can be
described as glorious.} But the brilliant gains
of the previous months were stopped cold when
they got to Holland and Belgium. German
resistance stiffened up; Hitler's orders
demanded that no German positions falter and
that no ground be given up. Patton was bogged
down because fighter-bombers could not fly due
to weather, tanks could not move, and troops
could not march without great difficulty. To
make matters worse, if that were possible,
American forces were suffering a lack of
ammunition. Some of the troops were allotted
only 4 to 5 rounds of ammo per day.
It was
against this backdrop that Private William A. Kolb,
39697240, was caught in the middle of battle on 25
October 1944. Desperate for more ammo, and being
nearly run over by the Germans, Kolb was ordered to
go for more ammunition. Upon his return he observed
his men in retreat and taking heavy fire from a
German machine gun nest. Kolb jumped into his
position, and with the fresh ammo, he began giving
the Germans a savage return of fire, which served
to provide cover for the retreating American
forces. It was this decision that cost Pvt. Kolb
his life. We can only speculate how successful his
courageous action was. The Army awarded him the
Silver Star and the Purple Heart for service above
and beyond the call of duty. The Silver Star is
one of our nation's highest awards. Private Kolb
died in an act of extreme bravery, loyalty to his
country and love of his fellow combatants. When I
last was with him in June of 1944, he told me that
he had a profound belief that he would be killed on
the field of battle. Thus he fulfilled his own
prophecy.”
Pfc William A. Kolb
is buried at Henri Chapelle American Military Cemetery,
Belgium, Plot F Row 5 Grave 45.
(picture courtesy
of Mr William Kolb)
