Return of Manitowoc's first war dead

Photographer

Quirk, William, Jr.

Date

• April 14, 1948

Publisher

Manitowoc, Wisconsin: Manitowoc Herald Times

Summary

• This picture was published in the Manitowoc Herald Times on April 14, 1948 over the caption "Return Manitowoc’s first war dead." It shows the flag draped coffin of Pfc. Paul L. Adams being carried by six men in uniform. His parents, Mr. and Mrs. Louis Adams, stand nearby next to John Osieczanek, commander of Manitowoc’s Otto Oas Post No. 659, Veterans of Foreign Wars. Behind Mr. and Mrs. Adams are the VFW post flag and the U.S. flag, held by other VFW members. Pfc. Adams, a Marine, had been killed on Iwo Jima in March 1945. Under a government funded program initiated in 1946, service members killed overseas could be returned to the United States for final burial. Through this program another Manitowoc County resident, Pvt. Roy Krenke, had already been returned for burial in Two Rivers. Adams was the first Manitowoc city resident to be brought back. He was buried at Evergreen Cemetery on April 14, 1948 after military rites at the Urbanek and Schlei Funeral Home, conducted by the VFW members. Far left: Staff Sgt. Martin Kelnhofer, who accompanied Adams’ casket to Manitowoc. Others left to right: Leo Rathsack, George Arends, Walter Bunschek, A. M. Hadley, Peter Steffens, Louis Politka, Mrs. Louis Adams, Louis Adams, John Osieczanek, and Bruno Fox. In the back with the colors are Chaplain Joseph Clerf, Don Peterson, and Anton Labinsky.