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| Brother John and Eugene, the only Bogacz sons, both where killed in action - John in Italy and Eugene in the Philippines. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/125696397/john-f-bogacz/photo https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/125696376/eugene-c-bogacz/photo |
John was born December 18, 1918 in Illinois. His parents John and Helen were also born in Illinois; both of their parents were immigrants from Poland. His father worked as a court clerk. He had one younger brother (more about him later) and one younger sister. In 1940 John had completed four years of high school and was living with his parents and working in a steel mill.
John enlisted in the US Army September 18, 1943 and after completing basic training was assigned to the 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division. The 3rd ID is the only division of the US Army during World War II that fought the Axis on all European fronts, and was among the first American combat units to engage in offensive ground combat operations.
PFC Bogacz joined the 3rd ID in time to participate in the Battle of Anzio, which began with an amphibious landing at the Italian port city of Anzio on January 22, 1944. While the landing achieved complete surprise with no opposition, the Allied forces were slow to consolidate their position, allowing the Germans to form a strong defensive ring on the hills around the beachhead, planning to entrap the Allies and destroy them there. For four months the Allied forces endured numerous German counterattacks and a rain of German artillery shells that fell on the beach, the harbor, and anything else observable from the hills.
In early 1944 PFC Bogacz found himself in this nightmare situation as a replacement fresh out of basic training. The Allies finally broke out of the Anzio beachhead beginning on May 23, 1944. In the intense fighting that day the 3rd ID suffered 955 casualties, the highest single day figure for any US division during World War II. The Germans threw elements of four divisions against the 3rd ID to try to halt their advance. On May 29, 1944 PFC Bogacz was killed in action in a German ambush while returning from a patrol behind enemy lines.
John F. Bogacz was initially buried in the US Military Cemetery in Nettuno, Italy and was later reinterred in Holy Cross Cemetery, Calumet City, Illinois.
John is buried next to his younger brother Eugene, a PFC in the US Army Signal Corps, who was killed in combat 5 months after John. PFC Eugene Bogacz took part in the amphibious assault on the beach at Palo, Leyte, Philippine Islands on October 20, 1944. Eugene was killed instantly when the landing boat in which he was riding was hit by a shell just as it reached the beach.
Thank you John and Eugene for your sacrifice. Let's Earn It for the Bogacz brothers.
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This profile was written by Bob Fuerst. "I’m a NASA engineer, B-17 Flying Fortress enthusiast, and amateur genealogist so this kind of research is an ideal outlet for me. But more than anything, it’s a way to express my sincere appreciation for The Greatest Generation and the sacrifices that they made, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice. They should never be forgotten and I’m grateful to Don for allowing me to play a small part in honoring them."
Last year on this date I profiled Adam Culp, also of the 3rd Infantry Division. You can read about Adam here.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
I created this video to explain why I started this project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY.
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WW2 Fallen 100 is supported by
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“Where Every Day is Memorial Day”
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