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| Sgt. Robert Cornelius served with the 9th Infantry Division in Normandy. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/85303772/robert-w_-cornelius https://www.pinterest.com/pin/485051822360226268/ |
Robert W. Cornelius never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on March 4, 1919 in Wisconsin. His Native American parents Joel and Leah were also both born in Wisconsin. His father worked as a farmer. Robert had three older sisters, one older brother, and two younger brothers. All four brothers served during World War 2. He completed four years of high school and worked as a farm hand.
Robert volunteered for the army on October 9, 1940. He rose to the rank of sergeant in Company C,1st Battalion, 60th Infantry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. The 9th ID was one of the first American units deployed in WW2. It fought in Algeria in November 1942 and in Tunisia during the spring of 1943. Next it took part in the invasion of Sicily in August 1943. It was then sent to England to prepare for the invasion of France.
The 9th ID landed on Utah Beach on June 10, 1944, four days after D-Day. It was assigned to cut off the Cotentin Peninsula and capture Cherbourg. Sgt. Cornelius was killed in action on June 23, 1944. I wasn't able to find specific details.
His grave is at Holy Apostles Church Cemetery in Oneida, Wisconsin.
Last year on this date I profiled B-29 flight engineer William Luman. You can read about William 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.
Please consider joining the public Facebook group to increase the exposure of this project. Go to: WW2 Fallen 100
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