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| Cpl. Karl Elvegaard served with the Norwegian speaking 99th Infantry Battalion. https://www.fieldsofhonor-database.com/index.php/en/american-war-cemetery-henri-chapelle-e/55898-elvegaard-karl-p https://www.willistonherald.com/when-grandpa-went-to-war/article_0e34061a-69df-11e4-bb31-7f3167f68c42.html |
Karl P. Elvegaard never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on July 27, 1919 in Trondheim, Norway. His parents Anthony and Unna were also both born in Norway. Karl had one sister. The family came to America in 1926 and settled in Pennsylvania. By 1940 he had completed two years of high school and worked as a smelter furnace man for Bethlehem Steel.
He enlisted in the army on March 24, 1941. He became a corporal in the HQ Company, 99th Infantry Battalion. This unique battalion was composed of men of Norwegian descent with knowledge of the language and trained to ski. At one point plans were to use the unit for an invasion of Norway. That never materialized so the 99th was sent to France and arrived on Omaha Beach on June 22, 1944 in time to participate in the Battle of Cherbourg. After fighting in the Normandy Campaign, it fought across France into the Rhineland.
When the German offensive that became known as the Battle of the Bulge began, the 99th IB was sent to Malmedy to help stop the German advance. Cpl. Elvegaard was killed in action on December 29, 1944 when the 99th IB attacked the town of Otaimont.
His grave is at the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Memorial in Liege, Belgium.
Last year on this date I profiled Medal of Honor hero and medic Frederick Murphy, 65th Infantry Division. You can read about Frederick 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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