William Fred Getzlaff

*Plaque not located*

*The list of Liberty Row names shows that this soldier's plaque was placed at "Euclid Ave. to Cedar Ave. (Right)."

Birth: 11/16/1893, Cleveland, OH

Address: 3113 E. 68th St., Cleveland, OH

Demographics: age 23 at draft registration; single; Caucasian; native-born Clevelander; occupation Coremaker at Ferro Machine Co., Cleveland, OH (a coremaker creates cores for the hollow shapes used in molds for metal casting)

Appearance: Height short, Build medium, Eyes gray, Hair light

Draft Date/Enlistment Date/Rank: 6/5/1917; 10/4/1917; Corporal

Service Number: 1526838

Deployment: 6/22/1918 from Newport News, VA aboard SS Caserta  

Action: 28 Co 7 Tng Bn Cp Sherman O Oct 4/17 to Oct 16/17; Co K 147 Inf to Sept 28/18. Pvt Oct 4/17; Corp May 15/18. Meuse-Argonne; Defensive Sector. AEF June 22/18 to death.

Death: September 28, 1918 at age 24; cause of death Killed in Action

Burial: 10/3/1918 buried locally in Meuse, France; 5/13/1919 remains disinterred and reburied at Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery, Meuse, France; in August 1921 body was returned to the U.S. aboard SS Wheaton; remains arrived Cleveland, OH 9/2/1921 to the care of Fred Claus, Undertaker; final burial at Lutheran Cemetery, 4566 Pearl Rd., Cleveland, OH, Section G Lot 124 alongside multiple family members

Next of Kin: Mrs. Louisa Getzlaff, mother, 3113 E. 68th St., Cleveland, OH

Additional Information: This family suffered multiple losses in a short period of time: Corporal William Fred Getzlaff died in 1918, his father Adolph died in 1920, his sister Lydia had an infant who died in 1921, and his brother Adolph (whose first wife had died in 1914 at age 23) had a son named William John Getzlaff (presumably the namesake of Corporal William Fred Getzlaff) who died at 2 months of age in 1923.

Father: Adolph "Adolf" F. Getzlaff, Sr. (1859-1920), born Germany, emigrated 1886 or 1891, occupation Laborer at a Mill and Hod Carrier in Building Industry (Hod carriers carried various construction materials at a job site using a "hod," a shoulder-borne container; Mother: Louisa Kaiser Getzlaff (1864-1944), born Germany, emigrated 1886 or 1891, had 11 children of whom 9 survived; Siblings: Otto Getzlaff (1886-1922); Adolph Getzlaff, Jr. (1888-1950) who also worked at Ferro Machine Co.; Ida Getzlaff Nickel (1892-1961); Fred H. Getzlaff (1896-1976) who served in WWI and was honorably discharged on 10/19/1918, less than 3 weeks after his brother died in the war; Charles Getzlaff (1898-1970); Gretchen Getzlaff (1899-?); Margaret Getzlaff Billhardt (1900-1957); Lydia Getzlaff Boehm (1902-1975); Clara C. Getzlaff Reith (1904-1981)