PFC Francis Matthias Volz

courtesy of Steve Edquist

PFC Francis Matthias Volz was born in Farmer, South Dakota on 26 Apr 1912. He was the youngest of the 2 children born to Peter and Katherine M. (Roster) Volz. His father worked as a buyer at a grain elevator and for the rail road. Francis went into farming in the Farmer area. 

Francis was drafted in 1943 and after his basic military training was sent to the European theater. PFC Volz was transferred from the replacement depot to L Company 116th Infantry on 20 Jul 1944 to serve as a rifleman. He fought with the unit on the approach to Vire and was killed in action on 31 Jul 1944. 

Initially buried in the Lacambe-Isigny Cemetery, PFC Volz was repatriated in 1948 and re-interred in the Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis, Minnesota.