Menu
  • Abous us
  • Search database
  • Resources
  • Donate
  • Faq

Manz Raymond E.

Name:
Raymond E. Manz
Rank:
Private First Class
Serial Number:
36870534
Unit:
42nd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, 2nd Cavalry Group (2nd Cavalry Regiment)
Date of Death:
1945-04-30
State:
Michigan
Cemetery:
Woodlawn Cemetery Toledo, Lucas County, Ohio
Plot:
Row:
Grave:
Decoration:
Distinguished Service Cross
Comments:

PFC Manz was one of two casualties during Operation Cowboy in April 1945. The Czech city of Bela nad Radbuzou created a memorial to remember his sacrifice. An extract from the 2nd Cav Association website best sums up Manz’s service: Pfc. Raymond E. Manz, was born May 16, 1925 in Toledo, Ohio, and later moved with his family to Detroit, Michigan, where he attended Southeastern High School. After graduation, he entered the Army in July 1943 and a year later found himself landing on Utah Beach, Normandy, France. Having survived the hedgerows of Northern France, the sweep across France once the hedgerows had been broken through, racing to join the Battle of the Bulge in Belgium, and fighting across the width and much of the depth of Germany with Owen Sutton and his other troop-mates, Raymond lost his life in Czechoslovakia after already being wounded while destroying a Nazi SS roadblock and while trying to reposition himself for a better field of fire to continue the fight. Ever a teenager, he was just sixteen days shy of his twentieth birthday and seven days short of the end of fighting in Europe. As with almost all Soldiers who die in combat, they do so never knowing the reason or importance of their mission, only that it must be accomplished. Thanks to brave men like Pfc. Manz and T/5 Sutton, that mission was accomplished, and a very beautiful breed of horse was saved from sure destruction. PFC Manz was initially buried in a temporary cemetery in Nurenberg, Germany. American remains were then consolidated to the Lorraine American Cemetery in St Avold, France. The family chose to repatriate the remains to his home town. On January 9, 1949, Raymond Manz was laid to rest at Woodlawn Cemery in Toledo, Ohio, by his father.