Rome, NY WWII Fallen

Sgt. Donald G. Rose

U.S. Army 32493519

Company D, 1st Battalion, 254th Infantry Regiment, 63rd Infantry Division

Donald George Rose was born October 17, 1920, in Brownville, Jefferson County, New York, to J. Roswell Jr. (1894-1943) and Inez Christine Youngs (1898-1981) Rose, the second of two children born to the couple. His only sibling was Ruth Elizabeth Rose Tiffany (1919-?). Donald was known as Buddy or Bud to his family and friends.

Roswell was born in Brownville, New York, and worked as a barber at his own barbershop. Christine was born in Three Mile Bay, New York, and was a housewife. They were granted a marriage license on February 21, 1918, in Lyme, Jefferson County, New York, and the couple married on February 22, 1918. Roswell joined the Army and reported to Camp Dix in May 1918.

In the 1920 U.S. Census, the couple and daughter, Ruth, lived in Lyme near Roswell’s parents, Roswell, Sr. and Abbie (Vallier) Rose, both born in Canada. In the 1930 U.S. Census, Roswell, Jr., Christine, Ruth, and Donald lived on State Street in Heuvelton, New York. Roswell owned and operated a barbershop. In the 1940 U.S. Census, the family lived on Riverside Avenue in Heuvelton, Roswell continued to own and operate a barbershop, and Donald, then 19, was employed as a laborer digging ditches.

Donald and Ruth attended Heuvelton public schools. Donald graduated in 1937 and completed a postgraduate course in 1938. Donald was an honor student and active in varsity sports, music, and dramatics. Donald played centerfield for the baseball team and lettered in soccer. He was active in the Methodist Church and choir, President of the Epworth League, and a district officer of the Youth Fellowship group. Donald was a member of the volunteer fire department and of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) of both Ogdensburg, NY, and Balboa Heights, Panama Canal Zone.

Donald worked at the Atlantic and Pacific Store and as assistant manager at Loblaw’s Groceteria, both in Ogdensburg, NY. He transferred to Loblaw’s in Rome, NY, as assistant manager. At the time of his induction into the U.S. Army, he was employed at Revere Copper and Brass in Rome. Donald had worked in the small tube department there since February 10, 1942.

His Draft Registration Card (front)

Donald registered for the draft on February 15, 1942, at the U.S. Customs House, Ogdensburg, St. Lawrence County, New York. Donald was 5’6 ½” tall, weighed 150 pounds, and had brown hair and brown eyes. He listed his mother, Mrs. Roswell Rose, as the “person who will always know your address,” and Revere Copper and Brass as his employer.

Donald was inducted into the U.S. Army on October 6, 1942. He did training at Camp Upton, NY, and Fort Dix, NJ. From November 4, 1942, to June 8, 1944, he served with a coastal anti-aircraft unit in the Panama Canal Zone.

May 22, 1943, PFC Donald Rose, Btry B, 87th Coast Artillery, Camp Paraiso, Canal Zone, Anti-Aircraft Fire Control, appeared on a list of enlisted men indicated to attend 9th Electrical Course at Fort Amador, Canal Zone.

Roswell Rose, Donald’s father, died of a cerebral hemorrhage on August 19, 1943. A cablegram was sent to Rev. A. E. Goddard at Balboa, Canal Zone, so he could notify Donald of his father’s death. A funeral with full military honors was held on Sunday, August 22, at the Methodist Church in Heuvelton, NY. The flag-draped coffin was taken to the Brownville Cemetery, Brownville, NY, for burial. Members of the American Legion Robert James Woodside Post 550, the American Legion Auxiliary, and the Van Heuvel Smoke Club attended the service in a body.

A Morning Report of October 12, 1943, Jackson Barracks Area, New Orleans, LA, stated PFC Donald Rose was attached from another group but had not yet joined as he was on furlough from October 3, 1943, for 30 days.

The Women’s Society of Christian Service of the Methodist Church of Heuvelton, NY, met December 30, 1943, for their annual Christmas party. A letter of thanks from PFC Donald Rose was read for the book, “Strength for Service to God and Country,” which he received from the group.

A Morning Report of January 14, 1944, Fort Clayton, Canal Zone, Btry B, 766th AAA Gun BN, reported PFC Rose was promoted to Tec 5 on January 13.

A Morning Report of May 16, 1944, Fort Clayton, Canal Zone, Btry B, 766th AAA Gun BN, reported Cpl. Rose was transferred to 4th Coast Artillery, Fort Amador, Canal Zone, on May 15, 1944.

A Morning Report of May 20, 1944, Fort Kobbe, Canal Zone, Hq & Hq Btry, 3rd BN, 4th Coast Artillery, listed Cpl. Rose transferred to Btry E, 2nd Prov Coast Artillery BN.

Upon returning to the United States, he volunteered for the infantry. June 28, 1944, it was reported Cpl. Donald Rose was home on leave. He then reported to Camp Van Dorn, MS, for Gunners School, and became squadron leader of the 1st Platoon. He was attached to Company B, 1282D Engineer Combat Battalion.

As of July 20, 1944, Cpl. Rose, along with many other enlisted men, was transferred from the 1282D Engineer Combat Battalion to the 63rd Infantry Division. They were ordered to report without delay.

In November 1944, Donald wrote his mother that he had been promoted to sergeant and “expected to leave for overseas soon.”

In November 1944, Sgt. Rose was sent overseas to France with the newly formed 63rd Infantry Division, the “Blood and Fire Division.” He was in Company D, 1st Battalion, of the 254th Infantry Regiment. Sgt. Rose was the squadron leader of a machine gun outfit, and first entered combat on January 1, 1945.

January 27, 1945, the 1st Battalion of the 254th Infantry Regiment was engaged in seizing Jebsheim, France, and securing a crossing of the Colmar Canal. The lst BN met heavy enemy resistance. House to house fighting continued through the night and the next morning.

Sgt. Donald G. Rose was killed in action by artillery shell fragments at Jebsheim, France, on January 28, 1945.

March 22, 1945, some employees of Revere Copper and Brass, Rome, NY, reported a Christmas letter sent to Sgt. Rose had been returned and marked “deceased.” The letter was mailed December 29, 1944. Friends at Revere had recently received a letter from Sgt. Rose dated January 20, 1945, in which he said he was well and writing from a foxhole in France. Mrs. Christine Rose confirmed that Sgt. Rose was killed in action on January 28, 1945, and was buried in France.

A memorial service for Sgt. Rose was held on Sunday, April 22, 1945, at the Heuvelton, NY, Methodist Church. The Purple Heart Medal was posthumously awarded to Sgt. Rose and received by his mother the previous week.

Sgt. Rose is remembered on Page 110 of the World War II Honor List of Dead and Missing, Army and Army Air Forces Personnel from New York, 1946, and Page 12725 of the Rosters of US WWII Dead. He is also remembered on the Honor List of Dead and Missing Personnel, World War II, Oneida County, New York.

Sgt. Donald G. Rose and 65 other servicemen killed at Jebsheim, France, are remembered on a war memorial placed there.

From https://www.63rdinfdiv.com/divisionmemorialspage5.html:

In 1997 members of the 254th Infantry Regiment decided to honor their buddies who were killed during the Battle of Jebsheim in January 1945. A bronze plaque was designed, as shown above, and dedicated on 7 June 1997 at a ceremony held in the Jebsheim town square. Attending the ceremony were six members of the 254th, all veterans of the Battle of Jebsheim. Also in attendance was the Mayor of Jebsheim, a contingent of French Parachutists, several French veterans of the battle, a number of Jebsheim citizens and guests. During the ceremony the names were read of the sixty six men of the 254th who were killed during the liberation of Jebsheim. Also presented was a poem based on Joyce Kilmer's poem , "The Rouge Bouquet". The poem, "A Small French Village Named Jebsheim" was written to honor the 66 men of the regiment who died in the Battle of Jebsheim.

A small French village named Jebsheim

There were sixty-six new graves that cold and deadly time
In a small French village named Jebsheim.
Never dug by a spade or pick
but covered by snow cold and thick.

There rested the bodies of fighting men
Dead in their youthful prime.
Never to laugh or love again
Or taste of the summertime.
For death came flying through the air
To touch his prey and left them there,
Alone and cold with a deathly stare.
Death hid their bodies stealthily
Under the snow on the land they fought to free,
And from Jebsheim fled away.

The sounds of war echoed above their graves
Like three rifle volleys, abrupt and clear.
One- Two- and then the Third.
And Perhaps their brave young spirits heard
"Go to Sleep- Go to Sleep-
Slumber well where the shells screamed and fell
Let your rifles rest on Death's door.
You won't need them anymore.
In Jebsheim, now at last,
Your danger has past.
Go to sleep!"

There was on earth no worthier a grave
To hold the bodies of the brave,
Than Jebsheim, a place of pain and pride
Where they nobly fought and nobly died--

Now up to heaven's doorway float
From the village called Jebsheim-today
A delicate sound of bugle notes that softly say-
"Farewell! Farewell!
Comrades true- born anew- peace to you!
Your souls shall be where the heroes are and
Your memory shine like the morning star.
Brave and dear.
Shield us here.
Farewell!"

The 254th Infantry Regiment received a Presidential Unit Citation for its actions in Colmar, France.

From https://www.63rdinfdiv.com/254thinfregtpage9.html

By direction of the President of the United States of America, the Presidential Unit Citation is awarded to the 3rd Infantry Division, with the following attached units: 254th Infantry Regiment, 63rd Infantry Division. Fighting incessantly from 22 Jan to 6 Feb 1945, in heavy snow storms, through enemy infested marshes and woods and over a flat plain crisscrossed by numerous small canals, irrigation ditches and unfordable streams, terrain ideally suited to the defense, breached the German defense wall on the northern perimeter of the Colmar Bridgehead and drove forward to isolate Colmar from the Rhine. Crossing the Fecht River from Guemar, Alsace, by stealth during the late hours of darkness of 22 January, the assault elements fought their way forward against mounting resistance. Reaching the Ill River, a bridge was thrown across, but collapsed before armor could pass to the support of two battalions of the 30th Infantry on the far side. Isolated and attacked by a full German Panzer brigade, outnumbered and out gunned, these valiant troops were forced back, yard by yard. Wave after wave of armor and infantry was hurdled against them but despite hopeless odds the regiment held tenaciously to the bridgehead. Driving forward in knee-deep snow, which masked acres of densely sown mines, the 3rd Infantry Division fought from house to house and street to street in the fortress towns of the Alsatian Plain. Under furious concentrations of supporting fire, assault troops crossed the Colmar Canal in rubber boats during the night of 29 January. Driving relentlessly forward, six towns were captured within 8 hours, 500 casualties were inflected on the enemy during the day, and large quantities of booty seized. Slashing through to the Rhine-Rhone Canal, the garrison at Colmar was cut off and the fall of the city assured. Shifting the direction of attack, the division moved south between the Rhine-Rhone Canal and the Rhine toward Neuf Brisach and the Brisach Bridge. Synchronizing the attacks, the bridge was seized and Neuf Brisach captured by crossing the protecting moat and scaling the medieval walls by ladder. In one of the hardest fought and bloodiest campaigns of the war, the 3rd Infantry Division annihilated three enemy divisions, partially destroyed three others and captured over 4000 prisoners and inflicted more than 7500 casualties on the enemy.

The Unit was also awarded the French Croix Deguerre citation and ribbon for their actions in liberating Jebsheim.

Headquarters Department of the Army General Orders 43, 1950 awarded the French Croix de Guerre with Palm to the 3rd Infantry Division and attached units. The citation read as follows:
3RD INFANTRY DIVISION, 254th Infantry Regiment attached
FRENCH CROIX DE GUERRE WITH PALM, awarded under Decision
No. 508, 15 March 1945, by the President of the Provisional Government of the French Republic, with the following citation:
An elite Division which has remained faithful to the traditions of courage and sacrifice which it had already made during the last war, when it won the nickname "Rock of the Marne". Under the vigorous impetus of an energetic chief and skilled maneuverer, General O'Daniel, it fought without interruption for 169 days, from the Mediterranean beaches to the banks of the Rhine. Placed under the command of the Commanding General of the 1st French Army, for the operations of the Alsace pocket, it contributed greatly, by the power of its repeated attacks, to the victorious battle of Colmar. During the nights of January 23 to 24 January 1945, it succeeded in crossing, by surprise, the Fecht and Ill rivers and in taking the first enemy position, in spite of a violent snowstorm and a field of action sown with obstacles.
Allowing the adversary no respite and pushing its action harder and harder, it crossed the Colmar Canal in order to circle and conquer by sheer fighting, the city of Neuf-Brisach, thereby cutting one of the two remaining routes of retreat left to the German troops still defending the Colmar region. It captured during these actions, more than 4000 prisoners, thus concluding brilliantly the series of glorious operations which took place from the Mediterranean to the Rhine.
(In 1986, Department of The Army General Order 45 amended the 1950 order to add the 254th Infantry Regiment as an attached unit for the period 28 December 1944 to 6 February 1945, thus making the men of the 254th recipients of The French Croix de Guerre with Palm.

May 16, 1945, the Van Heuvel Hotel Smoke Club met at the Heuvelton Town House. War bonds were presented to more than 100 Heuvelton and area men who served in the Armed Forces of the U.S. during World War II. The bonds were purchased by the club with funds raised at social evenings and various benefits. 235 bonds were purchased during the war. One minute of silent prayer was observed for eight men of the town and area who gave their lives for their country during WWII. Sgt. Donald G. Rose was one of those eight men.

In July 1948, Mrs. Rose received a telegram from the War Department informing her the body of Sgt. Donald Rose was enroute to the United States from France. Sgt. Rose’s body arrived in Watertown, NY, on September 3, 1948. The body was met by Perl B. Johnson, funeral director, and members of the Allan Giles Post 558 of the American Legion, Brownville, NY. The body was escorted to the American Legion home where a funeral and a prayer service were held on September 4, 1948. Former schoolmates and fellow Legion members from Heuvelton and Brownville were bearers. A color guard was formed from the Legion members of Heuvelton and Brownville. At the grave, a firing squad of five men fired three volleys. Taps was sounded by buglers from the Barbeu Jones Post, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Watertown, NY. The American flag that draped the coffin of Sgt. Rose was removed and presented to his mother, Mrs. Christine Rose. Many family, friends, and representatives of American Legion posts, VFW posts, and other groups were present to pay their respects, and many floral tributes were received.

Sgt. Rose’s sister, Ruth, and her husband, Samuel Tiffany, named their only son Donald, after the uncle he never met. Ruth graduated in 1941 as a nurse from the House of Good Samaritan, Watertown, NY. She married Sgt. Samuel Tiffany, Oneonta, NY. He was stationed at Rhoads General Hospital, Utica, NY, as a meat cutter.

Mrs. Christine Rose, mother of Sgt. Donald Rose, passed away September 7, 1981, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Ruth Tiffany, in Buffalo. Mrs. Rose was the last Gold Star Mother in the Robert James Woodside Unit 550, American Legion Auxiliary, Heuvelton, New York.

End notes: This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars Project, a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 421,000+ of the US WWII fallen saved on Together We Served and Fold3 web sites. Can you help write these stories? These stories will be accessible via smartphone app at any war memorial or cemetery. If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact hillerson@beyondbb.com.

Resources:

FindAGrave.com:

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/91958033/donald-g-rose

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/239680636/j_roswell-rose

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/91961350/inez_christine-rose

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/181651066/ruth_r-tiffany

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/181651077/samuel_r-tiffany

Fold3.com:

https://www.fold3.com/image/321332010/rose-donald-g-page-1-us-headstone-applications-1925-1963

https://www.fold3.com/image/321332025/rose-donald-g-page-2-us-headstone-applications-1925-1963

https://www.fold3.com/record/701023104/rose-donald-g-us-wwii-hospital-admission-card-files-1942-1954

https://www.fold3.com/record/86317759/donald-g-rose-us-wwii-army-enlistment-records-1938-1946