Karl H Metz was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Metz, originally of Coshocton, Ohio.  He had seven brothers William (Bill), John, David, Fred, Robert, Dick, and James.  Bill, John, and David also served in the war.  He also had two sisters, Mrs. C.A. King and Mary Elizabeth Metz.  Karl graduated from the Coshocton High School in the class of 1930.  Around 1937, he moved to St. Louis where he worked as a salesman.  He married Helen Gerhard who was a registered nurse, originally from Hazelton Pennsylvania.

Karl entered the service in July of 1943 and was assigned to the 116th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Infantry Division.  He was in the first wave to come ashore under heavy enemy fire on D-Day, and he later told a newspaper reporter “The big pastime was ducking the 88’s fire.”  On 17 June he was wounded in Normandy, but he returned to his unit 6 weeks later.  Beginning 8 December 1944, his unit attacked into Germany and it reached the Ruhr River.  Karl was severely wounded in this operation on 25 February.  He was evacuated to a hospital in Belgium where he died of his wounds on 4 March at the age of 32.

Information from the Standard-Sentinel of Hazelton Pennsylvania (14 and 15 August 1944), the Plain Speaker of Hazelton (27 March 1925), the Toledo Blade (31 March 1945) and two unknown publications, all courtesy of Erwin Derhaag