Leo and Minnie Wagner waited a long while for a son. They’d married in 1909 and settled down on a farm a few miles west of Gary’s ancestors here in southern Indiana.

Minnie was a Mehling. In our family tree, she is Gary’s first cousin, twice removed.

By 1922, Leo and Minnie had five daughters. That July, though, a son was born. Think of the love and care Andrew Matthias must have received from all those sisters!

The next year, twins Hugo and Henry were born, followed by two more sisters.

This is Andrew’s story

By the time the little farmboy reached nine years of age, his oldest and youngest sisters had died. Both succumbed to conditions that could have been cured in modern times.

Andrew stayed in school for two years of high school and then helped on the farm full-time. By 1942, Andrew took a job at a local furniture factory.

We know this because it was on his military registration card:

The back of the card states the blond-haired, blue-eyed Andrew was 5’8″ and 150 pounds.

By that December, Andrew was in Georgia for basic training.

His father stopped by The Ferdinand News office a few months later to send his two military sons subscriptions:

It would be another year before Henry was called up.

Andrew returned home on leave several times in 1943. His final furlough was in July of 1944. He was home for his 22nd and final birthday.

On March 24, 1945, Andrew’s mom received a telegram from the War Department. Minnie was informed her oldest son was missing in action. She would be “promptly notified” if more details came to light.

Sadly, PFC Andrew Wagner was already dead. Stationed in western Germany, where the war was still raging, Andrew did not survive his final battle.

He was killed on March 8, exactly two months before Victory in Europe Day.

Andrew’s parents shared this last telegram with the newspaper:

I can’t imagine the agony the Wagner family had to endure, losing Andrew and worrying about Henry, who was stationed in Germany, and Hugo, who was in India. Thankfully, the twins survived the war, returned home, and lived long lives.

It was a long three years until Andrew’s remains were laid to rest in Mariah Hill, near his family’s farm.

The US Army Transport Ship Lawrence Victory carried the remains of 178 Indiana-born soldiers back home in the fall of 1948.

PFC Andrew Wagner now rests peacefully in the Mary Help of Christians Church Cemetery in Mariah Hill. His sacrifice – and that of his family – is one that cannot possibly be repaid. His sacrifice must never be forgotten.

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