Memorial Day weekend 2020, I joined the Stories Behind the Stars project. This volunteer-led project honors the 421,000+ service men and women who died in WWII. I committed to writing the stories for the soldiers from Monroe County, Wisconsin, my home county. Five years later, I am still hard at work, writing a story for a Wisconsin fallen hero nearly every week.

I first wrote stories for 90 WWII Fallen Heroes from Monroe County, published in the Monroe County Herald. One man, Richard Booth, was from Monroe in Green County and was misplaced on the Monroe County list. When I finished the Monroe County project in 2022, I contacted the Monroe Times to see if they were interested in a Green County project. They were! I wrote 43 stories for those brave heroes for the Monroe Times. I completed that project 2 years ago on June 9, 2023.

I was so grateful that editor Adam Krebs asked me to keep going on Lafayette County.

There were 34 soldiers and airmen on the Lafayette County, Wisconsin US Army and Army Air Force Honor List with the National Archives. There were two Navy sailors on the Wisconsin Navy, Marine, and Coast Guard List. The Lafayette County Historical Society List had nine more names. The Benton, Wisconsin WWII Memorial had nine more names. I connected with JoAnn Schroeber who has done research work on the “Blanchardville Boys,” and that helped with more names.

All total, there were 58 total servicemembers with a Lafayette County connection. Of these, there were fourteen listed on another county’s list. One hero was from Missouri and never appeared to live in Wisconsin, but he was on the official Lafayette County list due to the residence of his next of kin. One hero was not on any list, as he served with the US Naval Reserves and died stateside. One hero died after the war’s end from wounds from service. He is not on any list, but was honored locally. All these heroes now have their stories told.

Did I find everyone? Likely not. There have been misplaced names on every county I have worked on. There are likely heroes with Lafayette County connections on other county lists. As volunteers progress through this project, we hope to find them all.

Along the way, I felt so connected to these brave men. So many were young like my grandfather, Robert LeRoy Hoff, enlisting when he was 19 years old. Very few were like my grandfather, raised in a town and a high school graduate. Most were from rural townships, lived on farms, and had an 8th grade education or less. My grandfather and two great-uncles all came back, had their families, and lived long, full lives. These fallen heroes did not.

These brave heroes traveled the world. Lafayette County sent men to all corners of this conflict. Some of these fallen heroes died stateside during their training from accidents before ever getting to serve their country abroad. 

Some fought in North Africa and Italy at the beginning of the war. Some were stationed in England, landed at D-Day, fought through France, the Netherlands, into Belgium and Luxembourg during the Battle of the Bulge, and pushed into Germany when V-E Day was declared on May 8, 1945. 

In the Pacific Theatre, some were stationed as coast guards on the west coast and then were among the first sent to Hawaii or Australia before fighting in the Pacific Islands. Three soldiers were a part of the Bataan Death March and died in a Japanese prison camp. Two others died as POWs in Maylasia and on the island of Luzon before Victory in Japan Day was declared on August 15, 1945.

One hero died in the bombing of the USS Oklahoma at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 in Hawaii. Another died when the Japanese torpedoed the USS Liscombe Bay on November 24, 1943. Another was killed while serving on the USS Jean Nicollet which was torpedoed by the Japanese on July 2, 1944.

Four heroes served with the 11th Infantry Regiment of the 5th Division of the US Army in Europe. Two of them died on September 11, 1942 in Iceland and two on September 8, 1944 in France. Otherwise, every other hero from Lafayette County was in a completely different unit with only a couple others in the same division.

Others were lost at sea or on land in plane crashes. Six heroes remain missing in action and a “finding of death” was pronounced for them. One hero’s remains were just recovered in 2024 using DNA from living relatives. This remarkable work continues to “bring home” all those who were left behind using modern tools and technology available.

I learned more than just the history of World War II and its major battles and conflicts. I learned about true sacrifice and the effects on a family and community when each telegram arrived at someone’s home to tell them of a loss in their family. 

I hope this project gave readers a sense of shared sacrifice from the community. These losses are still felt in the homes and hearts of their family members. I hope Memorial Day has new meaning as we honor and remember those who made the supreme sacrifice for us all. This year as we recognize and honor the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, may we know more and learn more about the local heroes among us all.

Thank you to Adam Krebs at the Monroe Times for his research assistance, encouragement, and support of this project along the way. There is now a tab on the Monroe Times newspaper website to see each story.

Each soldier’s larger story has also been placed on the website, www.Fold3.com, in following the Stories Behind the Stars project goals. It’s a free website that you access by creating a free membership to read the stories and other sources that are provided on each memorial page. May we continue to honor and remember these brave heroes from Lafayette and Green County.