1st Battalion 22nd Infantry Soldier Profile William J. Gervasio Page 1

William Joseph Gervasio was born in Yonkers, Westchester County, New York on August 13, 1916.

He was drafted into the Army on March 3, 1941 at Jamaica, New York. His enlistment record
indicated he stood five feet five inches tall, had completed four years of High School and at
the time of induction was single with no dependents. His civilian occupation was listed as
Semiskilled warehousing, storekeeping, handling, loading, unloading, and related occupations.

Gervasio was assigned to Company A 1st Battalion 22nd Infantry at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Company photo of Company A 22nd Infantry taken at Camp Gordon, Georgia ca. 1942-1943
Private William J. Gervasio is seated in the front row seventh from the the right.

Gervasio trained with the Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia; in the Louisiana Maneuvers; at Camp Gordon,
Georgia; in the Carolina Maneuvers; at Fort Dix, New Jersey; at Camp Gordon Johnston, Florida and
at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

Above: The official certificate of promotion to Corporal of William J. Gervasio while at Fort Dix, New Jersey.

Below is a poem about the 4th Infantry Division written in typical soldier fashion
grumbling about the training conditions at Camp Gordon Johnston at Carrabelle, Florida.

He landed on Utah Beach on D-Day, June 6, 1944, and was wounded two days later
in the attacks upon the German coastal batteries at Crisbecq.

Gervasio returned to his unit on July 12, and was captured July 29, during the battles of the St. Lô breakout when his Company
was engaged in heavy action in the area around the village of Moyon. By the time of his capture he had been promoted to Sergeant.

He survived over six months in German Stalag prison camps, until liberated by the Russians
from Stalag IIIc on January 31, 1945.

It took nearly three months after being liberated for him to reach home,
undertaking a journey which would lead him and several of his fellow prisoners
through Poland, Russia, Egypt, Italy and finally home to the United States.

Above: The telegram notifying the parents of William J. Gervasio that their son was listed as missing in action
since July 29, 1944. The date of the telegram is August 14, 1944.

Left:

A newspaper clipping announcing that
Sergeant William J. Gervasio was a
prisoner of the Germans.

Courtesy of John Gervasio,
son of William Gervasio

Left:

The postcard (mentioned in the above
newspaper clipping) that was sent to
the family of William J. Gervasio.

The card states that as of August 12, 1944
Gervasio was held at German
prisoner of war camp
Stalag XII-A.

He would later be moved to Stalag IVB
and eventually would end up at Stalag IIIc.

Courtesy of John Gervasio,
son of William Gervasio

Above: The telegram notifying the parents of William J. Gervasio that their son was identified
by the Red Cross as being held as a prisoner of war by the Germans. The date of the telegram is November 5, 1944.

Stalag IIIc - The prisoner of war camp where William J. Gervasio was held as a prisoner and
from which he was liberated on January 31, 1945. The camp was situated near the village of Alt Drewitz bei Küstrin in the
Neumark of the state of Brandenburg, (now Drzewice, Kostrzyn nad Odra, Poland), about 50 mi (80 km) east of Berlin.

Sketch of Stalag IIIc done in December 1944 by Sergeant George Boersma who was a prisoner there
at the same time as William J. Gervasio.

Interior of one of the prisoner barracks at Stalag IIIc. This sketch was done the day before the camp
was liberated by the Russians.