Sgt Harold V. Zeiler
United States Army Air Corps (1943-1944)

Harold Vincent Zeiler was born on March 13, 1921, the son of Mrs. Elcinda Zeiler of 2001 West Liberty Avenue. Harold had two brothers, Kenneth and William, and three sisters, Elcinda, Beulah and Emma. The Zeiler family were members of the Paul Presbyterian Church on Pioneer Avenue at Dunster Street.

A graduate of West Liberty Elementary School and South Hills High School, Harold worked for the Dravo Corporation before enlisting in the U.S. Army in March 1943. After basic training, he was assigned to Company F of the 135th Infantry Regiment, 34th "Red Bull" Division of the U.S. Fifth Army. He was sent overseas to join his unit in July, 1943.

The 34th Division was engaged throughout the entire North African campaign, from its landing at Algiers on November 8, 1942 to the capture of Hill 609 on May 1, 1943. The Division skipped the Sicily operation and instead underwent intensive training for the invasion of the Italy. It was during this preparation period that Private Zeiler joined his regiment.

The Red Bulls were held in reserve for the initial September 9 landings at Salerno. They came ashore on September 25 and first engaged the Germans at the Calore River three days later. From there it advanced slowly northward through mountainous terrain, freezing wet weather, and the turbulent Volturno River, capturing the towns of Montemilleto and Benevento in the process.

The 135th Regiment then crossed the Volturno River three times while advancing north in October and November. Fighting along the route was as hard and unforgiving as ever to face an army, but the Germans were gradually pushed back.

Soldiers of the "Red Bull" Division fighting the Germans along the Winter Line in December 1943.

The Division reached the Winter Line and assaulted Monte Patano, taking one of its four peaks in bitter fighting before being relieved on the 9th of December. During the advance, in response to the high attrition rate among Company NCOs and in reward for his leadership qualities, Private Zeiler was rapidly promoted to Corporal and, not long after, to Sergeant.

In January 1944, the division was back on the front line battering the Bernhardt Line defenses. Persevering through viscious hand-to-hand fighting along the Mignano Gap, the 34th Division used animal pack trains to move supplies and goat herds to clear the minefields. Then came the liberation of San Vittore, Monte Chaia and Monte Trocchio without resistance as the German defenders withdrew to the main prepared defenses of the Gustav Line.

  
German Parachute Infantry put up a determined resistance in the rubble of Monte Cassino.

On January 24, during the First Battle of Monte Cassino, the most heavily fortified keystone of the Gustav Line, they pushed across the Rapido River into the hills behind and attacked Monastery Hill, which dominated the town of Monte Cassino.

It was during this battle, on February 3, 1944, that Brookline's Sgt Harold V. Zeiler was killed in the mountain passes near Monte Cassino.

News of Sgt. Harold V. Zeiler's death reached his mother Elcinda in early-March. The Pittsburgh Press reported his name in the daily casualty listing on March 15. While the Zeiler family and the community of Brookline mourned the loss of another son, a Gold Star appeared in the window of the home at 2001 West Liberty Avenue.

After Sgt. Zeiler's death, the 34th Division continued the fight against the Germans at Monte Casino for another ten days. Despite horrendous losses, they nearly captured the objective. In the end, however, due to the timely arrival of German reinforcements, their attacks on the monastery and the town failed.

The performance of the Sgt. Zeiler and the 34th "Red Bull" Infantry Division in the mountains has been called one of the finest feats of arms carried out by any soldiers during the war. The Red Bull sustained losses of about eighty percent in the infantry battalions.

  
Soldiers of the 34th Infantry Division during the Battle of Monte Cassino in January 1944.

After Monte Cassino, the 34th Division fought at the Battle of Anzio. Men of the 135th Infantry Regiment were among the first to enter the city of Rome on June 4, 1944, clearing out some German snipers that evening in the vicinity of the Coliseum.

After Rome, the division continued its drive up the boot of Italy through heavily entrenched German positions. Resistance was dogged but declining in strength as the 34th Divison drove the Germans out of Belvedere, San Vincenzo, Cecina, Rosignano, Leghorn, and Pisa, among others. Then came the Arno River, the Gothic Line along the Apennines, and finally a bold campaign for the Po River Valley, which contained eighty percent of Italy's war industries.

The final offensive came in April 1945. The German retreat became a rout as their supplies ran out, and on May 2, 1945, the remnants of the LXXV German Corps, totaling over 40,000 men, surrendered to the Red Bulls near Milan (ironically, the surrendered troops included the 34th German Division). The war in Europe came to an end a few days later, with some elements of the division on the borders of France and Switzerland.

Sergeant Harold V. Zeiler's body was returned to the United States and is buried in the Birmingham Cemetery at 2511 Brownsville Road in Carrick.

* Written by Clint Burton: April 20, 2018 *

The Brookline War Memorial

Listed below are many of the sons of Brookline who gave their
lives to preserve freedom and contain aggression during
World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam.

“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died.
Rather, we should thank God that such men lived.”
General George S. Patton
 

World War I (1917-1919)

The World War I Memorial - Washington D.C.

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World War II (1941-1945)

The World War II Memorial - Washington D.C.

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Korean War (1950-1953)

Korean War Memorial - Washington D.C.

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Vietnam War (1965-1973)

Vietnam War Memorial - Washington D.C.

The Brookline Monument - The Cannon

<Brookline War Memorial> <> <Brookline History>