Elmer Ettridge

Personal Information

Birthplace: Hope, Kansas

Service Information

Branch of Service: Army

Unit: 161st Field Artillery Regiment, 35th Division

Theater of Operation: European

Enlisted / Commissioned: Sep 2, 1942

Discharged: Nov 5, 1945

Highest Rank: SSGT

Honored By: The Eisenhower Foundation

Biography

Elmer Ettridge was born to Anson and Marie Altman Ettridge in Hope, Kansas on October 10, 1920. He attended Hope schools and graduated in 1937. He attended Wichita Business College. He entered service in the Army in September of 1942. He was in the 161st Field Artillery Regiment, 35th Division. His highest rank was staff sergeant. The 35th Division began training in April 1943 at Fort Rucker, Alabama. The division arrived in England in May 1944, and returned to the United States in November 1945. The 35th Infantry Division and the 161st Field Artillery fought in five campaigns—Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace, and Central Europe. In November of 1947 he married Iva Obermeyer in Herrington, Kansas. They spent their lives operating a farm. They had at least two daughters, two grandsons, and a great-grandson. Ettridge attended Hope United Methodist Church, was a member of the American Legion, former director of the Co-op Board, and served as sexton for the Pilgrim Hope Cemetery. Courtesy fold3.com, newspapers.com, findagrave.com, en.wikipedia.org