Francis Veltman

Birthplace: Bavaria, Kansas

Branch of Service: Army

Unit: Service Battery, 911th Artillery Battalion, 86th "Blackhawk" Infantry Division and 38th Infantry Division

Theater of Operation: Pacific

Enlisted / Commissioned: Aug 3, 1944

Discharged: Oct 15, 1946

Highest Rank: S/SGT

Military Honors: Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman's Badge, Good Conduct Medal, Asiatic Pacific Campaign Medal, Philippine Liberation Ribbon, Bronze Star and World War II Victory Medal.

Honored By: Eisenhower Foundation, Talmage KS Historical Museum & Library, and Dickinson County KS Historical Society & Heritage Museum.

Francis J. Veltman entered the army at Fort Leavenworth, KS, then trained at the infantry school at Camp Hood, TX, departing for overseas duty on January 9, 1945. Prior to his transfer to the replacement depot, Veltman was assigned to Service Battery, 911th Artillery Battalion, 86th “Blackhawk” Infantry Division. He participated in combat with the 38th Infantry division on Luzon, Philippine Islands. Veltman’s specialty was quartermaster supply technician. He was awarded the Combat Infantry badge for exemplary performance of duty with the 38th (Cyclone) division against the Japanese Shimbu line, east of Manila. At that time, he was a rifleman in Co. L, 152nd infantry. On May 29, 1945, while taking the point, he was wounded by sniper gunfire on Mt. Purro and was forced to proceed on a 3 mile trek out of the rough terrain to an Allied safety zone. He would eventually be discharged in October of 1946. Biographical information courtesy of Francis J. Veltman’s published obituary, Talmage KS Historical Museum & Library, and Dickinson County KS Historical Society & Heritage Museum.