Roger William Christians is the son of William and Martha Christians of Dorsey, Illinois. He grew up in Dorsey, attended Zimmerman Elementery School and was a member of Dorsey Lutheran Church. His father, William, died in 1941 and Roger had to leave school to provide for the family. He resided for a while with an uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. E. Tuckey in Dearborn, Michigan, where he was employed at the Farmer's Dairy. On December 10, 1943 Roger was inducted into the Army Air Corp. He received training at Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis, Missouri and Seymour Johnson Field in South Carolina before being sent to England in April,1944 as a cook's helper with the Ninth Air Force Service Command. Following the D-Day Invasion, PFC Christians Service Group and maintenance unit to which he was attached, transferred to France and into Belgium. He was reassigned to the infantry in February 1945 and was on a 4 man patrol when he was killed by an enemy mortar round. Private First Class Roger W. Christians is buried in Margarten, Holland U.S. Military Cemetery, Plot A, Row 17, Grave 30. A headstone is located in the Dorsey Lutheran Church Cemetery. Roger is survived by his mother, brother James and sister Lillian. Private First Class Roger W. Christians was 20 years, 5 months and 14 days of age.
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