Private First Class Gilbert Vidana , Comanche
US Army, World War II
12th Infantry Regiment
4th Infantry Division (the Ivy Division)
Killed in Action on September 16, 1944

PFC Vidanna was from the Verden area. He was drafted into the US Army from Bridgeport, Connecticut on February 19, 1943 and was an Infantryman. The 12th Regiment spearheaded the amphibious assault landing on Utah Beach on D-Day. They fought through the hedgerows of the Cotenin Peninsula enroute to capturing the port of Cherbourg. The 12th was part of the breakthrough of St. Lo, helped liberate Pairs and was the first Allied ground force to enter Germany on September 11th. It was during heavy fighting along the Siegfried Line near the city of Schlausenbach, Germany that PFC Vidanna was killed from a gunshot wound to his back. Two of his brothers, Herbert and Elbert fought in the European Theater as well as the Korean War. PFC Vidanna is buried at the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery outside of Liege, Belgium and will forever be 21 years old (DOB February 7, 1923).