Eugene R. Eisler

Rank: Private

Branch: U.S. Army

Serial: 42137235

Unit: 28th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division

Entered the service from: New Jersey

Died: December 27, 1945

Buried at: Plot A, Row 19, Grave 11, Ardennes American Cemetery, Neupre, Belgium

Awards: Purple Heart

Private Eugene R. Eisler was born in the state of New York in 1918 to Paul and Margaret Eisler. His youth is something of a mystery, as he appears to have lived apart from his parents at the time of the 1920 Census. They appear to have divorced at some point in the 1920s. Eugene Eisler’s whereabouts in 1930 are undetermined. The 1940 Census shows Eugene Eisler living with his mother Margaret and her husband Fred Koch. Also living at the home was his older brother Paul, 27. Eugene Eisler was working, but his occupation was not specified. He had received three years of high school education and later worked as a skilled worker in manufacturing. The family lived in an apartment at 516 East 78th Street in Manhattan. At some point after the Census, Eugene Eisler established some ties to Camden, New Jersey, most likely through employment.

Eugene R. Eisler was inducted into the United States Army on June 16, 1944 at Camp Upton, New York which was located near the town of Yaphank, on Long Island. He was assigned as a replacement with the 28th Infantry Regiment, 8th Infantry Division. The 28th suffered devastating casualties during the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest and in staving off German counter-attacks during the Battle of the Bulge, before withdrawing from combat for reorganization on December 15, 1945. Private Eisler was originally listed as missing in action and a determination was made on December 27, 1945 that he was dead. His body was later recovered and he was buried at the Ardennes American Cemetery at Neupre, Belgium per the instructions of his father, Paul Eisler, of Bayside, Queens County, New York.