John A. Aller (#33254803)


Place of Birth
Date of Birth
Rank

Platoon
Company
Battalion
Regiment
Division
Decorations
Altoona, Pennsylvania
July 28, 1920
Private First Class

F and H
2nd
331st
83rd Infantry
Combat Infantryman's Badge, Bronze Star Medal, Good Conduct Medal, European African Middle-Eastern Campaign Medal with five Bronze Campaign Stars (for 5 Campaigns), American Campaign Medal, American Defense Medal, WW2 Victory Medal, Prisoner of War Medal



John A. Aller was born on July 28, 1920 in Altoona, Pennsylvania to James Nevin (1891-1968) and Pearl R. (Brubaker) Aller (1897-1943). John Aller enlisted on October 7, 1942, in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He joined the 83rd Infantry Division as part of the original cadre at Camp Atterbury and fought his way trough Europe from Normandy to the Elbe River.


John A. Aller at Camp Atterbury, 1942

John Aller was a rifleman in F Company and then became a mortarman with H Company of the 331st Infantry Regiment. In England, he was 20 miles south of Chester-Nantwich, Cheshire and was in Wales for manuvers. His unit relieved the 502nd Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division at Carantan, France on June 26, 1944. Normandy was the bloodiest fight he saw, the hedgerows were bad. They lost alot of boys in their Company, 38 plus. He was wounded at Wittenburg Germany, the day before the war was over and spent eight months in the hospital. From Omaha Beach to 35km from Berlin, he spent 292 consecutive days in combat.

After te war, he wrote a book about his experiences, "I SAW IT THROUGH ". John A. Aller was married with Evelyn L. Young (1918-2000). He passed away on June 3, 2002 in Arizona, and is burried at the Alto Reste Burial Park, in his birthplace Altoona, Pennsylvania.

 

Source Information:
Ancestry.com
John Aller's book, "I Saw It Through"