Manuel Noferini and Daniele Baggiani
This is the story of Elmer Julius Kunze, a soldier of the 338th Regiment, 85th Division. In September 1944, together with his comrades, he was among the first to reach the summit of Monte Altuzzo during the fighting for the Giogo Pass. His experience is not only part of military history, but also a reminder of the hardships and trials faced by so many young soldiers.
The Gotica Toscana Museum has been in touch with his daughter, Debbie Langdon, who shared memories and documents to provide a fuller picture of her father—not only as a soldier wounded in battle, but also as a man who managed to rebuild his life after the war. Debbie has visited several times the places where Elmer fought, weaving her family’s story together with the larger history preserved by the museum.
Her collaboration means a great deal to us: through her contribution, the story of Elmer Julius Kunze remains alive as part of a shared memory that brings together individual experiences and collective history.
Roots of Freedom
Elmer Julius Kunze was born on February 22, 1912, in Warren County, Missouri, the son of Edwin Henry Kunze and Louise F. Oberlag.
His family descended from German immigrants who, in 1834, left Saxony to settle in Missouri as part of the Giessen Emigration Society. This association, founded by Friedrich Münch and Paul Follenius, aimed to build in America a farming and democratic community that could also serve as an alternative model for Europe. The Kunze family settled in the area later known as the Missouri Rhineland, along the Missouri River, helping to establish farms, schools, and churches that became the heart of a cohesive and active community. Their story soon intertwined with that of the United States: during the American Civil War, several members of the German communities in Missouri enlisted in the Union Army, standing against slavery and in favor of national unity. A century later, one of their descendants—Elmer Julius Kunze—would return to Europe as a soldier. His military experience, in a very different setting, carried on a family tradition marked by involvement in conflicts of historic importance.
Elmer’s first language was German, which he kept throughout his life. During World War II, this fact raised concerns within the family: the possibility that he might end up fighting against men who spoke the same language—perhaps even distant relatives still in Germany—was very real.
Training and Departure
When World War II broke out, Elmer was drafted into the United States Army and assigned to the 85th Infantry Division “Custer,” 338th Infantry Regiment, Company C, 1st Platoon. The division, originally formed as a National Guard unit, was reorganized and mobilized in 1942, taking its name in honor of General George Armstrong Custer.
Elmer’s training took place at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, one of the main U.S. military training centers during the war. There, soldiers were subjected to long marches, drills in rough terrain, weapons training, and night maneuvers, all designed to prepare them for the conditions they would face in Europe. The experience involved not only technical instruction but also daily life in the barracks, which fostered bonds of familiarity and cooperation among the men.
It was at Camp Shelby that Elmer met Sergeant Fent, with whom he built a strong bond of trust. Years later, during the battle for Monte Altuzzo, it was Fent who came to his aid and carried him to safety after Kunze was seriously wounded. That friendship, formed during training, proved crucial in the midst of combat.
Minturno: Baptism of Fire
In the spring of 1944, the 85th Infantry Division was deployed to Italy and assigned to the Garigliano sector. Elmer took part in the fighting along the Gustav Line, particularly in the area around Minturno, not far from Formia. The American advance in that sector was slowed by well-prepared German defenses: positions on the high ground allowed control of the main routes toward Cassino and Rome, and every step forward demanded prolonged engagements. The campaign often took on the character of positional warfare, fought at close range among ruined houses and trenches dug into the earth.
During those weeks, Elmer was hit in the legs by shell fragments. The wounds were not severe enough to force him out of the unit, and after receiving the necessary treatment he was able to return to duty. This episode marked his first direct encounter with the intensity of enemy fire and with the harsh reality of a front where German resistance proved far stronger than the Allies had initially expected.
From Minturno, Elmer also found the chance to write to his county’s local newspaper, the *Banner-Press* of Missouri. His letter, published on May 18, 1944, offers a valuable glimpse into how American soldiers perceived the Italian front. It was not an official report, but a short personal account that gave readers back home a concrete sense of the campaign’s conditions, the hardships faced by the troops, and the daily experiences of those engaged in the fighting.
Banner-Press, Missouri, USA, May 18, 1944.
Private Elmer Kunze writes from Italy
Private Elmer Kunze, serving with the United States Army on the battlefront in Italy, writes about his experiences in a letter addressed to the Banner, dated April, 18
“Dear Sirs:
Well I have neglected writing for a long time now, and I want to write and thank you for the Banner. For a while I sure missed it, as we had moved to Italy and it didn’t get here for a while.
We are on the front lines now and I don’t see how they can take all that is handed out to them. We give them ten shots to every one they send us.
My home now is a hole in the hillside, just big enough for two men and it is quite safe. Even Jerry’s screaming memies can hardly get us here.
It gives us a pretty good laugh to see about four or five men try to get into one when they send us a shell or two.
While visiting the Red Cross a while back and looking through the books of each state the boys that had signed their names, I noticed Howard Armstrong’s name and the date he had been there. It was about a month before I was there. I also noticed a few boys from Marthasville and other parts of Warren County.
The Red Cross is doing wonderful work here, even to giving the boys on the line doughnuts.
Well, I wish you and the Banner all the luck in the work, and I hope you keep the Banner coming my way and a ‘hello’ to everybody. Banner. I will sign off.
Sincerely,
(Signed) Elmer.”
The Advance Through Italy
After the breakthrough of the Gustav Line in May 1944, the 85th Infantry Division “Custer” pushed north along the Via Cassia, fighting running battles with German rearguards as they moved through Monterosi, Sutri, Vetralla, and on to Viterbo. Following the liberation of Rome, the Division paused in northern Lazio to regroup and receive reinforcements before being deployed to Tuscany.
Between July and August 1944, the “Custer” operated along the Arno Line, particularly in the Florence area, carrying out patrols and defensive actions while preparing for the coming offensive against the Apennines. The 338th Regiment, to which Kunze belonged, alternated frontline duty with specialized training for mountain warfare. On the night of September 11–12, the Division moved past Florence and advanced along the Via Bolognese to Vaglia, where it took up positions facing the Giogo Pass.
Monte Altuzzo, September 1944
On September 12, 1944, the battle for the Giogo Pass began, a strategic point along the Gothic Line. For six days, the 338th Infantry Regiment of the 85th Division struggled to capture Monte Altuzzo (Hill 926), a position fortified with bunkers, trenches, and interconnected machine-gun nests. The assaults advanced slowly and with great difficulty: every slope and rocky ridge demanded repeated efforts and exacted heavy casualties.
The regiment’s companies took turns in the assaults; when units were depleted, they were reinforced with platoons from other companies. Company “C,” to which Elmer Julius Kunze belonged, was repeatedly sent to the front line. On September 17, after days of combat and German counterattacks, the 1st Platoon of the company—together with the 3rd Platoon under Lieutenant Krasman and Sergeant Fent—finally reached the summit. Kunze was among the soldiers tasked with storming a German command bunker located just below the crest, in the area where a wooden cross now commemorates the fighting. The advance met fierce resistance: German machine guns and mortars, firing from well-protected positions, made every movement perilous. During the action, Kunze was struck in the torso by a bullet and severely wounded.
Sergeant Fent, whom Kunze had first met during training at Camp Shelby, reached him under fire and dragged him to cover, enabling him to receive immediate medical attention. His intervention proved decisive in saving Kunze’s life.
Many years later, Sergeant Fent’s widow recounted the episode to Debbie Langdon, Kunze’s daughter, confirming the exact sequence of events. Both men survived the fighting at Monte Altuzzo and, once back in the United States, they maintained a lasting bond, tied together by the shared memory of that experience.
After the war
Elmer Kunze returned to the United States, where he lived for many years with his wife and children. He never spoke about his experiences at the front. Only after his death, which occurred on March 23, 1983, at the age of 71, did his wife confide to their daughter Robbie that Elmer never took off his shirt in front of the children, so as not to show the scars left by his wounds in Italy. The war had marked him so profoundly that he did not want others to see what he had endured firsthand.
Elmer Julius Kunze is buried in Saint Paul’s Cemetery in Marthasville, Missouri. Rest in peace, Elmer. We love you.
Memory at MuGot
La figlia di Elmer Julius Kunze, Robbie Langdon, ha donato al Museo Gotica Toscana l’uniforme originale del padre, oggi esposta nella Sala del Giogo accanto ad altri cimeli della battaglia. Questo gesto ha rappresentato non solo un arricchimento per il patrimonio del museo, ma anche un atto di memoria familiare: grazie al contatto con l’associazione, Robbie ha potuto ricostruire aspetti della vita militare di Elmer che non conosceva, colmando i vuoti lasciati da un racconto che suo padre, come molti reduci, non aveva mai voluto condividere fino in fondo.
For MuGot, it is a great honor to preserve the uniform of one of the heroes of Monte Altuzzo.
On August 29, 2021, on the occasion of the historical reenactment A Dive into History, Robbie returned to the battlefield. Together with reenactors, volunteers, and visitors, she retraced the path leading to the cross on Monte Altuzzo, exactly where Company “C” had fought in September 1944. The climb to the summit was not just a symbolic act: for her, it meant coming closer to the ground her father had once known under danger and hardship—a place that for decades had been only a name in the family’s memories.
During the ceremony, Robbie spoke before the audience to remember Elmer. In a simple tone, she talked about his story as a soldier and a father, sharing emotions and family memories. It was a deeply moving moment, where private memory and collective memory became intertwined: the experience of one man, who survived one of the hardest battles in the Apennines, was transformed into a shared story and a heritage for all.
A Pioneer’s Heir
From Saxony to Missouri, from abolitionism to the fight against Nazi-fascism, the story of Elmer Julius Kunze spans two centuries of history. An American soldier, the son of German immigrants who had chosen freedom, he returned to Europe to defend those very same ideals.
Thank you, Elmer, for what you did for us. We will always remember you with gratitude and love.
The uniform of Elmer Kunze on display at the MuGot