WILLIAM M. WOERFEL (d. 1944)

Veterans of WWII
WOERFEL: William Mead
Resident: Manitowoc
Machinist's mate 3c, USNR. USS Cooper World War II
Parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Woerfel [William’s stone is next to
parents’ stone: William & Dorothea Woerfel]
Killed In Action
Died: Dec. 3, 1944
Place of death: Philippines
Buried: Evergreen cemetery, Manitowoc
********
Woerfel Is Lost; Was on Cooper
A member of the crew of the 2,200 ton destroyer Cooper recently lost as a
result of night action against the enemy off Ormoc in the Philippines is
William Woerfel, 20-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. William Woerfel, 2702
Calumet avenue. His family received a wire from the Navy department Tuesday
afternoon listing him as missing in action.
Loss of the destroyer, previously unidentified, was originally disclosed in
a communiqué from Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s headquarters Dec. 5. The Navy
announced the loss of the destroyer and of a LSM (landing ship medium)
Wednesday.
The Cooper, one of the Navy’s newest and most modern destroyers, was in
command of Comdr. Mell A. Peterson of Algoma, Ia., who survives. The normal
complement of the destroyer was estimated at 275 men.
Woerfel has been in the Navy one year. After indoctrination at Great Lakes
training station, he was assigned to the Cooper. He has been in the Pacific
area since August of this year.
Previous to going into service Woerfel was in the employ of the Lakeside
Machine shop.
Manitowoc Herald Times, December 28, 1944 P. 2
********
Woerfel Is Lost; Was on Cooper
A member of the crew of the 2,200 ton destroyer Cooper recently lost as a result
of night action against the enemy off Ormoc in the Philippines is William Woerfel,
20-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. William Woerfel, 2702 Calumet avenue. His family
received a wire from the Navy department Tuesday afternoon listing him as missing
in action.
Loss of the destroyer, previously unidentified, was originally disclosed in a
communiqué from Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s headquarters Dec. 5. The Navy announced
the loss of the destroyer and of a LSM (landing ship medium) Wednesday.
The Cooper, one of the Navy’s newest and most modern destroyers, was in command
of Comdr. Mell A. Peterson of Algoma, Ia., who survives. The normal complement of
the destroyer was estimated at 275 men.
Woerfel has been in the Navy one year. After indoctrination at Great Lakes training
station, he was assigned to the Cooper. He has been in the Pacific area since August
of this year.
Previous to going into service Woerfel was in the employ of the Lakeside Machine
shop.
Manitowoc Herald Times, December 24, 1944 P. 2
********
Woerfel Killed on USS Cooper
William M. Woerfel, 20, machinist mate third class, who previously was reported as
missing in action is now known to have been killed when the destroyer Cooper was
lost off Ormoc in the Philippines in December.
His parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Woerfel, 2702 Calumet avenue, received official
confirmation of their son’s death from the Navy department Tuesday. Woerfel is the
92nd county youth to sacrifice his life in World War II.
Los of the destroyer, one of the Navy’s newest and most modern ships, was originally
disclosed in a communiqué from Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s headquarters on Dec. 5, and
on Dec. 27 the Navy announced its loss. The Cooper, commanded by Cmdr. Mell A.
Peterson of Algona, Ia., carried an estimated complement of 275 men. The commander
is listed among the survivors.
Woerfel was born in Manitowoc on June 12, 1924, and was graduated from Lincoln high
school with the clas of 1942. After his graduation he entered the employ of the
Lakeside Machine shop where he worked until his induction into the Navy. After
completing basic training at Great Lakes Naval Training Center he was assigned to
the Cooper, and had been in the Pacific area since August, 1944.
Survivors are his parents, one brother, Roy, Manitowoc; four sisters, Mrs. Mead Hansen,
Mrs. George Evenson and Miss Shirley of Manitowoc; Mrs. Carl Schneck, Milwaukee.
Manitowoc Herald Times, January 10, 1945 P. 2
*******
Hold Memorial Service For Willam Woerfel
Memorial services for William M. Woerfel, 20-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. William
Woerfel, 2702 Calumet avenue, who was killed when the destroyer Cooper was lost
during the Ormoc battle in the Philippines will be held Sunday at the First German
Evangelical Lutheran church, Eighth and Marshall streets. Woerfel was a machinist
mate third class.
The Rev. L. H. Koeninger, pastor, will have charge of the rite during the English
worship services at 9 o’clock
Manitowoc Herald Times, January 19, 1945 P. 2
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Veterans of WWII
WOERFEL: William Mead
Resident: Manitowoc
Machinist's mate 3c, USNR. USS Cooper World War II
Parents, Mr. and Mrs. William Woerfel [William’s stone is next to
parents’ stone: William & Dorothea Woerfel]
Killed In Action
Died: Dec. 3, 1944
Place of death: Philippines
Buried: Evergreen cemetery, Manitowoc”
*********
[The stone for William is in memoriam only]