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2LT Earl J. Anger

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2LT Earl J. Anger Veteran

Birth
McKees Rocks, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA
Death
27 Nov 1943 (aged 22)
At Sea
Burial
Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia
Plot
Tablets of the Missing
Memorial ID
56251504 View Source

2nd Lieutenant Anger was one of 1,138 men who perished during of the sinking of the British troopship HMT Rohna in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Algeria.

US Army Air Corps WORLD WAR II
2nd Lieutenant Earl J. Anger MIA/KIA
853rd Engineer Battalion Aviation
Hometown: Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Ship: HMT Rohna
Service # O-1107548
Awards: Purple Heart
Captain:

Mission: Troop Transport Convoy KMF-26
Loss Date: Saturday, November 26, 1943
Location: Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Algeria.
Cause: German guided missile
Crew: On Board 2000 · Saved 606 · Lost 1138

This was the first successful "hit" of a merchant vessel at sea carrying US troops by a German remote-controlled, rocket-boosted bomb, thus giving birth to the "Missile Age", and it resulted in the greatest loss of troops (1,015) at sea in U.S. history. Combined with the loss of ship's crew and officers, and three Red Cross workers, more lives were lost than on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor.

The "hit" was so devastating that the U.S. Government placed a veil of secrecy upon it. The events which followed were so shameful that the secrecy continued for decades until recently (1967), when documents were grudgingly released under pressure of the Freedom of Information Act. The government still does not acknowledge this tragedy, thus most families of the casualties still do not know the fate of their loved ones. In 1995, over fifty years later, a group of survivors, next-of-kin and rescuers, came together for the sole purpose of enabling the creation and dedication of a Rohna Memorial.

On November 26, 1943 nearly two thousand American soldiers faced the most traumatic experience of their young lives. They woke up that morning aboard a vessel that some described as unfit for human habitation. Just a bunch of kids, mostly only a year or so out of high school. Exhibiting the expected Yankee cockiness, they were ready to take on anything the war had to offer. Having survived a Thanksgiving Day dinner the day before, things just had to get better. The sad part of it was, this would be the last Thanksgiving for over half of them!
The minesweeper USS Pioneer rescued 606 survivors of the sinking.

Visit the virtual cemetery o f HMT Rohna Crew
" Click Here "

2nd Lieutenant Anger was one of 1,138 men who perished during of the sinking of the British troopship HMT Rohna in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Algeria.

US Army Air Corps WORLD WAR II
2nd Lieutenant Earl J. Anger MIA/KIA
853rd Engineer Battalion Aviation
Hometown: Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Ship: HMT Rohna
Service # O-1107548
Awards: Purple Heart
Captain:

Mission: Troop Transport Convoy KMF-26
Loss Date: Saturday, November 26, 1943
Location: Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Algeria.
Cause: German guided missile
Crew: On Board 2000 · Saved 606 · Lost 1138

This was the first successful "hit" of a merchant vessel at sea carrying US troops by a German remote-controlled, rocket-boosted bomb, thus giving birth to the "Missile Age", and it resulted in the greatest loss of troops (1,015) at sea in U.S. history. Combined with the loss of ship's crew and officers, and three Red Cross workers, more lives were lost than on the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor.

The "hit" was so devastating that the U.S. Government placed a veil of secrecy upon it. The events which followed were so shameful that the secrecy continued for decades until recently (1967), when documents were grudgingly released under pressure of the Freedom of Information Act. The government still does not acknowledge this tragedy, thus most families of the casualties still do not know the fate of their loved ones. In 1995, over fifty years later, a group of survivors, next-of-kin and rescuers, came together for the sole purpose of enabling the creation and dedication of a Rohna Memorial.

On November 26, 1943 nearly two thousand American soldiers faced the most traumatic experience of their young lives. They woke up that morning aboard a vessel that some described as unfit for human habitation. Just a bunch of kids, mostly only a year or so out of high school. Exhibiting the expected Yankee cockiness, they were ready to take on anything the war had to offer. Having survived a Thanksgiving Day dinner the day before, things just had to get better. The sad part of it was, this would be the last Thanksgiving for over half of them!
The minesweeper USS Pioneer rescued 606 survivors of the sinking.

Visit the virtual cemetery o f HMT Rohna Crew
" Click Here "

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  • Maintained by: John Dowdy
  • Originally Created by: War Graves
  • Added: 6 Aug 2010
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID: 56251504
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56251504/earl-j-anger: accessed ), memorial page for 2LT Earl J. Anger (16 Feb 1921–27 Nov 1943), Find a Grave Memorial ID 56251504, citing North Africa American Cemetery and Memorial, Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia; Maintained by John Dowdy (contributor 47791572).