Wirtz awarded Bronze Star in World War II

• Paul Wirtz was awarded Bronze Star for heroic achievement May 6%2C 1944
• Served as medical aid for 339th I %26 R platoon in Italy
• His platoon was nicknamed the %22Polar Bears%22

"For heroic achievement in action on May 6, 1944 in Italy. Private First Class Wirtz, with complete disregard for his own personal safety, left a covered position and moved down the forward slope of a hill beyond the furthest outpost to render first aid. His unhesitating devotion to duty in assisting his wounded comrades reflected great credit upon himself, and the military service."

~ Award of Bronze Star Medal

World War II veteran Paul Wirtz was part of the 25-man, 339th I & R platoon that operated as a motorized patrol in advance of the main columns of infantry troops moving through the Italian countryside.

Wirtz, 90, of Fond du Lac, was a medical aid for his platoon, so he doesn't surrender stories easily. They were the first to make contact with the enemy, first to fight in battle and first to die.

He thinks he may be the last one left of "his buddies" because he was the youngest. Through the years they've met multiple times for reunions, but the last one was held, and the final goodbyes were said, back in 2008.

Because Wirtz wore a helmet emblazoned with the international Red Cross symbol he was not allowed to carry a gun, but lowering his voice to a whisper, he said he always had hand grenades stashed in his pocket.

"Just in case," he said, and smiles.

I & R stands for Intelligence and Reconnaissance, and the 339th Infantry regiments of the 85th Infantry Division fought their way through Italy from March 1944 until the surrender of German forces in May 1945. They were nicknamed "Polar Bears" because of the unit's service at Archangel in North Russia during the first World War.

Wirtz was drafted in 1943, 11 days after high school graduation. The U.S. Army wanted to take him out of school but his mother, Clara Wirtz, called the draft board and insisted her son finish high school. She got her wish.

"I felt like I should go, I wanted to do my part," Wirtz said. The family had lost their farm out in St. Peter during the Great Depression, and since moving into Fond du Lac his father, William Wirtz, had secured a job working at the local tannery, Rueping Leather Company.

Tall and athletic, Wirtz was a center and captain on the basketball team at Fond du Lac High School. To earn some money he caddied at the local golf course.

On Christmas Eve 1943, Wirtz and his regiment shipped out of Norfolk, Virginia, landing in Africa on New Years Day. He recalls fighting near Casablanca against Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's German troops, but by March, the 339th Infantry had moved three miles from the front lines near Minturno, Italy, according to the Polar Bear Association of World War II.

"We fought the length of Italy, seeking out the enemy for the infantry all the way up to the Brenner pass," Wirtz said.

One time, they penetrated 20 miles ahead of the regiment, chasing the "Wehrmacht" (German Armed Forces) as it fled over the Po Valley plains, according to an old news clipping Wirtz kept that appeared in the military publication, "Stars and Stripes." They captured 647 prisoners in one drive.

The article goes on to state: "Since they were the first Americans to set foot in many Po Valley towns, members of the platoon…were literally smothered with kisses, pats on the back and handshakes."

The Private First Class carried two first aid kits and rushed to save lives many times during his two-year service, including at least one heroic act that earned Wirtz the Bronze Star Medal.

"I treated those two wounded soldiers the best I could, and I was happy to get the Bronze Star, happy someone recognized the danger we were in," Wirtz said. "We lost at least two men, and one lost a foot, another a leg. I could tell stories no one could even imagine."

Wirtz did share a lighter memory involving some of his buddies stealing a wooden keg of wine from a Catholic Church, only to have it blown up when the Germans dropped a mortor shell on the jeep.

His daughter, Patricia Fortunato of Fond du Lac, said her father never talked about the battles, but showed them his souveniers from the war: a German helmet, bayonet and rifle taken from a dead soldier.

"We are very proud of him for the honorable things he did during the war," Fortunato said. "He has some grandchildren interested in history, so they've been asking him questions and following his footsteps through the war on different internet sites."

In the war's aftermath, most of the enlisted men were discharged, but many were never the same after experiencing combat. Like all veterans of severe conflict, they attempted to get rid of the past and back to the business of living.

Wirtz met his wife Shirley at a parade. He said he was attracted to her friendly, outgoing personality. They were together until 2005, when she passed away after suffering a stroke.

Through the years Wirtz tried his hand at many different jobs. He worked for Damrow Company, then went into floor covering, followed by employment at Midway Bar in Mount Calvary, then at Omar Bakeries in Fond du Lac. He ended up working in maintenance at Nazareth Heights for St. Agnes Hospital.

Every day, Wirtz still plays cards at the Fond du Lac Senior Center, adding that he has to, because he needs the money.

"That's a joke. Put that in the story," he says.

Along with his daughter, Wirtz's family includes a son, Kenneth Wirtz of Hartford, five grandchildren and four great grandchildren.

Contact Sharon Roznik at sroznik@fdlreporter.com or (920) 907- 7936; on Twitter: @sharonroznik.