Born: 19 February 1916    Place: Toledo, Lucas County, OH

Died: 9 January 1945    Place: Reharmont (Belgium) 

Temp Burial Place: American Military Cemetery,  Margraten, the Netherlands

Final Burial place: Association Cemetery Sylvania, OH 

Wife: Ruth Schafer (Garner)   Married: 20 June 1942

Children: Sharon

Father: Carl W.  Schafer  Mother: Augusta F. Schafer (Schroeder)

Siblings: Donald, Cornell, Elva, Laverne and Betty

Awards

 Purple Heart 

22 October 2008

I received several 643rd Tank Destroyer Battalion newsletters from Joe Decaro.

"Article from Newsletter 643^rd Tank Destroyer Battalion May 31, 2000."

Bill Guether, sent this account of his memory of events that led up to the death of Carlton Schafer and Gerard K. Duncan.

 “As we rode in that open field, Schafer and I thought we would be safe if we walked. Schafer said I have a feeling I’m going to die. No sooner we got out of the halftrack we walked side by side. Just then the German tank hit our gun. Schafer got hit and died. I was not hurt. I ran back into the woods. Ahead of me was a bunker. As I ran toward the bunker, tanks were shooting at me coming very close to hitting me. They must seen me heading for the bunker. The next thing I found myself inside. I don’t know how I got in. I think someone is looking after me. Inside was a lot of smoke. No sooner I got inside I got tree burst. The tree burst should have killed me, but it didn’t. When the tree burst stopped I walked back to the halftrack. Gerard Duncan’s body was next to Schafer on the ground. They other men were o.k. They died at Reharmont, Belgium on January 9, 1945”

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