Adler Brothers, Relatives, and Spouses Who Served in the Military from the American Civil War to Present Day
American Civil War
Nicholas Adler* Union Army
Mathias Adler
Enlisted but it is not known if he served
World War I
Henry Loehr*, pictured top left above Son of Henry and Catherine Adler Loehr (Nicholas)
"Recently my son, a high school junior, read the account of his great-grandfather's injuries in WWI. As you might remember Henry N. Loehr's middle daughter, Rosalie, is my mother. Coincidentally, as my son, Eddie, read the account, he was studying that time frame in his Honors US History class. He had an immediate reaction to the battle in which Grandpa was injured. As he learned, the battle was a turning point in the war and the particular day of his injury was pivotal. Incidentally, Grandpa was wounded just days after his birthday. Can't remember how old he was at the time because I don't have my research handy, but I do remember that his birthday was Sept. 26.
"Grandpa was injured early in the day, and laid on the battlefield until late afternoon. As it turns out, there was also a German soldier on the battlefield. Both were unarmed and seriously injured. Because Henry was raised with German speakers, he was able to have conversations through the day with the German soldier. One wonders: Did the German soldier survive? Did the fact that Grandpa had somebody to talk to improve his chances of survival? Did Grandpa ever wonder about that wounded man?"
-Recounted by John Metzger, 3 May 2014
Louis Adler* Son of George P. Adler (Mathias)
William Simon Adler
Son of George P. Adler (Mathias)
Arthur Adler
Son of John Nicholas Adler (Mathias)
World War II
Oscar Dionysius Mayer*, pictured top right above
Grandson of Henry and Catherine Adler Loehr (Nicholas)
Died in France as a POW (the only known death in the family during WWII)
Leroy F. Mayer
Grandson of Henry and Catherine Adler Loehr (Nicholas)
Sgt Combat Infantry. Battles in South Philippines, Okinawa.
Wounded at Okinawa April 12-14, 1945.
2 Bronze Stars, Philippine Liberation Theater Ribbon, Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster Medal, Victory Medal.
Multiple operations in 1957 to remove shell fragments from his forehead at the
Veteran’s Hospital in Memphis TN.
Anthony E. Mayer
Grandson of Henry and Catherine Adler Loehr (Nicholas)
PFC Rifleman, Victory Medal
“He was drafted in 1945. His service was quite brief. He went to basic training in Ft. Hood Texas. He sailed to Berlin and said he arrived at the end of the year. He stated that they had to wait on the ship until the following day (first of the year) before they could disembark. He was an MP in the Army. He was only in Berlin about 6 months before being discharged. The story he told me is that one day another gentleman he was serving with came to him in excitement telling of how he was going home. My grandfather asked how could that be as he had just arrived on the same ship as him. The gentleman said that his commander is sending him home because he has a brother laying in Europe (died in service and buried in Europe). My grandfather responded that he too has a brother laying in Europe (Oscar Mayer), so he was told to tell the commanding officer. He said he went to the Captain and told him about his brother. The Captain confirmed the name, and he was told he was going back home. He says that the rest of his time in Berlin he was off duty and did not have to pull any more shifts. He sailed back to the US shortly afterwards.”
-Recounted by Anthony Mayer to his grandson Bryan Halter on 15 February 2014
Eugene O. Adler*
Son of Frank Adler (Nicholas)
He was a veteran of WWII in the U.S. Army 17th Airborne Division where he
received the purple heart and three bronze stars. He also fought in the Battle of the
Bulge in the Ardennes.
Leo Adam Adler
Son of Adam Adler (Nicholas)
He joined the U.S. Navy Reserve in Peru, Ind., and participated in six invasions
in the South Pacific during World War II
Raymond Nicholas Adler M.D., pictured lower right above
Son of Adam Adler (Nicholas)
US Army Medical Corps
Oscar John Adler, Jr.
Grandson of John Adler (Nicholas)
"Oscar John Adler Jr. was actually in the US Army Air Corps in WWII and served mostly
stateside in Florida. He was discharged as a disabled veteran after he was injured by
an Army surgeon during a routine procedure and had to have part of one lung removed."
-Recounted by Jim Adler, 3 May 2014
Norbert Adler
Grandson of John Adler (Nicholas)
“My Dad was in basic training when the bomb was dropped. He then served after the war in Japan as part of the occupation army for two years as a medic. He visited the atomic bomb blast sites while there.”
-Recounted by David Adler
Frederick “Fritz” Dewig*
Spouse of Betty Mae Loehr Dewig (Nicholas)
Harry O. Metzger*, pictured lower left above
Spouse of Rosalie Loehr Metzger (Nicholas)
Alfred M. Adler
Great Grandson of Mathias Adler
Served on the USS Blackhawk in the Pacific Theater
Norwood Adler
Great Grandson of Mathias Adler
"My dad reported for training 1 November 1944 in Loredo, Texas, 2126th AAF BU to Aerial Gunnery school, graduated to 612 Armorer Gunner, then was transferred to Seething Air Force Base in England where he flew 25 missions in the 448th Bombing Group under General Jimmy Doolittle as a tail gunner on a B 24 Liberator.
"He received the following decorations and citations:
American Theater ribbon, EAME Ribbon with 4 Bronze Battle Stars, Good Conduct
Medal, Air Medal 3 Bronze Clusters CO 149 HQ 2nd AD 45 , World War II Victory
Medal, And one Overseas Service Bar.
"Battles and campaigns: Northern France, Ardennes, Rhineland, and Central Europe.
"He was decommissioned and mustered out after serving 25 Aerial Combat Missions on
11 June 1945. He returned to the States to serve out the rest of his duty.
"On their 13th mission, in a B24 Liberator returning to base after a bombing mission, the life raft somehow became deployed and wrapped around the tail of the plane. Everyone had to bail out but the pilot and co-pilot didn’t get clear and perished in the crash. 50 years later, Dad got a letter from the historical society that they found that plane in a swamp outside England, recovered one of the engines with a propeller still attached and searched the serial numbers that identified his particular plane. Mom and Dad were invited and attended a dedication ceremony of that propeller at the Air Force base in England."
-Recounted by Kerry Adler, 22 May 2014
Joseph L. Wilzbacher
Grandson of John Adler (Nicholas)
Cornelius Wolf
Grandson of Henry and Catherine Adler Loehr (Nicholas)
James E. Schaefer
Grandson of Henry and Catherine Adler Loehr
US Navy
Jerald J. Chesser
Great Grandson of Mathias Adler
Joseph E. Seib
Spouse of Margaret Marie Bittner (Nicholas)
Medic 1942-45
Fred G. Adler
Great Grandson of Mathias Adler
Post-World War II
Charles Adler
Grandson of John Adler (Nicholas)
“Dad served in the Army from 3/7/46 to 7/15/47. He was in the Philippines with a
medic unit after basic training at Fort Knox. He was in charge of mail and he was in
charge of ordering/receiving all funds and supplies. He was at the 13th hospital in
Manila. For fun he got to play with pet monkeys.”
-Recounted by Theresa Adler 27 April 2014
Armon “Bud” Adler
Grandson of John Adler (Nicholas)
MP US Army
Germaine Bittner
Grandson of Theodore Adler (Nicholas)
US Army
Korean War
Raymond Pritchett
Great Grandnephew of Juliana Adler Witt
"I enlisted in the Navy in 1949 when I graduated from Memorial High School. I had enlisted for 3 years but when the Korean War broke out, President Truman froze enlistments and I had to stay in until 1955. I served on the USS General W. A. Mann AP-112. It was an Army Personel Troop Ship. We were everywhere in the Korean combat zone, I was a dental assistant.”
-Recounted by Ray Pritchett, 9 November 2013
Anthony Elmer Bittner
Grandson of Theodore Adler (Nicholas)
US Army
Austin Wilzbacher
Grandson of John Adler (Nicholas)
Robert J. Steckler, M.D.
Grandnephew of Margaret Steckler
"My Dad was one of the first doctors drafted into Korea and was in the MASH unit that was portrayed in the MASH book, movie, and TV series. Along with him and still living in Evansville are Dr. Dale Drake (Anesthesiologist) and his wife Kathy (surgical nurse) who were with my Dad in that MASH unit. Dale's son, Michael, is an anesthesiologist, I think at St. Mary's
Hospital. My Dad was drafted into WWII but was pulled into the medical corps and didn't see action but his college buddies were sent to the Battle of the Bulge. He went to the University of
Maryland Medical School and the Army told him if he was married and had two children he wouldn't be drafted in a future war. That ended when Congress passed a special draft law for medical doctors needed for Korea. My Dad was very disappointed when he received his draft notice and had to leave the family for 13 months for Korea. While I was only about 3.5 years old, I can still remember him reading his draft notice on our porch in Hanford CA where he was doing his surgical residency training.”
-Recounted by Dennis Steckler, Great-grandnephew of Margaret Steckler, 3 May 2014
Vietnam War
Paul Maurer
Spouse of Patty Adler (Nicholas)
US Army 1966-69
Terry T. Maurer
Spouse of Joann Seib (Nicholas)
US Air Force 1968-72
John R. Schneider
Spouse of Ruth Seib (Nicholas)
US Army 1970-72
John O. Adler
Great-Grandson of John Adler (Nicholas)
Served in the US Air Force on active duty from 1970 to 1973 and was honorably discharged as a Sergeant in 1976.
Iraq War
Stephan W. Oliver
Spouse of Julia Ann Schneider, 3rd Great Granddaughter of Nicholas Adler
West Point Cadet US Army 1998-2007
Michael P. Adler, M.D.
Great Grandson of Nicholas Adler
US Air Force
USAFR Colonel, Michael Paul Adler MD, was deployed to Camp Anaconda, Balad Iraq in 2006 as the senior Flight Surgeon at the Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility, 332th Medical Group. He organized, planned, and cleared missions to ensure the safe aeromedical evacuation from Iraq for over 1105 wounded patients. In addition he flew more than 20 combat missions throughout Iraq and Kuwait and participated in dozens of critical combat surgeries. In acknowledgement of his essential role, he received the USAF Meritorious Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, The Iraq Campaign Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
Notes about Other Service
James R. Adler served in the US Navy and was honorably discharged as a Lieutenant.
Christopher J. Adler, son of John and grandson of Oscar John is a Staff Sergeant and
Combat Medic in the US Army. Christopher is currently serving as a career soldier in the US Armyand served in Afghanistan and various other conflicts.
James Robert Adler served in the US Navy as a Civil Engineer Corps officer and Navy Seabee. He is a Cold War veteran and served with the Navy Seabees during Desert Storm. Although his Seabee battalion, NMCB 3, was heavily involved with Desert Storm, they actually “bookended” the war. They were the “ready battalion” in Europe and Africa when the war started but they were in the middle of their return to home port at the start of the war. They spent home port helping other battalions deploy and preparing themselves to redeploy to Saudi Arabia. However, during the middle of the deployment to Saudi Arabia, the war was won and the battalion was diverted to Guam. He served tours of duty and deployments in Rota Spain, Amchitka Alaska, Guam, Pearl Harbor, Midway Island, Port Hueneme California, and MCAS Yuma Arizona. His foster daughter, Tristi Leigh Hopkins Finkbeiner, and his adopted son, Tyler Kenneth Adler, recently joined the US Marine Corps and are currently serving at Camp Lejeune, NC.
Leo Bittner, US Navy Reserves, Grandson of Theodore Adler (Nicholas)
Russell Stratmann, US Army, Spouse of Dorothy Mae Bittner (Nicholas)
* indicates a more detailed history of their service is available
