WWII soldier’s remains to be buried in Middleton

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - The remains of a Middleton native and soldier killed during World War II will be buried later this month in his hometown.

Army Pfc. William L. Simon was reported as killed in action on Nov. 5, 1944, when he was 20 years old. The U.S. Army Human Resources Command detailed that he was assigned to Company G, 2nd Battalion, 109th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division. His unit was fighting against German forces in Germany at the time of his death and officials say his remains could not be recovered during the battle.

American Graves Registration Command, a group tasked with recovering missing American soldiers in Europe, searched for him after the war, but could not find him. Simon was declared as nonrecoverable on Dec. 10, 1950.

It wasn’t until 2019 when historians determined that a set of unidentified remains recovered in 1946 had the potential to be that of Simon’s. The remains were disinterred that April and sent to a laboratory. He was officially accounted for on Nov. 29, 2022, by members of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

Simon will be buried on March 28 at St. Bernard’s Cemetery in Middleton, and graveside services will be performed by Gunderson Funeral and Cremation Care.

The agency added that Simon’s name is listed on the Walls of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery in the Netherlands. A rosette will be placed by his name to symbolize that he is accounted for.

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