Veteran Spotlight

by Richard D. L. Fulton

Kenneth P. Anders

Battle of the Hedgerows

Kenneth P. Anders was born on February 28, 1922, in Rocky Ridge, Maryland, to parents Grayson Howard and Grace Emma Brown Anders, and had two sisters, Zelda (who only survived one year) and Beatrice, and three brothers, Atlee, Wade. and Kermit.

Grayson Anders’ obituary published in the February 1, 1944, The (Frederick) News mentioned a daughter named Mrs. Grace Angel, which would have been a sister of Kenneth Anders, but the name was not encountered anywhere else by the author of this column, and additionally, it was not mentioned on ancestry.com.

Before entering the Army, Anders was employed with his father as a painter.  Upon entering the military service. Anders was assigned to the by Richard D. L. Fulton

Kenneth P. Anders

Battle of the Hedgerows

Kenneth P. Anders was born on February 28, 1922, in Rocky Ridge, Maryland, to parents Grayson Howard and Grace Emma Brown Anders, and had two sisters, Zelda (who only survived one year) and Beatrice, and three brothers, Atlee, Wade. and Kermit.

Grayson Anders’ obituary published in the February 1, 1944, The (Frederick) News mentioned a daughter named Mrs. Grace Angel, which would have been a sister of Kenneth Anders, but the name was not encountered anywhere else by the author of this column, and additionally, it was not mentioned on ancestry.com.

Before entering the Army, Anders was employed with his father as a painter.  Upon entering the military service. Anders was assigned to the Army’s Company A, 115th Infantry, 29th Division as a mortar gunner, wherein he achieved the rank of private first class/PFC.

Anders wrote to his parents on June 24, 1944, that “he came through safely” during the June 4, 1944, D-Day assault on Omaha Beach, according to an article published in the July 15, 1944, edition of The (Frederick) News.

However, he would not be so lucky as the 115th Infantry delved deeper into the Allied advance through Normandy and found itself bogged down in the “Battle of the Hedgerows,” battling heavy German resistance. 

As the 115th Infantry began to attempt to capture Saint-Lô (located about 37 miles from Omaha Beach), they found themselves facing a terrain comprised of successive rows of hundreds of years-old earthen banks, covered with thick hedges, bordering fields, and sunken roads, and held by entrenched German forces. 

The battle lasted from June into July, with the American troops gaining sometimes as little as a few hundred yards a day. From the time the 29th Division “hit the beach” at Omaha to securing Saint-Lô, the division had sustained significant casualties, the 115th Infantry alone suffering 175 killed and 726 wounded, one of the wounded having been Anders.

According to an article published in The News on August 5. 1944, “Anders was reported seriously wounded in France on July 11.”  According to Anders’ 1998 obituary, he had been wounded by mortar fire.

Anders’ father passed away on January 31, 1944, while Anders and his brothers were still serving in the military during World War II.  Thus, his father had never learned of Anders’ having been wounded.

After having been discharged from the Army, Anders enjoyed gunsmithing and repairing watches, and, according to his obituary, he had also enjoyed hunting and fishing, and automobiles and motorcycles.

By the end of World War II, Anders had been awarded two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, Bronze Arrowhead, Expert Infantry Badge, and a Combat Infantry Badge.

After the war, Anders married Margaret Lucille Hartman on March 1, 1946, in Newport News, Virginia, according to Virginia, U.S., Marriage Records, 1936-2014. The couple had five children: Patricia, Lynn, Kenneth, Wade, and Mark. 

His wife, Margaret, had served in the Army as a medical technician (Tech-5) from Feb. 8, 1945 to April 6, 1946. She was a member of the Blue Angels Nursing Corps in Pittsburgh, and was stationed at the U.S. Army Hospital in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, according to findagrave.com, and verified via the US Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2020.

At the time of Anders’ death, he was listed as having been a resident of 214 Sunhigh Drive, Thurmont.

Anders passed away at age 76 on October 7, 1998, at Frederick Memorial Hospital. His wife, Margaret, had preceded him in death, having passed away on October 5, 1990.  His sisters and brothers had also preceded him in death. Funeral services for Anders were held on October 13, 1998, with the Reverend James Russell officiating, and Anders was then interred in the Mount Tabor Cemetery in Rocky Ridge as a mortar gunner, wherein he achieved the rank of private first class/PFC.

Anders wrote to his parents on June 24, 1944, that “he came through safely” during the June 4, 1944, D-Day assault on Omaha Beach, according to an article published in the July 15, 1944, edition of The (Frederick) News.

However, he would not be so lucky as the 115th Infantry delved deeper into the Allied advance through Normandy and found itself bogged down in the “Battle of the Hedgerows,” battling heavy German resistance. 

As the 115th Infantry began to attempt to capture Saint-Lô (located about 37 miles from Omaha Beach), they found themselves facing a terrain comprised of successive rows of hundreds of years-old earthen banks, covered with thick hedges, bordering fields, and sunken roads, and held by entrenched German forces. 

The battle lasted from June into July, with the American troops gaining sometimes as little as a few hundred yards a day. From the time the 29th Division “hit the beach” at Omaha to securing Saint-Lô, the division had sustained significant casualties, the 115th Infantry alone suffering 175 killed and 726 wounded, one of the wounded having been Anders.

According to an article published in The News on August 5. 1944, “Anders was reported seriously wounded in France on July 11.”  According to Anders’ 1998 obituary, he had been wounded by mortar fire.

Anders’ father passed away on January 31, 1944, while Anders and his brothers were still serving in the military during World War II.  Thus, his father had never learned of Anders’ having been wounded.

After having been discharged from the Army, Anders enjoyed gunsmithing and repairing watches, and, according to his obituary, he had also enjoyed hunting and fishing, and automobiles and motorcycles.

By the end of World War II, Anders had been awarded two Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star, Bronze Arrowhead, Expert Infantry Badge, and a Combat Infantry Badge.

After the war, Anders married Margaret Lucille Hartman on March 1, 1946, in Newport News, Virginia, according to Virginia, U.S., Marriage Records, 1936-2014. The couple had five children: Patricia, Lynn, Kenneth, Wade, and Mark. 

His wife, Margaret, had served in the Army as a medical technician (Tech-5) from Feb. 8, 1945 to April 6, 1946. She was a member of the Blue Angels Nursing Corps in Pittsburgh, and was stationed at the U.S. Army Hospital in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, according to findagrave.com, and verified via the US Department of Veterans Affairs BIRLS Death File, 1850-2020.

At the time of Anders’ death, he was listed as having been a resident of 214 Sunhigh Drive, Thurmont.

Anders passed away at age 76 on October 7, 1998, at Frederick Memorial Hospital. His wife, Margaret, had preceded him in death, having passed away on October 5, 1990.  His sisters and brothers had also preceded him in death. Funeral services for Anders were held on October 13, 1998, with the Reverend James Russell officiating, and Anders was then interred in the Mount Tabor Cemetery in Rocky Ridge