Veteran Spotlight

by Richard D. L. Fulton

Richard H. Rosensteel

Purple Heart, Bronze Star Recipient

Richard H. Rosensteel was born in Emmitsburg on April 1, 1913, to parents Charles and Mary Rosensteel, and had four brothers: William, Ernist, Richard, and Louie, and four sisters: Agnes, Bertha, Mary, and Margaret, according to his 1998 obituary and census records.

At age 17, he was employed as a cloth cutter at a pants factory, according to the 1930 census, an occupation which he was still engaged in during the 1940s, according to the 1940 census. 

Rosensteel registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, at age 27. His draft card information indicated that at the time he registered he was 5-foot and 11-inches in height and weighed 176 pounds. He was described as having blue eyes and brown hair and possessed a “light” complexion.

The (Frederick) News reported on August 27, 1943, that Rosensteel had left his home to be sent to Camp Lee in Virginia for training after having been inducted into the Army’s 79th Infantry Division on August 25, according to various articles published in The News. He and his unit were deployed overseas during April 1944.

The 79th Infantry Division entered the war in Europe via Utah Beach on June 12 through 15, 1944, engaging the German Army over the course of 248 days,  from Normandy to the Ardennes, suffering 2,476 soldiers killed in action with another 10,971 wounded, and had 1,180 men captured by the enemy, according to Army Battle Casualties and Nonbattle Deaths, Final Report (Statistical and Accounting Branch, Office of the Adjutant General, June 1, 1953).

In addition, the unit reported that 579 soldiers were missing in action during their deployment in Europe, of whom 68 individuals remain unaccounted for as of this day, according to the Sons of Liberty Museum website (sonsoflibertymuseum.org).

The News reported on August 5, 1944, that Rosensteel was “slightly wounded in France on July 6,” and The (Frederick) News further reported that he was “recovering in a hospital in England.” The newspaper noted in an article published on February 2, 1945, that he had been wounded in the back and leg in the attack on Saint Lo, France.

On October 5, 1944, the newspaper reported that he had been slightly wounded a second time, “presumably in France,” on September 18. The newspaper also noted that Rosensteel had just returned to active duty after having recovered from his July injury when he was wounded again, and subsequently reported that the injury occurred at Nancy, France.

The News reported on October 23, 1944, that Rosensteel’s (first) wife had received medals that he had been awarded.  It was unclear if her husband or the military had sent her the medals. The article simply stated, “Mrs. Richard Rosensteel… has received the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster and the Bronze Star which have been awarded to her husband… for wounds received and gallantry in action in the battles of France.”

The News reported on February 2, 1945, that Rosensteel had been wounded for a third time, and further, his wife had been informed by the War Department that he had been reported as missing in action since January 2, but this was followed by a letter written by Rosensteel dated January 15 to his wife stating that he was “recuperating at a hospital from his latest injury in which he sustained a lacerating wound of (the) eyeball.”

Soon thereafter, Rosensteel returned to his home in Emmitsburg. He was officially discharged from his service on July 14, 1945.

In 1960, he married his second wife, Pauline (his first wife was apparently also named Pauline, according to Ancestry), and had two stepdaughters: Donna and Connie. Rosensteel worked as a test unit operator at Fort Detrick for 10 years. He was then employed at the Army Map Service in Washington, D.C., until he retired in 1975.

According to  Rosensteel’s 1998 obituary, he died on December 3, 1998. Services were held at Saint John’s Catholic Church in Frederick, and he was subsequently interred in the Linden Hills Cemetery.