Toward the end of World War II, Sgt. Leonard J. Dettloff died in the Battle of Hurtgen Forest in Germany. As the American troops retreated, a high school friend carried his body to a mass grave, where he was buried. The location was noted and marked. After World War II ended, the grave was exhumed and remains were moved to the Lorraine American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Saint-Avold, France.

The battle was one of the largest and longest engagements of World War II, eventually growing to involve 200,000 troops, with tens of thousands of casualties on both sides. Dettloff was killed near Germeter, Germany, though the exact circumstance of his loss is unknown. Efforts were made after the war to identify the remains, but those efforts were ended in 1950 and Sgt. Dettloff was listed Missing In Action (MIA). Sgt. Dettloff also took part in D-Day. He was one of the first platoons to land on Omaha Beach.

Toward the beginning of the war, Dettloff’s brother, Edward, was scheduled to be inducted into the Army. Edward was married with a young daughter. Leonard stepped forward and took his brother’s place in the Army. Leonard left a mother and an older sister. Theresa Wall, and a younger sister, Ann Karle. The family lived in the Detroit, Mich., area.
In 1951, George and Ann Karle gave birth to a daughter, Priscilla. As Priscilla grew up in Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich., she remembered her uncle Leonard’s photo in the hallway outside her bedroom. Priscilla grew up in a family where her uncle’s memory was kept alive.

Priscilla married George Banfield in 1973. They lived in Kansas City, then Forest Lake, Minn., before moving to Montgomery City in 1980. Her uncle Leonard’s photo was kept prominently on a corner shelf of the living room for 43 years. Priscilla’s parents, George and Ann Karle, moved to Montgomery City in 1986. Uncle Leonard’s photos were kept in their home, also. George and Priscilla raised two sons, Nathan and Ehren Banfield.

Priscilla would visit her Aunt Theresa usually twice a year in Michigan. Theresa kept her brother Leonard’s war letters that were sent to her and her mother. Priscilla had a keen interest in her uncle’s letters. It was from these letters that she really got to know her uncle that she never met. After those visits, she would return home to Montgomery City and pass on the knowledge she gained about her uncle.

In 2016, the Army reached out to Priscilla about providing DNA. Countries revived their effort to identify the remains from WWII with new technology. Priscilla and her brother, Glenn Karle of Plano, Texas, and Priscilla’s son, Ehren, provided DNA. Instrumental in this effort was Susan Linton. She is a private individual who has devoted her efforts to searching for families of lost soldiers. Her father was a Prisoner of War (POW). Without Susan’s efforts, Priscilla would have never learned many things about her uncle and about the Army finally identifying her uncle.

Priscilla felt excitement and hope about identifying her uncle’s remains. But as the years passed, her hopes waned. Recently, Priscilla mentioned to her husband, “I guess I’ll never know about Uncle Leonard.” After years of hope, no word came. The next day, Priscilla’s cell phone rang while it was laying on the kitchen table. George recognized the caller’s name, Susan Linton, and rushed the phone to his wife in the front yard. But the call ended before she could answer. She immediately returned the call recognizing its significance. Susan relayed the long awaited news. Leonard Dettloff’s remains were identified. Actually, his remains were identified months early, but there was no confirmation from the Army. Susan’s efforts relayed the vital discovery.

Dettloff was welcomed home and was laid to rest on American soil after 79 years. A final committal with a military honors ceremony was held on Oct. 27 at Great Lakes National Cemetery in Holly, Mich.

Priscilla Banfield’s lifelong vigil for her beloved uncle finally reached a conclusion that she always hoped and prayed would happen.

Written by George Banfield, a resident of Montgomery City.