Verdie  S. ASPER

23 november 1912 Adams, Mower County 

 MINNESOTA

Map of Normandy American Cemetery

‎Karl Pederson‎

Hi All,
My name is Karl Pederson and I am a student writing a biography of PFC Verdie Asper (83rd, 330th) who is buried at Normandy and from my hometown near Luck, Wisconsin. I’ve managed to make contact with his daughter who allowed me to scan over 30 letters written by PFC Asper to his wife during the war. If anyone has information on Company B of the 330th or PFC Asper I would love to connect!
Thank you so much for your time.

Karl PEDERSON
19 mars, 18:00 · Washington, États-Unis
For the past four months, I've had the privilege to research a soldier from my home town who is buried in the Normandy American Military Cemetery. With the help of the American Battle Monuments Commission, Professor Tom Long, and Vickie Johnson, I was able to tell the story of one of the 9,387 American men and women resting just above Omaha Beach.

The name, regiment, date of death, and state of enlistment are carved into white marble cross or Star of David. The only way to make this fully visible is to take sand and rub it into the etching, making it shine bright gold until the sand is eventually blown out by the wind, leaving behind only the etched white marble. No matter what ABMC cemetery you go to in the world, they will bring you a bucket of Omaha Beach sand.

Last Wednesday I told the story of Verdie S. Asper in the form of a eulogy.

Verdie was born in Adams, Minnesota but later moved to northern Wisconsin in the area between Luck and Frederic. He worked on his family farm before enlisting in the army before Pearl Harbor in March of 1941. He married Bernice Johansen in December of 1942 during his winter leave, and had one child named Victoria (Vickie).

In the 83rd Infantry Division, 330th Regiment, Company B, Verdie shipped across the Atlantic in April of 1944, and spent two months training in the UK before landing on Omaha Beach on D-Day +16, or June 22nd. His company replaced elements of the 101st Airborne, and fought in the hedgerows for 23 straight days.

On the 12th those 23 days, Verdie lost his life in a small Norman village securing an objective crucially important to the Allied advance off of the beaches. Here, Verdie Sanford Asper paid the ultimate price of freedom.

It has been an honor to tell Verdie's story, and as long as I am alive, both his sacrifice and his family's sacrifice will not be forgotten. Thank you Verdie.

"May he rest in peace, and his legacy linger on."-Vickie Johnson nee Asper.