Corporal Wilbert “Will” Russell Geyer
- Unit: 60th Armored Infantry Battalion, 9th Armored Division
- Service Number: 33308449
- Date of Birth: February 4, 1922
- Entered the Military: October 13, 1942
- Date of Death: December 27, 1944
- Hometown: Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania
- Place of Death: near Grand Failly, France
- Award(s): Purple Heart
- Cemetery: Plot A, Row 7, Grave 19. Luxembourg American Cemetery, Hamm, Luxembourg
Divine Mercy Academy (Monroeville, Pennsylvania)
2024/2025
Early Life
Wilbert Russell Geyer was born on February 4, 1922, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. His parents, William H. and Mary C. Geyer, raised him alongside his two older brothers, William (born in 1918) and John (born in 1920). He also had a younger sister, Esther (born in 1924).
Wilbert attended Peabody High School and graduated in 1941. By October 1942, he had enlisted in the United States Army, ready to serve his country.
Homefront
Wilbert Geyer’s hometown of Lawrenceville was a neighborhood in Pittsburgh. This Pennsylvania town was renowned for its steel industry and its notoriously polluted, smoky air. World War II revived Pittsburgh’s industries and created thousands of jobs within the city limits.
Pittsburgh’s factories produced steel for weapons, ships, and planes. Crucible Steel, Mesta Machine Company, the Curtiss‑Wright Corporation, and Pittsburgh Grease made key wartime materials. They produced aircraft steel, submarine parts, propeller blades, gun tubes, and waterproof grease.
Residents also supported the war by organizing scrap‑metal drives and planting victory gardens. Community groups knitted scarves, saved aluminum cans and newspapers, and conserved sugar to do their part during World War II. These efforts supplied vital materials to troops and strengthened community bonds.
Military Experience
Wilbert Geyer was drafted into the U.S. Army on October 13, 1942. Geyer trained with his division in California and Louisiana. He was assigned to the 60th Armored Infantry Battalion, 9th Armored Division. The 9th Armored Division arrived in France in October 1944. They pushed eastward towards Germany and by December were stationed along the border between Luxembourg and Germany.
Commemoration
On December 16, 1944, the Germans launched the Ardennes Offensive, also known as the Battle of the Bulge. On December 27, 1944, Wilbert Geyer died of wounds received in combat. He was later awarded the Purple Heart for his sacrifice. He was temporarily buried in Grand Failly, France.
After the war, his father, William, corresponded with the government, hoping to receive his son’s belongings. He also signed the papers for his son to be permanently buried at Luxembourg American Cemetery in Hamm, Luxembourg.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
After Action Report, 60th Armored Infantry Battalion, 9th Armored Division. Ike Skelton Combined Arms Research Library Digital Library. Accessed March 1, 2025. https://cgsc.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p4013coll8/id/3781/.
“Army Announces List of Additional Selectees.” Pittsburgh Post‑Gazette [Pittsburgh, PA], October 14, 1942. Newspapers.com (8785763).
Peabody High School Yearbook. Pittsburgh Public Schools, 1941. https://peabodyhighschool.org/pittsburgh-pa/.
Pennsylvania. Allegheny County. 1940 U.S. Census. Digital images. http://ancestryclassroom.com.
“A ‘steel pig’ pouring molten steel into a mold. Jones & Laughlin Steel Company, Pittsburgh, PA.1942.” 1942, Photograph. National Archives and Records Administration. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/pittsburgh-pennsylvania.htm.
Wilbert Geyer. Battle Casualty Report. National Archives and Records Administration – St. Louis.
Wilbert Geyer. Individual Deceased Personnel File. National Archives and Records Administration – St. Louis.
Wilbert R. Geyer. Electronic Army Serial Number Merged File, ca. 1938 – 1946. National Archives and Records Administration.
Wilbert Russell Geyer. Pennsylvania, World War II Draft Registration Cards. National Archives and Records Administration. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/357671850?objectPage=568.
Secondary Sources
“The 9th Armored Division During World War II.” Holocaust Encyclopedia. Accessed April 24, 2025. https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/the-9th-armored-division.
“The Arsenal of America: Pennsylvania During the Second World War.” Explore Pennsylvania. Accessed February 11, 2025. https://explorepahistory.com/story.php?storyId=1-9-19&chapter=0.
Briem, Christopher. “The Next Page: Mobilizing a nation for war.” Pittsburgh Post-Gazette [Pittsburgh, PA], September 6, 2020. https://www.post-gazette.com/opinion/Op-Ed/2020/09/06/The-Next-Page-Mobilizing-a-nation-for-war/stories/202009060013.
“CPL Wilbert R Geyer.” Find a Grave. Updated August 5, 2010. Accessed February 3, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/55963206/wilbert-r-geyer
“The Development and Contributions of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, WWII Heritage City.” National Park Service. Accessed February 11, 2025. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/-h-our-history-lesson-the-development-and-contributions-of-pittsburgh-pennsylvania-wwii-heritage-city.htm.
“Military History in Pittsburgh.” Positively Pittsburgh. Accessed February 11, 2025. https://positivelypittsburgh.com/militarypittsburgh/.
“Song of Lawrenceville Old, New by Berry Paris.” Pittsburgh Quarterly [Pittsburgh, PA], Spring 2007. https://pittsburghquarterly.com/articles/song-of-lawrenceville/.
“Wilbert R. Geyer.” American Battle Monuments Commission. Accessed April 24, 2025. https://weremember.abmc.gov/#!/details?id=170254.
“Wilbert R. Geyer.” Honor States. Accessed March 1, 2025. https://www.honorstates.org/profiles/347279/.
This profile was researched and created through the Researching Silent Heroes program, sponsored by the American Battle Monuments Commission.