74 years after dying in battle, World War II soldier buried at Riverside National Cemetery
Relatives and brothers-in-arms gave a full military burial Friday, July 20, to a soldier who died trying to liberate Europe from Nazis before any of them were born.
In the years since Staff Sgt. David Rosenkrantz was killed during World War II, generations of Rosenkrantzes have been born. And some have died, including four brothers who survived the war and were later buried at Riverside National Cemetery.
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But the sergeant died too close to German troops for his remains to be recovered at the time, and it wasn’t until 2017 that DNA testing determined which remains belonged to him.
Friday, July 20, at Riverside National Cemetery.
(Photo courtesy of Department of Defense)
He rejoined his family Friday.
“Today, we finally got closure,” said his nephew, Phillip Rosenkrantz, who was born five years after his uncle’s death.
Phillip Rosenkrantz, a retired Cal Poly Pomona professor who lives in Placentia, said he’s devoted at least several hours a week to searching for his uncle for the past 20 years, since being inspired by the movie “Saving Private Ryan.”
Others helped with the search as well, including Dutch citizens thankful for the role Rosenkrantz and other American troops played in fighting for their homeland.
A 1934 graduate of David Starr Jordan High School in Watts, Rosenkrantz joined the Army two months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He was a member of the 82nd Airborne Division, 504 Parachute Infantry Regiment, H Company, and took part in the invasion of Sicily.
During that invasion, he was dropped in the wrong location and wound up surrounded by 200 Italian soldiers, his nephew said.
“After initially being captured by the Italians, David and Corporal Black from Tennessee convinced the Italians to surrender,” he said in an interview. “Well, he accepted their surrender — everyone likes the other story better.”
During Operation Market Garden to break German defensive lines on the Western Front, German tanks and infantry attacked Rosenkrantz’s position in the Netherlands and killed him Sept. 28, 1944, according to the Defense Department.
For these and other actions, Rosenkrantz was awarded medals including the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. They were kept in a place of honor until Friday, said 1st Sgt. Douglas Smith of the 82nd Airborne Division, who presented the medals to Phillip Rosenkrantz.
“The 892nd Airborne Division walks in the boot steps of legends,” Smith said during the ceremony. “Today, one of those legends returns home.”