Gerst Buyer
| Date and Place of Birth: | February 21, 1919 Columbia, PA |
| Date and Place of Death: | May 25, 1944 Anzio, Italy |
| Baseball Experience: | College |
| Position: | First Base |
| Rank: | First Lieutenant |
| Military Unit: | 1st Battalion, 13th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Division US Army |
| Area Served: | Mediterranean Theater of Operations |
Gerst G. Buyer, son of Mr. and Mrs. Ephraim G. Buyer, was born in
Columbia, Pennsylvania, and played varsity
baseball and basketball at John Harris High School and at Gettysburg College. A first baseman, Buyer,
played under the watchful eye of baseball coach Ira Plank (brother of
former major leaguer Eddie Plank) and along with teammate
Harry O’Neill
(who went on to play for the Philadelphia Athletics and was one of only
two major league players to be killed in action during World War II),
helped Gettysburg capture the 1938 Eastern Pennsylvania Intercollegiate
baseball title.
As well as his athletic accomplishments, Buyer was an outstanding
student. He was a member of the Gettysburgian staff (Gettysburg College
newspaper), sports editor of the “G” book, and a member of the college
debating squad for four years. Buyer was also part of the Reserve
Officers Training Corps (ROTC) and in May 1939, he was promoted from
first sergeant to cadet major and battalion commander.
Buyer graduated from Gettysburg College in 1940 and entered Dickinson
Law School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, continuing to play baseball with
the Paxtang Indians at Harrisburg. In December 1941 he became engaged
to Nadene R. Etter and was called into military service in February
1942.
Gerst Buyer received his training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, Fort Benning,
Georgia, and Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He and Nadene were married
while he was stationed with an armoured unit at Fort Knox. The Reverend
William F. Hill performed the ceremony at the Federated
Evangelical-United Brethren Church in Louisville, Kentucky on February
21, 1942
In December 1942, First Lieutenant Buyer went overseas with the 1st
Battalion of the 13th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Division. The 13th
Armored first met German forces in Tunisia, and while the Allies
ultimately defeated the Axis forces, who surrendered in Tunisia in May
1943, the 13th Armored suffered heavy losses during engagements at
Sbeitla and Kasserine Pass.
After a period of rest, refitting, and training in North Africa, the
13th Armored landed at Salerno, Italy, in late 1943. The Regiment was
sent to Anzio in May 1944 to take part in the Allied breakout of the
beachhead beginning on May 23. During heavy fighting, the regiment
suffered significant losses in tanks from both enemy mines and guns.
First Lieutenant Buyer was killed in action on May 25, 1944.
Survived by his widow, Nadene, and an 18-month-old son, Gerst, Jr., whom he
had never seen. Gerst Buyer is buried at Plot J, Row 1, Grave 1,
Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Nettuno, Italy.
Sources:
Gettysburg Times – April 12, 1938
Gettysburg Times – February 3, 1939
Gettysburg Times – May 13, 1939
Gettysburg Times – December 27, 1941
Gettysburg Times – February 26, 1942
Gettysburg Times – June 16, 1944
The SCROLL of Phi Delta Theta – Vol. 69, No. 1, September 1944
Thanks to Astrid van Erp for help with this biography.
Date Added: May 2, 2013.Updated August 6, 2017
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