Born 7 October 1913, Scott County, Tennessee. He was killed in action on November 10, 1944.
Battles PFC Jeffers fought in: Normandy, Siegfried Line Campaign, Hürtgen Forest
hometown: Helenwood, Scott County, Tennessee
Excerpt from After Action Report 12th Infantry Regiment 4th Infantry Division for the period 1 November – 8 December 1944, Battle of the Hürtgen Forest :
9 November1944
First Battalion was withdrawn to Regt’l Reserve in order to support the attack of the 3rd Bn who were ordered to clear the woods east of the Hurtgen – Germeter Road. Co K crossed the road at 1100A and advanced 400 yards through heavy artillery and mortar fire before being stopped by an enemy line, protected again by machine guns and small arms covering concertina wire that was mined and booby trapped. All fire breaks leading towards the enemy, our only means of supply, were covered by accurate artillery interdictions and, in some cases, machine gun fire. Co I was committed and drew abreast of K Co by 1345A. By dark Co K had some elements through the enemy’s tactical wire but were forced to dig in for the night.
10 November 1944
The entire regiment jumped off on the attack, 3rd Battalion to continue its mission. 1st Bn to renew the assault on the draw; this time hitting northeast across the draw with the help of the 2d Bn who were to out off the draw by hitting from east to west. Heavy artillery and mine fields again slowed our attack and at 1220 L Co was hit by a counterattack of Bn strengthand had to withdraw (PFC Jeffers killed, body not recovered). At 1300 a similar counterattack was launched against the 2d Bn, hitting between E and F Co’s.
In the meantime the 1st Bn was pinned down by the most tremendous artillery concentrations to ever hit the regiment. By the day’s end neither side had given ground – but an enemy pocket penetrating between E Co and F, G to the north had cut the fire-break that was being used as our main supply route.
At 1900 the 12th Infantry reverted to the control of the 4th Division.
11 November 1944
Co’s B and C were again pulled back because of the enemy threat from Hurtgen. Enemy penetrations had completely isolated F and G Co’s and one platoon of Co L. By this time the 3rd Battalion was badly depleted but continued the attack on the woods east of the Hurtgen – Germeter Road. “A” Co pushed forward and made contact with E Co – and at 1500 C Co was attached to the 2d Bn, jumping off in an attempt to contact F and G. They were stopped by machine gun and 65mm direct fire and were unable to reach the stranded companies before dark. No movement could be attempted after dark because of the intense blackness of the thick forest – and the ever-present menace of Shu-mines and booby traps.
Memorialized at Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands.
Soldier Accounted for From World War II
Press Operations
Release No: 20-049
April 24, 2020
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Pfc. Oliver Jeffers, 31, killed during World War II, was accounted for April 23, 2020.
In November 1944, Jeffers was assigned to Company L, 3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. His unit was engaged in battle with German forces near Germeter, Germany, in the Hürtgen Forest, when he was killed in action on Nov. 10. Jeffers could not be recovered because of the on-going fighting.
The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) announced today that Army Pfc. Oliver Jeffers, 31, of Huntsville, Tennessee, killed during World War II, was accounted for April 23, 2020.
In November 1944, Jeffers was assigned to Company L, 3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division. His unit was engaged in battle with German forces near Germeter, Germany, in the Hürtgen Forest, when he was killed in action on Nov. 10. Jeffers could not be recovered because of the on-going fighting.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. They conducted several investigations in the Hürtgen area between 1946 and 1950, but were unable to recover or identify Jeffers’ remains. He was declared non-recoverable in 1951.
While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that one set of unidentified remains, designated X-2735 Neuville, recovered from a minefield near Germeter in 1946 possibly belonged to Jeffers. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery in 1950, were disinterred in April 2018 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for identification.
To identify Jeffers’s remains, scientists from DPAA used dental and anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.
Jeffers’s name is recorded on the Walls of the Missing at Netherlands American Cemetery, an American Battle Monuments Commission site in Margarten, Netherlands, along with the others still missing from World War II. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Jeffers will be buried Oct. 7, 2020, in his hometown.
For family and funeral information, contact the Army Casualty Office at (800) 892-2490.
DPAA is grateful to the American Battle Monuments Commission and to the U.S. Army Regional Mortuary-Europe/Africa for their partnership in this mission.
For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for Americans who went missing while serving our country, visit the DPAA website at www.dpaa.mil, find us on social media at www.facebook.com/dodpaa or call (703) 699-1420/1193.
Jeffers’s personnel profile can be viewed at https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt0000000BT3kEAG
- Rank: Private First Class
- Date of birth: 7 October 1913
- Date of death: 10 November 1944
- County: Scott
- Hometown: Helenwood
- Service Branch: Army/Army Air Forces
- Division/Assignment: 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division
- Theater: Europe
- Conflict: World War II
- Battles: Normandy Campaign, Siegfried Line Campaign, Hürtgen Forest
- Awards: Bronze Star, Purple Heart
- Burial/Memorial Location: Netherlands American Cemetery, Margraten, Netherlands
- Location In Memorial: Pillar XVII, Middle Panel
- Contact us to sponsor Oliver Jeffers
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