Home at last: Fallen World War II soldier Clinton Paul Koloski buried in Beloit
Eighty years after he left Wisconsin and went off to war, U.S. Army Private First Class Clinton Paul Koloski was buried Friday in a private ceremony at Calvary Cemetery in Beloit.
Across Wisconsin, flags were flown at half-staff to honor the World War II soldier who was killed January 14, 1945 while conducting a combat patrol near Obermuhlthal, France.
Koloski was 21. His remains had gone unidentified for decades, resting at Rhône American Cemetery in France.
“We are glad to welcome Private First Class Koloski home so that he can finally be honored and laid to rest in his home state,” Gov. Tony Evers said in a statement. "Private First Class Koloski gave his life in defense of the values and freedoms we hold most dear, and on behalf of the state, we are forever grateful for his service, selflessness, and sacrifice.”
According to an obituary, Koloski was born on May 26, 1923 in City Point in central Wisconsin. He and his twin brother Clifford were among the nine children of Anna (Reshel) and George Koloski.
Paul Koloski enlisted in the U.S. Army on July 17, 1943, and served with Company A, 36th Engineer Combat Regiment in Europe. He was killed as Germany mounted an offensive called Operation Northwind.
According to a release from the U.S. military, Koloski and others were on a patrol that "encountered German soldiers in fortified positions forcing the Americans to withdraw under heavy enemy artillery and mortar fire. Because of the fighting, Koloski’s body could not be immediately recovered."
After the war, remains were recovered from the area where Koloski was killed, but they could not be identified and were interred at Rhône American Cemetery.
Koloski's identification tags were recovered by French metal detectorists who were searching for World War II relics in a forest near Obermuhlthal in 2006 and 2007. No human remains were identified at the location.
"In February 2020, the Department of Defense and the American Battle Monuments Commission exhumed the remains of an unknown Soldier, designated X-4890 Neuville, from Rhône American Cemetery," a military statement said.
Those remains were transferred to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska for analysis.
Koloski was accounted for September 12, 2022.
His family said Koloski is survived by his sister, Delores Scharff, along with many nieces and nephews and their children and grandchildren.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Fallen World War II soldier Clinton Paul Koloski buried in Beloit
