In Memory of Army Pvt.
Leo Deis
Onaka, South Dakota
Faulk County
June 30, 1925 -- November 16, 1944
Killed in Action near Morville, France
Leo Deis was born in Onaka, South Dakota on January 30, 1925, the third child of Magdalena and Paul Deis, who was a German immigrant from Odessa, Russia. When Leo started school in Onaka, he could only speak German, which earned him the nickname “Dutch.” While in high school, Leo played basketball and baseball and loved fishing and hunting pheasants and ducks. After graduating from Onaka High School in 1943, Leo worked in his father’s grocery store and became engaged to Kathryn Waldman before he was drafted.
Leo was inducted in the U.S. Army on March 28, 1944, at Ft. Snelling in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and then received Infantry training at Ft Wood in Missouri. On September 19, 1944, Pvt. Deis was sent overseas, stationed in England, although his exact location was classified.
Pvt. Deis could speak fluent German and thus served an important role in his company. On November 16, 1944, at the age of 19, Pvt. Leo Deis was killed “by small arms fire while on a reconnaissance patrol behind German enemy lines during the U.S. Army advance near Morville, France,” wrote his brother, Andrew.
Andrew remembers clearly the look of devastation on Paul Deis’ face when the telegram came, but he did not tell the family until that night at supper. “He broke down in tears, which to my knowledge, is something that my father never ever did.”
Originally buried in the United States Military Cemetery Lorrain, France, Leo’s remains were returned to the U.S. after the war and were buried in the St. John’s Catholic Cemetery in Onaka, South Dakota.
This entry was respectfully submitted by CeCe (Chelsie) Wood, 8th Grade West, Spearfish Middle School, Spearfish, South Dakota, November 21, 2000. Information for this entry was provided by Andrew Deis, Pierre, SD, brother, and Rosalie Schmidt, Onaka, SD, sister of Leo Deis.
