Honoring a cousin who made the ultimate sacrifice

Submitted by Joanne Kratz, Souderton

I am writing about my cousin, Paul Yoder, who was killed in action on Feb. 11, 1945, in Germany, shortly before I was born.
My parents told me about him and always said that he was such a fine young man.
At this point in the war, there was a shortage of men to fight. He was drafted into a war for which he was not adequately prepared to fight.
At the age of 19, he lost his life.
His older brother, George, was also a soldier and received the news of his brother's death in a letter from his mother.
His father, whose name was also Paul, was in charge of freight at the Souderton train station. His son's body was shipped home from overseas, and it was his dad's job to receive his son's casket.
Paul is buried at Leidy's cemetery, Franconia Township.
I am writing this in his honor and in memory of all the men and women who died while serving our country.