Join us at the Library on Tuesday, June 19, at 7 pm and learn the story of Little Falls resident George W. Metzler killed in action during World War II as local author Tom Metzler discusses his book My Father’s Brother and the Sinking of the S/S William F. Humphrey.
The story of the S/S William F. Humphrey is a story of heroism, tragedy, suffering and brutality at the hands of both the Germans and the Japanese. Seaman 2nd Class George William Metzler was seventeen years old when he left Little Falls to serve as a member of the U.S. Navy Armed Guard. During his short navy career, which lasted 210 days, he cruised the oceans for the first time, celebrated a birthday away from home for the first time and visited Africa and Iran. He also experienced the horrors of war, first time wounded, first time captured, first Metzler buried at sea. Seaman Metzler’s name appears on the Little Falls World War II Memorial. My Father’s Brother and the Sinking of the S/S William F. Humphrey includes the exchange of correspondence between a heartbroken, but hopeful mother, and the Unites States Navy.