T/4 Louis Lajas Kmet
Born: 23 March 1919 – Wisconsin
Parents: Paul Kmet & Mary Facuna-Kmet
– mother died in 1922
– father put the youngest four children in an orphanage
Siblings: 2 sisters, 2 brothers
Home:
– 809 West Madison Street – Maywood, Illinois
-Lutheran Receiving Orphanage – his legal guardian was Mina Lichtner
– two sisters and brother also lived there
Education:
– Emerson School
– Proviso Township High School
– Class of 1937
– University of Notre Dame, Indiana
– attended for two years
Occupation: Public Service Company
Inducted:
– 16 January 1941
– U.S. Army
-enlisted while a student at University of Notre Dame
Serial Number: 35150761
Training:
– Fort Bliss, Texas
– 1st Calvary Division
Unit: 91st Reconnaissance Squadron
– this was a non-divisional unit
Engagements:
– Battle of Kasserine Pass – North Africa
Killed in Action:
– 1 May 1943
Buried:
– North Africa American Cemetery – Carthage, Tunisia
– Plot: D Row: 11 Grave: 10
Medals:
– Purple Heart
Note: In 1947, Louis and 328 other former students of the University of Notre Dame
were honored at its first post-war graduation commencement.
