By Deborah Larsen
Norman Henry Gebert
Norman Henry Gebert was born in Avon Township on October 10, 1925, the son of Henry and Lillian Krell Gebert. The Gebert family lived on Dequindre Road. After high school, Norman was employed at Yates Cider Mill.
In January 1944, Norman entered the U.S. Army. He was assigned to the 349th Infantry Regiment of General Mark Clark’s 88th “Blue Devil” Division. While he was serving with his unit in northern Italy, Norman and a small group of fellow soldiers were rounding up prisoners when they found themselves isolated in a house surrounded by German soldiers and under attack by artillery and small arms fire. When a round fired by a rocket launcher set the house on fire, Gebert and his comrades were able to safely escape back to their lines under the cover of smoke.
After the war, Norman married, started a family, and worked at the Parke-Davis Biological Farm. He later worked at Crittenton Hospital, from which he retired in 1992.
Norman Henry Gebert died at age 73 on September 11, 1999.