Pvt. George Agaziz Surls (March 4, 1918 – January 13, 1945)
180th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division
by Daniel Tyler
Early Life
George Agaziz Surls was born on March 4, 1918, to Walter B. Surls and Mabel Edna Surls, in Venice, FL.1 He had two siblings: an older brother, Charles M. Surls (1916), and a younger sister, Helen Rosemary Surls (1923).2 Walter and Mabel, from Pennsylvania and Indiana respectively, moved to Venice, FL to start their family.3 As of 1930, the Surls family lived in Hendry County, FL, where Walter worked as a factory mechanic and Mabel took care of the family.4 At the height of the Great Depression, they moved back to Venice in Sarasota County, FL. By 1935, despite his lack of formal training, Walter became the police chief of Venice, working in a department that included fire, police, and the county jail, likely due to the small population of the coastal town.5
Surls attended high school in the mid-1930s but did not finish his secondary education, possibly because of his family’s financial situation during the Depression.6 According to his military records, Surls had completed three years of high school by 1941 and was working as a manager at Venice Laundry Dry Cleaning Service.7 In the late 1930s, Surls met and began dating a local snowbird from Minnesota, Annalisa Marie Holmberg. They married on June 2, 1940, as seen here on the Marriage certificate.8 The couple had a daughter, Sandra Louise Surls, who sadly died at only seven months old on December 17, 1941.9 Just two months before his daughter passed away, on October 16, Surls registered for the draft, like every qualified man at the time.10
Military Service
On September 18, 1943, after nearly two years of waiting for his draft number to be selected, Surls joined the US Army at Camp Blanding in Starke, FL.11 While Camp Blanding had originally been constructed only a few years prior, in 1940, it served as a training center for nine infantry divisions. When Surls attended, it had just transitioned into an Infantry Replacement Training Center and German Prisoner of War camp.12 By the war’s end, Surls represented just one of nearly 175,000 men trained at Camp Blanding.13
Assigned to the 180th Infantry Regiment (IR) of the 45th Infantry Division (ID) Thunderbirds, Surls likely joined the rest of his division in Allied-occupied Italy, as the 45th arrived in North Africa on June 22, 1943, and entered combat in Sicily on July 10, 1943.14 After training in the US as a replacement, he likely joined the rest of the 45th ID at Anzio in March or April 1944. A coalition of Allied troops, including elements of the British 10 Corps and the French Expeditionary Corps, invaded Anzio, a city thirty-five miles (fifty-six kilometers) south of Rome, in January 1944. After aiding in repelling multiple German counterattacks, the front remained in a stalemate until May 23, 1944, when the 45th ID and the majority of the VI Corps finally broke out from their defensive positions around the landing zone, plowing through the German defensive line towards Rome. While fierce German resistance along the Caesar Line initially bogged down the 45th ID, the 36th ID’s capture of Monte Artemisio, a strategically important mountain between Rome and Anzio, allowed Allied artillery to pummel the German front and supply lines, giving the VI Corps the opening they needed to take Rome.15 By June 4, the 45th ID had entered the Italian capital. Starting in mid-July, the 45th ID earned a bit of rest before the men began to prepare for Operation Dragoon: the invasion of Southern France.16
On August 15, 1944, a massive Allied coalition of British, French-colonial, and US troops, including the Seventh Army, launched a ferocious naval invasion from North Africa, Italy, Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica, aimed at the coast of southern France. The 45th ID landed in Sainte-Maxime, a seaside town situated at about the midway point of the amphibious landing along the French Riviera. Within a few days, the division had pushed forty-three miles (seventy kilometers) northwest into Barjols and crossed the Durance River over a damaged bridge near Saint-Paul-lès-Durance. On August 30, after traveling 199 miles (320 kilometers) more to the northwest, the 45th ID crossed the Rhône River, entering the city of Lyon. Over the next few days, the 45th ID became entrenched in heavy fighting at Meximieux, a village twenty-two miles (thirty-five kilometers) northeast of Lyon. The intense fighting continued throughout the 143-mile (230-kilometer) journey northeast to Villersexel, where Surls was likely injured by incoming artillery. The 45th ID pressed hard into the German defenses and claimed the town of Villersexel on September 15.17
Private Surls’ injury, for which he earned a Purple Heart, required two months of recovery in hospital.18 Meanwhile, the 45th ID continued its campaign north, crossing the Moselle River on September 22. This was a considerable challenge, given the Germans’ deliberate destruction of infrastructure, including bridges, as the Allies advanced. The soldiers of the 180th quickly initiated an offensive to liberate the city of Epinal, a German stronghold fortified by three battalions of German infantry as well as artillery and mortar support. Despite the extensive defenses, American troops of the 180th took control of Epinal on September 24 and set their sights on the next major obstacle, the dense and treacherous Vosges Mountains.19
After eighty-six days of sustained combat, the regiment was relieved on November 9, near the town of Raon l’Etape. The men on the 180th earned fifteen days of rest for their efforts in Lorraine, before returning to the front lines in late November. It was likely during this time that Private Surls was discharged from the hospital and rejoined his unit in the mountains.20
After their much needed recuperation period, the 45th ID returned to the front, crossing the Saverne Gap, to enter the Alsace region on November 23. By November 25, the 45th ID had already pushed fifty-six more miles (ninety kilometers) east, rapidly approaching the Maginot Line. Continuing their push, the 45th ID traveled about thirty-one miles (fifty kilometers) northeast to Merzwiller, liberating for the first time the deeply entrenched, German-held town on December 5, before pushing a few miles east over the French border into the German town of Budenthal on December 18.21
On New Year’s Day 1945, the 45th ID became the target of Operation Northwind: Hitler’s last major offensive in the west. During this German counterattack, much of the 45th ID pulled back to the Moder River. Private George Agaziz Surls did not survive the retreat, having been killed in action during the twenty-five-mile-long (forty-kilometer) trek on January 13, 1945.22
Legacy
After Private Surls’ death, his comrades in the 45th ID continued their fight against the tyranny of Nazi Germany, pushing almost 249 miles (400 kilometers) into Bavaria, Germany. During the last month of World War II, the 45th ID participated in the liberation of Munich. While en route to the German stronghold, the 45th ID liberated the concentration camp at Dachau, seeing firsthand the brutality and cruelty of Hitler’s designs for those he marked for annihilation. The 45th ID remained at the Dachau camp for a few days, helping the prisoners until a hospital unit took over. On May 1, 1945, the 45th ID captured Munich, with the war in Europe ending less than a week later, on May 8.23
Private Surls was survived by both of his parents, his brother and sister, and his widow. His brother, Sergeant Charles Surls, spent three years in Japan from 1950 to 1953, participating in the US occupation of Japan.24 Surls’ mother, Mabel Surls, went on to become a member of the American Legion Women’s Auxiliary Post 159, a volunteer group dedicated to commemorating Veterans. Mabel made a lifelong commitment to honoring her son, serving as both president and later vice president of Auxiliary Post 159 in 1951 and 1961, respectively.25
Private Surls’ widow, Ann Surls, joined her mother-in-law in honoring her husband’s memory in the American Legion Women’s Auxiliary; Ann served as a Committee Chairman in 1950.26 She also continued the laundry business that her late husband had started until at least 1950.27 In December 1953, twelve years after losing her daughter and almost nine years after her husband’s death, Ann Surls began to rebuild her life and married Edwin C. Roush in Sarasota, FL.28
George Surls’ legacy lives on beyond his extended family. The Oklahoma National Guard, the precursor to the 45th Infantry Division, also keeps the memory of Private Surls and his fellow fallen Thunderbirds alive. In 2021, members of the Oklahoma National Guard visited the city and cemetery of Epinal, France, the resting place of George Surls and other members of the 45th. While there, the unit honored the 408 Thunderbirds who gave their lives liberating France in World War II. On the banks of the Moselle River, the soldiers of the Oklahoma National Guard dedicated a monument, as seen here, honoring the fallen Veterans with an inscription in both English and French:
“Dedicated to the Soldiers of the 45th Infantry Division Thunderbirds who fought on this sacred soil to free those from the clutches of tyranny and in everlasting memory of those who gave their lives in defense of freedom.”29
1 “1930 U.S. Census,” database, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/114504912:6224?tid=&pid=&queryId=268ed842bd529f81d8f4ae16064ce1d8&_phsrc=oOp24&_phstart=successSource: accessed March 21, 2023), entry for Walter B. and Mabel E. Surls, Unincorporated Hendry County, Florida; “U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947,” database, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/12616659:2238?tid=&pid=&queryId=38c533520e45b28d8f4fe7f52c2508db&_phsrc=oOp13&_phstart=successSource: accessed March 21, 2023), entry for George Agaziz Surls, serial number 1320.
2 “1935 Florida State Census,” database, FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MNK4-2P3: accessed March 21, 2023), entry for W. B. and Mabel Edna Surls, Venice, Sarasota County, Florida.
3 “1910 U.S. Census,” database, FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MKPL-KVD: accessed April 10, 2023), entry for Mable E Mansfield, Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana;
“U.S., WWI Draft Registration Card,” database, FamilySearch.org (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K358-JKS: accessed April 10, 2023), entry for Walter Bonham Surls, serial number 1321.”
4 “1930 U.S. Census,” database, Ancestry.com, entry for Walter B. and Mabel E. Surls, Unincorporated Hendry County, Florida; “1935 Florida State Census.”
5 “1935 Florida State Census,” database, FamilySearch.org, entry for W. B. and Mabel Edna Surls, Venice, Sarasota County, Florida.
6 “1940 U.S. Census,” database, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/135729768:2442?tid=&pid=&queryId=897c6ba5-9660-4757-a73f-58472b126ef6&_phsrc=qFr24&_phstart=successSource: accessed November 30, 2023), entry for George Surls, Sarasota, Florida.
7 “U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947,” database, Ancestry.com, entry for George Agaziz Surls, serial number 1320; “U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946,” database, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/1639671:8939?tid=&pid=&queryId=ac5b43167f25ea9ce8119acac3468ec5&_phsrc=XZQ107&_phstart=successSource: accessed March 6, 2024), entry for George A Surls.
8 “Miss Holmberg and George A. Surls, Of Venice, To Wed,” The Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Florida), May 12, 1940. https://www.newspapers.com/image/327539686. “Sarasota, Florida, United States records,” database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-894X-5XK1?view=index : accessed April 30, 2025), entry for George Surls.
9 “Sandra Louise Surls,” The Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Florida), December 18, 1941. https://www.newspapers.com/image/327603769.
10 “U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947,” database, Ancestry.com, entry for George Agaziz Surls, serial number 1320.
11 “U.S., World War II Army Enlistment Records, 1938-1946,” database, Ancestry.com, entry for George A Surls.
12 Mel Vasquez, “The Narrative of Camp Blanding on the Second World War” Academia.edu (Feb, 2018): 1, 6, https://www.academia.edu/36931354/The_Narrative_of_Camp_Blanding_on_the_Second_World_War; George E. Cressman Jr., “Camp Blanding in World War II: The Early Years” The Florida Historical Quarterly 97, No. 1 (Summer 2018): 68, https://www.jstor.org/stable/45210098?seq=34.
13 Camp Blanding Museum, History, (https://campblandingmuseum.org/history: accessed Nov 30, 2023).
14 Shelby L. Stanton, Order of Battle: U.S. Army, World War II, (Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 1984), 134.
15 Laurie, “Rome-Arno 1944”.
16 Anonymous, narrated by Stuart Queen, The Seventh Army Story. Washington, D.C., United States Army Pictorial Service, 1960. https://video.alexanderstreet.com/watch/the-big-picture-episode-472-the-seventh-army-story.
17 Norbert Salpeter and Carl Salter, “180th Infantry: a regiment of the 45th Infantry Division,” World War Regimental Histories, United States Army, 1945, 27-30, (https://digicom.bpl.lib.me.us/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1050&context=ww_reg_his: accessed March 21, 2024).
18 U.S., World War II Hospital Admission Card Files,” database, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryuicontent/view/16430338:61817?tid=&pid=&queryId=bfcaeefcda74a1b28f83f50b96de6fd5&_phsrc=oOp15&_phstart=successSource: accessed March 22, 2023), entry for George A. Surls, service number 34793206; American Battle Monuments Commission, George A. Surls, (https://www.abmc.gov/decedent-search/surls%3Dgeorge: accessed Nov 30, 2023).
19 Norbert Salpeter and Carl Salter, “180th Infantry: a regiment of the 45th Infantry Division,” World War Regimental Histories, United States Army, 1945, 27-30.
20 U.S., World War II Hospital Admission Card Files, 1942-1954” database, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/4187309:61817?tid=&pid=&queryId=5ddb41d5-bb78-43fc-93bd-84504529e08e&_phsrc=qFr36&_phstart=successSource: accessed March 21, 2024), entry for George A. Surls, service number 34793206; Norbert Salpeter and Carl Salter, “180th Infantry: a regiment of the 45th Infantry Division,” World War Regimental Histories, United States Army, 1945, 27-30.
21 Jeffrey J. Clark and Robert Ross Smith, Riviera to the Rhine: U.S. Army in World War II: The European Theater of Operations. Washington, D.C.: Dept. of the Army, 484, https://history.army.mil/html/books/007/7-10-1/CMH_Pub_7-10-1.pdf.
22 U.S., World War II Hospital Admission Card Files,” database, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/4187309:61817?tid=&pid=&queryId=bfcaeefcda74a1b28f83f50b96de6fd5&_phsrc=oOp15&_phstart=successSource: accessed March 22, 2023), entry for George A. Surls, service number 34793206.
23 Anonymous, “The 45th Infantry Division” Oklahoma History Center Education Department (2016): 10-14, https://www.okhistory.org/kids/printables/45th.pdf; Stanton, Order of Battle: U.S. Army, World War II, 134.
24 “Who’s Here and There Venice,” The Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Florida), July 23, 1953. https://www.newspapers.com/image/329415684.
25 “Mrs. W. B. Surls Head of Auxiliary,” The Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Florida), March 27, 1951; “Auxiliary Has New Leaders,” Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, Florida), April 28, 1961.
26 “Committee Chairmen Announced by Venice Legion Auxiliary,” The Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Florida), May 19, 1950. https://www.newspapers.com/image/327654036.
27 “1950 U.S. Census,” database, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/discoveryui-content/view/82722407:62308?tid=&pid=&queryId=6d4cb845eff2cc3b9d7a92139098d7f0&_phsrc=oOp28&_phstart=successSource: accessed March 21, 2023), entry for Ann M. Surls, Venice, Sarasota County, Florida.
28 “Wedding Surls-Roush,” The Tampa Tribune (Tampa, Florida), December 9, 1953.
29 Anthony Jones, “Oklahoma National Guard honors fallen WWII Citizen-Soldiers”, Oklahoma National Guard Website, accessed April 9, 2023, https://ok.ng.mil/News/Article/2824435/oklahoma-national-guard-honors-fallen-wwii-citizen-soldiers/