National Guard leader presents award Monday to family of World War II Soldier killed in action in 1944

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A photo of Pvt. Peter Greschiak, courtesy of his niece Donna Cramer.

LATHAM, NEW YORK (09/13/2024) (readMedia)-- Major General Ray Shields, the adjutant general of New York, will present the New York State Conspicuous Service Cross to the nieces of a World War II Soldier from Watervliet who was killed in action on Sept. 16, 1944, on Monday, Sept. 16, the 80th anniversary of his death.

Members of the press are invited to cover the award at New York National Guard Headquarters in Latham.

WHO: Donna Cramer, an Albany resident and Cheri Gagliardi, a Rotterdam resident, the nieces of Pvt. John Greschiak; and father and son research team Peter and Zachary Clouse, Coeymans' residents who tracked down the history of Greschiak's death and assisted the nieces in applying for the medal.

WHAT: Posthumous presentation of the New York State Conspicuous Service Cross, which is awarded to New Yorkers who received a significant federal military decoration while serving on active duty. Greschiak was recognized with the Purple Heart following his death in action, which makes him eligible for this state award.

WHEN: 2 p.m., Monday, Sept. 16, 2024

WHERE: New York National Guard Headquarters, 330 Old Niskayuna Road, Latham

Coverage Opportunities:

Reporters will be able to interview Major General Shields, Peter Clouse, and the family members of Pvt. Greschiak.

Reporters must call the Division of Military and Naval Affairs Public Affairs Office for access to this secure military facility at 518-786-4581.

BACKGROUND:

In2019, Peter and Zachary Clouse, Peter's son, started researching their family history to discover the complete circumstances in which Peter's uncle James Scalzo, was awarded the Bronze Star during World War II. Scalzo was drafted into the Army in August of 1941 and was discharged in August of 1945. He went on to marry and raise a family in the Capital Region and died in 1999 at the age of 81.

On Sept. 16, 1944, Scalzo was a member of the 254th Engineer Combat Battalion, a corps-level unit temporarily attached to the 5th Armored Division. Early that morning, he was part of an eight-man patrol conducting a route reconnaissance into the German village of Niedersgegen.

The patrol was ambushed by approximately 50 German soldiers at a farmhouse in the village. Scalzo was able to escape and helped three other Soldiers get away, but four Americans were injured and taken prisoners-two officers and two enlisted men.

The 5th Armored Division's Combat Command Reserve-one of the three combat commands in the division-sent a specially trained platoon from the 47th Armored Infantry Battalion consisting of one M-4 Sherman tank and two M3 halftracks filled with troops-to rescue the captured men.

John Grieschiak was one of those Soldiers.

Grieschiak, who graduated from Albany High School in 1943, worked at Williams Press in Menands before entering the Army in June 1943. He had arrived in the European Theater of Operations in February 1943.

The platoon assaulted the Niedersgegen farmhouse under covering fire from the tank, and dismounted combat engineers. The men in one half-track managed to rescue the two captured officers. The other halftrack retrieved the two enlisted Soldiers.

During this action, Greschiak was killed.

He was awarded the Purple Heart and is buried in the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery in Belgium.

According to the October 10th, 1944, edition of the Troy Times Record, he was survived by three sisters: Sophie Busone of Watervliet, whom he lived with before joining the Army, and Christine Collins and Julia Grieschiak, both Albany residents.

When the two Clouses researched the history of their uncle James Scalzo, consulting records at the National Archives and the U.S. Army Engineer Museum and Archive at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri as well as records held by the Michigan Army National Guard's 107th Engineer Battalion, they discovered that the man killed in the rescue mission, was born and raised nearby.

They were determined to find his family, and their research led them to Donna Cramer.

Peter Clouse helped Ms. Cramer apply for the New York State Conspicuous Service Cross on behalf of her uncle and received the award in June 2024.

He reached out to the New York National Guard to ask if somebody could present it, and Major General Ray Shields, the adjutant general of New York-the commander of the New York National Guard – decided this was something he wanted to do personally.