Private First Class Ladimer Kaucic joined the Army on October 9, 1943, and received his basic training at Camp Blanding, FL. He deployed overseas on March 6, 1944, serving with the 361st Infantry Regiment, 91st Infantry Division in Italy, where he was killed in action during WWII.

“I never met my uncle. Growing up, I do not remember my family talking about him. Maybe it was too painful. I would like him to be remembered. He delivered newspapers until he graduated from East Technical High School. He was then employed at the Cleveland Twist Drill Co. I wish I knew more about him,” recalled Kaucic’s niece Liane Meyer.

Kaucic’s parents, John and Mary Kaucic, had fled communism in Yugoslavia and immigrated to the United States in 1921.