Four Brothers From Zwolle Fought In World War II. Three Of Them Were Killed Within Weeks Of Each Other. This Past Memorial Day, They Finally Received Due Recognition
Willie Lee Torres
John Baptist Torres
Hosie Louis Torres
Ernest Rufus Torres
Almost every family in the world was scarred to some degree by the second world war. The fortunate families came through the war years without losing a loved one.
But imagine the sense of dread any family felt when they heard that knock on their door or received a telegram. Peeking out the blinds, they’d see a car from the War Department on their street. Opening the door, they’d learn that a soldier — their soldier — had been killed in action. This happened many thousands of times across our country.
Four sons of the Torres family in the small town of Zwolle, La., left to serve their country overseas. Only one returned, albeit wounded. This past Memorial Day, the town erected a monument to the heroism and ultimate sacrifice of the Torres brothers who lost their lives in the war.
Although Ernest Torres was severely wounded, unlike his three siblings, he returned home. He became a taxi driver, living almost four decades after his return in 1945 and passing away in September, 1986.
How many times must he have driven past the cemetery where his three brothers — John, Hosie and Willie Lee — were buried? How many times must he have heard that mournful train whistle blow as it pulled into Zwolle station? Both were constant reminders of the day when three wooden boxes were unloaded at that same depot. His siblings had returned home, accompanied by an Honor Guard, to a family and community devastated by their loss.
In early spring, 1945, our nation remained united in one devoted cause. 16.4 million members of the military had served in our fight against the Axis Powers on two fronts in World War II. Most Americans during World War II, regardless of whether they were in the armed forces or not, lived with the war on a regular basis. While it wasn’t fought on
Photo By Cody Bruce, PhD
Photo By Cody Bruce, PhD
Photo By Phyllis Lehr
American soil, its effects on our families and communities were substantial.
“Military families” included not only those that happened to have a son or father or brother or uncle (or daughter or mother or sister or aunt) in uniform, but also those in which a member of the family was engaged in war-related work here at home. According to the National Cemetery Administration, (NCA), “When an American lost their lives overseas, the dead were buried in temporary military cemeteries, whether in Europe or the Pacific. Once the war ended, however, families could choose to bring the fallen home for reburial or leave them undisturbed overseas. Some thought that moving the bodies amounted to desecration.” The Torres family made the same choice that over 60 percent of Americans made, however … “please, bring our sons home”
For the Torres family and 23 other WWII casualties from this one small Louisiana town, the loss was all too tangible. Their young soldiers gave their all; they would not grow old working, laughing and living together in Zwolle.
Photo By Phyllis Lehr
Heartbreak linked with heartfelt patriotism. We have all viewed the grainy films from the era. We’ve read books or gone to museums where we’ve touched the memorabilia shared by veterans or their families. We’ve engaged our collective senses trying to envision what life must’ve been like in the small towns and big cities of the U.S. as the war raged on. The number of veterans of that era is quickly shrinking. Some have spoken freely of their experiences, sharing what they remember. Others could not or would not.
For the Torres family and 23 other WWII casualties from this one small Louisiana town, the loss was all too tangible. Their young soldiers gave their all; they would not grow old working, laughing and living together in Zwolle.
Burial
Rickey Robertson, writing for the Vernon Parish Journal on May 27, 2024, wrote: “A large crowd gathered in St. Joseph Catholic Church Cemetery to see the unveiling of a historical marker honoring these three brothers and (attend) the special memorial service in the Church Hall. As I looked at the beautiful memorial marker in the cemetery in their honor, I can tell you even though it may have taken over 80 years to get this marker, they were never forgotten.”
Photo By Cody Bruce, PhD
Photo By Cody Bruce, PhD
Photo By Cody Bruce, PhD
Military Service
Robertson went on to detail the service records of the three Torres Brothers:
“Corporal Hosie L. Torres was born on Jan. 25, 1925, in Leesville, La. He was killed in action on July 12, 1945, on Luzon Island in the Philippines. He served 28 months, with 18 months overseas. He was assigned to the 20th Infantry Regiment of the 6th Infantry Division. This unit was attacking and pushing back the Japanese forces in the Cagayan Valley and were assaulting enemy positions in the Cordillera Mountains.
“Technician 5th Grade Willie Lee Torres was born on Nov. 28, 1917, in Zwolle. He was killed in action on July 25, 1945, on Luzon Island in the Philippines. He had served 39 months, with 25 of those months being overseas. He was assigned to the 161st Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion that was a unit of the 25th Tropic Lightning Infantry Division. These antiaircraft artillery units were made up of 50-caliber and 20-millimeter machine guns that could be used against aircraft or ground targets.
“The 25th Infantry was advancing against heavy Japanese opposition and requested the 161st AAA to assist in taking out Japanese machine gun positions. At the village of San Manuel, Willie Lee Torres was killed in action on July 25, 1945.
“Private First Class John B. Torres was born on Dec. 6, 1922, in Slagle, La. He had served in the army for 34 months, with 14 months being overseas. He was assigned to the 555th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion attached to the 104th Infantry Division, known as the Timberwolves. The men of the 104th Infantry had fought for over 200 days in combat through France, Holland, Belgium and Germany. As they pushed the German Army back into their homeland, the 104th faced fierce counterattacks near Aachen, Germany. John was wounded in action and was sent to the U.S. military hospital at Santa Maria, located in the Azore Islands. Sadly, he died of his combat wounds on Oct. 11, 1945. Upon his death, John was awarded the Bronze Star for his heroic actions while in combat in Germany.
“Corporal Ernest R. Torres was born on Jan. 16, 1920, in Zwolle. Ernest served almost five years in the U.S. Army and was severely injured in a military truck accident in England. He spent many weeks in a U.S. military hospital recovering from his injuries.
“Of the four Torres brothers who left to serve their nation in a time of war, only Ernest survived and came home to Zwolle. Ernest was again remembered in 2013 when one of his dog tags was found at Sutton Veny, a village in England. That dog tag was returned to the Torres Family…and it was on display at the dedication service.”
Robertson says the Torres Brothers story touches him through another connection: His grandparents also sent three of their sons off to war.
Two returned, but one remained MIA until the Dept. of Defense verified his remains in 1950. “It’s an unbelievable job they do, finding and identifying remains,” says Robertson. “The technology allows them to make identifications now that they couldn’t do for so long.”
The Torres family story is, sadly, not unique. There were the Sullivan brothers from Waterloo, Iowa, five brothers lost while serving on the USS Juneau; the Rogers brothers, three brothers lost while serving on the USS New Orleans; and the four Borgstrom brothers of Utah, who died in various WWII battles in both the Pacific and European theaters of the war.
It was the deaths of the four Borgstrom brothers, according to the NCA, that finally forced the armed services to rule that special consideration would be shown to “…any family in which two or more sons have been killed and only one member in service survives. In 1948, the Sole Survivor Policy was enacted, with credit given to the ultimate sacrifices made by these families.”
Local historian Cody Bruce, PhD, said in his remarks during the recent Memorial Day service in Zwolle: “Growing up, everyone knew the story of the three Torres brothers who sacrificed their lives for our freedoms. The Torres family story is one of unimaginable heartbreak. After losing her husband, Mrs. Josephine Torres faced the unbearable pain of losing three sons in service to our country, and nearly a fourth.”
When the town created its Depot Museum, the organizers knew they wanted to honor the Torres brothers with a fitting marker.
“Knowing we needed funds for this project,” says Bruce, “I wrote their story for the marker and sponsored the marker through the Natives of Zwolle & Ebarb Genealogical and Historical Society. Once the marker was approved by the State of Louisiana, the Zwolle-Ebarb VFW generously offered to cover the entire cost, exceeding $3,000. Thanks to the generous support of the Zwolle-Ebarb VFW, we can now share their story with generations to come.”
During the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln wrote this letter to Lydia Parker Bixby:
Dear Madam,
I have been shown in the files of the War Dept. a statement of the Adjutant General of Massachusetts, that you are the mother of five sons who have died gloriously on the field of battle.
I feel how weak and fruitless must be any words of mine which should attempt to beguile you from the grief of a loss so overwhelming. But I cannot refrain from tendering to you the consolation that may be found in the thanks of the Republic they died to save.
I pray that our Heavenly Father may assuage the anguish of your bereavement and leave you only the cherished memory of the loved and lost, and the solemn pride that must be yours to have laid so costly a sacrifice upon the altar of Freedom.
Yours, very sincerely and respectfully,
A. Lincoln.
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