Baseball in Wartime

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Those Who Died That Others Might Be Free

World War II Hero of the Minor Leagues

Al Stiewe

Date and Place of Birth: 1917 Erie County, Ohio
Date and Place of Death: February 15, 1945 Italy
Baseball Experience: Minor League
Position: Shortstop
Rank: Corporal
Military Unit: 338^th Infantry Regiment, 85^th Infantry Division, US Army
Area Served: Mediterranean Theater of Operations

Alvin "Buster" Stiewe was born in Ohio in 1917. He began his professional baseball career with the Sandusky Sailors of the newly formed Ohio State League in 1936, and batted .303 with five home runs and 49 RBIs. In 1937 - with the Sailors and then the Marion Presidents when the Sailors folded - he batted .260.

In 1938, the shortstop and lead-off hitter joined the Findlay Browns of the same league. He was batting .303 with 36 RBIs, when he quit the team to join the Marion semi-pro club. He played semi-pro ball with Norwalk in 1939.

Stiewe entered military service with the Army on March 28, 1942, at Camp Perry in Lacarne, Ohio. Assigned to the 338^th Infantry Regiment of the 85^th Infantry Division, Corporal Stiewe was killed in action in Italy on February 15, 1945. He is buried at Florence America Cemetery in Via Cassia, Italy.

Added February 5, 2008.

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