January 18, 1919 (New Canaan, CT) – September 10, 1987 (Londonderry, VT); 68 years old
Married Marjorie Comstock (1916-1999) on July 5, 1941 in New Canaan, CT
One daughter Jane (1951-), and one son Raymond (1949-)
Local address: Silvermine Avenue, Wilton and 166 Old Kings Highway, Westport
Enlisted on March 3, 1943
Serial number 31328990
Unit: 106th Infantry Division, 106th Reconnaissance Troop
Held in German POW camp Stalag 3A and work camps (Also Oflag 3-6) Luckenwalde (was originally interrogation center) Brandenburg, Prussia 52-13.
From The Norwalk Hour January 13, 1945
Mrs. Carlton J. Schilcher of Ridgefield Road, Wilton, received a telegram yesterday from the War Department stating that her husband, Private Schilcher, of the Army, had been missing in action since December 16 on the western front. Private Schilcher was with the 106th Infantry Division which was in the sector just over the border into Germany where the Nazis made their breakthrough on their big push that day. Private Schilcher went overseas in November from Camp Atterbury, Indiana. He had previously been Technician Fifth grade in a tank destroy division but was reassigned when the division began to move out. He entered the armed forces on March 3, 1943, had his basic training at Camp Bowie, Texas, later went to Camp Hood, Texas, then to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, and then to Camp Atterbury. At Fort Jackson, he was with a reconnaissance unit of a tank destroyer division. Before going into the service, Private Schilcher was with the Nathan G. Chatterton Company in New Canaan. His wife is the former Miss Marjorie Comstock, daughter of Mrs. Raymond B. Comstock of Wilton, and his parents are Mr. and Mrs. Paul Schilcher, who reside off of New Canaan Road, Wilton.
Extract from The Norwalk Hour March 31, 1945
A Wilton family has received news from overseas that will give them joy at this Easter-tide. Private Carlton J. Schilcher, reported missing in action on December 16, is alive and well as a prisoner of war in Germany. Mrs. Schilcher received a letter from her husband on Thursday. Mrs. Schilcher, who resides on Ridgefield Road, said today that her husband’s letter told her he was a prisoner of war at Stalag 3-A at Luckenwalde, Germany, about 30 miles south of Berlin. He was with a reconnaissance unit of the 106th Division, First Army, which bore the brunt of the German breakthrough on December 16 at the Belgian “bulge.” The report that he was missing in action was sent to her by the War Department on January 12. The letter said that he was in good health and asked his wife to extend his greetings to his friends. It was written on regulation prisoner of war form.
From The Norwalk Hour August 11, 1945
Private Carl Schilcher of Wilton, who was a prisoner of war in Germany, and who returned home in May, has been assigned to Camp Edwards, Plymouth, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, following two weeks stay at the Army Redistribution Center at Lake Placid, New York. He was accompanied to the Adirondacks by his wife (the former Miss Marjorie Comstock), who is a stenographer in the office of the Probate Court here. Private Schilcher, who was with the 106th Infantry Division overseas, was captured at the “Belgian bulge” on December 16. He was in three different “stalags” in Germany, until freed by the advance of our armed forces.
Testimony from www.106thinfdivassn.org by Corporal Paul Thompson, 106th Reconnaissance Troop
On the night of April 10, our commando, along with several others, was camped among the trees beside a country dirt road. Behind us were thick woods, in front open country without a tree in sight. During the night, my buddy and I heard shots coming from the areas of the other commandos. (My buddy was Carlton Schilcher, a fellow Recon trooper. We teamed up early on and remained together for the rest of the war.) The shots sounded like executions to us. The Americans were no more than a day or two in front of us and we reasoned that perhaps their guards had received orders to execute their prisoners. Nothing like this was happening in our area but we decided not to wait and see what developed. Behind us were thick woods and in front open meadows. We reasoned that the guards would expect escape attempts to be made through the woods but wouldn’t expect anybody to try the open country. So, we took off across the open country. As it turned out we were right. A number of our fellows were shot trying to escape through the woods while we got away unmolested. We hid out during the rest of the night and emerged about mid-morning when the mobile artillery of an American division roared by traveling fast. I don’t remember their number but their patch was a black buffalo on a gold background. Now came the scary time. I was wearing a German field jacket and a Serbian barracks cap. Carlton wore a French overcoat. As we approach a jeep full of soldiers, we worried whether they would welcome us or shoot and ask later. We needn’t have worried. They thought we were the sorriest looking soldiers they’d ever seen and drove us to the company mess. They were certainly wrong about being sorry. At that moment, we were the happiest men on earth. Being free is a day none of us will ever forget.
Buried in Hillside Cemetery, 165 Ridgefield Rd., Wilton, CT; Plot W78 #5
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