Carl E Annis, son of Mr. and Mrs. Daniel R Annis was born May 9, 1924 in Solomon, KS. Annis attended Abilene High school three full years and would have been in the graduating class of 1943, had it not been for a serious injury received in a highway accident. In August, 1942 , Annis was in a coma in a Manhattan, KS hospital for four days. Following his release, Annis attended school for a few weeks but dropped out when his doctor advised him not to carry a full schedule of work. Annis entered the Army one day after his nineteenth birthday and received basic training at Camp Walters, TX. He was given a five day furlough before he was shipped to Fort Meade, Maryland then shipped overseas. His parents received a letter from Carl on January 27 stating he would not be able to write for some time. Previous letters indicated Annis landed in Africa late November and was transferred to Italy in the middle of December. In a telegram, his parents were told he lost his life in Italy, January 25. On August 28, Carl Annis was awarded the Silver Star posthumous. The citation related Annis was a scout of a rifle squad which has the mission of crossing a river and attacking strongly held enemy positions in Italy. Under the cover of darkness, the swift and treacherous river was crossed, under terrific artillery nebelwerfer and machine gun fire. While his platoon was in reserve, on his own initiative he advanced under enemy fire for some 200 yards reconnoitering the best route for his platoon to follow. Annis returned and led his platoon into position, While preforming this act he was killed. Courtesy of The Dickinson, KS County Heritage Museum.