07/06/2026
An only son …
The traditional Open Churches event this year took place as part of the nationwide weekend from June 6th to 7th. The focus was on the theme “Lieux de mémoire” (Places of Remembrance), with 68 churches open throughout Luxembourg. The church in Eschweiler/Wiltz featured a conference which was organized by CEBA, the National Military Museum (MNHM - Musée National d'Histoire Militaire), and the parish of Wiltz. One unique feature of the church is a special historical detail; a mural commemorating the fallen U.S. Soldier George O. Mergenthaler. He was immortalized in the depiction of an apostle and bread distributor in the church choir.
CEBA had the special honor of recounting the likely unique story of George Ottmar Mergenthaler, who was also the grandson of Ottmar Mergenthaler, the inventor of the Linotype typesetting machine.
On December 18th, 1944, Mergenthaler fell into an enemy ambush south of Eschweiler with his unit, the 28th Recon Troop of the 28th Infantry Division. For many of them death or capture were the only options then.
But not so for Private Mergenthaler, whom his friends simply called Merg. Without wasting valuable time, he grabbed the .50 caliber machine gun, which was mounted on his jeep, and fired at the German attackers. At the same time, he urged his colleagues to get to safety and run away. Then his machine gun suddenly jammed. Merg managed to clear the jam and continued firing at the enemy attackers. Shortly thereafter, the machine gun jammed again, and once more he set about clearing the jam.
Around that time, Private Mergenthaler was struck by bullets from a German submachine gun. His grave was not found until March 1945, but approximately 200 yards above the spot where he and his comrades in arms had been hit. On March 26th, 1945 he was buried in the village cemetery amid great sympathy from the villagers. A deep friendship had also developed between, the village pastor Antoine Bodson and George himself.
The young man, 24 years of age, was also very popular with the rural villagers, whom he enjoyed helping with their farm work. There is much more that could be said about what made up this unique bond between George O. Mergenthaler and the villagers, and all of that in just one month. In any case, his friendly nature, his constant willingness to help and his inimitable kindness must have played a major role in this regard.
After the war, a lively correspondence developed between Pastor Bodson and George’s parents, culminating in Herman and Alice Mergenthaler agreeing to finance the reconstruction of the war-damaged church in Eschweiler. Among new lead-glazed windows, each of them telling their own story, a relief portrait of George at the main entrance of the church, a mural depicts the Mergenthaler’s only son as an apostle assisting Jesus Christ in the well-known miracle of the multiplication of the loaf of bread.
In 1947, the parents brought their son home. George is buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Rochester, Monroe County, New York (USA). Next to his parents.
