Name:
Albert Leon Kotzebue
Rank:
Flight Lieutenant
Serial Number:
Unit:
273rd Infantry Regiment, 69th Infantry Division
Date of Death:
1987-03-19
State:
Puerto Rico
Cemetery:
El Carmelo Cemetery, Pacific Grove, Monterey County, California
Plot:
Urn Garden
Row:
Grave:
Decoration:
Comments:
Albert Kotzebue was born on October 10, 1923 in Puerto Rico. Retired form the US Army as a Lietenant Colonel.
The leader of Patrol No 1 was 1st Lt. Albert L. Kotzebue, Co G 273rs Inf Rgt which was the first unit to link up with the Soviet forces in WW2.
As a young officer in the 273rd Infantry Regiment, 69th Infantry Division, Lt. Kotzebue led a patrol of eleven soldiers credited with having been the first American military unit to make contact with Soviet Russian soldiers on the Elbe River on 25 April 1945.