Ernest Clarence Horvath
T/3 in Signal Co, Special : Radio A
Military occupational specialty: 766 (radio operator, high speed, manual)
ASN#37310534
Born 1920 in MN, Died 1984
Other residence(s): St. Paul, MN
United States Army, European Theatre of Operations
Ernest Horvath was born on November 9, 1920 in St. Paul, MN, the youngest of six children. Both of his parents had been born in Hungary; his father worked in an iron foundry, and later at a retail coal company.
Ernie attended Mechanic Arts High School in St. Paul, working at a golf course during the summer. By the time he registered for the draft, on February 14, 1942, he was working at Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing (later 3M) in St. Paul.
Around this time he married Mary O'Connell, and they had a daughter, Judith, born in 1943.
Ernie enlisted on September 24, 1942 and was eventually assigned to the Signal Company Special. He served in Europe with the unit during the war, and was discharged on September 27, 1945 with the rank of T/3. He returned to St. Paul, and two weeks later he went to work as a switchman for the Chicago Northwestern Railroad.
After the war Ernie and Mary divorced, and Ernie received custody of his daughter. In 1946 he married Agnes "Aggie" Lezer, who became Judith's mother. The Horvaths also raised Aggie's niece, Karen, when Aggie's twin sister died.
Ernie would remain as a switchman for the railroad for 35 years, retiring in 1980. His hobbies included car racing (sprint cars and jalopies) and slot car racing. He was also a ham radio enthusiast (tracing back to his radio days in the Ghost Army), and was active in the American Legion. His granddaughter reports that "Grandpa Ernie" never spoke about his days in the Ghost Army.
Ernie died on November 17, 1984 in St. Paul, MN and is buried at Fort Snelling National Cemetery in Minneapolis.
Sources:
1930 census
1940 census
1942 draft card
1945 Chicago and Northwestern Railroad records
https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/6944/records/414160?tid=22925421&pid=13035850250&ssrc=pt
1946 divorce record
https://www.newspapers.com/image/813912809/?match=1&terms=ernest%20c%20horvath
1946 marriage license application in Times, The Picture Paper (Minneapolis MN)
https://www.newspapers.com/image/813936210/?match=1&terms=ernest%20horvath
1948 St. Paul city directory
1984 Find a Grave record
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/3453326/ernest-clarence-horvath
1984 VA death record
1984 Railroad retirement record
2025 (March 17) GALP Veteran Biography Worksheet from granddaughter Karen Walsh