The name "chicken" did not describe the fortitude of this quiet Soquel chicken farmer.

Henry J. Boltshauser was born in Santa Cruz, California on July 28, 1914, into the family of Jacob and Amanda Boltshauser. The family also included another son Carl and daughters Alvina, Catherine, Mary, Alice, Grace and Helen. Henry was raised in the Soquel area where he attended local schools. About 1929 he entered Santa Cruz High School and followed a program designed to prepare him for employment in the carpentry trade. After his graduation in 1933, Henry decided to go into the poultry business and operated a chicken ranch off the Old San Jose Road near Soquel.

Boltshauser was inducted into the army in San Francisco on September 26, 1942, and was sent to Monterey, California, and Camp Blanding, Florida, for training. He remained there from October 1942 until April 1943, and was assigned to the 119th Regiment of the 30th Division.

The 30th Infantry Division shipped out of the US on February 12, 1944, and arrived at Liverpool, England, on February 22. For the next two and a half months Henry and his company prepared for the invasion of Europe. On D-Day, June 6, 1944, the 119th landed on Omaha Beach at Normandy and by June 11 had secured the Vire-et-Taute Canal. In combat action on June 24, 1944, Henry was injured by shrapnel from a German grenade and returned to England.

In October, Henry Boltshauser returned to his unit, battled with them across France and assisted in halting the German Ardennes offensive. On Christmas Day 1944, he was once again wounded. He was sent to a hospital in France and remained there until he succumbed to his wounds on January 12, 1945. He was buried in the Epinal American Cemetery in Epinal, France. Boltshauser's awards include the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster.

(ABMC; NARA2; 1930 US Census, CA, Santa Cruz; SCHSC Pg. 6; WIKI, 30th Inf Div; SCSn February 23, 1945 1:6; SCR March 2, 1945)