Arthur Jerome RECTOR
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Source : Monty McDaniel | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
ARMY SERIAL NUMBER | 35119425 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
AGE | 28 yo | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DATE OF BIRTH | 9 February 1916 Cincinnati | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
STATE | Hamilton County OHIO | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FAMILY | Parent : Florence & William Hix RECTOR | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
RANK | Private First Class | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FONCTION | Infantry Man | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
JOB before ENLISTEMENT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DATE of ENLISTEMENT | 7 March 1941 Fort Thomas Newport KENTUCKY | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
COMPANY | Company C | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
REGIMENT | 18th Infantry Regiment | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DIVISION |
1st Infantry Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DATE OF DEATH | 6 june 1944 |
Source : Dominique Potier | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
STATUS | KIA | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PLACE OF DEATH | Easy Red - Omaha Beach | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CEMETERY TEMPORARY |
CEMETERY TEMPORARY of St Laurent N°3582 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
CEMETERY | NORMANDY AMERICAN CEMETERY de Colleville | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
GRAVE |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DECORATION |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
STORY | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
by redandbon864 Private First Class Arthur Jerome Rector, United States Army Private First Class Arthur Jerome Rector, United States Army. Service Number: 35119425 Early Life Arthur Jerome Rector was born on 9 February 1916 in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father, William Hix Rector, born 22 February 1879 in Buncombe County, North Carolina, died 23 October 1923 in Cincinnati, Ohio, was a Switchman for the Southern Railroad. His mother Florence Quatkemeier was born in 1893 in Ohio and died in 1954 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Arthur’s parents were married on 4 December 1912 in Hamilton County, Ohio. Arthur was the second of six sons in the family. In 1940, he was single, had completed two years of high school and worked as a Laborer for the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
Military Arthur J. Rector registered for the Draft on 16 October 1940 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He enlisted in the U.S. Army on 7 March 1941 at Fort Thomas in Newport, Kentucky. After basic training and additional follow-on training, he was assigned to Company C, 18th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division. A brief history of the 18th Infantry Regiment during World War II follows: North African campaign. On 8 November 1942, the 18th Infantry Regiment (part of the 1st Infantry Division) went ashore at Oran, Algeria. Ensuring that the 18th was one of the first U.S. Army infantry units to engage in combat against Axis forces. The regiment (or elements of the regiment) would experience heavy action over the following seven months at Maktar, Tebourba, Medjez el Bab, the Battle of Kasserine Pass (where American forces were pushed back), and Gafsa. It also participated at El Guettar, Béja, and Mateur. The 18th Infantry Regiment was in combat in the Tunisian Campaign from 21 January 1943 to 9 May 1943, helping secure Tunisia for the Allies. Invasion of Sicily. The regiment participated in The Battle of Gela (10 - 12 May 1943) where it withstood heavy counterattacks from Italian and German forces. On 7 August 1943, the 18th Infantry Regiment captured Mount Pellegrino which overlooked the Troina defenses allowing accurate direction of Allied artillery. Invasion of Normandy. The 18th Infantry Regiment was part of the landing forces that participated in the initial onset of Operation Overlord. The 18th Regimental Combat Team (RCT) was part of the 1st Infantry Division forces that stormed Omaha Beach. The regiment was scheduled to land at 09:30 on Easy Red. The first battalion to land, 2/18, arrived at the E-1 draw 30 minutes late after a difficult passage through the congestion off shore. Casualties were light, though despite the existence of a narrow channel through the beach obstacles the ramps and mines there accounted for the loss 22 LCVP's, 2 LCI(L)'s and 4 LCT's. Supported by tank and subsequent naval fire, the newly arrived troops took the surrender of the last strong point defending the entrance to the E-1 draw at 11:30. Although a usable exit was finally opened, congestion prevented an early exploitation inland. The three battalions of the 115th RCT, scheduled to land from 10:30 on Dog Red and Easy Green came in together and on top of the 18th RCT landings at Easy Red. The confusion prevented the remaining two battalions of the 18th RCT from landing until 13:00 and delayed the move off the beach of all but 2/18, which had exited the beach further east before noon, until 14:00. Even then, this movement was hampered by mines and enemy positions still in action further up the draw. Northwest Europe The 18th Infantry Regiment would experience almost eleven months of continual combat operations from the allied invasion of Normandy (June 6, 1944) to the end of World War II in Europe in May 1945. Among the many actions that the regiment participated in were Battle of Aachen, Battle of Hürtgen Forest, The Battle of the Bulge and crossing at the Remagen bridgehead 15 - 16 March, 1945. Death and Burial Arthur J. Rector was Killed in Action on 6 June 1944 on Omaha Beach in Normandy, France during the D-Day invasion. He was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart Medal and was buried at the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer, Departement du Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France, Plot: J, Row: 13, Grave: 22. His brother, Norbert H Rector also served in the US Army and was killed in action in Belgium six months later on December 12, 1944. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1st INFANTRY DIVISION - THE RED ONE
|
Brother of Arthur J | Norbert Hicks RECTOR
| |
---|---|---|
NUMBER OF SERVICE | 15394121 |
Source : LuxAmCem |
AGE | 25 yo | |
DATE OF BIRTH | 5 April 1919 | |
ENLISTMENT STATE | OHIO | |
FAMILY | Parent : Florence & William Hix RECTOR | |
JOB BEFORE ENLISTEMENT | 9 Decembre 1942 Fort Thomas Newport KENTUCKY | |
DATE of ENLISTEMENT | Semiskilled machine shop and related occupations | |
UNIT |
Company I 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment 101st Airborne Division | |
RANK | Corporal | |
DATE OF DEATH | 19 December 1944 | |
STATUS | KIA | |
PLACE OF DEATH | Belgium | |
CEMETERY TEMPORARY | Hamm Cemetery, Hamm LUXEMBOURG | |
CEMETERY | LUXEMBOURG AMERICAN CEMETERY | |
DECORATION |
Bronze Star Purple Heart + OLC World War II Victory Medal Combat Infantryman Badge Brevet Parachutiste |
|
SOURCE INFORMATION & SOURCE PHOTO | Aad.archives.gov - Findagrave.com - Abmc.gov |
Brother of Ralph J | --
| |
---|---|---|
NUMBER OF SERVICE | -- | |
AGE | --- yo | |
DATE OF BIRTH | -- | |
ENLISTMENT STATE | -- | |
FAMILY | -- | |
RANK | -- | |
JOB BEFORE ENLISTEMENT | -- | |
DATE of ENLISTEMENT | -- | |
SOURCE INFORMATION & SOURCE PHOTO |
INFORMATION SOURCE | Aad.archives.gov - Fold 3 |
---|---|
PICTURE SOURCE | Monty McDaniel - Findagrave.com |
PROGRAMMER | Frédéric & Renaud |