Willard U. BEGEL

 

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NUMBER OF SERVICE33185922
AGE23 yo
DATE OF BIRTH4 June 1921
Harrity, Carbon County
ETATPENNSYLVANIA
FAMILY

Single

RANKTec 4
FONCTION 
JOB BEFORE ENLISTEMENT Skilled heat treaters, annealers, and temperersNE
DATE of ENLISTEMENT13 July 1942 Allentown PENNSYLVANIA  
BATTALION519th Port Battalion
DIVISION  1st Engineer Special Brigade
DATE OF DEATH15 June 1944ii
STATUSKIA
PLACE OF DEATHUtah Beach 
CEMETERYNORMANDY AMERICAN CEMETERY of Colleville

Map of Normandy American Cemetery

GRAVE
PlotRowGrave
H1737
DECORATION

Purple Heart

World War II Victory Medal 

Combat Infantryman Badge

 

Photo FDLM

victory medal

combat infantryman badge

 

us army  519pb  519pb 1
STORY

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 The 519th Port Battalion digging foxholes on Utah Bech shortly after D-Day.

 

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Members of the 519th Port Battalion HQ at their headquarters, a German bunker.
 

A graduate of Lehighton High School, Willard is the eldest of a family of four. He works as a welder in the steel industry for a thriving industry as a key player in the war effort. Willard enlisted in the summer of 1942 after his training period in the infantry, he joined a new unit in the supply services of the US Army. This is the Transportation Corps: it involved transporting troops, equipment, supervising ports, and loading and unloading ships.

In April 1943, the 519th Port Battalion was created; Willard is integrated into the unit which will bring together the different companies (302nd, 303rd, 304th and 305th) separated so far; The 519th is activated on June 25 and will begin its training at Indiantown Gap Military Reservation in Pennsylvania. The men composing the battalion will train not on campaign fields simulating a battle front, but on an environment that will become their daily life (wharves of war ports, warehouses, liberty ships ...).

On October 7, the battalion was sent to Boston at Camp Myles Standish to receive additional training, and then to Boston military ports to handle and load cargo overseas.

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Memorial road marker for Begel at the Junction of D243 and D421 near Utah Beach.

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Fort Indiantown Gap Military Reservation where the 519th Port Battalion along with T/4 Willard U. Begel learned about rigging, stowing, and other responsibilities of the Army stevedore.
 

On March 23, 1944, the 519th left Boston aboard the US Army Transport Edmund B. Alexander for England and Liverpool where it docked on April 5.

The units are then moved to Bristol where they will work in the port as well as in those of Swansea and Newport Wales in order to prepare and load the material for Overlord.

On June 6, Operation Overlord, the 519th was attached to the 1st Engineer Special Brigade; after the landings of the various companies which take place between June 7 and 10, Willard and his brothers in arms unload the ships at an imposing work rate: 12 hours of work for 12 hours of rest; in fact, ships arrive at all hours and must be loaded or unloaded in all weathers.

The beach is secure, but that doesn't prevent German artillery or bombers from launching attacks on the area.

During the night of June 15, a new bombardment hit the Utah sector, a bombardment in two phases: a first phase between 2:10 am and 2:50 am, then another between 4:10 am and 4:30 am; It was during this attack that Willard was hit and died of his injuries shortly after.

He will be buried in the temporary cemetery N°2 of Sainte-Mère-Eglise then will be transferred in April 1948 to the cemetery of Colleville-sur-Mer.


SOURCE INFORMATION & PHOTOAbmc.nomadmobileguides.com - Aad.archives.gov - Abmc.gov - Findagrave.com - 
PROGRAMMERGarrett, Clive, Frédéric & Renaud
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