|
August Herman MECKELBURG Jr
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Source : Brian Jodi Kueker
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| NUMBER OF SERVICE | 33277362 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| AGE | 27 yo | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| DATE OF BIRTH | 10 October 1916 Uniontown, Fayette County, PENNSYLVANIA | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| ENLISTMENT STATE | PENNSYLVANIA | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| FAMILY |
Parents: August & Kate MECKELBURG | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| RANK | Private First Class | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| FONCTION | Infantry Class | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| JOB BEFORE ENLISTEMENT | Semiskilled warehousing, storekeeping, handling, loading, unloading, and related occupations |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| DATE of ENLISTEMENT | 23 June 1942 Greensburg PENNSYLVANIA | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| COMPANY | Company | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| REGIMENT | 315th Infantry Regiment | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| DIVISION | 79th Infantry Division | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| DATE OF DEATH | 9 July 1944 |
Source : Andy
| ||||||||||||||||||||||
| STATUS | KIA | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| PLACE OF DEATH | Sector La Hayes du Puits | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| CEMETERY TEMPORARY |
CEMTERY TEMPORARY of Blosville N°3508
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| CEMETERY | NORMANDY AMERICAN CEMETERY of Colleville | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| GRAVE |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| DECORATION |
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| STORY | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Source : Diane LM
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Private First-Class August Herman Meckelburg, Jr., born 10 Oct 1916, was the son of August and Katie (Kurns) Meckelburg of Uniontown, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. Uniontown is 47 mi SSW of Pittsburgh.
On 20 Dec 1916 when August was two months old his 3 year old brother John died of burns from accidentally falling into a tub of hot water. August’s mother died 8 Mar 1928 at the age of 47 when he was 11 years old.
In the 1930 census 13-year-old August is and inmate at the Boys Industrial Home in Oakdale Borough of Alleghany County, PA.
In the 1940 census 22-year-old August is living with his widowed father in the household of his paternal grandfather Ernest Meckelburg 79, with his siblings Dan 24, Pearl 21, and Samuel 19, at 496 Braddock Ave., in Uniontown. His father is a coal miner.
|
Source : Brian Jodi Kueker
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Source : Brian Jodi Kueker
|
On his Oct 1940 draft registration August is still living at at 496 Braddock and is working at the Fayette Stock Yards.
August enlisted 23 Jun 1942 in Greensburg, PA. He’d had a grammar school education and was single without dependents. His civil occupation was listed under warehousing and storekeeping. He was 5’10” and weighed 165 lbs. He was assigned to the 315th Infantry Regiment of the 79th Infantry Division.
The 79th ID held a defensive line at the Olonde River until 2 July 1944 and then returned to the offensive, taking La Haye-du-Puits in house-to-house fighting, 8 July. La Haye-du-Puits is on the west side of the Cotentin Peninsula 14 miles due west of Carentan and 27 miles south of Cherbourg.
The NARA WWII casualty listings by state and county for Pennsylvania show Meckelburg, August H Jr, Pfc from Fayette County as killed in action so we can assume he was killed at or near La Haye-du-Puits on 9 Jul 1944. Per his US WWII Hospital Admission Card File he was killed by a bullet in the neck.
From dday-overlord: “On July 8th in the afternoon, the Americans renewed the attack on a terrain that is covered by very many German mines. Engineers must clear the gates, while the infantry, supported by the tanks of the 749th Tank Battalion, are caught by enemy artillery fire. Despite a slow and difficult progression, the 79th Infantry Division reached the first settlements north-west of La Haye-du-Puits in the early evening. Many officers are killed, and the units are commanded by non-commissioned officers taking excellent initiatives. All day of July 9 is necessary to seize the entire city which is largely destroyed by the bombings of the past weeks.”
August was awarded a posthumous Silver Star for gallantry in action.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
Activated/Activé |
Normandy/Normandie |
| 15 Jun 1942 | Days of Combat/Jour de Combat 248 |
| Casualties/Victimes 15 203 | |
Entered Combat/Entré au combat |
|
| 19 Jun 1944 Normandy | |
|
Commanding Generals/Commandants généraux Maj. Gen. Ira T. Wyche (Jun 42 - May 45) |
Campaigns/CampagnesNormandy (6 Jun 44 - 24 Jul 44)
|
PLAN DE ROUTE DE LA CAMPAGNE - CAMPAIGN ROUTE MAP |
|
 |
|
DIVISION CHRONICLEAprès s'être entraînée au Royaume-Uni à partir du 17 avril 1944, la 79th Infantry Division débarque à Utah Beach, en Normandie, du 12 au 14 juin et entre en combat le 19 juin 1944 sur les hauteurs ouest et nord-ouest de Valognes. Cherbourg. La Division prend Fort du Roule après un engagement fort et est entrée à Cherbourg, le 25 juin. Il a tenu une ligne défensive à la rivière d'Ollonde jusqu'au 2 juillet 1944 et est ensuite retourné à l'offensive, prenant la Haye du Puits dans les combats de porte à porte, le 8 juillet. Le 26 juillet, le 79e attaqua de l'autre côté de la rivière Ay, prit Lessay, traversa la Sarthe et entra au Mans le 8 août, ne rencontrant qu'une faible résistance. L'avancée se poursuit de l'autre côté de la Seine, le 19 août. Les contre-attaques allemandes lourdes ont été repoussées du 22 au 27 août et la Division a atteint la rivière Therain le 31 août. Passant rapidement à la frontière franco-belge près de Saint-Amand, la division rencontre une forte résistance en prenant Charmes dans les combats de rue, le 12 septembre. La 79ème traversée de la Moselle et de la Meurthe, du 13 au 23 septembre, a nettoyé la Foret de Parroy dans un engagement sévère, du 28 septembre au 9 octobre, et a attaqué pour gagner des hauteurs à l'est d'Embermenil, 14-23 octobre. , 24 octobre. Après le repos et l'entraînement à Lunéville, la division est revenue au combat avec une attaque de la région de Mignevine -Montiguy, le 13 novembre 1944, qui a traversé les rivières Vezouse et Moder, du 18 novembre au 10 décembre, en passant par Haguenau malgré la résistance déterminée de l'ennemi. dans la ligne Siegfried, 17-20 décembre. La division tenait une ligne de défense le long de la Lauter, à Wissembourg du 20 décembre 1944 au 2 janvier 1945, date à laquelle elle se replia sur les défenses de la ligne Maginot. La tentative allemande d'établir une tête de pont à l'ouest du Rhin à Gambsheim a donné lieu à des combats furieux. Le 79e a battu les attaques allemandes à Hatten et Rittershoffen dans une bataille de 11 jours avant de se replier vers de nouvelles positions défensives au sud de Haguenau sur la rivière Moder, le 19 janvier 1945. La Division est restée sur la défensive le 6 février 1945. En février et mars 1945, la Division retourne au combat, le 24 mars 1945, traverse le Rhin, traverse le canal Rhin-Herne le 7 avril, sécurise la rive nord de la Ruhr et participe au dégagement de la poche de la Ruhr jusqu'au 13 avril. La division a ensuite successivement occupé des fonctions d'occupation dans les régions de Dortmund, des Sudètes et de Bavière jusqu'à son retour aux États-Unis et son inactivation. |
CHRONIQUE DE DIVISIONAfter training in the United Kingdom from 17 April 1944, the 79th Infantry Division landed on Utah Beach, Normandy, 12-14 June and entered combat 19 June 1944, with an attack on the high ground west and northwest of Valognes and high ground south of Cherbourg. The Division took Fort du Roule after a heavy engagement and entered Cherbourg, 25 June. It held a defensive line at the Ollonde River until 2 July 1944 and then returned to the offensive, taking La Haye du Puits in house-to-house fighting, 8 July. On 26 July, the 79th attacked across the Ay River, took Lessay, crossed the Sarthe River and entered Le Mans, 8 August, meeting only light resistance. The advance continued across the Seine, 19 August. Heavy German counterattacks were repulsed, 22-27 August, and the Division reached the Therain River, 31 August. Moving swiftly to the Franco-Belgian frontier near St. Amand, the Division encountered heavy resistance in taking Charmes in street fighting, 12 September. The 79th cut across the Moselle and Meurthe Rivers, 13-23 September, cleared the Foret de Parroy in a severe engagement, 28 September-9 October, and attacked to gain high ground east of Embermenil, 14-23 October, when it was relieved, 24 October. After rest and training at Luneville, the Division returned to combat with an attack from the MignevineMontiguy area, 13 November 1944, which carried it across the Vezouse and Moder Rivers, 18 November-10 December, through Haguenau in spite of determined enemy resistance, and into the Siegfried Line, 17-20 December. The Division held a defensive line along the Lauter River, at Wissembourg from 20 December 1944 until 2 January 1945, when it withdrew to Maginot Line defenses. The German attempt to establish a bridgehead west of the Rhine at Gambsheim resulted in furious fighting. The 79th beat off German attacks at Hatten and Rittershoffen in an 11-day battle before withdrawing to new defensive positions south of Haguenau on the Moder River, 19 January 1945. The Division remained on the defensive along the Moder until 6 February 1945. After resting in February and March 1945, the Division returned to combat, 24 March 1945, crossed the Rhine, drove across the Rhine-Herne Canal, 7 April, secured the north bank of the Ruhr and took part in clearing the Ruhr Pocket until 13 April. The Division then went on occupation duty, in the Dortmund, Sudetenland, and Bavarian areas successively, until its return to the United States and inactivation. |
| SOURCE INFORMATION & PHOTO | Armydivs.squarespace.com |
|---|
| SOURCE INFORMATION & SOURCE PHOTO | Brian Jodi Kueker - Abmc.gov - Findagrave.com - Aad.archives.gov |
|---|---|
| PROGRAMMER | Henri, Garrett, Clive, Frédéric & Renaud |