Posted by Allan Wilford Howerton Link: Individual Deceased Personnel File
on January 1, 2009, 12:02 pm, in reply to "Arnold I. Rygh - My Great Uncle"
172.130.12.140
Arnold I. Rygh of Ottawa, Illinois (ASN: 36437568) was assigned from Ft. Benjamin Harrison, Indiana to the 84th Division (Company K, 335th Infantry) November 25, 1942 at Camp Howze, Texas. He was a member of the original cadre when the division was mobilized. He was appointed S/Sgt. March 14, 1944 at Camp Claiborne, Louisiana. He went overseas with the division in the fall of 1944 and was killed in action, during a company redeployment movement in the vicinity of Devantave, Belgium, January 8, 1945. He was appointed platoon sergeant of Company K’s first platoon with the rank of T/Sgt. January 2, 1945.
I was a rifleman/messenger in Arnold Rygh’s squad and platoon and witnessed his death from a few yards away. He was hit by small arms fire from a German patrol that we encountered on a snowy ridge during the redeployment operation noted above. He was a good soldier and a respected leader. I met Rygh when I was assigned to the company in April 1944. I remember him fondly and will contact you via e-mail.
Soldiers who were killed in action were buried at various locations depending upon circumstances. Next of kin were offered a choice of the bodies remaining at American military cemeteries in Europe or being brought home for reburial. Arnold Rygh’s body would most likely have been at Henri Chapelle American Military Cemetery in Belgium if it had remained in Europe and it may possibly have been there at the time it was moved to the US. You might want to request a copy of his Individual Deceased Personnel File (reference link below) which may contain pertinent information. To my knowledge, original gravesites are not necessarily maintained but you might want to inquire about this through the Army’s Human Resources Command.
Arnold Rygh is a prominent figure (a photograph and 78 references) in my memoir, "Dear Captain, et al.: the Agonies and the Ecstasies of War and Memory." Chapter 13 of the memoir, titled "The Snows of Devantave," contains a detailed account of his death and the battle circumstances.
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