Richard L. Ward from Indiana, Carroll county.
Service era: World War II
Military history: 112 Infantry 28 Division
Date of death: Wednesday, November 8, 1944
Death details: The Battle of the Hürtgen Forest, one of the bloodiest conflicts of World War II, was fought between Allied and German forces from September 1944 to February 1945. As U.S. forces advanced eastward into Germany, the defending Germans manned “Siegfried Line” positions opposite the Belgian border. The battle grew to involve approximately 200,000 troops, with tens of thousands of casualties on both sides. American forces initially entered the area seeking to block German reinforcements from moving north toward the fighting around Aachen, the westernmost city of Germany, near the borders with Belgium and the Netherlands. In the battle’s second phase and as part of the Allied’s larger offense toward the Rhine River, U.S. troops attempted to push through the forest to the banks of Roer River. Aided by bad weather and rough terrain, German forces in the Hürtgen Forest put up unexpectedly strong resistance due to a well-prepared defense. American forces were unable to break through to the Rur before the German Ardennes offensive struck in December 1944, known as the Battle of the Bulge, which halted the eastward Allied advance until February 1945. Private Richard L. Ward entered the U.S. Army from Indiana and served in Company D, 112th Infantry Regiment, 28th Infantry Division. He was reported missing as of November 8, 1944, following fierce fighting at the village of Kommerscheidt, Germany. He was last seen guarding German prisoners at a command post in the town. Witnesses from his unit later reported that an enemy artillery shell struck that command post during a Germany attack on the town. Surviving members of his unit were forced to fall back and Private Ward’s body was unable to be evacuated at the time. After the war, American Graves Registration Service personnel attempted to associate Private Ward with unknown remains recovered from the Hürtgen Forest area, but were not successful. Today, Private Ward is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery in Belgium.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency