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name
PINGS, Eugene Benjamin - Date of
birth
27 June 1924 -
Age
20 - Place of
birth
Conrad, Pondera County, Montana -
Hometown
Glacier County, Montana
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
O1327655 -
Rank
Second Lieutenant -
Function
unknown -
Unit
346th Infantry Regiment,
87th Infantry Division
-
Awards
Bronze Star,
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Killed in Action - Date of
death
16 March 1945 - Place of
death
In the vicinity of Koblenz, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| N | 5 | 6 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Cornelius J. Pings (father)
Regina (Sandknop) Pings (mother)
Marjorie H. Pings (stepmother)
Cornelius Pings (halfbrother)
Catherine A. Pings (halfsister)
More information
2nd Lt Eugene B. Pings attended Conrad High School with the class of 1942He enlisted in Salt Lake City, Utah on 7 May 1943.
Information from the war department says that on a dark night in March, 1945, Sgt Pings headed a party sent to cross the Moselle river near Coblenz in a small boat. None of the unit ever was heard from again. No firing was heard, so it was believed the party might have been surprised and forced to surrender. Inquiries, widened since the Nazis surrendered, have failed. The party might have been victims of a river accident, but there is no mention of bodies recovered in that vicinity.
Source of information: Leo Minne,www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - 1930 Census / Pings Family Tree / Headstone and Interment Record, www.history.army.mil/, www.87thinfantrydivision.com, www.newspapers.com - The Independent Record
Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Des Philippet, www.ancestry.com - Conrad High School Yearbook 1942, Indiana Memory