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name
LENGYEL, Alexander Jr - Date of
birth
6 February 1917 -
Age
27 - Place of
birth
Akron, Summit County, Ohio -
Hometown
Summit County, Ohio
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
35231283 -
Rank
Technician Fifth Grade -
Function
unknown -
Unit
B Battery,
285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion
-
Awards
Purple Heart
Death
-
Status
Died non-Battle - Date of
death
17 December 1944 - Place of
death
The field next to the N62, near the crossroads "Five Points"
Baugnez, Belgium
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Henri-Chapelle
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| D | 8 | 13 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Alexander Lengyel (father)
Anna (Cikra) Lengyel (mother)
Joseph Lengyel (brother)
Helen Lengyel (sister)
Eugene J. Lengyel (brother)
Ellen M. (Hallauer) Lengyel (wife)
Marjorie A. Lengyel (daughter)
More information
Alexander Lengyel attended college for one year and was a manager.He enlisted in Akron, Ohio on 5 June 1943.
He was one of the victims of Malmedy massacre when German SS soldiers of the 1st Panzer Division captured over 100 American soldiers at Baugnez Crossroads outside Malmedy, Belgium, on 17 December 1944 during the Battle of the Bulge and, under orders to take no prisoners, placed them in an open field and then machine gunned them. When the machine guns stopped, the SS went through the field where some victims were still alive and systematically finished them off with pistols at short range leaving 84 soldiers dead when they had finished. Fortunately, when the machine guns first started shooting, a number of soldiers ran and some managed to escape and tell the story of how the Germans had treated the others who had not survived.
His name is mentioned on the monument on the opposite side of the road.
Source of information: Peter Schouteten, Terry Hirsch, Raf Dyckmans, www.wwiimemorial.com - 1930 Census / Marriage Record, www.archives.gov, www.historylearningsite.co.uk, www.newspapers.com - The Akron Beacon Journal, WWII Draft Card
Photo source: Siem Voogt, www.newspapers.com - The Akron Beacon Journal