PVT Richard W. Werner
Today we honor and remember PVT Richard W. Werner of the 101st Airborne Division.
Private (PVT) Richard Walter Werner of Baker Company, 326th Airborne Engineer Battalion (AEB), 101st Airborne Division, was born in Harrisburg, Saline County, Illinois, to Walter R. and Lilian E. “Lily” (Carlos) Werner on April 16, 1919. He had one brother, Lynn, and two sisters, Marjorie and Marilyn.
Richard graduated from Neenah High School in Neenah, Winnebago County, Wisconsin, in the Class of 1937. His father owned an electric supply business, Werner Electric, which still exists today. Richard and his brother Lynn worked in their father’s company as electricians. Richard did so until he enlisted at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on August 29, 1942.
Richard was assigned to the 326th AEB. Initially, the 326th was a regiment of the 101st Division, but it was re-designated as the 326th AEB on August 15, 1942, when the 101st became an Airborne Division, just two weeks prior to Richard’s enlistment.
After participating in all the division’s exercises and maneuvers, the 326th AEB deployed to England on September 5, 1943. While in England, PVT Richard Werner and the other paratroopers of the battalion underwent additional training, which not only focused on their physical condition, but also on using their weapon systems. The 326th Engineers also trained in glider loading and glider flights during several tactical exercises at the battalion and divisional level.
After fighting alongside the company in Normandy, PVT Werner’s second combat operation took place in the Netherlands for Market Garden.
On October 5, 1944, Baker Company was engaged in some heavy fighting with the Germans. In a letter to his family, PVT Charles A. Wilbur of Baker Company described parts of what happened that day.
“On the morning of the 5th of October, we were awakened very early and told to move out as we were needed as infantry as the Germans had picked the wrong place to break through. After walking down the road for about half a mile, we were told to take to the fields and keep spread out.”
More details of what happened that day in the vicinity of the Dutch town Opheusden are described in Ian Gardner’s book, “Deliver Us from Darkness” (p. 203).
“The bulk of B/326 Airborne Engineers, under the command of Capt Donald Froamke, were still in reserve at Boelenham farm when Col Sink ordered them west to support H Company [506th PIR]. After about a mile, Froamke and his men came under enemy small-arms fire. The company was deployed into the Biezenwei, an open area of pasture west of Dalwagensweg, where Froamke was killed trying to assist one of his men, PVT Charles Wilber.”
In his letter, Charles Wilber shared some other recollections of that morning, after the Baker Company troopers were told to spread out and when he was wounded.
“After we had advanced about half a mile in that fashion, a lot of lead started to fly around. The Germans were firing at us but we didn’t know where they were, so we kept advancing. After a few hundred yards of that, we came into a small town that was under artillery fire. We got through that OK and started going through some more fields. By that time we had an idea where the enemy was and we were keeping low in ditches to escape the fire we were drawing.”
It was in one of these moments in the ditches, that PVT Wilber was wounded by German bullets below one of his shoulder blades. When he tried to attend to his wounds, the Germans started to drop mortar fire near him. A little later he describes in his letter that for the next three hours, the Germans shelled the area he was in, which was nerve-wracking as some of it landed “damn close.”
With all that enemy fire thrown around the Baker Company men, it could very well be PVT Richard Werner was also hit and killed in action. Unfortunately the exact circumstances of his death that day are not described in any of the available documents.
Another Screaming Eagle had soared to the ultimate height. 🦅
PVT Richard Walter Werner rests eternally at Plot H, Row 19, Grave 9 at the American War Cemetery Margraten, the Netherlands. May he rest in peace.
Happy Birthday in Heaven, Richard. Lest we forget! 🇺🇸
Sources:
Deliver Us from Darkness by Ian Gardner
George Koskimaki files (including the letter of PVT Charles Wilber, dated: November, 4, 1944)
The Post-Crescent (Appleton, Wisconsin); Friday, October 27, 1944. Courtesy Judy Cahoon Egan.
Richard Werner was my Uncle. I am in possession of first-hand written accounts of the action leading up to his death. These come in the form of correspondences between my grandparents and a man who was with Richard Werner from training up until his death. I have most of what remains of Dick's personal items.