Name:
John Grant Rahill
Rank:
Lieutenant
Serial Number:
Unit:
179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Division
Date of Death:
1944-12-02
State:
New Jersey
Cemetery:
Hochfelden Temporary U.S. Cemetery (Outside Hochfelden, France)
Plot:
Row:
Grave:
Decoration:
Silver Star, Purple Heart
Comments:
Born January 1, 1924 in Caldwell, New Jersey. He played football at Caldwell High School and left his studies at the University of Chicago to enlist in the Army in 1942. He was commissioned as an Infantry lieutenant on July 10, 1943 and shipped out to Europe. He participated in some of the most important campaigns of the war with the 179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Division, including the invasion at Anzio, the liberation of Rome, and the invasion of Southern France. He was leading an 8 man patrol near Engwiller, France, when he was killed by mortar fire, shrapnel the penetrated his breast pocket, pierced his fiancee's photo and punctured his heart on December 2, 1944.