Departure for Europe
November 23, 1943, Virginia
Richard's battalion - totaling some 660 men - on Nov 23. 1943 boarded in Virginia after a rigorous training. Richard's battalion - totaling some 660 men - on Nov 23. 1943 boarded in Virginia after a rigorous training.
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Arriving in England
January 20 1944
Jan 20. 1944 82nd 82nd Engineer Combat Battalion arrived in Liverpool, England. It would be six months before they saw action.
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Landing at Omaha Beach
between 10th and 16th June, 1944
On June 6, 1944, D-Day, the Allied invasion of Europe began. The 82 Engineer Combat
Battalion landed in stages between 10 and 16 June, 1944 on Omaha Beach in Normandy. The intention was to rapidly push on to the rest of France, but the advance was slow.
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Operation Cobra
end of July 1944, Saint-Lô
end of July 1944, seven weeks after D-Day, the front had stagnated. Operation Cobra had to break the deadlock. 82 Engineer Combat Battalion was located around Saint-Lô, near the front. Richard Wells particpated fully in Operation Cobra.
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Building bridges
August 1944, Meulan
On August 7 Richard was in Vire, where he and his comrades initially constructed an (emergency) bridge. On August 26 they arrived in the town of Meulan and constructed a bridge over the Seine. Early September the 82 Engineer Combat Battalion went on to Belgium.
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Died
September 9, 1944, Kesselt
On September 9, 1944 Richard, with three others, was given the task of finding a suitable place for a temporary bridge across the Albert Canal. The Germans had blown up all the bridges. Their jeep was shot at between Kesselt and Veldwezelt, Richard was hit and died.
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July 1943 (?)
Registration ARC
September 1943
to the UK
July 16, 1944
Landing on Utah Beach
March 15, 1945
Siegfriedlinie
May 1, 1945
Died on pleasure flight
June 19, 1945
Buried in Margraten, Block RR, Row 12 Grave 290
February 18, 1943
Air Evac. Nurse diploma
Jan. 15, 1944
Married
July 26, 1943
Body washed up
March - Augus 1943
Panama
June 1944
To Europa
November 23, 1943
Departure for Europa
January 20, 1944
Arriving in England
June 1944
Landing Omaha Beach
US enters the war
December 11, 1941
Nazi Germany declares war on the US
Turnaround WWII
Februari 2, 1943
Battle of Stalingrad: Red Army defeats Germans
Memories of
Richard
Richard F. Wells died on September
9, 20 years old.
Later - on September
29 - his parents received a
telegram of condolence.
The message would have hit the family hard.
Niece Annette
"This photo was taken by Richard, sitting on the sidewalk in front of his home. And on the day before he had to go to the barracks to go to the front. Rich apparently felt that he would never return. He let his know mother of his feelings. When he left he was crying."
Bill Hammond
82 Engineer Combat Battalion
Bill Hammond 82 Engineer Combat Battalion "Whenever I think of Corporal Wells, it always makes me cry. Dick was a fine soldier. Nothing was too much for him. Always ready. “He was a soldier’s soldier”.”
Cherry Creek & Vicinity Honor Roll
On Cherry Creek & Vicinity Honor Roll are the names of the men who participated in the war. Behind the names of the fallen, which includes Richard Wells, is a gold star.
