William Reckeweg
Date and Place of Birth: | September 3, 1916, Audubon, NJ |
Date and Place of Death: | February 1, 1945 Luxembourg |
Baseball Experience: | College |
Position: | Unknown |
Rank: | Captain |
Military Unit: | Company C, 357th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division US Army |
Area Served: | European Theater of Operations |
William P. Reckeweg, the son of William and
Helen Reckeweg, was born in Audubon, New Jersey on
September 3, 1916. He graduated from Audubon High School in 1933 and
entered Dickinson College where he played baseball, football and soccer.
Reckeweg joined the Insurance Company of North America as an insurance
agent following graduation from Dickinson, and enlisted in the Army on
February 8, 1941.
Reckeweg took basic training at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania and
completed Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia in August
1942. He was later at Camp Breckenridge, Pennsylvania and Camp Van Dorn,
Mississippi before attaining the rank of captain.
Captain Reckeweg was sent overseas in 1944 and took command of Company
C, 357th Infantry Regiment, 90th Infantry Division. He landed at
Normandy on June 11 and was wounded on July 5. He spent six weeks in a
hospital in England and returned to active service with his unit in
September.
On February 1, 1945, Captain Reckeweg was in northern Luxembourg, using
an old barn as his company command post. An enemy artillery shell hit
the barn and Reckeweg was killed instantly.
His body was brought home after the war and buried at Beverly National
Cemetery in Beverly, New Jersey on April 20, 1949.
Captain Reckeweg's grave at Beverly National Cemetery in Beverly, New Jersey
Some of the above information was obtained from dvrbs.com and the Dickinson College website.
Date Added February 5, 2013 Updated July 22, 2013
Baseball's Greatest Sacrifice is associated with Baseball Almanac
Baseball's Greatest Sacrifice is proud to be sponsored by