that needed it. He also
had some of that Irish temper from his Mother's
side. I have been told stories that I thought
were an example of his temper and humor. His
mother told him he couldn't drive the family car
and locked it up in the garage. So he drove it
through the garage door. I cherish the picture I
have of him and his real pretty 1931 Model "A"
Ford roadster. That was quite the car for a guy
in his late teens. He ended up driving it into
the Holdenville lake (not on purpose), but he
sure was upset.
He started his
work career in sales for a bread company in
Holdenville. He moved to Ada, Ok. when he and my
mother married in august 1936. They were both 21 years old and had never lived anywhere other than
Holdenville. My mother, Lorene (Loftis) Kingery,
was raised by her mother and dad, a farmer,
furniture store owner and preacher, who wasn't
all together sure she should date or marry this
big fun loving Irish guy. She had two brothers
and one sister. One brother was a good friend of
my dad, and they got into a lot of mischief
together. So this helped my dad get a date with
my mother, and he settled down a lot (or enough
to please my grandfather). My dad went to work
for a milk company in Ada. He stayed with the
milk company for as long as he could but said he
was going to have to find something where he
didn't break bottles. They took every bottle you
broke out of your paycheck. So my parents moved
to Oklahoma City where my dad worked for
Borden's Milk Company until he joined the army.
I was born after they moved to Oklahoma City in
November 1939. My mother and I used to go to a
park that was right across the street from the
Borden's plant, and we met my dad after he got
off work. I have memories of him swinging me
high in the park swings. He was able to buy a
pie route and was really doing well working both
jobs. He was a great sales person. We bought a
home in Oklahoma City. By then, the war was
getting worse, and he joined the army to serve
his country as so many others had. We had a real
good friend who also owned a pie route in
Oklahoma City. He took my dad's business and ran
both to keep the business going.
(picture courtesy of Mrs. Kingery Holcomb)
In April 1944 at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, he went for
his induction and then to boot camp at Camp
Joseph T. Robinson, Arkansas. Then he went to
Camp Meade in Maryland. where he left in
September1944 for overseas. He would be assigned
to Company "G", 41st Armored Inf. Bn. 2nd
Armored Div. His last letter was written 25
November 1944, and mailed from Germany. He was
reported KIA (Killed in Action ) 27 Nov. 1944,
Northwest of Merzenhausen, Germany, near the
Roer River. I was five on 19 November 1944. I
remember a uniformed (not sure what kind) man at
the front door to our house who informed us of
my dad's death. I also remember the decorated
Christmas tree in the living room. My dad is
buried at Margraten cemetery in Holland. My
grandmother could not face the fact he'd been
killed and asked my mother to not bring him home
that way. She never talked about him. She had
lost her only child.
My mother never got to visit where my dad is
buried, but I have been fortunate enough to
visit twice. It is a beautifully cared for
resting place, and as Mike Ariano, also of the
41st armored infantry Co G said, "he's with his
buddies". As I was growing up, I had a problem
with the fact I didn't understand where he was.
It helped a lot to visit the place he had been
laid to rest. He left a widow who always said he
was the best husband and for which anyone could
ever have asked. “
Historical
Perspective
The 41st Infantry Regt, 2nd Armored Division,
had fought their way from Normandy, where it was
part of the build up after D-Day and the
subsequent break out. It chased the retreating
German forces back to the borders of Germany and
the Siegfried line, where the frontlines
established themselves in September and October.
The main barriers for the US Army in Germany where, after
breaching the Siegfried line, the rivers. The
men of the 41st Infantry regiment found
themselves in Germany, close to the Dutch
border, readying themselves for the push deeper
into Germany. The next offensive move was to take them
to the Roer river. To achieve this the 2nd
Armored Division had to take the towns of
Puffendorf, Setterich, Ederen, Merzenhausen and
Barmen. Puffendorf was taken after heavy
fighting and casualties. This was different
warfare then the months of chasing retreating
Germans who had only turned around sporadically to defend or
counter-attacked in any great force. Now the Allied forces
were entering Germany and the Germans fought for
the defense of their own Fatherland with fierce
determination.
On the morning
of November 27, 1944 an attack was launched on
the town of Merzenhausen. This town was strongly
defended as it was crucial to the Germans to
maintain their positions on the west side of the
Roer river. It controlled their lines of
communication and supply and if it fell, the road to Barmen
and the Roer river would be wide open.
The 3rd Battalion
of the 41st (including G company of Pvt. Kingery) was
ordered to take hill 98.1, the high ground on
the east side of Merzenhausen. Another battalion
(2nd, 119 Inf Regt supported by Co I, 66th
Armored and Co A, 17th Armored Engineer Bn) was
to take Merzenhausen itself. 1st Bn, 119 Inf
Regt was to take hill 100.3 on the North East
side of Merzenhausen.
The attack began at 0715. 3rd Bn, 41st
Inf Regt covered the muddy ground towards their
objective without tank
support. They were faced with well dug in German infantry,
artillery and mortar fire. Some time after they
reached the German trenches they were confronted
with a determined German counter-attack. A strong
infantry force supported by eight tanks attacked
their positions. The 2nd Bn, 41st Inf was sent
to their aid and after fierce fighting the German attack was repelled.
Merzenhausen
itself was taken after heavy house-to-house
fighting. The Germans were not about to give up
the town without a fight. The attacking American
infantry had to deal with strong German
infantry, mortar and artillery fire, tanks and
heavy street fighting. Progress was slow. By
noon the Germans had been thrown back just a few
hundred yards. The town was finally taken around
1800, when the Americans dug in to defend the
town against possible counter-attacks, the first
of which began around 2130. By midnight Merzenhausen was finally secured, except for
some isolated pockets of resistance, and the
road to Barmen and the Roer river was wide open.
It was during
the fighting for Hill 98.1 that Pvt Kingery lost
his life.
Private Kingery
is buried at Margraten American Military
Cemetery, Plot B Row 1 Grave 21
