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Pfc. Maurice Eugene Lloyd

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Pfc. Maurice Eugene Lloyd Veteran

Birth
Keithsburg, Mercer County, Illinois, USA
Death
1 Jan 1945 (aged 19)
Lemberg, Departement de la Moselle, Lorraine, France
Burial
Neuville-en-Condroz, Arrondissement de Liège, Liège, Belgium Add to Map
Plot
Section C ~ Row 4 ~ Grave 58
Memorial ID
View Source
Maurice served as a Private First Class, 399th Infantry Regiment, 100th Infantry Division, U.S. Army during World War II.

He resided in Mercer County, Illinois prior to the war.

Maurice was originally declared "Missing In Action" near Bitche, France and was listed as such on the Tablet's of the Missing at the Epinal American Cemetery in France.

His remain were later recovered and he is now listed as "Killed In Action" and he was interred here. ( see below article )

Maurice was awarded the "Bronze Star" and the Purple Heart.

Service # 36774991

( Bio by: Russell S. "Russ" Pickett )

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PFC. MAURICE E. LLOYD

We had lost many men in the "Operation Nordwind" battle, either wounded, killed or missing. Among the missing was Pfc. Maurice E. Lloyd.

He was never listed as killed in action, because his body was never found hy the U.S. Army Graves Registration. His foxhole buddy, Pfc. Paul(Abe) Lincoln, knew he had been killed but unless a body is found, a soldier is listed as MIA.

Lloyd's name was engraved on the Wall of the Missing at the American Military Cemetery in Epinal, France. At the time the cemetery was planned and completed, it was thought that all the bodies of American soldiers who had been killed had been collected and buried or shipped back home to the United States.

More than 30 years later, an Alsatian father, his son and their hunting dog were tracking through the woods outside Lemberg. The dog sniffed around the area and led them to a log-covered dugout where they found the skeletal remains of a soldier. Wearing the uniform of an American soldier and still holding the automatic rifle he died with were the remains of Pfc. Maurice E. Lloyd.

When he was killed, he probably never knew what had hit him. His identity was confirmed by his dogtags and a religious medal inscribed by his girlfriend, "With Love to Mo from Billye."

When his bones were removed for burial, the mayor and citizens of Lemberg paid homage to him in a special ceremony. Later at a memorial service, his family participated in a ceremony at the American Military Cemetery in the Ardennes, where he was finally laid to rest.

According to the report of Franklin L. Gurley, the division historian, the patron saint of Lemberg is St. Maurice who was a soldier martyr who defended the country in 303 A.D. The irony of another Maurice (E. Lloyd) dying and being discovered in this strange way brought home to the people of Lemberg the sacrifice of this American soldier.

To express their reverence in a significant way, a monument was made and placed at his foxhole - the only such dedication of a foxhole in the entire war.

Several explanations were given why his body was not found, but one comes to my mind: After Lloyd was killed, his body was behind enemy lines for two and a half months before American forces chased the Germans back beyond Lemberg. We did not actually retake the old positions we held on 1 January 1945. We went far beyond them in pursuit of the enemy, who had pulled back to Bitche. If the Germans knew Lloyd was in his dugout, they apparently did not bother to bury him and stick a marker by his body. It was only by accident that he was discovered so long after the guns were silenced.

Above article submitted by Dwight "Andy" Anderson.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maurice served as a Private First Class, 399th Infantry Regiment, 100th Infantry Division, U.S. Army during World War II.

He resided in Mercer County, Illinois prior to the war.

Maurice was originally declared "Missing In Action" near Bitche, France and was listed as such on the Tablet's of the Missing at the Epinal American Cemetery in France.

His remain were later recovered and he is now listed as "Killed In Action" and he was interred here. ( see below article )

Maurice was awarded the "Bronze Star" and the Purple Heart.

Service # 36774991

( Bio by: Russell S. "Russ" Pickett )

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

PFC. MAURICE E. LLOYD

We had lost many men in the "Operation Nordwind" battle, either wounded, killed or missing. Among the missing was Pfc. Maurice E. Lloyd.

He was never listed as killed in action, because his body was never found hy the U.S. Army Graves Registration. His foxhole buddy, Pfc. Paul(Abe) Lincoln, knew he had been killed but unless a body is found, a soldier is listed as MIA.

Lloyd's name was engraved on the Wall of the Missing at the American Military Cemetery in Epinal, France. At the time the cemetery was planned and completed, it was thought that all the bodies of American soldiers who had been killed had been collected and buried or shipped back home to the United States.

More than 30 years later, an Alsatian father, his son and their hunting dog were tracking through the woods outside Lemberg. The dog sniffed around the area and led them to a log-covered dugout where they found the skeletal remains of a soldier. Wearing the uniform of an American soldier and still holding the automatic rifle he died with were the remains of Pfc. Maurice E. Lloyd.

When he was killed, he probably never knew what had hit him. His identity was confirmed by his dogtags and a religious medal inscribed by his girlfriend, "With Love to Mo from Billye."

When his bones were removed for burial, the mayor and citizens of Lemberg paid homage to him in a special ceremony. Later at a memorial service, his family participated in a ceremony at the American Military Cemetery in the Ardennes, where he was finally laid to rest.

According to the report of Franklin L. Gurley, the division historian, the patron saint of Lemberg is St. Maurice who was a soldier martyr who defended the country in 303 A.D. The irony of another Maurice (E. Lloyd) dying and being discovered in this strange way brought home to the people of Lemberg the sacrifice of this American soldier.

To express their reverence in a significant way, a monument was made and placed at his foxhole - the only such dedication of a foxhole in the entire war.

Several explanations were given why his body was not found, but one comes to my mind: After Lloyd was killed, his body was behind enemy lines for two and a half months before American forces chased the Germans back beyond Lemberg. We did not actually retake the old positions we held on 1 January 1945. We went far beyond them in pursuit of the enemy, who had pulled back to Bitche. If the Germans knew Lloyd was in his dugout, they apparently did not bother to bury him and stick a marker by his body. It was only by accident that he was discovered so long after the guns were silenced.

Above article submitted by Dwight "Andy" Anderson.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


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  • Created by: Russ Pickett
  • Added: Mar 27, 2015
  • Find a Grave Memorial ID:
  • Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/144262263/maurice_eugene-lloyd: accessed ), memorial page for Pfc. Maurice Eugene Lloyd (25 Aug 1925–1 Jan 1945), Find a Grave Memorial ID 144262263, citing Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial, Neuville-en-Condroz, Arrondissement de Liège, Liège, Belgium; Maintained by Russ Pickett (contributor 46575736).