Pvt. Reel was a member of Company "G" 2nd Battalion 401st Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Unit was transferred to 3rd Battalion 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division for the Normandy Invasion, and permanently assigned to the 82nd on March 10, 1944.
'The Charge of the Causeway', on June 9th 1944 about 300 yards down the road, Company G was again held up by machine gun fire. Pvt. Leander Reel, acting on orders from Lt. T. Goodson, circled around the position and in a short time came back with 30 prisoners in a column of threes. *Let's Go!, the story of the men who served in the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, by Wayne Pierce. Private Reel earned the Silver Star for his actions. Citation reads; The company commander called for volunteers to investigate heavy opposition crossing the Merderet River. Private Reel stepped up and advanced through the hedge in the direction of the fire. In a short while the firing stopped and shortly afterward, Private Reel marched out a column of twenty-four enemy soldiers. He had forced them to abandon two machine guns and surrender. His initiative and audacity in neutralizing this group reflects great credit upon himself and the Airborne Forces of the United States Army.
During Operation Market Garden, Sept 17-Sept 25, 1944, the 82nd air assaulted in the Nijmegan-Groesbeek Ridge. Tasked with securing crossings in and around Nijmegen, and holding the strategically important Groesbeek Heights to the east, which bordered German territory around Kleve, attempts to take the Nijmegan Highway Bridge failed. Private Reel displayed untiring efforts and professional ability while he was subjected to stiff resistance from enemy forces. His performance of duty was in keeping with the finest traditions of the military service and reflected great credit upon himself, the 82nd AB and the Army of the U.S., stated his citation for the Bronze Star Award for meritorious service in connection with ground operations against a hostile force on September 25th 1944.
Private Reel was also awarded the Purple Heart, Combat Infantry Badge, Army Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Arrowhead Device and two Bronze Service Stars, WWII Victory Medal, Glider Wings with two Bronze Service Stars, Belgium Fourragere, and Netherlands Orange Lanyard.
Private Reel's remains were repatriated from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten to the Reel Family Cemetery in Dorcas, Grant County, West Virginia. The Petersburg Bridge in Petersburg, WV, carrying US 220 over the south branch of the Potomac River, was renamed the 'U.S. Army Pvt Leander Reel Memorial Bridge'.
'The Charge of the Causeway', on June 9th 1944 about 300 yards down the road, Company G was again held up by machine gun fire. Pvt. Leander Reel, acting on orders from Lt. T. Goodson, circled around the position and in a short time came back with 30 prisoners in a column of threes. *Let's Go!, the story of the men who served in the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, by Wayne Pierce. Private Reel earned the Silver Star for his actions. Citation reads; The company commander called for volunteers to investigate heavy opposition crossing the Merderet River. Private Reel stepped up and advanced through the hedge in the direction of the fire. In a short while the firing stopped and shortly afterward, Private Reel marched out a column of twenty-four enemy soldiers. He had forced them to abandon two machine guns and surrender. His initiative and audacity in neutralizing this group reflects great credit upon himself and the Airborne Forces of the United States Army.
During Operation Market Garden, Sept 17-Sept 25, 1944, the 82nd air assaulted in the Nijmegan-Groesbeek Ridge. Tasked with securing crossings in and around Nijmegen, and holding the strategically important Groesbeek Heights to the east, which bordered German territory around Kleve, attempts to take the Nijmegan Highway Bridge failed. Private Reel displayed untiring efforts and professional ability while he was subjected to stiff resistance from enemy forces. His performance of duty was in keeping with the finest traditions of the military service and reflected great credit upon himself, the 82nd AB and the Army of the U.S., stated his citation for the Bronze Star Award for meritorious service in connection with ground operations against a hostile force on September 25th 1944.
Private Reel was also awarded the Purple Heart, Combat Infantry Badge, Army Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Arrowhead Device and two Bronze Service Stars, WWII Victory Medal, Glider Wings with two Bronze Service Stars, Belgium Fourragere, and Netherlands Orange Lanyard.
Private Reel's remains were repatriated from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten to the Reel Family Cemetery in Dorcas, Grant County, West Virginia. The Petersburg Bridge in Petersburg, WV, carrying US 220 over the south branch of the Potomac River, was renamed the 'U.S. Army Pvt Leander Reel Memorial Bridge'.
Pvt. Reel was a member of Company "G" 2nd Battalion 401st Glider Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. Unit was transferred to 3rd Battalion 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division for the Normandy Invasion, and permanently assigned to the 82nd on March 10, 1944.
'The Charge of the Causeway', on June 9th 1944 about 300 yards down the road, Company G was again held up by machine gun fire. Pvt. Leander Reel, acting on orders from Lt. T. Goodson, circled around the position and in a short time came back with 30 prisoners in a column of threes. *Let's Go!, the story of the men who served in the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, by Wayne Pierce. Private Reel earned the Silver Star for his actions. Citation reads; The company commander called for volunteers to investigate heavy opposition crossing the Merderet River. Private Reel stepped up and advanced through the hedge in the direction of the fire. In a short while the firing stopped and shortly afterward, Private Reel marched out a column of twenty-four enemy soldiers. He had forced them to abandon two machine guns and surrender. His initiative and audacity in neutralizing this group reflects great credit upon himself and the Airborne Forces of the United States Army.
During Operation Market Garden, Sept 17-Sept 25, 1944, the 82nd air assaulted in the Nijmegan-Groesbeek Ridge. Tasked with securing crossings in and around Nijmegen, and holding the strategically important Groesbeek Heights to the east, which bordered German territory around Kleve, attempts to take the Nijmegan Highway Bridge failed. Private Reel displayed untiring efforts and professional ability while he was subjected to stiff resistance from enemy forces. His performance of duty was in keeping with the finest traditions of the military service and reflected great credit upon himself, the 82nd AB and the Army of the U.S., stated his citation for the Bronze Star Award for meritorious service in connection with ground operations against a hostile force on September 25th 1944.
Private Reel was also awarded the Purple Heart, Combat Infantry Badge, Army Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Arrowhead Device and two Bronze Service Stars, WWII Victory Medal, Glider Wings with two Bronze Service Stars, Belgium Fourragere, and Netherlands Orange Lanyard.
Private Reel's remains were repatriated from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten to the Reel Family Cemetery in Dorcas, Grant County, West Virginia. The Petersburg Bridge in Petersburg, WV, carrying US 220 over the south branch of the Potomac River, was renamed the 'U.S. Army Pvt Leander Reel Memorial Bridge'.
'The Charge of the Causeway', on June 9th 1944 about 300 yards down the road, Company G was again held up by machine gun fire. Pvt. Leander Reel, acting on orders from Lt. T. Goodson, circled around the position and in a short time came back with 30 prisoners in a column of threes. *Let's Go!, the story of the men who served in the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment, by Wayne Pierce. Private Reel earned the Silver Star for his actions. Citation reads; The company commander called for volunteers to investigate heavy opposition crossing the Merderet River. Private Reel stepped up and advanced through the hedge in the direction of the fire. In a short while the firing stopped and shortly afterward, Private Reel marched out a column of twenty-four enemy soldiers. He had forced them to abandon two machine guns and surrender. His initiative and audacity in neutralizing this group reflects great credit upon himself and the Airborne Forces of the United States Army.
During Operation Market Garden, Sept 17-Sept 25, 1944, the 82nd air assaulted in the Nijmegan-Groesbeek Ridge. Tasked with securing crossings in and around Nijmegen, and holding the strategically important Groesbeek Heights to the east, which bordered German territory around Kleve, attempts to take the Nijmegan Highway Bridge failed. Private Reel displayed untiring efforts and professional ability while he was subjected to stiff resistance from enemy forces. His performance of duty was in keeping with the finest traditions of the military service and reflected great credit upon himself, the 82nd AB and the Army of the U.S., stated his citation for the Bronze Star Award for meritorious service in connection with ground operations against a hostile force on September 25th 1944.
Private Reel was also awarded the Purple Heart, Combat Infantry Badge, Army Good Conduct Medal, American Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with Arrowhead Device and two Bronze Service Stars, WWII Victory Medal, Glider Wings with two Bronze Service Stars, Belgium Fourragere, and Netherlands Orange Lanyard.
Private Reel's remains were repatriated from the Netherlands American Cemetery in Margraten to the Reel Family Cemetery in Dorcas, Grant County, West Virginia. The Petersburg Bridge in Petersburg, WV, carrying US 220 over the south branch of the Potomac River, was renamed the 'U.S. Army Pvt Leander Reel Memorial Bridge'.
Gravesite Details
Entered the service from West Virginia.
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Records on Ancestry
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U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current
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1930 United States Federal Census
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U.S., Headstone and Interment Records for U.S., Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil, 1942-1949
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U.S., World War II and Korean Conflict Veterans Interred Overseas
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U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947
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