Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide Ralph Siegel, of Mercersville, New Jersey, is conducting a new research project that seeks to uncover and present the stories of American soldiers killed in World War Two, and who are now buried in the Gettysburg Soldiers National Cemetery.

Resting near the Civil War dead – and overlooked by many visitors – are two seamen killed at Pearl Harbor, 11 who fell in the D-Day landings, an artilleryman killed in the infamous Malmedy massacre, the young pilots of B-17’s, B-24 Liberators, and B-26 Marauders, a P-51 fighter ace, and one boy from the Allentown, Pennsylvania area, who was killed in the Marine Corps’ first Pacific battle on Guadalcanal at the shocking age of 15.

The Gettysburg cemetery is most widely recognized as a Civil War landmark, particularly as the site of the immortal address delivered by President Lincoln in 1863. But of the roughly 7,000 veteran graves, more than 1,600 are for veterans of World War Two, and nearly 500 of those men died during that war.

“My concern is that these brave Americans who lost their lives – many of them extremely young – do not receive our attention and our affection,” said Siegel.

Ralph has documented the 494 graves of World War Two dead buried at Gettysburg whose dates of death coincide with the years of the war. Digital images were made of each grave and used to enhance unreadable grave markings. Databases from the National Archive and the National WWII Memorial helped confirm that 433 of these veterans died in battle or in combat-related missions. The names are listed at a special research website, www.WW2atGettysburg.com.

“I hope the tours and the web site will prompt family members and unit historians to make contact and send along records, recollections or tips on where to find records,” said Siegel. “We are trying to collect documents, to confirm details and to make sure that these important, dramatic stories are also told here at Gettysburg.”

Ralph Siegel has been a Licensed Battlefield Guide at Gettysburg National Military Park since 2004, and he has long taken a special interest in conducting cemetery tours.

In the first World War II at Gettysburg post, Licensed Battlefield Guide Ralph Siegel introduced us to the series, and showed us individuals killed in action at Pearl Harbor and Guadalcanal.

In the second World War II at Gettysburg post, Licensed Battlefield Guide Ralph Siegel shows the final resting place of individuals killed during the Italian Campaign, and in air operations in the Mediterranean Sea.

In the third World War II at Gettysburg post, Licensed Battlefield Guide Ralph Siegel shows the final resting place of individuals killed at Normandy, Iwo Jima, Saipan, Guam, and Okinawa.

In the fourth World War II at Gettysburg post, Ralph Siegel shows us the graves of one of the first land based soldiers to enter Germany during the war, and some individuals killed at the Battle of the Bulge and Okinawa.

In today’s World War II at Gettysburg post, Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide Ralph Siegel presents the graves of some individuals buried in Section 1 and Section 3 of the Soldiers’ National Cemetery.

To contact Ralph, you can click here to reveal his email address.

To see other posts by Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guides, click here.