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| Cpl. Fred Bigbee, 78th Infantry Division was one of the first Americans to cross the Rhine River after taking the bridge at Remagen. https://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=20585205&ref=acom https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d1/d0/d7/d1d0d7bf49bfb819a20698de805129ec---mars-division.jpg |
Fred J. Bigbee never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
He was born on August 14, 1917 in Missouri. His parents were also both born in Missouri. His father worked as a retail grocery salesman and later as a meat cutter. Fred had two younger sisters. By 1940 Fred had completed four years of high school and was still living with his parents, working as a sales clerk.
He enlisted on September 16, 1940 in the Coast Artillery Corps. He became a corporal in Company F, 2nd Battalion, 310th Infantry Regiment, 78th Infantry Division. The 78th arrived in France in late 1944. It was in combat in the Hurtgen Forest and attacking the Siegfried Line by December. The 310th Infantry Regiment took part in the successful capture of the Ludendorff Bridge that spanned the Rhine at Remagen on March 8, 1945, making Cpl. Bigbee one of the first Americans to cross the Rhine River.
The 78th ID was assigned to clear up the Ruhr Pocket which took from April 2 to May 8. There were over 300,000 German soldiers surrounded but not ready to surrender. Cpl. Bigbee was killed in action on April 6, 1945.
His grave is at Forest Park Cemetery in Joplin, Missouri.
On behalf of the fallen, if you would like to see more people become aware of this project to honor the WW2 fallen, be sure to share with others on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Thanks for your interest!
To mark having over 100,000 visits to my project to honor the fallen of WW2 on their 100th birthdate, I created this video to share. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXt8QA481lY
Join the public Facebook group WW2 Fallen 100
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