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| Lt Rilie Morgan was a second lieutenant in the Americal Division at Guadalcanal. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/31886920/rilie-r_-morgan |
Rilie Raymond Morgan Jr. never had a chance to reach 100 years old today. Instead, he sacrificed his life for our freedom.
Rilie was born on April 14, 1920 in North Dakota. His parents Rilie Sr. and Edythe were both born in Kansas. His father was a newspaper publisher and later a North Dakota state senator. He had one older sister, one younger brother, and two younger sisters. In high school, Rilie played on the football and basketball teams. After high school, he attended college for two years, where he joined the Army ROTC.
In February 1941, Rilie enlisted in the 164th Infantry Regiment of the North Dakota Army National Guard. The 164th IR was activated into Federal service 10 February 1942 and was sent to Camp Claiborne, Louisiana for training, where Rilie rose to the rank of company supply sergeant. In January 1942 the 164th IR was deployed overseas to New Caledonia, an island in the South Pacific. There they joined the 182nd Infantry Regiment and the 132nd Infantry Regiment, in addition to artillery, engineer and other support units to form a new division on 24 May 1942, designated the Americal Division.
In the summer of 1942, Rilie was one of 153 from a group of over 1,600 enlisted personnel selected for Officers Candidate School on New Caledonia, and upon graduation was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. The 164th was dispatched to Guadalcanal on 13 October 1942 as emergency reinforcement for the 1st Marine Division, and became the first U.S. Army unit to engage in offensive action during World War II in the Battle of Guadalcanal. The 164th fought alongside the Marines in a series of encounters with Japanese units, and earned the nickname "The 164th Marines”. In the last week of October 1942, elements of the regiment withstood repeated assaults from Japanese battalions and inflicted some two thousand enemy casualties. 2nd Lt. Morgan was awarded the Silver Star for his actions during one of those battles, his citation reads:
“For gallantry in action October 29, 1942 in Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. Lt. Morgan was in the front lines along with his platoon when a land mine exploded about 300 feet away, lighting up the platoon’s position to the advantage of the enemy. In the face of strong machine gun fire from the enemy, Lt. Morgan crawled out beyond the front lines and covered the burning mine with a blanket. When the mine again started to burn, Lt. Morgan once more crawled out in the face of heavy enemy fire, this time extinguishing the blaze permanently. At the time of this action the enemy lines were only 50 yards distant.”
2nd Lt. Morgan was killed in combat on 22 November 1942 on Guadalcanal, I could not find any details. His father had the unenviable task of writing and publishing his son’s obituary in his newspaper.
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| The Bismarck Tribune, 16 Dec 1942 |
Rilie Raymond Morgan is buried in Crescent Cemetery in Grafton, North Dakota.
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This profile was written by Bob Fuerst. "I’m a NASA engineer, B-17 Flying Fortress enthusiast, and amateur genealogist so this kind of research is an ideal outlet for me. But more than anything, it’s a way to express my sincere appreciation for The Greatest Generation and the sacrifices that they made, especially those who made the ultimate sacrifice. They should never be forgotten and I’m grateful to Don for allowing me to play a small part in honoring them."
Last year on this date I profiled Silver Star hero John Hays of the 45th Infantry Division. You can read about John here.
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!
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