Memorial 551st Parachute infantry Battalion

A plaque has been placed on the wall of the Cemetery in Leignon in memory of the 551st Parachute infantry Battalion.

It is a memorial plaque for Private First Class Milo C. HUEMPFNER of the 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion. This independent battalion was assigned to a larger unit depending on the needs of the moment.
At the start of the German Ardennes offensive, the 551st was in Northern France.
They were sent to Belgium on December 19 where they were attached to the 30th US Infantry Division on the German northern flank.

On December 22, Milo Huempfner was behind the wheel of a truck loaded with mortar shells at the rear of a convoy. On a slippery bend in the road, he lost control and the truck slid onto the shoulder. PFC Huempfner was instructed to wait at his damaged truck until help arrived. If the Germans reached the place, he had to set fire to his cargo so that it would not fall into enemy hands.
Milo Huempfner was left alone in Leignon. , the furthest point that the German panzers reached on their course to the Meuse.
The first soldier to pass by was an American lieutenant in a jeep who told him that the Germans were nearby. Ultimately, units of the German 2. Panzer Division would reach Leignon the next day. Huempfner set fire to his truck and single-handedly started a guerrilla war with only an M1 rifle, a .45 Colt revolver and two hand grenades. He managed to put some German armored vehicles out of commission and kill some German soldiers. Moreover, he was able to warn some Allied convoys that came too close in time about the presence of German troops in the village.
All the while he could count on the support of the residents of Leignon for food and shelter. On Christmas Eve they asked him to keep watch at the church while they attended Christmas Eve Mass. And so he stood guard outside the church door until the mass was done.
On Christmas Day, the American liberators were close by and some German soldiers hiding in a barn surrendered to Milo Huempfner.

On June 9, 1945, he received the American Distinguished Service Cross for his actions in and around Leignon. He died on March 6, 1965, aged only 61.
On February 3, 2002, a memorial plaque was placed on the wall of the cemetery where he stood guard fifty-eight years earlier so that the residents of Leignon could attend the Christmas celebrations undisturbed.

Do you have more information about this location? Inform us!

Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Frans Gorissen (1), Marie-Christine Vinck (2, 3, 4)