Menzel, Rene E. (01054061): Difference between revisions

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|class_number=11

|class_display=11

|photo=~~5955733007781904~~.jpg

|photo=Menzel_Rene_E_01054061_portrait.jpg

|birth_date=22 November 1919

|death_date=10 May 2017

|arm_or_service=Coast Artillery Corps

|birth_place=The Hague, Netherlands

|rank_final=First Lieutenant

|teams=MII 415

|death_place=Williamsburg, Virginia

|awards=Bronze Star; Purple Heart

|awards_grid=Bronze Star;;Purple Heart

|awards_ribbons=Ribbon_Bronze_Star_Medal_ribbon.png;Ribbon_Purple_Heart_ribbon.png

|awards_ribbon_rows=Ribbon_Bronze_Star_Medal_ribbon.png;;Ribbon_Purple_Heart_ribbon.png

}}

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== Biography ==

~~. Rene~~ was born November ~~22nd~~ 1919 in The Hague, Netherlands~~. Rene~~ and ~~his younger brother Georges spent their formative years growing~~ up in Brussels~~, Belgium. Rene's father, Jean was an industrialist, art collector, and champion horse owner~~. ~~Rene~~ graduated from the University of Brussels ~~just~~ as ~~WWII was breaking out in Europe~~. ~~His~~ family ~~escaped through a perilous car journey~~ to ~~the Pyrenees Mountains in the South of France. While his parents and Georges were evading the Nazis by sleeping out in remote farm houses~~, ~~Rene~~ enlisted in the Free French Army. ~~Rene immediately enlisted in~~ the US Army and ~~rose to the rank of First Lieutenant~~. ~~Rene was assigned back to Europe where~~ he ~~was part of military~~ intelligence ~~interviewing people fleeing across the English Channel to insure they were not spies. Rene was part of~~ D-Day and ~~landed~~ in ~~Normandy under extreme conditions. One~~ of ~~Rene's favorite war stories detailed how he and his Sergeant got ahead~~ of ~~the other allied troops and much to their surprise would arrive in their jeep in towns that hadn't been officially liberated yet~~. ~~Rene was awarded the highest honors for his performance throughout the war~~. ~~From the provisional French Government under General Charles de Gaulle, Rene was awarded the Croix de Geurre for his contribution to the liberation of the French Republic~~. ~~From the USA under the orders of General Eisenhower, Rene was awarded~~ the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star ~~and~~ the ~~Oak Leaf Cluster~~. ~~At the conclusion of~~ the war, ~~Rene reunited with his family who were already residing~~ in ~~Manhattan~~, ~~NY. Soon after arriving back~~ in ~~the States~~, ~~Rene went to work for the IBM Corporation. Rene met his future wife Marjory Diemer at a formal dance at the Anchor and Saber Club in New York City~~. ~~Rene would rise to become a top executive at IBM World Trade where his linguistic skills came in handy~~.

René Eugene Menzel was born on 22 November 1919 in The Hague, Netherlands, to Jean and Erna Menzel, and grew up largely in Brussels. He graduated from the University of Brussels as World War II began. When the German invasion forced the family to flee, Menzel enlisted in the Free French Army, was wounded by shrapnel, escaped occupied France on a falsified pass, reached Casablanca, and rejoined his parents in New York by way of a ship bound for Guadeloupe.

He entered the U.S. Army, became a naturalized citizen while at Camp Ritchie (Class 11), and served with MII Team 415. Overseas he screened Channel crossers for intelligence risks, landed in Normandy on D-Day, and took part in liberating France; his detachment helped free tens of thousands of Allied prisoners. U.S. awards included the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star (with oak leaf cluster); France awarded him the Croix de Guerre.

After the war Menzel worked for IBM World Trade, lived for years in Darien, Connecticut—chairing Planning and Zoning and later active in SCORE—and then in Williamsburg, Virginia. He died there on 10 May 2017.

== Research notes ==

* See notes

* ~~MII 415~~

* Bronze Star and Purple Heart are explicit in the Darienite obituary (Eisenhower orders). Croix de Guerre kept in prose only. Oak leaf cluster noted in prose; awards tuple lists Bronze Star once. Live rank_final 2nd Lt upgraded to First Lieutenant per obituary wartime grade.

== Gallery ==

Menzel_Rene_E_01054061_portrait.jpg|Rene E. Menzel portrait (RB Archive)

</gallery>

</div>

== Technical record ==

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| row_source || both

|}

== Timeline ==

* 22 November 1919 — Born in The Hague, Netherlands.

* 1940 — Graduated from the University of Brussels as war began in Europe.

* 1940–1941 — Free French service, wound and escape through France and Morocco; reunited with family in New York.

* August 1943 — Assigned to Camp Ritchie (Class 11); naturalized while stationed there.

* 1944–1945 — Served with MII Team 415; Channel screening, Normandy landing, liberation of France / POW recovery.

* Postwar — Career with IBM World Trade; later Darien civic service and SCORE.

* 10 May 2017 — Died in Williamsburg, Virginia.

</div>

</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>

== Sources ==

* [[:File:Menzel_Rene_E_01054061_portrait.jpg|Rene E. Menzel portrait (RB Archive)]]

* Dan Gross, ''Timeline of Rene E. Menzel for Camp Ritchie'' (private research document; selected non-private findings)

* [https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/vagazette/name/rene-menzel-obituary?id=20095962 Legacy / Virginia Gazette — René Menzel obituary]

* [https://darienite.com/rene-menzel-97-one-adventure-another-ww-ii-later-darien-pz-chairman-22200 Darienite, 17 May 2017 — René Menzel obituary feature]

* Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data

* Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records

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* 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)

* Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-12-13 (1 post)

* Dan Gross, ''Timeline of Rene E. Menzel for Camp Ritchie'' (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)

* Dan Gross, ''Timeline of Menzel, Rene E. for Camp Ritchie'' (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: RENE E. MENZEL.doc)

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 |class_number=11
 |class_display=11
-|photo=5955733007781904.jpg
+|photo=Menzel_Rene_E_01054061_portrait.jpg
 |birth_date=22 November 1919
 |death_date=10 May 2017
 |arm_or_service=Coast Artillery Corps
+|birth_place=The Hague, Netherlands
+|rank_final=First Lieutenant
+|teams=MII 415
+|death_place=Williamsburg, Virginia
+|awards=Bronze Star; Purple Heart
+|awards_grid=Bronze Star;;Purple Heart
+|awards_ribbons=Ribbon_Bronze_Star_Medal_ribbon.png;Ribbon_Purple_Heart_ribbon.png
+|awards_ribbon_rows=Ribbon_Bronze_Star_Medal_ribbon.png;;Ribbon_Purple_Heart_ribbon.png
 }}
@@ Line 27: / Line 35: @@
 == Biography ==
-. Rene was born November 22nd 1919 in The Hague, Netherlands. Rene and his younger brother Georges spent their formative years growing up in Brussels, Belgium. Rene's father, Jean was an industrialist, art collector, and champion horse owner. Rene graduated from the University of Brussels just as WWII was breaking out in Europe. His family escaped through a perilous car journey to the Pyrenees Mountains in the South of France. While his parents and Georges were evading the Nazis by sleeping out in remote farm houses, Rene enlisted in the Free French Army. Rene immediately enlisted in the US Army and rose to the rank of First Lieutenant. Rene was assigned back to Europe where he was part of military intelligence interviewing people fleeing across the English Channel to insure they were not spies. Rene was part of D-Day and landed in Normandy under extreme conditions. One of Rene's favorite war stories detailed how he and his Sergeant got ahead of the other allied troops and much to their surprise would arrive in their jeep in towns that hadn't been officially liberated yet. Rene was awarded the highest honors for his performance throughout the war. From the provisional French Government under General Charles de Gaulle, Rene was awarded the Croix de Geurre for his contribution to the liberation of the French Republic. From the USA under the orders of General Eisenhower, Rene was awarded the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star and the Oak Leaf Cluster. At the conclusion of the war, Rene reunited with his family who were already residing in Manhattan, NY. Soon after arriving back in the States, Rene went to work for the IBM Corporation. Rene met his future wife Marjory Diemer at a formal dance at the Anchor and Saber Club in New York City. Rene would rise to become a top executive at IBM World Trade where his linguistic skills came in handy.
+René Eugene Menzel was born on 22 November 1919 in The Hague, Netherlands, to Jean and Erna Menzel, and grew up largely in Brussels. He graduated from the University of Brussels as World War II began. When the German invasion forced the family to flee, Menzel enlisted in the Free French Army, was wounded by shrapnel, escaped occupied France on a falsified pass, reached Casablanca, and rejoined his parents in New York by way of a ship bound for Guadeloupe.
+He entered the U.S. Army, became a naturalized citizen while at Camp Ritchie (Class 11), and served with MII Team 415. Overseas he screened Channel crossers for intelligence risks, landed in Normandy on D-Day, and took part in liberating France; his detachment helped free tens of thousands of Allied prisoners. U.S. awards included the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star (with oak leaf cluster); France awarded him the Croix de Guerre.
+After the war Menzel worked for IBM World Trade, lived for years in Darien, Connecticut—chairing Planning and Zoning and later active in SCORE—and then in Williamsburg, Virginia. He died there on 10 May 2017.
 == Research notes ==
 * See notes
-* MII 415
+* Bronze Star and Purple Heart are explicit in the Darienite obituary (Eisenhower orders). Croix de Guerre kept in prose only. Oak leaf cluster noted in prose; awards tuple lists Bronze Star once. Live rank_final 2nd Lt upgraded to First Lieutenant per obituary wartime grade.
+== Gallery ==
+<div class="soldier-gallery">
+<gallery mode="packed" heights="140px">
+Menzel_Rene_E_01054061_portrait.jpg|Rene E. Menzel portrait (RB Archive)
+</gallery>
+</div>
 == Technical record ==
@@ Line 48: / Line 67: @@
 | row_source || both
 |}
+== Timeline ==
+<div class="mw-collapsible mw-collapsed soldier-timeline">
+<div class="soldier-timeline-body">
+* 22 November 1919 — Born in The Hague, Netherlands.
+* 1940 — Graduated from the University of Brussels as war began in Europe.
+* 1940–1941 — Free French service, wound and escape through France and Morocco; reunited with family in New York.
+* August 1943 — Assigned to Camp Ritchie (Class 11); naturalized while stationed there.
+* 1944–1945 — Served with MII Team 415; Channel screening, Normandy landing, liberation of France / POW recovery.
+* Postwar — Career with IBM World Trade; later Darien civic service and SCORE.
+* 10 May 2017 — Died in Williamsburg, Virginia.
+</div>
+</div><div style="clear: both;"></div>
 == Sources ==
+* [[:File:Menzel_Rene_E_01054061_portrait.jpg|Rene E. Menzel portrait (RB Archive)]]
+* Dan Gross, ''Timeline of Rene E. Menzel for Camp Ritchie'' (private research document; selected non-private findings)
+* [https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/vagazette/name/rene-menzel-obituary?id=20095962 Legacy / Virginia Gazette — René Menzel obituary]
+* [https://darienite.com/rene-menzel-97-one-adventure-another-ww-ii-later-darien-pz-chairman-22200 Darienite, 17 May 2017 — René Menzel obituary feature]
 * Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
 * Dan Gross research spreadsheets, including original Excel timeline/roster work, combined with other research and records
@@ Line 55: / Line 91: @@
 * 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
 * Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-12-13 (1 post)
+* Dan Gross, ''Timeline of Rene E. Menzel for Camp Ritchie'' (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
+* Dan Gross, ''Timeline of Menzel, Rene E. for Camp Ritchie'' (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: RENE E. MENZEL.doc)