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RB Archive batch-9 enrichment: RB Archive packet chronological regen
 
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|first=John
|first=John
|middle=P.
|middle=P.
|class_rank=2nd Lt
|class_rank=Second Lieutenant
|class_branch=FA
|birth_year=1899
|birth_year=1899
|death_year=1996
|death_year=1996
|nativity=Ge
|nativity=Germany
|religion=P
|religion=Protestant
|ipw_ge=36
|ipw_ge=36
|overseas=Y
|overseas=Y
|rank_final=2nd Lt
|rank_final=Lieutenant Colonel
|certificate=4039
|certificate=4039
|confidence=medium
|confidence=medium
|class_number=12
|class_number=12
|class_display=12
|class_display=12
|photo=5949627958392409.jpg
|birth_place=Reichenbach, Germany
|arm_or_service=Field Artillery
}}
}}


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<div class="soldier-lead">
'''John P. Bernhardt''' (1899&ndash;1996) was a United States Army Second Lieutenant who trained at [[Camp Ritchie]], Maryland, in [[Class 12]].
'''[[Bernhardt, John P. (01180419)|John P. Bernhardt]]''' (1899–1996) was a Ritchie Boy (from Germany; Protestant) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 12 and served with IPW Team 36.
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== Biography ==
== Biography ==
''Add a biography, family details, and sources. Click Edit to change this page; no account is required.''
Johannes “John” P. Bernhardt was born in 1899 in Reichenbach, Germany, and grew up in Chemnitz. Drafted into the Imperial German Army at seventeen, he served as a corporal in horse-drawn artillery on the Western Front, later studied at the University of Hamburg, and became a United States citizen in 1929.
 
Drafted into the U.S. Army at forty-two, Bernhardt trained at Camp Roberts and Fort Sill before completing military-intelligence training at Camp Ritchie (Class 12). He landed at Omaha Beach on 24 June 1944 and served with Combat Command B, 3rd Armored Division, interrogating prisoners, supporting courts-martial, and conducting searches. At war's end he worked for OMGUS on disarmament data, Nazi records, and captured maps.
 
Bernhardt later served at the Pentagon, Fort Holabird, Heidelberg, and as an intelligence adviser in Korea. He retired from the Army Reserve as a lieutenant colonel in 1958, then worked in accounting and banking, and died near Riverside, Illinois, in 1996.


== Research notes ==
== Research notes ==
''No notes were in the source row. Add what you know.''
* Packet biography says 1997 while the live profile says 1996; retain the existing year pending an authoritative vital record. Curate the folder's 78 media files later.
 
== Gallery ==
''After you are autoconfirmed, [[Special:Upload|upload a photo]] and add <code><nowiki>[[File:Example.jpg|thumb|caption]]</nowiki></code> here, or set <code>|photo=Example.jpg</code> in the infobox.''


== Technical record ==
== Technical record ==
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== Timeline ==
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* 1899 — Born in Reichenbach, Germany; grew up in Chemnitz.
* World War I — Served as a corporal in the Imperial German Army on the Western Front.
* 1929 — Became a United States citizen.
* 1943 — Completed officer training at Fort Sill and Camp Ritchie intelligence training (Class 12).
* 24 June 1944 — Landed at Omaha Beach; served with Combat Command B, 3rd Armored Division.
* 1945–1950 — OMGUS, Pentagon, Fort Holabird, and Heidelberg intelligence assignments.
* Korean War — Served for seventeen months as an intelligence adviser in Taegu, Korea.
* 1958 — Retired from the Army Reserve as a lieutenant colonel.
* 1996 — Died near Riverside, Illinois.
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== Sources ==
== Sources ==
* Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
* RB Archive captioned photograph: Intelligence Team 44 at Lorch, Germany, 4 July 1945
* RB Archive: “Biography John Bernhardt Ritchie Boy” family biography
* 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
* NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
* NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
* 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
* 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
* Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2022-12-12 (1 post)