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Gion, Alphonse Francis (01177462): Difference between revisions

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|death_date=26 May 2016
|death_date=26 May 2016
|arm_or_service=Field Artillery
|arm_or_service=Field Artillery
|birth_place=United States
|birth_place=Regent, North Dakota
|rank_final=2nd Lt
|rank_final=Colonel
|division=101st Airborne Division
|division=101st Airborne Division
}}
}}


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'''[[Gion, Alphonse Francis (01177462)|Alphonse Francis Gion]]''' (25 April 1920 – 26 May 2016) was a Ritchie Boy (from United States; Catholic) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 9 and served with IPW Team 1; 87.
'''[[Gion, Alphonse Francis (01177462)|Alphonse Francis Gion]]''' (25 April 1920 – 26 May 2016) was a North Dakota-born Ritchie Boy who commanded a 101st Airborne POW interrogation unit in Normandy, Holland, and Bastogne and later retired as a colonel.
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== Biography ==
== Biography ==
Alphonse was born on April 25, 1920, on the homestead farm of his parents, near Regent, N.D. He was then assigned to a post in England where he completed parachute training in preparation for service as commanding officer of a prisoner of war interrogation unit with the 101st Airborne Division in the Normandy (D-Day) Invasion and later the Holland invasion and the Battle of the Bulge at Bastogne.
Alphonse Francis Gion was born on 25 April 1920 near Regent, North Dakota, on his parents’ farm. After Cherry Butte consolidated school he attended Assumption Abbey high school in Richardton, then returned to farm work until he was drafted in February 1942.


Upon graduation in 1933, he attended Assumption Abbey, a monastery/seminary high school at Richardton, N.D. Soon after completing basic training he was selected to attend Artillery Officer Candidate School at Fort Sill, Okla., from which he was commissioned in October 1942. He was recalled to active duty in June 1950 accompanied by his bride to do duty at the Army Intelligence School at Fort Riley, Kan.
Following basic training he completed Artillery Officer Candidate School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and was commissioned in October 1942. With German-language skill he went to Camp Ritchie for prisoner-of-war interrogation and German order-of-battle training (Class 9). In England he completed parachute training and served as commanding officer of a POW interrogation unit with the 101st Airborne Division in the Normandy invasion, the Holland campaign, and the Battle of the Bulge at Bastogne. Roster research places IPW Team 1 with the division (VIII Corps) from 11 February 1944; teammates included [[Pangerl, Joseph C. Jr (01590096)|Joseph C. Pangerl Jr.]], [[Coquelin, Hermann (32011029)|Hermann Coquelin]], [[Koslan, Emil H. (18031454)|Emil H. Koslan]], [[Patheiger, Frederick C. (36717392)|Frederick C. Patheiger]], and [[Goldberg, George (36720792)|George Goldberg]]. He left active service in January 1946.


After completion of his tour of duty in July 1954 he returned to UW-Madison to complete his M.A. Having a German language skill, he was sent to Military Intelligence School, Camp Ritchie, MD., where he completed a course in Prisoner of War Interrogation and German Order of Battle.
Gion finished a B.A. in political science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and married Rosemary Doyle of Belleville, Wisconsin, on 17 September 1949. Recalled in June 1950, he served at the Army Intelligence School at Fort Riley, Kansas, then as executive officer of a strategic intelligence unit at Seventh Army headquarters near Stuttgart. After returning to Madison for an M.A., he worked in Wisconsin state and federal civil-rights and equal-opportunity programs, remained in the reserves until retiring as a colonel in 1974, and left federal civil service in June 1979. He died on 26 May 2016 in Fitchburg, Wisconsin.
 
Upon completion he chose not to become a monk, but returned to the farm until he was drafted into the U.S.
 
Upon separation from the service in January 1946 he completed studies at UW-Madison for a B.A. Worked as farmer and aircraft riveter. Soon thereafter, Captain Gion was assigned to serve as Executive Officer of a Strategic Intelligence Unit at 7th Army Headquarters near Stuttgart, Germany.
 
Subsequently, he served in various operational and administrative roles with the Wisconsin State and federal public programs for the furtherance of civil rights and equal opportunity.
 
Gion remained active in the reserves until 1974 when he retired with the rank of Colonel. He retired from the federal civil service in June 1979 and returned from Chicago to Madison.
 
On 11 February 1944, IPW Team 1 was attached to the 101st Airborne Division (VIII Corps). IPW Team 1 members included [[Pangerl, Joseph C. Jr (01590096)|Joseph C. Pangerl Jr.]], [[Coquelin, Hermann (32011029)|Hermann Coquelin]], [[Koslan, Emil H. (18031454)|Emil H. Koslan]], [[Patheiger, Frederick C. (36717392)|Frederick C. Patheiger]], and [[Goldberg, George (36720792)|George Goldberg]].


== Research notes ==
== Research notes ==
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* Born 25 April 1920 in U.S.
* 25 April 1920 — Born near Regent, North Dakota.
* 29 October 1942 — FAS, Fort Sill. Commissioned as 2nd Lt. (ASN:01172462).
* February 1942 — Drafted into the U.S. Army.
* 18 August 1943 — Graduated with Class 9. Classified as Officer in Charge (German).
* October 1942 — Commissioned from Artillery OCS, Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
* 11 February 1944 — IPW Team 1 attached to 506th PIR (101st Airborne Division), VIII Corps.
* 18 August 1943 — Graduated Camp Ritchie Class 9 (German IPW / order of battle).
* 11 February 1944 — IPW Team 1 attached to 101st Airborne Division (VIII Corps).
* 1944–1945 — Normandy, Holland, and Bastogne (Battle of the Bulge) with 101st Airborne interrogation unit.
* January 1946 — Separated from active service.
* 17 September 1949 — Married Rosemary Doyle.
* June 1950–July 1954 — Recalled; Fort Riley; Seventh Army strategic intelligence (Stuttgart area).
* 1974 — Retired from reserves as colonel.
* June 1979 — Retired from federal civil service.
* 26 May 2016 — Died in Fitchburg, Wisconsin.
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== Sources ==
== Sources ==
* Daily Cardinal / University Wire obituary, “Gion, Alphonse Francis,” 4 June 2016 (ProQuest; RB Archive PDF copy)
* Dan Gross research archive (miscellaneous notes; not uploaded): ''NOTES'' entry “IPW Team 1” (8/27/2019) — Team 1 attached to 101st Airborne Division (VIII Corps), 11 February 1944
* Dan Gross research archive (miscellaneous notes; not uploaded): ''NOTES'' entry “IPW Team 1” (8/27/2019) — Team 1 attached to 101st Airborne Division (VIII Corps), 11 February 1944
* Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
* Camp Ritchie Museum, Inc. (The Ritchie History Museum), Classes 1–31 roster data
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