Nagel, William (32108533)

William Nagel
Personal details
Birth name	Nagelberg
Born	1914
Died	19 September 2001
Nativity	Austria
Religion	Jewish
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch	United States Army
ASN	32108533
Rank	Private First Class
Camp Ritchie	Class 20 (19 June – 16 August 1944)
Section	5A
Enlisted	Jamaica, New York
Team	MII 474-G

Teammates

Team — MII 474-G

These are other soldiers listed on the same team roster. People moved between teams; overlapping service dates are not always documented.

Research notes on this page are compiled from the source file and later edits. They may be unverified, incomplete, or incorrect, and should not be treated as established fact. Please correct the article or add sources on the talk page. For class-roster terms, see About the data.

Sources & confidence: Treat Research notes as leads, not settled fact. Prefer NARA, the class roster, newspapers, Find a Grave, or published histories for contested claims. Mark unsourced claims with {{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.

William Nagel (1914 – 19 September 2001) was a Ritchie Boy (born Nagelberg; from Austria; Jewish) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 20.

Biography

William Nagel was a Ritchie Boy. William Nagel (formerly Wilhelm Nagelberg) was born the only child of parents Fritz (1883-1960) and Helene Nagelberg (née Licht, 1891 - 1959) in Vienna, Austria, on 10 December 1914. William’s father, Fritz, was the proprietor of his own business and the family resided in Leopoldstatdt, the 2nd municipal district in Vienna. After completing secondary school William went on to study global trade at university and pursued his PhD in Economics. In July 1938 William submitted his dissertation, Über Veränderungen in der Baumwollwirtschaft Großbritanniens vom Weltkrieg bis zur Gegenwart, and became one of the few Jewish students in Austria to be awarded a doctoral degree following the Anschluss. Soon, however, the Nagelberg family decided to flee Austria for Italy. In March 1940 William left Italy for the United States sailing about the SS Vulcania. His parents, Fritz and Helene, remained in Europe. After his arrival William enlisted with the United States Army. Several months later he met Gertrude Juris, a young a Jewish refugee also from Vienna. The couple married on January 18th, 1942 in New York. The following year William became a naturalized citizen of the United States and commenced training at Camp Ritchie to become an Army intelligence officer. William would go on to serve in both the Pacific and European theaters of the Second World War. Among other duties his work included interrogation of German prisoners of war in Allied occupied territory. In Late 1945 William was discharged from the Army and returned home. After the war William resumed a career in Economics, working for the Pentagon and in the European Division of the Office of Economic Affairs until his retirement, settling in Washington D.C. In 1953 his parents, Fritz and Helene, who had survived the war in Italy, joined their son in the United States. William and Gertrude went on to raise a family and later settled in Maryland. Nagelberg's last place of residence was Silver Spring, Maryland. He died on September 19, 2001. Two days later, William Nagel was buried in the Judean Memorial Gardens near Olney, Maryland, established in 1975 as the Washington metropolitan area's Jewish cemetery. He was buried exactly four months to the day after the funeral of his wife, who died on May 18, 2001. Documents and information courtesy of the USHMM. Front and Rear of his enlistment record and separation agreement. Army separation qualification record. A report of activity of MII Team 474-G. William's certificate of naturalization (and the rear, indicating his name change)

Research notes

• born in Poland?
• 474-G

Gallery

• Additional information and photo is courtesy of the Gedenkbuch.
  Additional information and photo is courtesy of the Gedenkbuch.
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  Additional information and photo is courtesy of the Gedenkbuch.
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  Additional information and photo is courtesy of the Gedenkbuch.
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  Additional information and photo is courtesy of the Gedenkbuch.
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  Additional information and photo is courtesy of the Gedenkbuch.
• 
  Additional information and photo is courtesy of the Gedenkbuch.
• 
  Additional information and photo is courtesy of the Gedenkbuch.

Technical record

Field	Imported value
Approx Age at Death	87
Nara ASN	32108533
Nara Name	NAGEL WILLIAM
Nara State	23
Nara County	81
Nara POE	2349
Nara DOE	200341
Nara Grade Alpha	PVT
Nara Grade Code	8
Nara Branch Alpha	BI
Nara Branch Code	0
Branch	Branch Immaterial - Warrant Officers, USA
Nara Term or Enlistment	9
Term of enlistment	Three year enlistment
Defer. Date	0
Nara Source	0
Nara Nativity	N2
Nara Year of Birth	14
Nara Race	J
Nara Race Description	White not yet a citizen
Nara Education	9
Nara Civilian Occupation	245
Nara Marital Status	6
Nara Height (inches)	69
Nara Weight (lbs)	158
Class_ASN	32108533
Class_Name	NAGEL, William
match_method	asn_exact_name_exact
row_source	both

Sources

• Camp Ritchie class roster (classes 1–31), merged research file
• NARA World War II Army enlistment records (where a NARA ASN is present)
• 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2023-01-03 (1 post)