Nagel, William (32108533)

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

Awards and honors

American Defense Service Medal	American Campaign Medal	Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one bronze service star

European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal	Good Conduct Medal	World War II Victory Medal

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. The record lists a final rank of Staff Sergeant.

Biography

William Nagel was a Ritchie Boy. Formerly Wilhelm Nagelberg, he was born the only child of Fritz (1883-1960) and Helene Nagelberg (née Licht, 1891-1959) in Vienna, Austria, on 10 December 1914. His father operated his own business, and the family lived in Leopoldstadt, Vienna's second municipal district. After secondary school, William studied global trade at university and pursued a PhD in economics. In July 1938 he submitted a dissertation on changes in the British cotton economy from the First World War to the present. He became one of the few Jewish students in Austria to receive a doctoral degree after the Anschluss.

The Nagelberg family later fled Austria for Italy. In March 1940 William left Italy for the United States aboard the SS Vulcania; his parents remained in Europe. After arriving, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. Several months later he met Gertrude Juris, a Jewish refugee from Vienna, and they married in New York on 18 January 1942. He became a naturalized U.S. Citizen the following year and trained at Camp Ritchie as an Army intelligence officer.

Nagel served in both the Pacific and European theaters during World War II, including the interrogation of German prisoners of war in Allied-occupied territory. He was discharged in late 1945 and returned home. After the war he resumed his career in economics, working for the Pentagon and in the European Division of the Office of Economic Affairs until retirement. He and Gertrude raised a family and later settled in Maryland; his parents, who survived the war in Italy, joined them in the United States in 1953.

Nagelberg's last residence was in Silver Spring, Maryland. He died on 19 September 2001 and was buried two days later at Judean Memorial Gardens near Olney, Maryland.

Research notes

• OCR (99%) of `6014047925283745.jpg` (Discharge)
• OCR (98%) of `6014047935283744.jpg` (DISCHARGE, Camp Ritchie, Good Conduct) — dated 1 November 1944

Gallery

• 
  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
• 
  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
• 
  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 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)
• 1940 U.S. Census (where a census match is present)
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 2023-01-03 (1 post)
• OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 6014047925283745.jpg
• OCR-reviewed Facebook gallery document: 6014047935283744.jpg
• Honorable Discharge certificate for William Nagel, 22 October 1945
• Enlisted Record and Report of Separation, corrected copy, 22 October 1945
• Army Separation Qualification Record, associated gallery scan
• Naturalization certificate, associated gallery scan
• Ritchie Boys of WWII Facebook page, post dated 3 January 2023 (biographical account and gallery documents)
• Honorable discharge certificate identifying William Nagel as a staff sergeant, associated gallery scan
• Enlisted Record and Report of Separation, associated gallery scan
• Naturalization record documenting the Nagelberg name change, associated gallery scan