Soft launch: Soldier biographies and research notes vary in completeness. Prefer class-roster, NARA, newspapers, and other cited sources for contested facts — treat Research notes as leads, not settled history. Anyone can correct a page; contact us with questions.
Alphonse Francis Gion
| Alphonse Francis Gion | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 April 1920 Regent, North Dakota |
| Died | 26 May 2016 |
| Nativity | United States |
| Religion | Catholic |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Arm / service | Field Artillery |
| ASN | 01177462 |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Rank at Ritchie | Second Lieutenant |
| Camp Ritchie | Class 9 (21 June – 18 August 1943) |
| Section | 5G |
| Unit / division | 101st Airborne Division |
| Teams | IPW 1, IPW 87 |
{{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.
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.
Biography
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.
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 Joseph C. Pangerl Jr., Hermann Coquelin, Emil H. Koslan, Frederick C. Patheiger, and George Goldberg. He left active service in January 1946.
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.
Research notes
- to Capt
- BS 506 PIR
- IPW Team 1 roster (Gross NOTES, 8/27/2019): Pangerl; Gion; Coquelin; Kaslan [Koslan]; Patheiger; Goldberg. Others: Vidor; Frank; Haimann. Attached 101st Airborne (VIII Corps), 11 February 1944.
Technical record
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Approx Age at Death | 96 |
| Class_ASN | 177462 |
| Class_Name | GION, Alphonse F. |
| match_method | asn_partial_name_exact |
| row_source | both |
Timeline
- 25 April 1920 — Born near Regent, North Dakota.
- February 1942 — Drafted into the U.S. Army.
- October 1942 — Commissioned from Artillery OCS, Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
- 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.
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
- 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 2022-11-23 (1 post)
- Dan Gross, Timeline of Alphonse Francis Gion for Camp Ritchie (private research document; 1 source documents reviewed)
- Dan Gross, Timeline of Gion, Alphonse Francis for Camp Ritchie (private research files; selected non-private narrative findings; 1 source files: ALPHONSE F. GION.doc)