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John Wright Pyne
| John Wright Pyne | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 7 September 1918 |
| Died | 15 September 1999 |
| Nativity | United States |
| Religion | Protestant |
| Awards | Purple Heart |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
| Arm / service | Field Artillery |
| ASN | 01171727 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Rank at Ritchie | Second Lieutenant |
| Camp Ritchie | Class 3 (2 November – 23 December 1942) |
| Section | B |
|
| Purple Heart |
{{Needs source}}, or explain disagreements on talk. Baseline import notes: About the data.
John Wright Pyne (7 September 1918 – 15 September 1999) was a Ritchie Boy (from United States; Protestant) who trained at Camp Ritchie in class 3.
Biography[edit | edit source]
John Wright Pyne was born on 7 September 1918. He prepared at Groton and studied modern languages and literature at Princeton, where he also played football, polo, and rugby.
Pyne enlisted in Troop F, 101st Cavalry, on 14 January 1941 and was commissioned at Fort Sill on 15 October 1942. After graduating from Camp Ritchie (Class 3), he instructed there and served with the 45th and 31st Infantry Divisions before joining the G-2 section of the 2nd Armored Division in England. He landed in Normandy on 10 June 1944, was wounded near Saint-Lô on 30 July, and received the Purple Heart; later assignments took him to Paris and Bremerhaven.
Discharged as a captain on 24 January 1946, Pyne later returned to Army intelligence during the Korean War. He worked in banking and with New York brokerage firms before retiring in 1974 and died on 15 September 1999.
Research notes[edit | edit source]
- Fr 423
- The source's '82nd Reconnaissance Division' is treated as the 2nd Armored Division's 82nd Reconnaissance Battalion; biography avoids repeating the apparent OCR error.
Gallery[edit | edit source]
-
John W. Pyne portrait (RB Archive)
Technical record[edit | edit source]
| Field | Imported value |
|---|---|
| Approx Age at Death | 81 |
| Class_ASN | 171727 |
| Class_Name | PYNE, John W. |
| match_method | asn_partial_name_exact |
| row_source | both |
Timeline[edit | edit source]
- 7 September 1918 — Born.
- 14 January 1941 — Enlisted in Troop F, 101st Cavalry.
- 15 October 1942 — Commissioned a second lieutenant at Fort Sill.
- 24 December 1942 — Graduated from Camp Ritchie (Class 3); later served there as an instructor.
- 10 June 1944 — Landed in Normandy with the 2nd Armored Division.
- 30 July 1944 — Wounded near Saint-Lô; received the Purple Heart.
- July–October 1945 — Intelligence officer with the 17th Port at Bremerhaven.
- 24 January 1946 — Discharged as a captain.
- Korean War — Returned to Army intelligence service.
- 1974 — Retired from banking and brokerage work.
- 15 September 1999 — Died.
Sources[edit | edit source]
- John W. Pyne portrait (RB Archive)
- RB Archive: Pelliana: Military Records of the Pell Family, 1939–1945, pp. 33–35
- Princeton Alumni Weekly — John Wright Pyne ’40 memorial
- 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 2022-12-31 (1 post)