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.

William F. Dwyer

From Ritchie Boys Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
William F. Dwyer
William F. Dwyer
Personal details
Born1911
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch United States Army
ASN32412511
EnlistedFt Jay Governors Island, New York
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 F. Dwyer (born 1911) was a Ritchie Boy who trained at Camp Ritchie.

Biography[edit | edit source]

Part of the training at Camp Richie involved exercises that simulated situations where Ritchie Boys would conduct in-the-field interrogations. To make it realistic, soldiers would wear German uniforms and speak in German. In this photo, Ritchie Boy Cpl. William James Dwyer stands behind another Ritchie Boy who appears as Adolph Hitler. According to Daniel Dwyer, son of Ritchie Boy Cpl. William James Dwyer, his father told him that this photo was taken in a show they put on just to have some fun, but that he often was required to wear captured German uniforms.

Ritchie Boy Cpl. William James Dwyer was drafted and sent to Camp Ritchie from his hometown of Chicago. He did not have any specialized foreign language training before coming to Camp Ritchie. Cpl Dwyer served in the Military Intelligence Division War Department from July 24, 1942 to September 2, 1945. Cpl Dwyer met his future wife at a USO show in Hagerstown, attended college and law school on the GI Bill, passed the Maryland Bar, became a Hagerstown lawyer and Washington County Commissioner. He died in 1978.

Research notes[edit | edit source]

  • Close combat (2-day)

Gallery[edit | edit source]

Technical record[edit | edit source]

Field Imported value
Nara ASN 32412511
Nara Name DWYER WILLIAM F
Nara State 23
Nara County 047
Nara POE 2327
Nara DOE 240742
Nara Grade Alpha PVT
Nara Race 1
Nara Race Description White citizen
Nara Height (inches) 70
Nara Weight (lbs) 162
row_source demographics

Sources[edit | edit source]

  • 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 2018-05-28 (2 posts)