| Residences | Civilian Occupation |
| Maryland, Delaware | Rubber worker |
| Branch | Service Numbers |
| U.S. Army | 6695047 (prewar Regular Army) / 32757772 (World War II) |
| Theater | Unit |
| European | Medical Detachment, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division |
| Military Occupational Specialty / Duty | Campaigns/Battles |
| 745 (rifleman) / 657 (litter bearer, duty at death) | Battle of the Hürtgen Forest |
Early Life & Family
Austin LeRoy Reynolds was born in Cecil County, Maryland, on February 19, 1909. (Different records list the town of his birth as Colora or nearby Rising Sun.) He was the youngest son of Charles Elmer Reynolds (c. 1865–1960) and Elizabeth E. Reynolds (known as Lizzie, née Zane, 1868–1941). Reynolds was one of eight children, of whom two died young. He was Methodist according to his military paperwork.
In April 1910, Reynolds was recorded living with his family in Oakwood, Cecil County, Maryland, on the route from Halls Cross Road to Porter Bridge. His father was described as a laborer working odd jobs.
Reynolds’s father’s obituary in the Evening Journal stated: “In 1914 he moved to Christiana and became proprietor of a general store. Later moving to Newark, he was associated with the National Vulcanized Fibre Company and the Continental Diamond Fibre Company.”
Similarly, the Journal-Every Evening reported that the Reynolds family moved to Newark, Delaware, around 1915. The family was recorded on the census in January 1920, living on Cleveland Avenue in Newark.
Reynolds’s enlistment paperwork and service record booklets from his two terms on active duty survived the 1973 National Personnel Records Center fire, providing useful information about both his civilian life and military career.
During his first enlistment, Reynolds reported that he had dropped out of school after completing the 6th grade, but when drafted back into the Army during World War II he reported that he had dropped out after completing half of the 8th grade. When he enlisted in 1928, Reynolds reported he had two years of experience working as a chef, earning $30 per week (about $585 in 2026 dollars).
Reynolds was living with his family at 18 Maple Avenue in Newark when he enlisted in the Regular Army in June 1928.
Prewar Military Service & Marriage
Shortly after he turned 17, on March 23, 1926, Reynolds joined the Delaware National Guard, serving in Battery “E,” 198th Coast Artillery Regiment, based in Newark. He continued to serve as a guardsman until he joined the Regular Army.
When he was 19, Reynolds volunteered for a three-year term in the Regular Army. After he was accepted in Wilmington, Delaware, he enlisted in Camden, New Jersey, on June 6, 1928. When he enlisted, a physician described Reynolds as standing five feet, 6½ inches tall and weighing 126 lbs., with brown hair and blue eyes.
As was customary at the time, Reynolds was able to enlist in a specific unit, in his case the 16th Infantry Regiment. The Evening Journal reported the following day that Reynolds and Anthony Sanborn (1909–2000) had both enlisted in that unit. Sanborn, also known as Antonio Somponio, later served in World War II and lost his brother, Seaman 1st Class Frank Sanborn (1925–1946), shortly after the Japanese surrendered.
Both men were assigned to Company “F,” 16th Infantry, 1st Division, stationed at Fort Jay, New York. Curiously, the company roster stated that they joined on June 6, 1928, while the unit’s morning reports stated that they were assigned and joined at 1000 hours on July 7. That may indicate that they had a month of training before joining the company.
Reynolds spent most of the next three years at Fort Jay, though his unit occasionally moved briefly to Camp Dix, New Jersey. He qualified at the Marksman level with the M1903 Springfield rifle on September 25, 1928, with a score of 259. He went on furlough on December 31, 1928, returning to his unit on January 16, 1929.
Reynolds was promoted to private 1st class effective January 19, 1929. He qualified at the Expert level with the bayonet on April 19. With a score of 300 on May 27, he requalified at the Sharpshooter level with the rifle, for which he received an extra $3 per month (about $60 in 2026 dollars).
Reynolds’s service record booklet did not record him as qualifying in any military occupational specialty (M.O.S.) during the enlistment, though it recorded two stints of special duty, the first as a telephone operator at Fort Jay beginning on July 26, 1929. He went on furlough again on November 4, returning to duty on November 13.
An entry in Reynolds’s service record stated that he was charged with violating the 96th Article of War: “While on duty as switchboard operator at Fort Jay N.Y. on or about Dec. 5/29 was found sleeping.” He was convicted at a summary court martial on December 19, 1929, and sentenced to forfeit $5 (about $97).
His special duty assignment at the telephone office ended on January 11, 1930, but the following month, on February 21, he went on special duty again as a runner at Fort Jay’s headquarters. That assignment ended on June 30. Despite his performance on the rifle range the previous year, he failed to requalify in 1930. On September 1, Reynolds was reduced to the grade of private. The following day, he was reported absent without leave (A.W.O.L.) but returned to duty after two days. He also went A.W.O.L. for a single day on September 15.
Reynolds was able to go on a long furlough on March 1, 1931, returning to his unit on March 29. He requalified at the Marksman level on the rifle range on May 23. On June 8, Private Reynolds was honorably discharged from the U.S. Army at Camp Dix, at the end of his term of service. At discharge, his character was rated as excellent and efficiency in soldiering as satisfactory.
According to a statement for the State of Delaware Public Archives Commission by his brother, Burton A. Reynolds (1903–1964), Reynolds joined the Delaware National Guard immediately after his discharge from the Regular Army. Indeed, his service record recorded that on June 9, 1931, Reynolds rejoined Battery “E,” 198th Coast Artillery. An article printed in Every Evening on August 7, 1931, reported his promotion from private to corporal.
On January 9, 1932, Every Evening reported that Corporal Reynolds was among the guardsmen who had passed examinations, qualifying him as a gunner 2nd class. His score of 93.8 was the fifth highest in the battery. Reynolds’s service record stated that he was discharged from the National Guard as a private on June 8, 1934, and reenlisted the same day. By March 19, 1935, Reynolds had been promoted to sergeant. On January 9, 1936, Journal-Every Evening announced that Battery “E” had won the “annual regimental commanders inspection” which Captain Herman W. Cook credited to five men in particular, including Sergeant Reynolds “for his efficient training of the communications detail[.]” He was discharged from the National Guard for the final time as a private on June 8, 1937.
Census records indicate that Reynolds was living in Wilmington as of April 1, 1935. However, he was described as a chef and resident of Newark when he married Mary Louise Stunkel (c. 1901–1963) in Middletown, Delaware, on April 27, 1935. They were separated by April 1940, but they remained married until his death.
When he was recorded on the next census on April 6, 1940, Reynolds was living with his parents and brother at 610 West 3rd Street in Wilmington. His occupation was listed as charger for the Electric Hose and Rubber Company. Later that year, when he registered for the draft on October 16, 1940, Reynolds was unemployed and living at the same address. The registrar described him as standing about five feet, nine inches tall and weighing 134 lbs., with brown hair, blue eyes, and a scar on the left side of his chin. He moved to 402 North Tatnall Street before reentering the military in 1943.
Burton Reynolds listed his brother’s occupation as rubber worker. In 1943, Reynolds stated that his main occupation was seven years as a laborer, earning $24 per week (about $475). That work was described in his service record as “Helped shipfitter, packed textile materials[.]” He also reported working five years as a waiter, earning $12 per week.
Shortly after he turned 34, on March 4, 1943, Reynolds was examined at the direction of Local Board No. 3, Wilmington, and found to be eligible for military service. He was drafted soon after.
World War II Service
Reynolds was inducted back into the U.S. Army at Camden on April 16, 1943, and temporarily transferred to the Enlisted Reserve Corps on inactive duty. After going on active duty on April 24, 1943, he was attached to Company “C,” 1229th Reception Center, Fort Dix, New Jersey.
On May 14, 1943, Private Reynolds was assigned to 69th Infantry Division at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, which was scheduled for activation the following day. On May 16, Reynolds was assigned to Battery “A,” 879th Field Artillery Battalion, newly activated the day before with the rest of the 69th Infantry Division. He joined the battery at 1000 hours on May 17, 1943. At the time, his military occupational specialty (M.O.S.) code was listed as 309, telephone operator. On June 22, he qualified as a Marksman with the M1 carbine, with a score of 157.
Reynolds was promoted to private 1st class on August 16, 1943. Soon after—the date on the entry was faded but appears to be August or September 18—his M.O.S. changed to 606, antiaircraft machine gunner.
Reynolds went on furlough September 6–20, 1943; January 1–12, 1944, and June 15–29, 1944. Journal-Every Evening reported about his last furlough: “While home on furlough in June, Private Reynolds was restless, and rather than ‘sit and do nothing’ went to work at the Kaumagraph Company where his brother, Burton, is employed.”
A set of orders came down on August 3, 1944, dispatching many soldiers from the 69th Infantry Division to Army Ground Forces Replacement Depot No. 1, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland. Reynolds and the others boarded a troop train on August 7, arriving at Fort Meade the following day.
On August 21, 1944, Private 1st Class Reynolds was dispatched west to Camp Carson, Colorado. Three days later, he joined Company “F,” 90th Infantry Regiment. His new unit retrained soldiers as infantrymen. Rifle companies took the lion’s share of the U.S. Army’s casualties and replacement riflemen were always in high demand during combat. Men whose skills and experience would otherwise have qualified them for other military jobs that were not presently in demand—sometimes because their previous units had been disbanded—frequently found themselves trained (or retrained) as riflemen. Some men also volunteered for the duty. Indeed, Journal-Every Evening stated that Reynolds “volunteered as a replacement[.]”
Around September 10, 1944, Reynolds qualified at the Expert level with the M1 Garand rifle, scoring a 180. On September 20, he also requalified, this time as an Expert, with the M1 carbine. During the course, Reynolds completed many of the tasks necessary to earn the Expert Infantryman Badge, including a 25-mile march as well as infiltration, close combat, and urban combat courses.
After completing his retraining, Reynolds was reclassified as a rifleman, effective October 7, 1944. Ironically, in his case, military necessity would intervene again, resulting in an entirely different duty after he arrived at the front.
A note in Reynolds’s personnel file dated October 9, 1944, stated that he was “Favorably considered for” the Good Conduct Medal, but there is no indication in his personnel file that it was ever formerly awarded. The following day he departed from Camp Carson to return to Ford Meade.
Effective October 22, 1944, Private 1st Class Reynolds was transferred to a replacement shipment, GH-555(a)-A. It appears that he was able to visit his family one last time on pass before going overseas.
According to his personnel file, Reynolds shipped out from the New York Port of Embarkation on November 1, 1944, arriving in Scotland on November 9, where he entered the Ground Force Replacement System. He shipped out from the United Kingdom on November 19, arriving the following day in France. Then on November 22, he moved into Germany.
Interestingly, Reynolds ended up being assigned to his old division from the 92nd Replacement Battalion. On November 23, 1944, Reynolds and 32 other enlisted men joined the Medical Detachment, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division. He was assigned the duty of litter bearer.
The 1st Infantry Division had already compiled a celebrated record during World War II including major roles in Operation Torch and the Tunisian campaigns in North Africa, participating in the invasion of Sicily, landing at Omaha Beach on D-Day in Normandy, and helping to capture Aachen, the first German city to fall during the fall of 1944. However, the elation at the rapid Allied advances during the summer of 1944 had turned to disappointment. When Reynolds joined the 26th Infantry, the Battle of Hürtgen Forest was raging. Hürtgen was the anthesis of the war of maneuver which had characterized the battlefields of Europe mere months before. Instead, it was grinding attritional warfare that cost the Americans massive casualties for little strategic benefit.
One day after he was attached to the 26th Infantry, Private 1st Class Reynolds was killed in action, suffering a fatal shell fragment wound to his right shoulder in the vicinity of Schevenhütte, Germany. A letter from the Adjutant General’s Office to Burton Reynolds stated that according to a report received by the War Department, “on 24 November 1944, Private Reynolds was assisting some medical soldiers in building a dug-out in Hurtgen Forest near Schevenhutte, Germany, when he was killed by enemy artillery shell fragments.”
On December 28, 1944, Burton Reynolds wrote to Captain Nathaniel M. Sperling (1905–1972) of the 26 Infantry’s Medical Detachment to thank him for a recent condolence letter, adding:
Yes, we here at home have been notified by the War Department, both by telegram and confirming letter. Of course it was a terrible shock to us all and we could hardly believe it, due to the fact he was in actual combat for so short a time. And we are proud to think he was a good soldier until the end. I’m sure he always tried.
Captain there is just one thing we here at home are anxious to have returned. That is his Silver Army Identification Band. Naturally we want all of his personal things returned, and when this terrible war is over we expect to have his remains returned to this country.
No band was discovered among Reynolds’s inventoried effects, which were returned to his widow. These possessions included a ring, fountain pen, two service ribbons, a religious medal, and pictures.
On November 27, 1944, Reynolds was buried at a U.S. military cemetery at Henri-Chapelle, Belgium. In 1947, the Quartermaster Corps Memorial Division requested that his wife chose whether his body should be repatriated for burial in a public or private cemetery or remain overseas. She did not fill out the paperwork, but when prompted a second time, replied:
You can move him wherever it is the least cost to the government. I would like to have him moved here but as I cannot afford it I am leaving it to the government to bury him where the rest of the men are that cannot be moved.
Mary Reynolds’s response suggests that she may have misunderstood the program, which repatriated bodies of fallen servicemembers at no cost to the families. Families incurred no cost at all if they chose to have their loved one buried at a national cemetery in the United States, and they could be reimbursed for private burials up to a certain limit.
On August 24, 1949, Private 1st Class Reynolds was reburied in the permanent cemetery at Henri-Chapelle (Plot G, Row 4, Grave 71). He is honored at Veterans Memorial Park in New Castle, Delaware.
Notes
1910 Census
Porter Bridge crossed Octoraro Creek west of Rising Sun, just south of where present day Conowingo Road (U.S. Route 1) does. I have not been able to determine the location of Halls Cross Road with certainty. There was a Hall’s Cross Roads in Aberdeen, Maryland. However, that crossroads was well south of Porter Bridge and located on the far side of the Susquehanna River. It wasn’t until 1910 that the first road bridge even crossed the Susquehanna near that route, at Havre de Grace, so it seems difficult to believe that a road would be described as connecting those two points.
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to Autumn Hendrickson for providing morning reports for the Medical Detachment, 26th Infantry Regiment.
Bibliography
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“Battery A Total High in Test For Gunners.” January 9, 1932. Every Evening. https://www.newspapers.com/article/128567959/
Census Record for Austin L. Reynolds. April 15, 1910. Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910. Record Group 29, Records of the Bureau of the Census. National Archives at Washington, D.C. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRVF-C58
Census Record for Austin L. Reynolds. April 24, 1930. Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Record Group 29, Records of the Bureau of the Census. National Archives at Washington, D.C. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33SQ-GRZ6-KZD
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“Pay Roll of Battery ‘A’ 879th Field Artillery Battalion For month of June, 1943.” June 30, 1943. U.S. Army Muster Rolls and Rosters, November 1, 1912 – December 31, 1943. Record Group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives at St. Louis, Missouri. https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/st-louis/rg-064/85713803_1940-1943/85713803_1940-1943_Roll-1345/85713803_1940-1943_Roll-1345_08.pdf
Reynolds, Burton A. Individual Military Service Record for Austin LeRoy Reynolds. September 30, 1945. Record Group 1325-003-053, Record of Delawareans Who Died in World War II. Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Delaware. https://cdm16397.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15323coll6/id/20493/rec/1
“Roster Company ‘F’ 16th Infantry.” August 14, 1928. U.S. Army Muster Rolls and Rosters, November 1, 1912 – December 31, 1943. Record Group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives at St. Louis, Missouri. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C3HF-T598
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Last updated on August 27, 2026
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