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Remember...Verl Veigh Hixenbaugh
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Verl Veigh Hixenbaugh was born October 24, 1920, to parents James Arthur ("Ray") and Laura Catherine Teck Hixenbaugh. He had two older siblings, Arthur and Verena, and a younger sister, Violet. Ray was a farmer, who made his living along Day Run in Daybrook, Monongalia County. He was successful enough to purchase his farm despite the financial difficulties of the Great Depression. Laura was a homemaker who took on the many roles of a farmer's wife.
Verl attended elementary and high school at Daybrook, graduating just one year too early to attend the new Clay-Battelle High School. School must have agreed with him, as he did not miss one day of attendance! By 1941, he had found work with the Civilian Conservation Corps. Verl's first CCC service took him only as far as Cooper's Rock State Forest in his home county. He registered for the draft on February 16, 1942, and in May of that year he transferred to work at a CCC camp in Kentucky. On August 13, 1942, he married Alma Jeanette Tennant, in Winchester, Virginia, and left the CCC.
Verl was soon drafted into the U.S. Army and assigned the rank of technician fourth grade. Technicians were men who had specialized skills (medics, repairmen, mechanics, radio operators, etc.) but no combat experience. He became a member of the First Ranger Battalion. While Verl might have participated in the North Africa campaign, it is certain that he was with the 1st Ranger Battalion when they reached Sicily. The Rangers were part of the landings at Anzio and were charged with seizing the town of Cisterna. It was during this difficult operation that Verl was severely wounded; he died on April 9, 1944. Originally buried in a cemetery in Rome, his remains were returned to the States, where he was interred on August 13, 1948, in Grafton National Cemetery.
Essays from the National Cemeteries Project are posted on the West Virginia Humanities Council's website. For a more comprehensive biography of Verl Hixenbaugh, refer to the essay written by University High School students Holly Higginbottom and Jesse Mayfield at https://wvhumanities.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Hixenbaugh_Verl_Veigh-USA.pdf.
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.
