James Daniel Kneece


1942

Agricultural Economics

Agricultural Economics Club 3, 4; Marksman, ROTC Camp, Clemson, SC

Gilbert, SC

Parents - Mr. and Mrs. J. D. Kneece of Gilbert. He was also survived by two sisters, Miss Mildred Kneece of Swansea and Miss Betty Kneece of Gilbert; and a brother, David Kneece of Gilbert.

Army, Second Lieutenant

135th Infantry Regiment, 34th Infantry Division, Company H

Jun 7, 1918

May 23, 1944

Killed in Action - Anzio beachhead.

Sicily-Rome American Military Cemetery. There is a memorial marker to him in Saint Paul's Lutheran Church Cemetery, Gilbert, SC.

NE

Additional Information

KNEECE, JAMES D. “J.D.” – Second Lieutenant – Company H – 3rd (Heavy Mortar)  – Platoon Leader:
On May 23, 1944, Lt. Kneece had several Germans trapped in a cave and was shooting at them when a German cut him down with a “burp gun,” fatally wounding him.  After that the mortar section was determined to make sure none of the Germans in the cave would escape.  The mortar section poured one burning-white-hot phosphorous mortar round after another into the cave.  None of the Germans made it out of the cave.”
Patrick Skelly

Historian, 34th Infantry Division Association

He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant May 21, 1942 and was stationed at Camp Wolters, TX with the 28th Infantry of the Eighth Division.  He was later stationed at Fort Benning, GA; Fort Leonard Wood, MO; Camp Forrest, TN; and Fort Meade, MD.  Lieutenant Kneece was sent to North Africa and entered combat duty at Cassino. 

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Extra Documents

Vignette in The Echo written by Kelly Durham – Opportunity Lost