Phi Psi Archives · @PhiPsiArchives
5th Jun 2014 from TwitLonger
At least four Phi Psis are known to have died and another been wounded in the D-Day invasion of Europe 70 years ago today. Blair Schoell, Iowa Alpha 2003 (University of Iowa), tells their stories in this excerpt from an article, "Remembering Our World War II Veterans," that he researched and wrote for our national web site.
"Perhaps one of the most climactic moments of the war, and for Phi Kappa Psi, was D-Day. On June 6th, 1944, American forces under the command of Dwight D. Eisenhower assaulted Europe on the Normandy coast.
"In the early hours of D-Day, Brother Wright Bryan Missouri '27 flew into combat as a war correspondent with American paratroopers of the 101st Airborne. He offered a descriptive minute-by-minute account of the action on NBC to a general audience that was aired at around 4:00 a.m. It was the first eye-witness account to be broadcast.
"Flying into battle at the same time as Brother Bryan were brothers Lt. Roper Peddicord DePauw '41 and Lt. John C. Feeley Jr. Penn '40, both of the 82nd Airborne Division. Lt. Peddicord would fall to enemy machine gun fire as he led his platoon from the front, assaulting pockets of German resistance near Ste. Mere Eglise, France.
"Landing as part of the seaborne invasion on Omaha Beach were three brothers of Phi Kappa Psi.
"As a member of the 1st Infantry Division, Lt. John Simons UCLA '40 landed on Omaha Beach along with Gilbert Allis Jr. W&L '31 of the 743rd Tank Battalion. Both of these brothers were killed in action on the Normandy shore and are now buried above the beach on which their lives were lost.
"The third known brother to assault Omaha Beach, at Pointe du Hoc, was brother Roger Neighborgall, West Virginia '42 (Duke '46). Brother Neighborgall would assault up the cliff at Pointe du Hoc with the 5th Ranger Battalion. He would be wounded while climbing the cliff along with his fellow Rangers and upon reaching the top, fought to secure the area that was reported to hold German artillery.
"Brother Neighborgall would go on to serve in the Battle of the Bulge, as another Phi Psi under the command of General Patton."
(Historian’s note: After the above was published, we learned of a fourth Phi Psi killed in action in the invasion, Ensign F. Nye Moses, Jr., California Delta 1942 (USC). The report of his death in a 1944 Shield entry, although lacking in details but with a photo of him, may be found at http://twitdoc.com/23GB)
You can read the rest of Blair's article about Phi Psis in World War II engagements at
http://www.phikappapsi.com/news/rememberingourworldwariiveterans
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If you know of other Phi Psis who participated in the D-Day invasion, please send whatever information you have about them to the Historian of Phi Kappa Psi at phipsi150-owner@yahoogroups.com
(Note: The June 5 dating of this message is the date it was scheduled for June 6 posting.)