This memorial page is dedicated to Benjamin Joseph Savignac, one of more than 725 war victims connected to the municipality of Deurne documented by Stichting Oorlogsslachtoffers. The municipality of Deurne and the surrounding villages of Liessel, Vlierden, Helenaveen, Neerkant and Zeilberg were liberated in the autumn of 1944 during heavy fighting. Victims fell on all sides: Allied soldiers from countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada and New Zealand, and German soldiers.

But the archive covers more than just the combat victims on Deurne soil. Residents of Deurne who lost their lives elsewhere are also commemorated: civilians who were murdered in concentration camps, forced labourers who died in Germany, people who were executed or succumbed to the effects of persecution and oppression. In addition, residents of Deurne who entered German military service and were killed elsewhere are also included.

Stichting Oorlogsslachtoffers has been documenting the story of all these people since 1995, without distinction of nationality, side or background. The goal is to give every person a name and a face, and to keep their memory alive.

 

Benjamin Joseph Savignac

Name: Savignac
First names: Benjamin Joseph
Nickname: Ben
Date of birth: 21 March 1920
Place of birth: St Louis City, Missouri
Residence: Maplewood, Missouri
Rank / Occupation: First Lieutenant
Identity tag: O1322269
Unit: 23rd Infantry Battalion, 7th Armoured Division, Company C
Date of death: 18 October 1944
Place of death: Deurne, near the Deurne Canal
Cause of death: as a result of a skull fracture
Cemetery: Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery (Belgium)
Memorial site: –

 

Additional information

Grave location: C-10-35

Son of Benjamin Savignac and Frances Savignac-Bernhardt. Widow, Helen E. Savignac.

Awarded the Purple Heart.

Enlisted 23 December 1940, St Louis, Missouri

Benjamin Joseph Savignac was presumably shot dead by a German sniper.

A comprehensive file concerning Benjamin Joseph Savignac may be available for inspection from the author.

Ben & Helen Savignac. (Photo: Virginia C. Lutes)
Ben & Helen Savignac. (Foto: Virginia C. Lutes)

View all persons in the category: Allied soldiers killed in action