Edward H. Nabb Center for Delmarva History and Culture, Salisbury, University, Salisbury, Maryland
| Identifier |
SC2021.005 |
| Creator(s) |
Piegols, Alvin; Piegols, Dorothy |
| Acquisition |
The Alvin and Dorothy Piegols papers were donated by their daughter, Diane Bicknell, April 2021. |
| Language(s) |
English, German |
| Use |
Records are open for research. Copyright, including literary rights, belongs to the author(s) or their legal heirs. Permission to publish or reproduce must be obtained from the Nabb Research Center which extends beyond "fair use." |
| Preferred Citation |
"Item, collection title and identifier, box # and folder # (if applicable), Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture, Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland." |
| Attribution |
Finding aid written by Jennifer Piegols, May 2021. |
| Related Materials |
Frank Dunbaugh Papers (1919, 1945) Major George W. Fisk Papers (1938 – 1946) Private Frederick Levis, Jr. Papers (1943 – 1946) 3353rd Quartermaster Truck Company Photograph (1945) Scrapbook of Donald Beeson (1922 – 1948) The Life of a P.O.W. Under the Japanese in Caricature (1946) |
| Separated Materials |
Correspondence, Alvin Piegols to Dorothy Cannon [Separated] are available online here: 1943, 1944, 1945. Photographs, 1943-1946 [Separated] are available online here. Newspapers, 1942-1945 [Separated] and Maps, 1939-1945 [Separated] have been placed in the Nabb Center's Flat File System Artifacts have been separated and placed in the Nabb Center's object storage |
Biographical History Alvin Reinhart Piegols was born November 25, 1922 at the family farm in Midland, Michigan to Frieda Marie Feinauer Piegols and George Herman Piegols. Alvin was born prematurely, the younger of twins at approximately 2 pounds, 3 ounces, he and his twin brother, Alton, were kept warm near the wood-stove.
Alvin was raised on a farm in Midland, Michigan. In 1941 he graduated from Midland High School. He worked a year so his twin brother could take advantage of a college scholarship. In the fall of 1942 he started college at the University of Michigan. In the spring of 1943 his unit of the Army Reserves was called into active duty. Alvin attended basic training at Camp Roberts in California. He was commissioned to the 11th Armored Division of the Corps of Army Engineer Battalion as a mine sweeper. Prior to that, he was a cook. He fought in World War II in England, France, Belgium and Austria. After the Battle of Bastogne, also known as the “Battle of the Bulge,” he found a German parachute made of white silk which he sent to his fiancé, Dorothy Cannon, in Michigan. She used the silk material for her wedding dress.
While Alvin served in the military, Dorothy studied to become a nurse at the University of Michigan School of Nursing. She graduated in 1947.
On May 5, 1945 a platoon of 23 men from the 11th Armored Division of the US Third Army, led by Staff Sgt. Albert J. Kosiek liberated the Mauthausen main concentration camp.
Alvin and Dorothy were married in March 1946 in Ann Arbor, Michigan and honeymooned in Niagara Falls, NY in June. Together they had three daughters and two sons.
Alvin completed his bachelors’ degree in Chemical Engineering from Michigan State University in June 1950 and began working for Dow Chemical in Midland, Michigan. Due to an economic downturn, Alvin was laid off in 1958. Alvin and Dorothy moved to Indian Head, Maryland in September 1958. Alvin began working at the Potomac River Command. Alvin was a retired chemical engineer.
He lived with Dorothy in Maryland until his death on April 19, 2019.
https://www.williamsfuneralhomepa.com/obituary/Alvin-Piegols
