Donald L. Hennigh
Biography: Donald Leon Hennigh was born on September 14, 1925, in Englewood, Kansas. He was the son of Ursal Hennigh and Ruby Pearl Cole and attended local schools in Englewood through the 11th grade. His enlistment record states that he had some experience as a truck or tractor driver prior to entering the service.
Service Time: Donald enlisted on October 6, 1944, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and would have been trained as a replacement. He shipped out to Europe and was ultimately assigned to Company B, of the 811th Tank Destroyer Battalion. The 811th had landed in France back in September of 1944. Donald would have joined them in early 1945. The 811th went on to receive credit for three campaigns, including Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe.
Donald returned to the U.S. and married Peggy on February 8, 1947. The couple had two sons, one in 1948 and another in 1955. The family settled in Laverne, Oklahoma, where Donald became a cattle rancher. Donald passed away on May 27, 1992 and was buried in Laverne.
I want to thank Donald’s niece, Laurie, for supplying the information and photos of her uncle. The photo below shows Donald, at right, somewhere in Germany. In the background are two of the unit’s M18s, fully loaded with equipment and supplies.
