The Story
Tec 5 Alex Pridgen was killed in action on 06 June 1944, serving with HQ Company, 3rd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment. On 6 June 1944, the 116th Infantry Regiment came ashore near Exit D-1 and pushed inland toward St. Laurent-sur-Mer, working to secure the beach exit before turning to help clear German defenses along the shore, with elements advancing as far as Vierville-sur-Mer. Specific movements of the 3rd Battalion that day are not separately documented, but by nightfall the regiment's battalions had spread into positions along the road west of Vierville-sur-Mer, roughly 100 meters west of St. Laurent-sur-Mer, and just north of St. Laurent-sur-Mer. It was likely as part of this broader regimental effort, rather than through any separately recorded action, that the battalion took part in the fighting and movement of that first day. Tec 5 Pridgen was killed in action that day; the report does not specify the individual circumstances.
This location is an estimated position — the most specific place recorded in the source — not an exact spot.
Source: NARA