The Story
Pfc Ralph Messervey was killed in action on 09 June 1944, serving with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 116th Infantry Regiment. By 9 June 1944, the 116th Infantry Regiment, with the 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions attached, had been ordered to hold its D-Day positions within the division zone while preparing to shift into division reserve near the Bois de Calette. That night, the regiment as a whole was in the process of assembling north of St. Germain. Division records from this period describe troop movements at the regimental level rather than by individual company, so the precise activities of the regimental troops that day cannot be stated with certainty, though they would have shared in this broader assembly and repositioning effort. Pfc Messervey was killed in action that day; the report does not specify the individual circumstances.
Source: NARA