Raymond Calvin Sprogell

Private First Class, U.S. Army
32482683
116th Infantry Regiment
29th Infantry Division

Oaklyn, New Jersey
Born: 1922
Died: July 16, 1944
Near St. Lo, France

Buried: New St. Mary’s Cemetery
515 West Browning Road
Bellmawr, New Jersey

Awards: Purple Heart

Private First Class Raymond Calvin Sprogell was killed on July 16, 1944, in Normandy, France, during the fighting to take the key city of St. Lo. Born in 1922, he was the son of Raymond W. and S. Myrtle Higgenbotham Sprogell. His early years were spent in Gloucester City, New Jersey. The Sprogells later lived at 64 Manor Avenue, in Oaklyn, New Jersey. Known to family and friends as Calvin, he was a 1942 graduate of Collingswood High School. Before entering service he was employed by the Utility Electric Company in Philadelphia.

Raymond Calvin Sprogell was called to service on December 5, 1942. He was sent from Fort Dix to Fort Jackson, South Carolina, where he served for sixteen months. He spent a few weeks at Camp Atterbury, Indiana, then was again re-assigned to Camp Meade, Maryland. Private First Class Sprogell was sent overseas in May of 1944.

Private First Class Sprogell landed in France with the 29th Infantry Division on D-Day, June 6, 1944. A machine-gunner, he was reported as missing in action on July 16, 1944, near St. Lo. He was later determined to have been killed in action, and his death was reported in the September 11, 1944, edition of the Camden Courier-Post. He was 22 years old at the time of his death.

Raymond Sprogell was brought home aboard the USAT Eric G. Gibson to New Jersey in January of 1948. Funeral services were held at the Joseph Murray and Son Funeral Home at 408 Cooper Street in Camden on February 21, 1948, and he was buried at New St. Mary’s Cemetery in Bellmawr, New Jersey, next to his grandfather, Michael Curley. He was survived by his parents, of the Oaklyn address, and his grandmother, Mrs. Lily Curley, of Gloucester City, New Jersey.