James E. Rieger
Encyclopedia
James Edward Rieger was a lawyer and US Army officer. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...

, America's second-highest award for valor, and the Croix de Guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...

 from the government of France.

Early life and family

James E. Rieger was born September 20, 1874 in Peoria, Illinois
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...

 to German immigrant parents Godfrey and Rosa (Brenning) Rieger. In 1880 the Rieger family moved to Kirksville, Missouri
Kirksville, Missouri
Kirksville is the county seat of Adair County, Missouri, United States. It is located in Benton Township. The population was 17,505 at the 2010 census. Kirksville also anchors a micropolitan area that comprises Adair and Schuyler counties. The city is perhaps best known as the location of Truman...

 where James father continued his vocation as a coopersmith and farmer. He received his primary and secondary education in Peoria and the rural schools of Adair County, Missouri
Adair County, Missouri
Adair County is a county located in northeast Missouri. As of 2010, the population was 25,607. Its county seat is Kirksville. The county was organized in 1841 and is named in honor of Kentucky Governor John Adair....

 before matriculating at the First District Normal School (now Truman State University
Truman State University
Truman State University is a public liberal arts and sciences university in Missouri, United States and a member of the Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges. About 6,000 students attend Truman, pursuing degrees in 43 undergraduate and 9 Graduate programs. It is located in Kirksville in...

) in Kirksville. Rieger continued his higher education at the University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...

 in Columbia, Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...

 where he earned his law degree in 1897. After passing the Missouri Bar he returned to Kirksville and established a private law practice in 1898. James Reiger served as Adair County Prosecuting attorney from 1909 to 1911. He also held various other elected and politically appointed positions, including City Clerk for Kirksville, chairman of the county Democratic committee, and vice-president of the school board. On August 22, 1901 he married Alma Wray of Davis County, Iowa
Davis County, Iowa
-2010 census:The 2010 census recorded a population of 8,753 in the county, with a population density of . There were 3,600 housing units, of which 3,201 were occupied.-2000 census:...

 and four children were born to them: Wray M., Nathaniel B., Evelyn, and Ruth. Both sons followed their father into the military—Lt. Colonel Wray Rieger serving in World War II, while his brother Colonel Nathaniel Rieger served in both World War II and the Korean War.

Military career

Soon after establishing his law practice in Kirksville, James Rieger joined the Missouri National Guard as a private and was instrumental in the formation of the Kirksville Company C in January 1900. He advanced rapidly as a citizen-soldier, being elected an officer and later commanding Company C of the Fourth Regiment. In 1916 now-Major Rieger and the 2nd battalion, 4th Regiment joined a fellow northeast Missourian, General John J. Pershing on the Mexican border in pursuit of bandit Pancho Villa. Following the United States' entry into World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, the Missouri National Guard was mustered into federal service on August 5 and combined with Guard units from Kansas to create the 35th Infantry Division.
Arriving in France the following spring, the 35th was held largely in reserve until the Meuse-Argonne offensive in late September, 1918. Then-Major Rieger, in command of 2nd Battalion, 139th Regiment, led his men in an successful frontal attack on Vaquois Hill, considered the strongest point on the Hindenburg Line between Verdun and Aisne. After regrouping his battalion, Rieger led them across the Aire river through heavy enemy artillery and machine gun fire to capture the key village of Exermont
Exermont
Exermont is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France....

. Their defenses broken, the Germans fell back all along the front. For his actions Major Rieger was hailed as "the Hero of the Argonne" by French and American press. He was also promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, assigned as commander, 138th Regiment, and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...

, the French Croix de Guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...

, the Purple Heart
Purple Heart
The Purple Heart is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those who have been wounded or killed while serving on or after April 5, 1917 with the U.S. military. The National Purple Heart Hall of Honor is located in New Windsor, New York...

 for wounds received during the battle, and four other medals for meritorious service. Colonel Riegers D.S.C. citation reads as follows:

The Distinguished Service Cross is presented to James E. Rieger, Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Army, for extraordinary heroism in action near Charpentry, France, September 27, 1918. Lieutenant Colonel Rieger commanded the battalion which had, with conspicuous gallantry, captured Vauquois Hill and the Bois-de-Rosignel, and which was later held up for some hours in front of Charpentry by severe artillery and machine-gun fire. He placed himself in front of all his men, and thus starting them forward led them to the attack with such speed and dash that a large number of the enemy were cut off and captured. General Orders No. 59, W.D., 1919

Hometown hero

After returning to the US in the spring of 1919, Colonel Rieger resumed his law practice in Kirksville. Speaking of their battlefield commander on May 9, 1919, two mustered out soldiers told the Columbia Evening Missourian newspaper

"We had a Major from Kirksville. His name was James E. Rieger" said one. "He was the major of second battalion. He would do his best for us and there wasn't one of us that wouldn't go to Hell for him." "He surely ought to be made governor of Missouri" interrupted another.

Alas, higher political office wasn't in Colonel Rieger's plans. Other than serving as a special judge when asked, he was mostly content to live a quiet life as a small-town lawyer. In 1938 Rieger returned to France at the behest of Missouri Governor Lloyd Stark as part of a three-man commission to inspect the gravesites of fallen Missourians. It was also in 1938 a new National Guard armory was constructed in Kirksville and was named Rieger Armory in his honor. Two other vestiges of his military service remain in the town as well. While overseas Rieger obtained several pieces of stained glass from a bombed-out cathedral in Verdun
Verdun
Verdun is a city in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital of the department is the slightly smaller city of Bar-le-Duc.- History :...

, France. These were shipped to Kirksville and fashioned into a window for the First Baptist Church, where the Colonel served as a deacon. A grateful War Department also granted Kirksville a German howitzer captured by the 35th Division during the fighting near Charpentry, France. It serves as a centerpiece of the memorial to servicemen and women from Adair County, Missouri
Adair County, Missouri
Adair County is a county located in northeast Missouri. As of 2010, the population was 25,607. Its county seat is Kirksville. The county was organized in 1841 and is named in honor of Kentucky Governor John Adair....

. James E. Rieger died July 30, 1951 in Kirksville and is buried in that citys Highland Park Cemetery.
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