T5 Alex Houston Pridgen

courtesy of Marcus Stanley

T5 Alex Houston Pridgen was born 28 Sep 1918 in Wilmington, North Carolina. He was 2nd of the 9 children born to Strange Alexander and Creasey Edell (Brock) Pridgen. His father worked as a carpenter. Alex only completed 1 year of high school before he too began working as a carpenter. When he registered for the draft he had already married and was working on Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

Alex was drafted in January 1942. Selected for training as a medic, it was probably some time before he was sent to England and assigned first to the Medical Detachment 116th Infantry and then Headquarters and Headquarters Company 3rd Battalion 116th Infantry. Training with the unit for the planned amphibious assault on occupied Europe, Alex must have demonstrated competence as a medic and leader and was promoted to T5. T5 Pridgen was killed in action on 6 Jun 1944 taking part in that amphibious attack at Omaha Beach.

T5 Pridgen was repatriated in 1948 and re-interred in Wilmington National Cemetery in Wilmington, North Carolina.

Brothers, John Ellis Pridgen and Jack Leo Pridgen both served in the Army in WW2 and survived the war.